Adeno-associated virus with engineered capsid
The present disclosure provides recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) virions with an engineered capsid protein. In particular, the disclosure provides AAV9 virions with engineered AAV9 capsid, AAV5/9 chimeric capsid or combinatory capsid that achieves increased transduction efficiency in cardiac cells, increased cell-type selectivity, and/or other desirable properties.
1 . A recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) capsid protein, comprising a variant polypeptide sequence at one or more of a VR-IV site, a VR-V site, a VR-VII site, and a VR-VIII site of a parental sequence, wherein the parental sequence comprises a sequence at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 463.
2 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein (i) the variant polypeptide sequence is a cardiotrophic variant polypeptide sequence; (ii) a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) comprising the capsid protein exhibits increased transduction efficiency in cardiac cells compared to an AAV comprising the parental sequence; (iii) an rAAV comprising the capsid protein exhibits decreased transduction efficiency in liver cells compared to an AAV comprising the parental sequence; or (iv) an rAAV comprising the capsid protein exhibits increased selectivity for cardiac cells over liver cells compared to an AAV comprising the parental sequence.
3 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises a variant polypeptide at the VR-IV site of the parental sequence, wherein the amino acid sequence NGSGONQQT (SEQ ID NO:2) at the VR-IV site is substituted by a peptide of formula —(X) n —, wherein n is 7-11, and X represents any of the 20 standard amino acids (SEQ ID NO:478).
4 . The capsid protein of claim 3 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-IV site has a sequence:
-X 1 -X 2 -X 3 -X 4 -X 5 -X 6 -X 7 -X 8 -X 9 -
wherein:
a) X 1 is G, S or V;
b) X 2 is Y, Q or I;
c) X 3 is H, W, V or I;
d) X 4 is K or N;
e) X 5 is S, G or I;
f) X 6 is G or R;
g) X 7 is A, P or V;
h) X 8 is A or R; and
i) X 9 is Q or D (SEQ ID NO: 477), or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-IV site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 6-104, or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-IV site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: GYHKSGAAQ (SEQ ID NO: 6), VIIKSGAAQ (SEQ ID NO: 7), GYHKIGAAQ (SEQ ID NO: 8), GYHKSGVAQ (SEQ ID NO: 9), SQVNGRPRD (SEQ ID NO: 33), and a sequence comprising at most 1, 2, 3, or 4 amino-acid substitutions relative to GYHKSGAAQ (SEQ ID NO: 6).
5 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises a variant polypeptide at the VR-V site of the parental sequence, wherein the amino acid sequence NNSEFA (SEQ ID NO:3) at the VR-V site is substituted by a peptide of formula —(X) n —, wherein n is 4-8, and X represents any of the 20 standard amino acids (SEQ ID NO: 479).
6 . The capsid protein of claim 5 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-V site has a sequence:
-X 1 -X 2 -X 3 -X 4 -X 5 -X 6 -
wherein:
a) X 1 is S, L, H, N, or A;
b) X 2 is T, M, K, G, or N;
c) X 3 is S, T, M or I;
d) X 4 is S, P, F, M, or N;
e) X 5 is F, S, P or L; and
f) X 6 is I, V, or T (SEQ ID NO: 474), or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-V site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 105-203, or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-V site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: LNSMLI (SEQ ID NO: 105), NGMSFT (SEQ ID NO: 106), HKTFSI (SEQ ID NO: 107), SMSNFV (SEQ ID NO: 108), and a sequence comprising at most 1, 2, 3, or 4 amino-acid substitutions relative to LNSMLI (SEQ ID NO: 105).
7 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises a variant polypeptide at the VR-VII site of the parental sequence, wherein the amino acid sequence GRDNV (SEQ ID NO:4) at the VR-VII site is substituted by a peptide of formula —(X) n —, wherein n is 3-7, and X represents any of the 20 standard amino acids (SEQ ID NO: 480).
8 . The capsid protein of claim 7 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VII site has a sequence:
-X 1 -X 2 -X 3 -X 4 -X 5 -
wherein:
a) X 1 is V, L, Q, C, or R;
b) X 2 is S, H, G, C, or D;
c) X 3 is Y, S, L, G, or N;
d) X 4 is S, L, H, Q, or N; and
e) X 5 is V, I, or R (SEQ ID NO: 475), or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VII site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 204-302, or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VII site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: RGNQV (SEQ ID NO: 204), VSLNR (SEQ ID NO: 205), CDYSV (SEQ ID NO: 206), QHGHI (SEQ ID NO: 207), and a sequence comprising at most 1, 2, or 3 amino-acid substitutions relative to RGNQV (SEQ ID NO: 204).
9 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises a variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site of the parental sequence, wherein the amino acid sequence SAQA (SEQ ID NO:5) at the VR-VIII site is substituted by a peptide of formula-(X) n-, wherein n is 2-6, and X represents any of the 20 standard amino acids (SEQ ID NO:481).
10 . The capsid protein of claim 9 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site has a sequence:
-X 1 -X 2 -X 3 -X 4 -
wherein:
a) X 1 is S, N, or A;
b) X 2 is V, M, N, or A;
c) X 3 is Y, V, S, or G; and
d) X 4 is Y, T, M, G, or N (SEQ ID NO: 476).
