Viral Vector Core

National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Viral Vector Core (VVC) facility offers comprehensive support for the production, purification, titering, and validation of seventeen types of viruses: Adenovirus, Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV), Coronaviruses (229E, OC43, NL63, and Mouse Hepatitis Virus [MHV]), Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Influenza A, Lentiviruses including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV), Rabies-delta-G (SAD-B19-dG, dGL, SiR, and CVS-N2c), Retrovirus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Sindbis Virus, Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV), Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV), and Zika Virus. The core employs multiple vector systems to safely produce recombinant, pseudotyped, and wild-type viruses. During this fiscal year, the VVC provided services for the propagation and transduction assays using RSV, HIV, H5N1 envelope pseudotyped virions, and mouse coronavirus MHV. These virions were employed in transduction assays to screen the effects of genes on viral propagation. Additionally, HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virions were purified and utilized for structural studies of the viral spike protein. The core also developed transduction protocols for gene delivery to primary or immortalized cell lines and animal tissues. Over the past year, the VVC packaged and validated 335 viral samples for gene delivery. These vectors have been used in research to express ion channels, transcription factors, biological indicators, hormone receptors, secreted proteins for expression and purification, toxicological studies, gene knockdown by shRNA, or genetic modification using CRISPR components. Viral vectors were also applied to introduce genes into primary and immortalized cell lines, mouse tissues, and cultured cells. Hard-to-transfect cell lines, such as hematopoietic and mouse embryonic cells, were successfully transduced using viral vectors. Lentiviral vectors facilitated the immortalization of primary cell lines for toxicological studies, and several viral strains were imported for use in immunological studies. The VVC supports research in various divisions and laboratories at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), including the Division of Translational Toxicology (DTT), Clinical Research Branch (CRB), Epigenetic and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory (ESCBL), Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory (GISBL), Immunity, Inflammation and Disease Laboratory (IIDL), Neurobiology Laboratory (NL), Signal Transduction Laboratory (STL), and Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory (RDBL). By providing highly effective means of gene delivery, the VVC plays a critical role in advancing research at the NIEHS. Additionally, the core provided viral products for laboratories at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) via the Collaborative Research Exchange (CREx) program.