Gene silencing strategies to increase HIV-1 VLP production in HEK 293 cells

Abstract

The HIV-1 Gag polyprotein, recombinantly expressed in mammalian cell platforms, is self-assembled, generating HIV-1 Gag virus like particles (VLPs). The expression of HIV-1 Gag polyprotein is achieved by DNA/PEI-based transient transfection of HEK 293 cells in suspension. In this study, the use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been investigated as an alternative to the use of VPA and caffeine as production enhancers in HIV-1 Gag VLP production. Two shRNA sequences against HDAC5 and PDE8A genes, cloned in the expression vector containing Gag-GFP gene, were tested