Adenovirus gene transfer vector toxicity to mouse embryos: implications for human IVF

The promulgation and diversification of micromanipulation procedures which open the zona pellucida of the oocyte or early embryo is steadily increasing the chance that zygotes will encounter infectious viral agents or gene transfer vectors derived from these agents. Such interactions could lead to toxic effects on the embryo or to insertion of foreign genes into the germ line. Adenovirus is a ubiquitous human viral pathogen that is commonly used as a gene therapy vector. However, the toxicity of this virus or its vector derivatives to embryos has not been extensively investigated.

In the present study, a mouse model was used to investigate the time of appearance of embryo toxicity, the manifestations of that toxicity, and the mechanism by which adenoviruses exert toxicity. The effects of exposure to adenovirus on in-vivo embryo development was also examined.

These vectors exerted no deleterious effects until after the 2-cell stage, where they caused developmental delay and disorganized cleavage. Toxicity was associated with expression of a lacZ reporter gene cloned into the vectors, and with the proportion of infectious particles within the virus preparations: preparations with a high proportion of 'empty capsids', including a preparation of wild-type virus, were less toxic than a replication-defective vector with a high proportion of functional, infectious particles. Subzonal insertion of adenovirus vector followed by embryo transfer led to a dramatic reduction in the number of embryos which developed to term-findings which establish the physiological significance of the findings from in-vitro culture.

These results indicate that adenoviruses and their vector derivatives are not likely to insert genetic material into the germ line, but they may pose a significant threat to the viability of human embryos undergoing opening of the zona pellucida during IVF.