Abstract
Our collaborative successful gene replacement therapy using AAV vectors expressing a variant of human RPGR-ORF15 in two canine models provided therapeutic proof of concept for translation into human treatment. The ORF15 sequence contained within this AAV vector, however, has ORF15 DNA sequence variations compared to the published sequence that are likely due to its unusual composition of repetitive purine nucleotides. This mutability is a concern for AAV vector production and safety when contemplating a human trial. In this study, we establish the safety profile of AAV-hIRBP-hRPGR and AAV-hGRK1-hRPGR vectors used in the initial canine proof-of-principle experiments by demonstrating hRPGR-ORF15 sequence stability during all phases of manipulation, from plasmid propagation to vector production to its stability in vivo after subretinal administration to animals. We also evaluate potential toxicity in vivo by investigating protein expression, retinal structure and function, and vector biodistribution. Expression of hRPGR is detected in the inner segments and synaptic terminals of photoreceptors and is restricted to the connecting cilium when the vector is further diluted. Treated eyes exhibit no toxicity as assessed by retinal histopathology, immunocytochemistry, optical coherence tomography, fundoscopy, electroretinogram, and vector biodistribution. Therefore, the hRPGR-ORF15 variant in our AAV vectors appears to be a more stable form than the endogenous hRPGR cDNA when propagated in vitro. Its safety profile presented here in combination with its proven efficacy supports future gene therapy clinical trials.