A Step-By-Step Method to Detect Neutralizing Antibodies Against AAV using a Colorimetric Cell-Based Assay

Summary

A comprehensive laboratory protocol and analysis workflow are described for a rapid, cost-effective, and straightforward colorimetric cell-based assay to detect neutralizing elements against AAV6.

Abstract

Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV) have proven to be a safe and successful vector for transferring genetic material to treat various health conditions in both the laboratory and the clinic. However, pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against AAV capsids pose an ongoing challenge for the successful administration of gene therapies in both large animal experimental models and human populations. Preliminary screening for host immunity against AAV is necessary to ensure the efficacy of AAV-based gene therapies as both a research tool and as a clinically viable therapeutic agent. This protocol describes a colorimetric in vitro assay to detect neutralizing factors against AAV serotype 6 (AAV6). The assay utilizes the reaction between an AAV encoding an alkaline phosphatase (AP) reporter gene and its substrate NBT/BCIP, which generates an insoluble quantifiable purple stain upon combination.

In this protocol, serum samples are combined with an AAV expressing AP and incubated to permit potential neutralizing activity to occur. Virus serum mixture is subsequently added to cells to allow for viral transduction of any AAVs that have not been neutralized. The NBT/BCIP substrate is added and undergoes a chromogenic reaction, corresponding to viral transduction and neutralizing activity. The proportion of area colored is quantitated using a free software tool to generate neutralizing titers. This assay displays a strong positive correlation between coloration and viral concentration. Assessment of serum samples from sheep before and after administration of a recombinant AAV6 led to a dramatic increase in neutralizing activity (125 to >10,000-fold increase). The assay displayed adequate sensitivity to detect neutralizing activity in >1:32,000 serum dilutions. This assay provides a simple, rapid, and cost-effective method to detect NAbs against AAVs.

Introduction

Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are increasingly used as vectors for the delivery of gene therapies to trial treatments for various health conditions that impact the cardiovascular, pulmonary, circulatory, ocular, and central nervous systems^1,2,3,4,5. The popularity of AAV vectors as a leading gene therapy platform stems from their positive safety profile, long-term transgene expression, and wide-ranging tissue-specific tropisms^1,6. Successful outcom....

Protocol

All aspects of animal care and experimentation were conducted following Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health guidelines and the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes following Reference²⁵. 1.5-3-year-old Merino ewes were used for the study. A schematic overview of the assay protocol is provided in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of NAb as....

Results

Transduction assay to establish the optimal viral dosage for plate coverage
HT1080 cells, a well-established fibrosarcoma cell line, were selected for this assay. A concentration of 1 x 10⁴ HT1080 cells/well provided ~50% cell confluency in each well of a 96-well plate. To determine the optimal viral concentration for the assay, an rAAV encoding an hPLAP (human placental alkaline phosphatase) reporter gene (AAV6-hPLAP)³¹ was added in triplicate at a range of conce.......

Discussion

This report describes a colorimetric assay that assesses the extent of AAV neutralization in a given serum sample by evaluating a chromogenic reaction corresponding to the degree of in vitro viral transduction. The development of the protocol was based on the known chromogenic reaction between the enzyme alkaline phosphatase and NBT/BCIP, which has been widely utilized as a staining tool for the detection of protein targets in applications such as immunohistochemistry and as a reporter tool for evaluating viral .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.05% Trypsin/EDTA	Gibco	25300-054
50 mL conical centrifuge tube	Falcon	14-432-22	Or equivalent
75 cm2 square flasks	Falcon	353136	Or equivalent
96 well flat bottomed plate	Falcon	353072
AAV6-CMV-hPLAP Vector			Muscle Research & Therapeutics Lab (University of Melbourne, Australia) AAV6-CMV-hPLAP can be provided upon request.
Aluminium foil
Anti-AAV6 (intact particle) mouse monoclonal antibody, (ADK6)	PROGEN	610159	Positive control monoclonal antibody
BCIP/NBT	SIGMAFAST	B5655
Cell and tissue culture safety cabinet
Electronic Pipette			5 & 10 mL stripette inserts
Fetal Bovine Serum	Gibco	10099-141
Haemocytometer
High glucose Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM)	Gibco	11965118
HT1080 cells	ATCC
ImageJ Software			Freely available: https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/download.html
Incubator			37 °C, 5% CO2
Light microscope with camera			Capable of taking photos with a 4x objective lens
Oven			For a 65 °C incubation
Paraformaldehyde	MERCK	30525-89-4
Penicillin Streptomycin	Gibco	15140-122
Phosphate buffered saline
Pipettes and tips			20 μL, 200 μL & 1 mL single pipettes and tips & 200 μL multichannel pipette
Stericup quick release filter	Millipore	S2GPU10RE	Used for combining media reagents
Trypan blue solution	Sigma-Aldrich	T8154
VACUETTE TUBE 8 ml CAT Serum Separator Clot Activator	Greiner BIO-ONE	455071	Used for serum collection & processing from sheep
Water bath