“…Viral vectors are proving to be a highly effective modality for gene therapy, and the adeno-associated virus (AAV) is currently a preferred platform for many in vivo gene transfer applications. The AAV capsid serves as the interface between the therapeutic transgene and the host, interacting with host cell machinery and performing functions to accomplish a transduction event, including attachment to host cell glycans (Bell et al, 2012; Kern et al, 2003; Wu et al, 2000), binding to cell surface receptor(s) (e.g., AAVR) to trigger its endocytosis (Pillay et al, 2016), endosomal escape (Girod et al, 2002), trafficking to the nucleus (Grieger et al, 2006), entry through the nuclear pore complex (Nicolson and Samulski, 2014), and uncoating the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome in the nucleoplasm (Thomas et al, 2004). While the capsid enacts these processes, it maintains the integrity of its genomic cargo, protecting it from both the host cellular milieu and the external environment.…”