Lifelong elimination of hyperbilirubinemia in the Gunn rat with a single injection of helper-dependent adenoviral vector

Abstract

Crigler–Najjar syndrome is a recessively inherited disorder characterized by severe unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia caused by a deficiency of uridine diphospho-glucuronosyl transferase 1A1. Current therapy relies on phototherapy to prevent kernicterus, but liver transplantation presently is the only permanent cure. Gene therapy is a potential alternative, and recent work has shown that helper-dependent adenoviral (HD-Ad) vectors, devoid of all viral coding sequences, induce prolonged transgene expression and exhibit significantly less chronic toxicity than early-generation Ad vectors. We used a HD-Ad vector to achieve liver-restricted expression of human uridine diphospho-glucuronosyl transferase 1A1 in the Gunn rat, a model of the human disorder. Total plasma bilirubin levels were reduced from >5.0 mg/dl to «1.4 mg/dl for >2 yr after a single i.v. administration of vector expressing the therapeutic transgene at a dose of 3 × 1012 viral particles per kg. HPLC analysis of bile from treated rats showed the presence of bilirubin glucuronides at normal WT levels >2 yr after one injection of vector, and i.v. injection of bilirubins IIIα and XIIIα in the same animals revealed excess bilirubin-conjugating capacity. There was no significant elevation of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase) and only transient, moderate thrombocytopenia after injection of the vector. A clinically significant reduction in serum bilirubin was observed with a dose as low as 6 × 1011 viral particles per kg. We conclude that complete, long-term correction of hyperbilirubinemia in the Gunn rat model of Crigler–Najjar syndrome can be achieved with one injection of HD-Ad vector and negligible chronic toxicity.