A team from the DZHK partner sites Heidelberg and Hamburg/Kiel/Lübeck reports the discovery of a novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, termed AAVC7, isolated from human heart tissue. In preclinical studies, AAVC7 showed strong and specific transduction of cardiomyocytes, while avoiding the unwanted liver tropism and hepatotoxicity seen with the commonly used AAV9 vector. AAVC7 also elicited lower immune responses and maintained high efficiency in both small and large animal models as well as in human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes. These findings suggest that AAVC7 could provide a safer and more effective vector platform for future cardiac gene therapy approaches.
Link to the publication: Novel human heart-derived natural adeno-associated virus capsid combines cardiospecificity with cardiotropism in vivo (Zeissler D. et al., Circulation, 2025)
