Historically, the IBC has assigned all work with AAV/rAAV to Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) or Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL-2).
The following is guidance for determining the appropriate biosafety designation when working with AAV/rAAV vectors..
AAV vectors have the advantage of a broad host range with a low level of immune response and longevity of gene expression.
Eukaryotic AAV is an example of a chimeric vector containing parvovirus and adenovirus..
The AAV vector is then used to deliver normal copies of genes to the right tissues or organs in the body, but it now delivers the therapy that has been engineered into it.
Today, AAV technology has advanced to target a wide range of tissues and cells for the treatment of many genetic diseases..
AAV vectors are biosafety level 1, and consist of recombinant transgene sequences (e.g. marker or human genes) flanked by the AAV inverted terminal repeats.
The removal of the majority of viral structural genes renders the vector replication-defective and dependent on an AAV helper virus..
among the most promising attributes for adeno-associated virus (aav) as a gene therapy vector are its low genotoxicity profile in humans and the lack of strong and direct evidence that recombinant aavs (raavs) can cause vector genome-mediated host genotoxicity in humans..
AAV location
It must be located a minimum of 4” above the horizontal branch drain, 6” above any insulation material and within 15 degrees of vertical.
AAVs cannot be permanently covered and should be installed in an area that allows air to enter the valve..
Read about conditional biosafety containment level 1 approved for Adeno-associated virus (AAV) and AAV vectors.
Adeno-associated virus and AAV vectors may be handled at Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) and Animal Biosafety Level 1 (ABSL-1) when they are:
