GENETICALLY ALTERED DENDRITIC CELLS TRANSDUCED WITH ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS (AAV), METHODS OF PRODUCING SAID CELLS AND USES THEREOF

摘要

The present invention is based upon the successful transduction of dendritic cells by an AAV vector containing a heterologous gene which is expressed in dendritic cells. The present invention is directed to a method for preparing genetically altered dendritic cells, wherein the method comprises: (a) obtaining dendritic cell precursors from a subject; and (b) transducing the dendritic cell precursors with at least one adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector comprising at least one heterologous gene to obtain genetically altered dendritic cells expressing said heterologous gene. After the transduction, the transduced precursors are incubated in a medium and under conditions whereby the dendritic cell precursors differentiate into dendritic cells that contain the heterologous gene. In a further embodiment, the present invention is directed to an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector comprising at least a portion of the AAV genome and at least one heterologous gene selected from the group consisting of a gene encoding an antigen, a gene encoding a cytokine and combinations of one or more genes by genetically altered dendritic cells.