Project description
Novel adeno-associated vectors for liver gene transfer
Recombinant adeno-associated vectors (AAV) achieved remarkable success in recent clinical trials for liver gene transfer. However, several hurdles prevent expansion of AAV-mediated therapy to all patients, including transient AAV-mediated expression in proliferating hepatocytes due to episomal AAV genome dilution, hepatotoxicity and immune response against AAVs, and pre-existing immunity to AAV capsids. The EU-funded AAVolution project proposes to find novel small Cas nucleases for in vivo AAV-mediated genome editing with self-replicating episomal AAVs. The aim is to avoid transgene dilution, create synthetic AAVs with reduced toxicity and develop technologies to overcome pre-existing immunity to AAVs. The novel tool set will enable broad expansion of AAV-mediated gene therapy for indications beyond rare diseases.
Objective
Liver-directed gene therapy has undergone significant development in the last two decades. Recombinant adeno-associated vectors (AAV) are the vectors of choice for liver gene transfer and have recently achieved remarkable successes in clinical trials. However, there are still large groups of patients who have limited access to therapy. The major hurdles toward expanding the indication of AAV-mediated liver gene therapy are: i) transient AAV-mediated expression in proliferating hepatocytes, i.e. newborn or regenerating livers, due to dilution of episomal AAV genome in proliferating cells; ii) dose-dependent hepatotoxicity and immune response against AAVs; and iii) pre-existing immunity to AAV capsids, which currently preclude its systemic delivery in about 50% of individuals. AAVolution gathers renowned European experts in the field of AAV vectorology, gene therapy, genome editing and immunology, with the ambitious goal to develop and implement innovative therapeutic tools to effectively address these challenges. To this aim AAVolution proposes: i) to seek novel small Cas nucleases for in vivo AAV-mediated genome editing ii)to develop self-replicating episomal AAVs to avoid transgene dilution in proliferating livers; iii) to generate synthetic AAVs characterized by enhanced potency and reduced toxicity, by screening of novel AAV capsid libraries; iv) and to develop improved technologies to overcome pre-existing immunity to AAVs by transiently reducing the levels of circulating anti-AAV neutralizing antibodies.
AAVolution will significantly expand the toolkit for AAV-mediated liver gene therapy, developing novel and improved molecular instruments to address the most relevant hurdles toward safer and more effective therapies, and provide access to treatment to patients that are currently excluded from clinical trials. Moreover, these novel tools will constitute an innovative platform with a potential for broad expansion of disease indications beyond the rare diseases.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01
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00185 ROMA
Italy
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