Efficient Scaling up EV-AAVs Production via Cellular Nanoporation for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Therapy

Abstract

Adeno-associated virus (AAV)–mediated gene therapies face critical clinical limitations, including immune-mediated neutralization by pre-existing antibodies and dose-dependent hepatotoxicity. Extracellular vesicle-encapsulated AAVs (EV-AAVs) offer a promising solution by shielding AAVs from antibody recognition, yet existing production methods remain inefficient and impractical for clinical application. Here, we developed a cellular nanoporation (CNP) platform that enables scalable, high-yield generation of EV-AAVs, achieving an approximately 11-fold increase in production efficiency compared with conventional methods. In LDLR-deficient murine models with pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (1:200), EV-AAV-LDLR at half the standard AAV dose robustly restored hepatic LDL receptor expression and attenuated atherosclerosis progression. Notably, EV-AAV exhibited superior immune evasion capabilities, maintaining 2.3-fold higher hepatic transduction efficiency than conventional AAV upon secondary dosing due to antibody shielding. Importantly, EV-AAV therapy markedly reduced hepatotoxicity, with serum AST/ALT levels comparable to saline-treated controls, thereby overcoming a critical safety barrier of high-dose AAV treatment. These results demonstrate CNP as a clinically translatable platform for scalable EV-AAV manufacturing, enabling effective multi-dose regimens while overcoming key immunological and toxicity barriers in liver-directed gene therapy for familial hypercholesterolaemia.