Formation of AAV single stranded DNA genome from a circular plasmid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Therapeutic Application and Structural Features of Adeno-Associated Virus Vector

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is characterized by non-pathogenicity, long-term infection, and broad tropism and is actively developed as a vector virus for gene therapy products. AAV is classified into more than 100 serotypes based on differences in the amino acid sequence of the capsid protein. Endocytosis involves the uptake of viral particles by AAV and accessory receptors during AAV infection. After entry into the cell, they are transported to the nucleus through the nuclear pore complex. AAVs mainly use proteoglycans as receptors to enter cells, but the types of sugar chains in proteoglycans that have binding ability are different. Therefore, it is necessary to properly evaluate the primary structure of receptor proteins, such as amino acid sequences and post-translational modifications, including glycosylation, and the higher-order structure of proteins, such as the folding of the entire capsid structure and the three-dimensional (3D) structure of functional domains, to ensure the efficacy and safety of biopharmaceuticals. To further enhance safety, it is necessary to further improve the efficiency of gene transfer into target cells, reduce the amount of vector administered, and prevent infection of non-target cells.

The intriguing phenomenon of cross-kingdom infections of plant and insect viruses to fungi: Can other animal viruses also cross-infect fungi?

Fungi are highly widespread and commonly colonize multicellular organisms that live in natural environments. Notably, studies on viruses infecting plant-associated fungi have revealed the interesting phenomenon of the cross-kingdom transmission of viruses and viroids from plants to fungi. This implies that fungi, in addition to absorbing water, nutrients, and other molecules from the host, can acquire intracellular parasites that reside in the host. These findings further suggest that fungi can serve as suitable alternative hosts for certain plant viruses and viroids. Given the frequent coinfection of fungi and viruses in humans/animals, the question of whether fungi can also acquire animal viruses and serve as their hosts is very intriguing. In fact, the transmission of viruses from insects to fungi has been observed. Furthermore, the common release of animal viruses into the extracellular space (viral shedding) could potentially facilitate their acquisition by fungi. Investigations of the cross-infection of animal viruses in fungi may provide new insights into the epidemiology of viral diseases in humans and animals.

Contribution of yeast models to virus research

Abstract

Time and again, yeast has proven to be a vital model system to understand various crucial basic biology questions. Studies related to viruses are no exception to this. This simple eukaryotic organism is an invaluable model for studying fundamental cellular processes altered in the host cell due to viral infection or expression of viral proteins. Mechanisms of infection of several RNA and relatively few DNA viruses have been studied in yeast to date. Yeast is used for studying several aspects related to the replication of a virus, such as localization of viral proteins, interaction with host proteins, cellular effects on the host, etc. The development of novel techniques based on high-throughput analysis of libraries, availability of toolboxes for genetic manipulation, and a compact genome makes yeast a good choice for such studies. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies that have used yeast as a model system and have advanced our understanding of several important viruses.

Key points

• Yeast, a simple eukaryote, is an important model organism for studies related to viruses.

• Several aspects of both DNA and RNA viruses of plants and animals are investigated using the yeast model.

• Apart from the insights obtained on virus biology, yeast is also extensively used for antiviral development.

Characterization of Viral Genome Encapsidated in Adeno-associated Recombinant Vectors Produced in Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a small, non-enveloped virus used as vector in gene therapy, mainly produced in human cells and in baculovirus systems. Intense studies on these platforms led to the production of vectors with titers between 10³ and 10⁵ viral genomes (vg) per cells. In spite of this, vector yields need to be improved to satisfy the high product demands of clinical trials and future commercialization. Our studies and those of other groups have explored the possibility to exploit the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce rAAV. We previously demonstrated that yeast supports AAV genome replication and capsid assembly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of the encapsidated AAV DNA. Here, we report the construction of a yeast strain expressing Rep68/40 from an integrated copy of the Rep gene under the control of the yeast constitutive ADH promoter and Capsid proteins from the Cap gene under the control of an inducible GAL promoter. Our results indicate that a portion of AAV particles generated by this system contains encapsidated AAV DNA. However, the majority of encapsidated DNA consists of fragmented regions of the transgene cassette, with ITRs being the most represented sequences. Altogether, these data indicate that, in yeast, encapsidation occurs with low efficiency and that rAAVs resemble pseudo-vectors that are present in clinical-grade rAAV preparations.