11 . The capsid protein of claim 9 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 303-401, or
wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: NVSY (SEQ ID NO: 303), SMVN (SEQ ID NO: 304), ANYG (SEQ ID NO: 305), NVGT (SEQ ID NO: 306), a sequence comprising at most 1, 2 or 3 amino-acid substitutions relative to NVSY (SEQ ID NO: 303), and a sequence comprising at most 1, 2 or 3 amino-acid substitutions relative to ANYG (SEQ ID NO: 305).
12 . The capsid protein of claim 9 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site comprises the amino acid sequence ANYG (SEQ ID NO: 305) or a sequence comprising at most 1 or 2 amino-acid substitutions relative to ANYG (SEQ ID NO: 305).
13 . The capsid protein of claim 9 , wherein the variant polypeptide at the VR-VIII site comprises the amino acid sequence NVSY (SEQ ID NO: 303) or a sequence comprising at most 1 or 2 amino-acid substitutions relative to NVSY (SEQ ID NO: 303).
14 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 402-410 and SEQ ID NO: 483.
15 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein comprises an amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 402 or SEQ ID NO:404.
16 . The capsid protein of claim 1 , wherein the capsid protein is a AAV5/AAV9 chimeric capsid protein comprising at least one segment from an AAV5 capsid protein and at least one segment from an AAV9 capsid protein.
17 . The capsid protein of claim 16 , wherein the chimeric capsid protein comprises:
a) a first segment comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 411 or SEQ ID NO: 412;
b) a second segment comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 413 or SEQ ID NO: 414;
c) a third segment comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 415 or SEQ ID NO: 416;
d) a fourth segment comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 417 or SEQ ID NO: 418; and
e) a fifth segment comprising a sequence at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO: 419 or SEQ ID NO: 420; or
wherein the chimeric capsid protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or at least 100% identical to a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 445-462, or
wherein the chimeric capsid protein comprises an amino acid sequence at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or at least 100% identical to a sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs: 421-444.
18 . A recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) virion, comprising:
a) the capsid protein of claim 1 ; and
b) a heterologous nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding one or more gene products.
19 . The rAAV virion of claim 18 , wherein the rAAV virion exhibits increased transduction efficiency in cardiac cells compared to an AAV virion comprising the parental sequence;
wherein the rAAV virion exhibits at least 2-fold increased transduction efficiency in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (iPS-CM) cells compared to an rAAV virion comprising the parental sequence at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 100,000 or 75,000; and/or
wherein the rAAV virion exhibits increased transduction efficiency in human cardiac fibroblast (hCF) cells compared to an AAV virion comprising the parental sequence, wherein the human cardiac fibroblasts are located in the left ventricle of the heart.
20 . The rAAV virion of claim 18 , wherein the rAAV virion exhibits at least 2-fold increased cardiac transduction efficiency in a C57BL/6J mouse, wherein the mouse is injected with a virion dosage of 2.5×10 11 vg/mouse;
wherein the rAAV virion exhibits at least 1.5-fold increased cardiac transduction efficiency in a C57BL/6J mouse, wherein the mouse is injected with a virion dosage of 2×10 11 vg/mouse; or
wherein the rAAV virion exhibits at least 2-fold increased cardiac transduction efficiency in a C57BL/6J mouse, wherein the mouse is injected with a virion dosage of 1×10 11 vg/mouse.
21 . The rAAV virion of claim 18 , wherein the rAAV virion exhibits decreased transduction efficiency in liver cells compared to an AAV virion comprising the parental sequence; and/or
wherein the rAAV virion exhibits increased selectivity of the rAAV virion for cardiac cells or iPS CM cells over liver cells.
22 . The rAAV virion of claim 18 , wherein the rAAV virion exhibits improved NAb evasion compared to an AAV virion comprising the parental sequence.
23 . The rAAV virion of claim 18 , wherein the capsid protein comprises a sequence at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to SEQ ID NO:402 or SEQ ID NO: 404.
24 . A pharmaceutical composition comprising the rAAV virion of claim 18 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
25 . A polynucleotide encoding the capsid protein of claim 1 .
26 . A method of transducing, or delivering one or more gene products to a cardiac cell or a cardiomyocyte, comprising contacting the cardiac cell or the cardiomyocyte with the rAAV virion of claim 18 .
27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the rAAV virion exhibits at least 2-fold increased transduction efficiency in the cell compared to an AAV virion comprising AAV9 capsid protein sequence at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 75,000.
28 . A method of treating a cardiac pathology in a subject in need thereof, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of the rAAV virion of claim 18 or a pharmaceutical composition thereof to the subject, wherein the rAAV virion transduces cardiac tissue.
29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein the one or more gene products comprise MYBPC3, DWORF, KCNH2, TRPM4, DSG2, PKP2 and/or ATP2A2;
wherein the one or more gene products comprise CACNA1C, DMD, DMPK, EPG5, EVC, EVC2, FBN1, NF1, SCN5A, SOS1, NPR1, ERBB4, VIP, MYH7, and/or Cas9; or
wherein the one or more gene products comprise MYOCD, ASCL1, GATA4, MEF2C, TBX5, miR-133, and/or MESP1.