The Unveiled Novel regulator of Adeno-associated virus production in HEK293 cells

The field of gene therapy using Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector delivery is rapidly advancing in the biotherapeutics industry. Despite its successes, AAV manufacturing remains a challenge due to limited production yields. The triple plasmid transfection of HEK293 cells represents the most extensively utilized system for AAV production. The regulatory factors and mechanisms underlying viral production in HEK293 cells are largely unknown. In this study, we isolated high-titer AAV production clones from a parental HEK293 population using a single limiting dilution step, and subsequently elucidating their underlying molecular mechanisms through whole transcriptome analysis. LncRNA TCONS_00160397 was upregulated in clones and shown to promoted HEK293 cells proliferation and improved the titer of AAV production. Mechanistically, results from proteomics and metabolomics indicated that TCONS_00160397 regulated the ABC transporters pathway. These findings furnish a rich repository of knowledge and actionable targets for the rational optimization of HEK293-based producer lines, thereby paving the way for tangible improvements in AAV vector output and expediting the broad implementation of gene therapies.