Murine leukemia virus vector integration favors promoter regions and regional hot spots in a human T-cell line

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2006 Jul 7;345(3):1099-107. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.007. Epub 2006 May 8.

Abstract

Genomic analysis of integration will be important in evaluating the safety of human gene therapy with retroviral vectors. Here, we investigated MLV vector integration sites in human T-cells, since they are amenable to gene transfer studies, and have been used therapeutically in clinical trials. We mapped 340 MLV vector integration sites in the infected human T-cell clones we established. The data showed that MLV preferred integration near the transcription start sites (+/-5kb), near CpG islands (+/-1kb), and within the first intron of RefSeq genes. We also identified MLV integration hot spots that contained three or more integrations within a 100kb region. RT-PCR revealed that mRNA-levels of T-cell clones that contained MLV integrations near transcription start sites or introns were dysregulated compared to the uninfected cells. These studies help define the profile of MLV integration in T-cells and the risks associated with MLV-based gene therapy.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • CpG Islands
  • Genetic Therapy / methods
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Humans
  • Leukemia Virus, Murine / genetics*
  • Mutagenesis
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • T-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism*
  • T-Lymphocytes / virology
  • Transcription Initiation Site
  • Virus Integration*

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger