Contact Information:

Andrey Anisimov
Tanja Laakkonen

Visiting address:
Biomedicum Helsinki
Room A518
Haartmaninkatu 8
00290 Helsinki

Postal address:
Research Programs Unit
P.O. Box 63
FI-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

Tel. +358 9 19125562
GSM +358 415317958

e-mail :
firstname.surname@helsinki.fi

The Biomedicum AAV Core Facility provides services for manufacturing recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) preps from the customer¹s gene-encoding plasmids. AAVs have proven to be a vector of choice in many applications of gene therapy. AAVs are able to transduce both dividing and non-dividing cells, does not provoke insertional mutagenesis and possesses very low immunogenicity. This last feature makes it possible to maintain the expression of the transgene in transduced tissue for months and years following a single administration of the virus.

The Biomedicum AAV Core Facility has all the necessary equipment to produce an AAV prep that is pure enough for experimental applications. The customer's gene can be expressed in AAVs of different serotypes (currently AAV2, 8 and 9), which makes it possible to further adjust tissue-targeting specificity. The final virus prep is usually 3 ml in volume having a concentration of 1.0E+11 to 1.0E+12 virus genomes per ml. For successful production of recombinant AAVs, the transgene must be inserted into a special plasmid vector, by using a simple 1-step cloning protocol. Final virus preps have to be analyzed in vitro to ensure their transducing capability by transfecting a suitable cell line (usually 293T) and analyzing the transgene expression.

Page updated March 23, 2011