[AAV2]-left-ITR_phTERT_betaglobin

Producing recombinant virus particles for therapeutical applications is, besides specific cell targeting, purification and quantification assays of AAV-2, one intention of the Virus Construction Kit provided by the iGEM team Freiburg_Bioware 2010. For obtaining a modular toolkit, the complex biological system of the Adeno-associated virus serotype 2 was examined by an exhaustive literature search. Subsequently, the essential components for AAV-2 particle production were extracted and redesigned to match the iGEM standard.

The provided tripartite system is independent of a superinfection   of Adeno- or herpes simplex viruses since the genes encoding the required helper-proteins are co-transfected. Inside the eukaryotic host cell, the DNA sequence containing the inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) is extracted and later encapsidated into the preformed capsids after production of single-stranded DNA. Consequently, this plasmid is known as the vector plasmid (pGOI). Promoter, beta-globin intron and the hGH terminator signal are flanked by the ITRs (ITRs, BBa_K404100 and BBa_K404101) and regulate transgene expression. The vector plasmid containing the desired gene of interest is cotransfected with the RepCap plasmid (BBa_K404001, BBa_K404002 or BBa_K404003) and the pHelper plasmid. 

Several assembly steps have to be performed in order to obtain the fully assembled vector plasmid ensuring a layer of specificity by using a tumor-specific promoter phTERT (BBa_K404106).  Facilitating the cloning steps the iGEM team Freiburg_Bioware 2010 provide the 5´nucleotide components in respect to the desired gene of interest which are the left inverted terminal repeat (BBa_K404100) followed by the phTERT promoter (BBa_K404106) and a putative enhancer-element (BBa_K404107).