Incorporation of adeno-associated virus in a calcium phosphate coprecipitate improves gene transfer to airway epithelia in vitro and in vivo

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is inefficient at infecting differentiated airway epithelia because of a lack of receptors at the apical surface. We hypothesized that incorporation of AAV in a calcium phosphate coprecipitate would circumvent this barrier. Interestingly, coprecipitation of AAV type 2 improved gene transfer to differentiated human airway epithelia in vitro and to the mouse lung in vivo. These results suggest that delivery of AAV as a CaPi coprecipitate may significantly enhance its utility for gene transfer to the airway epithelia in vivo.