Adeno‐associated virus‐mediated gene transfer into human retinal pigment epithelium cells

Abstract
Purpose: Adeno‐associated virus (AAV) is emerging as a promising vector for gene therapy. Method: To determine the ability of recombinant AAV (rAAV) to express and integrate exogenous DNA into human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, a rAAV‐GFP vector containing the green fluorescent protein (gfp) and neomycin resistance (neor) genes was constructed and used to transduce RPE 407A cell line. Results: Fluorescent RPE cell clones were obtained and were confirmed to still be expressing GFP after 24 passages (3.5 months). Conclusion: Adeno‐associated virus‐based vectors are able to efficiently transduce and stably persist in RPE cells.