University of California

Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Pierre Corbeau

Flossie Wong-Staal

Gunter Kraus

Vincent Francois

By transducing cells with an HIV-1-MN molecular clone deleted in the major packaging sequence, a stable HIV-1 packaging cell line, &psgr;422 was produced. &psgr;422 cells form syncytia with CD4 positive cells, correctly express HIV-1 structural proteins, and produce large amount of mature particles with normal RT activity. These particles are not infectious. When stably transfected with an HIV-based retroviral vector, the &psgr;422 cell line produces hybrid virions capable of transducing CD4 positive cells with high efficiency (e.g., 10,cells/ml). The availability of this stable, noninfectious HIV-1 packaging cell line capable of generating high titer HIV vectors enables the use of HIV-1 based nucleic acids delivery systems, for example, in gene therapy. An HIV-2 based vector is packaged by the packaging cell lines, demonstrating that HIV-2 cell transformation vectors are packaged by the packaging cell line. HIV based vectors packaged by the high efficiency cell lines are shown to have anti-HIV activity per se.

Growing community of inventors

Montpellier, France

Pierre Corbeau