A rAAV2-producing yeast screening model to identify host proteins enhancing rAAV DNA replication and vector yield

Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAV) are promising therapies for genetic diseases. Although current platforms for recombinant vector production can generate drug material for pre-clinical and clinical studies, rAAV biomanufacturing will eventually face commercial supply challenges if per cell vector productivity and process scalability are not improved. Because considerable efforts have traditionally focused on optimizing rAAV plasmid design, herein we investigate the impact of host cell proteins on vector production to identify proteins that may enhance rAAV yield. Using a rAAV2-GFP-producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae model in combination with the yeast Tet Hughes Collection screening library, we identified 22 gene candidates that improved rAAV DNA replication (rAAV-GFP/18s rDNA ratio) and vector yield (benzonase-resistant rAAV DNA vector genome titer) as high as 6-fold and 15-fold relative to control, respectively. The candidate proteins participate in biological processes such as DNA replication, ribosome biogenesis, and RNA and protein processing. The best five candidates (PRE4, HEM4, TOP2, GPN3, and SDO1) were further screened by generating overexpression mutants in the YPH500 yeast strain. Subsequent clone evaluation was performed to confirm the rAAV-promoting activity of selected candidates under plate-based and bioreactor-controlled fermentation conditions. Digital droplet PCR analysis of cell lysate and AVB resin-purified material confirmed HEM4 and TOP2 overexpression mutants displayed the highest per cell total rAAV DNA productivity (1.6 and 1.7-fold increase over control, respectively) and per cell vector productivity (3 and 4-fold over control, respectively). This evaluation confirmed that overexpression of HEM4 and TOP2 proteins enhanced total and benzonase-resistant rAAV DNA yield. Further studies are needed to understand their mechanism of action and to assess their potential application in molecular strategies for rAAV production. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2725, 2019.

Molecular design for recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector production

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors are increasingly popular tools for gene therapy applications. Their non-pathogenic status, low inflammatory potential, availability of viral serotypes with different tissue tropisms, and prospective long-lasting gene expression are important attributes that make rAAVs safe and efficient therapeutic options. Over the last three decades, several groups have engineered recombinant AAV-producing platforms, yielding high titers of transducing vector particles. Current specific productivity yields from different platforms range from 10³ to 10⁵ vector genomes (vg) per cell, and there is an ongoing effort to improve vector yields in order to satisfy high product demands required for clinical trials and future commercialization.

Crucial aspects of vector production include the molecular design of the rAAV-producing host cell line along with the design of AAV genes, promoters, and regulatory elements. Appropriately, configuring and balancing the expression of these elements not only contributes toward high productivity, it also improves process robustness and product quality. In this mini-review, the rational design of rAAV-producing expression systems is discussed, with special attention to molecular strategies that contribute to high-yielding, biomanufacturing-amenable rAAV production processes. Details on molecular optimization from four rAAV expression systems are covered: adenovirus, herpesvirus, and baculovirus complementation systems, as well as a recently explored yeast expression system.

Yeast for virus research

Budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) are two popular model organisms for virus research. They are natural hosts for viruses as they carry their own indigenous viruses. Both yeasts have been used for studies of plant, animal and human viruses. Many positive sense (+) RNA viruses and some DNA viruses replicate with various levels in yeasts, thus allowing study of those viral activities during viral life cycle. Yeasts are single cell eukaryotic organisms. Hence, many of the fundamental cellular functions such as cell cycle regulation or programed cell death are highly conserved from yeasts to higher eukaryotes. Therefore, they are particularly suited to study the impact of those viral activities on related cellular activities during virus-host interactions. Yeasts present many unique advantages in virus research over high eukaryotes. Yeast cells are easy to maintain in the laboratory with relative short doubling time. They are non-biohazardous, genetically amendable with small genomes that permit genome-wide analysis of virologic and cellular functions. In this review, similarities and differences of these two yeasts are described. Studies of virologic activities such as viral translation, viral replication and genome-wide study of virus-cell interactions in yeasts are highlighted. Impacts of viral proteins on basic cellular functions such as cell cycle regulation and programed cell death are discussed. Potential applications of using yeasts as hosts to carry out functional analysis of small viral genome and to develop high throughput drug screening platform for the discovery of antiviral drugs are presented.

Strategies to optimize capsid protein expression and single-stranded DNA formation of adeno-associated virus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

AIMS

Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) is a nonpathogenic parvovirus that is a promising tool for gene therapy. We aimed to construct plasmids for optimal expression and assembly of capsid proteins and evaluate adenovirus (Ad) protein effect on AAV single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Yeast expression plasmids have been developed in which the transcription of AAV capsid proteins (VP1,2,3) is driven by the constitutive ADH1 promoter or galactose-inducible promoters. Optimal VP1,2,3 expression was obtained from GAL1/10 bidirectional promoter. Moreover, we demonstrated that AAP is expressed in yeast and virus-like particles (VLPs) assembled inside the cell. Finally, the expression of two Ad proteins, E4orf6 and E1b55k, had no effect on AAV ssDNA formation.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms that yeast is able to form AAV VLPs; however, capsid assembly and ssDNA formation are less efficient in yeast than in human cells. Moreover, the expression of Ad proteins did not affect AAV ssDNA formation.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

New manufacturing strategies for AAV-based gene therapy vectors (rAAV) are needed to reduce costs and time of production. Our study explores the feasibility of yeast as alternative system for rAAV production.

