Adeno-associated virus

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Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are small viruses that infect humans and some other primate species. They belong to the genus Dependoparvovirus, which in turn belongs to the family Parvoviridae. They are small (approximately 26 nmTooltip nanometers in diameter) replication-defective, non-enveloped viruses and have linear single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes of approximately 4.8 kilobases (kb). Several features make AAV an attractive candidate for creating viral vectors in the field of molecular biology including animal modeling and the creation of isogenic human disease models. Vectors using AAV can infect both dividing and quiescent cells and persist in an non-integrated extrachromosomal state into the genome of the host cell. Low level integration into the host genome occurs, particularly in the wild type virus setting. Recombinant or replication-defective AAV has emerged an important technology in the field of gene therapy. This has now led to multiple approved drugs leveraging its gene...

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