Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer using in-situ perfusion of the liver graft.

To establish an efficient technique for adenovirus-mediated gene transfer in liver transplantation, we evaluated the in situ perfusion of liver grafts. The grafts were perfused in situ with 1 x 10(10) of E1-deleted, replication-defective adenoviral vectors encoding the LacZ gene driven by the human CMV promoter, either through the hepatic artery (group 1) or the portal vein (group 2). Group 3 animals served as negative controls; their liver grafts were perfused with lactated Ringer's solution through the portal vein. PCR confirmed the presence of viral DNA in every graft perfused with viral vectors. In X-gal staining, positive staining was observed almost exclusively at the portal triad in group 1, whereas in group 2 minimal staining was observed, predominantly in the parenchymal area. Protein production from the transfected gene was confirmed by a functional protein assay; the values were 0.16% +/- 0.07% liver protein in group 1, 0.13% +/- 0.02% in group 2, and 0.007% +/- 0.0003% in group 3 on postoperative day 2. In conclusion, in situ perfusion of the viral vectors through the hepatic artery resulted in an effective expression of the transfected gene, predominantly at the portal triad.