Generation of infectious recombinant Adeno-associated virus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been successfully employed to establish model systems for a number of viruses. Such model systems are powerful tools to study the virus biology and in particular for the identification and characterization of host factors playing a role in the viral infection cycle. Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are heavily studied due to their use as gene delivery vectors. AAV relies on other helper viruses for successful replication and on host factors for several aspects of the viral life cycle. However the role of host and helper viral factors is only partially known. Production of recombinant AAV (rAAV) vectors for gene delivery applications depends on knowledge of AAV biology and the limited understanding of host and helper viral factors may be precluding efficient production, particularly in heterologous systems. Model systems in simpler eukaryotes like the yeast S. cerevisiae would be useful tools to identify and study the role of host factors in AAV biology. Here we show that expression of AAV2 viral proteins VP1, VP2, VP3, AAP, Rep78, Rep52 and an ITR-flanked DNA in yeast leads to capsid formation, DNA replication and encapsidation, resulting in formation of infectious particles. Many of the AAV characteristics observed in yeast resemble those in other systems, making it a suitable model system. Future findings in the yeast system could be translatable to other AAV host systems and aid in more efficient production of rAAV vectors.

Inverted terminal repeats of adeno-associated virus decrease random integration of a gene targeting fragment in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background

Homologous recombination mediated gene targeting is still too inefficient to be applied extensively in genomics and gene therapy. Although sequence-specific nucleases could greatly stimulate gene targeting efficiency, the off-target cleavage sites of these nucleases highlighted the risk of this strategy. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors are used for specific gene knockouts, since several studies indicate that these vectors are able to induce site-specific genome alterations at high frequency. Since each targeted event is accompanied by at least ten random integration events, increasing our knowledge regarding the mechanisms behind these events is necessary in order to understand the potential of AAV-mediated gene targeting for therapy application. Moreover, the role of AAV regulatory proteins (Rep) and inverted terminal repeated sequences (ITRs) in random and homologous integration is not completely known. In this study, we used the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a genetic model system to evaluate whether the presence of ITRs in the integrating plasmid has an effect on gene targeting and random integration.

Results

We have shown that the presence of ITRs flanking a gene targeting vector containing homology to its genomic target decreased the frequency of random integration, leading to an increase in the gene targeting/random integration ratio. On the other hand, the expression of Rep proteins, which produce a nick in the ITR, significantly increased non-homologous integration of a DNA fragment sharing no homology to the genome, but had no effect on gene targeting or random integration when the DNA fragment shared homology with the genome. Molecular analysis showed that ITRs are frequently conserved in the random integrants, and that they induce rearrangements.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that ITRs may be a useful tool for decreasing random integration, and consequently favor homologous gene targeting.

Capsid protein expression and adeno-associated virus like particles assembly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Background

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae supports replication of many different RNA or DNA viruses (e.g. Tombusviruses or Papillomaviruses) and has provided means for up-scalable, cost- and time-effective production of various virus-like particles (e.g. Human Parvovirus B19 or Rotavirus). We have recently demonstrated that S. cerevisiae can form single stranded DNA AAV2 genomes starting from a circular plasmid. In this work, we have investigated the possibility to assemble AAV capsids in yeast.

Results

To do this, at least two out of three AAV structural proteins, VP1 and VP3, have to be simultaneously expressed in yeast cells and their intracellular stoichiometry has to resemble the one found in the particles derived from mammalian or insect cells. This was achieved by stable co-transformation of yeast cells with two plasmids, one expressing VP3 from its natural p40 promoter and the other one primarily expressing VP1 from a modified AAV2 Cap gene under the control of the inducible yeast promoter Gal1. Among various induction strategies we tested, the best one to yield the appropriate VP1:VP3 ratio was 4.5 hour induction in the medium containing 0.5% glucose and 5% galactose. Following such induction, AAV virus like particles (VLPs) were isolated from yeast by two step ultracentrifugation procedure. The transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that their morphology is similar to the empty capsids produced in human cells.

Conclusions

Taken together, the results show for the first time that yeast can be used to assemble AAV capsid and, therefore, as a genetic system to identify novel cellular factors involved in AAV biology.