Retrovirus-mediated gene transfer into rat salivary gland cells in vitro and in vivo

A retroviral vector DAP that encodes the human placental alkaline phosphatase (FLAP) and the neomycin-resistant gene was used to transduce the salivary gland-derived cell line A5 in vitro and acinar cells in rat submandibular gland in vivo. Expression of the transduced FLAP gene was established by histochemical staining for heat-resistant AP and by determination of enzyme activity. From the in vitro experiments, we concluded that the salivary gland-derived cell line A5 can be infected by the retroviral vector DAP. In the transduced cells the viral long terminal repeal (LTR) promoter was effective, and the cells expressed heat-stable FLAP which was localized mostly in the plasma membrane and could be released by treatment with bromelain or phosphatidyinositol-specific phospholipase C. A5-DAP cells secreted FLAP into the medium. Clones of A5-DAP cells expressed various levels of the enzyme. The level of enzyme activity in different clones was unrelated to growth rate. Retrograde ductal injection of the viral vector into the duct of the submandibular gland of rats resulted in integration and long-term expression of PLAP gene in acinar cells. Expression of FLAP was seen up to 25 days, the limit of the observation period. To facilitate integration of the viral DNA, cell division of acinar cells was induced by administration of the p-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol before administration of the virus. FLAP was secreted into submandibular saliva. The data support the notion that salivary glands are suitable targets for gene transfer in vivo by a retroviral vector.