1
|
Mohan RR, Gupta S, Kumar R, Sinha NR, Landreneau J, Sinha PR, Tandon A, Chaurasia SS, Hesemann NP. Tissue-targeted and localized AAV5-DCN and AAV5-PEDF combination gene therapy abrogates corneal fibrosis and concurrent neovascularization in rabbit eyes in vivo. Ocul Surf 2024; 32:13-25. [PMID: 38191093 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2024.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Corneal fibrosis and neovascularization (CNV) after ocular trauma impairs vision. This study tested therapeutic potential of tissue-targeted adeno-associated virus5 (AAV5) mediated decorin (DCN) and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) combination genes in vivo. METHODS Corneal fibrosis and CNV were induced in New Zealand White rabbits via chemical trauma. Gene therapy in stroma was delivered 30-min after chemical-trauma via topical AAV5-DCN and AAV5-PEDF application using a cloning cylinder. Clinical eye examinations and multimodal imaging in live rabbits were performed periodically and corneal tissues were collected 9-day and 15-day post euthanasia. Histological, cellular, and molecular and apoptosis assays were used for efficacy, tolerability, and mechanistic studies. RESULTS The AAV5-DCN and AAV5-PEDF combination gene therapy significantly reduced corneal fibrosis (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001) and CNV (p < 0.001) in therapy-given (chemical-trauma and AAV5-DCN + AAV5-PEDF) rabbit eyes compared to the no-therapy given eyes (chemical-trauma and AAV5-naked vector). Histopathological analyses demonstrated significantly reduced fibrotic α-smooth muscle actin and endothelial lectin expression in therapy-given corneas compared to no-therapy corneas on day-9 (p < 0.001) and day-15 (p < 0.001). Further, therapy-given corneas showed significantly increased Fas-ligand mRNA levels (p < 0.001) and apoptotic cell death in neovessels (p < 0.001) compared to no-therapy corneas. AAV5 delivered 2.69 × 107 copies of DCN and 2.31 × 107 copies of PEDF genes per μg of DNA. AAV5 vector and delivered DCN and PEDF genes found tolerable to the rabbit eyes and caused no significant toxicity to the cornea. CONCLUSION The combination AAV5-DCN and AAV5-PEDF topical gene therapy effectively reduces corneal fibrosis and CNV with high tolerability in vivo in rabbits. Additional studies are warranted.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rajiv R Mohan
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA; Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA.
| | - Suneel Gupta
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Rajnish Kumar
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Nishant R Sinha
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - James Landreneau
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA
| | - Prashant R Sinha
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Ashish Tandon
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA
| | - Shyam S Chaurasia
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Departments of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Nathan P Hesemann
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA; Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA
| |
Collapse
|