The Helper Activities of Different Avian Viruses for Propagation of Recombinant Avian Adeno-Associated Virus

To compare the helper activities of different avian viruses for propagation of recombinant avian adeno-associated virus (rAAAV), AAV-293 cells were cotransfected with the AAAV vector pAITR-GFP containing green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, the AAAV helper vector pcDNA-ARC expressing the rep and cap genes, and the adenovirus helper vector pHelper expressing Ad5 E2A,E4, and VA-RNA genes. Chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) or chicken embryonic liver (CEL) cells were cotransfected with the AAAV vector and the AAAV helper vector, followed by infection with Marek's disease virus (MDV), avian adenovirus, chicken embryo lethal orphan (CELO) virus or infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Infectious rAAAV particles generated by the two strategies were harvested and titrated on CEF and CEL cells. A significantly higher viral titer was obtained with the helper activity provided by the pHelper vector than by MDV or CELO virus. Further experiments showed that rAAAV-mediated green fluorescent protein (gfp) expression was overtly enhanced by MDV or CELO virus super infection or treatment with sodium butyric acid, but not by IBDV super infection. These data demonstrated that MDV and CELO viruses could provide weak helper activity for propagation of rAAAV, and rAAAV-mediated transgene expression could be enhanced by super infection with the helper viruses.