Transposable elements have enormous potential to overcome one of the major hurdles in nonviral gene delivery, namely the lack of long-term gene expression. The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon is a promising vector system for nonviral gene therapy as it has the highest transposition activity of all known DNA transposons within mammalian cells. In an effort to generate a more efficient delivery vehicle, we conducted a systematic evaluation of several novel and previously identified SB transposase mutants. The results indicate that certain combinations of mutants do not enhance transposition, whereas others give a synergistic response. The most active mutant, designated HSB17, shows nearly 17-fold higher transposition activity compared to the original transposase SB10 when tested within the same expression cassette. In addition, synergistic activity is observed when this hyperactive mutant is combined with an improved transposon. Animal studies utilizing the hyperactive transposase show enhanced long-term reporter gene expression. These modifications further expand the utility of this transposon-based gene transfer system.

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BackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US. Recombinant vectors based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentivirus are promising delivery tools for gene therapy due to low toxicity and long term expression. The efficiency of the gene delivery system is one of the most important factors directly related to the success of gene therapy.MethodsWe infected SCLC cell lines, SHP-77, DMS 53, NCI-H82, NCI-H69, NCI-H727, NCI-H1155, and NSCLC cell lines, NCI-H23, NCI-H661, and NCI-H460 with VSV-G pseudo-typed lentivirus or 5 AAV serotypes, AAV2/1, AAV2/2, AAV2/4, AAV2/5, and AAV2/8 expressing the CMV promoter mCherry or green fluorescent protein transgene (EGFP). The transduction efficiency was analyzed by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry.ResultsOf all the serotypes of AAV examined, AAV2/1 was the optimal serotype in most of the lung cancer cell lines except for NCI-H69 and NCI-H82. The highest transduction rate achieved with AAV2/1 was between 30–50% at MOI 100. Compared to all AAV serotypes, lentivirus had the highest transduction efficiency of over 50% at MOI 1. Even in NCI-H69 cells resistant to all AAV serotypes, lentivirus had a 10-40% transduction rate. To date, AAV2 is the most widely-used serotype to deliver a transgene. Our results showed the transduction efficiency of AAVs tested was AAV2/1 > AA2/5 = AAV2/2> > AAV2/4 and AAV2/8.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that VSV-G pseudotyped lentivirus and AAV2/1 can mediate expression of a transgene for lung cancer gene therapy. Overall, our results showed that lentivirus is the best candidate to deliver a transgene into lung cancer cells for treatment.