Adeno Associated Virus Serotypes
BioInnovatise Viral Vector Team
Updated December 30, 2024
AAV is the leading viral vector used in research and development for treatments, therapeutics, and vaccines. One of the main reasons is its tropism, or tissue specificity. Adeno-associated virus can be a tissue-specific viral vector, which increases its ability to effectively deliver genetic payloads to target cells.
Today, there are several different AAV serotypes, each with distinguishing tissue specificity and viral payload capacity. Adenovirus also has different serotypes, such as Ad3, 4, 5, and 7, which are commonly used to study respiratory infections. Choosing the appropriate AAV serotype for packaging is crucial for research applications.
Our viral vector team overviews the most common AAV serotypes that are also available for AAV packaging services.
Adeno Associated Virus Serotypes Overview
Adenovirus/AAV and Retrovirus/Lentiviruses differ fundamentally in their capsid structure and evolution. AAV has a relatively simple icosahedral capsid made of VP1-3 proteins, with variations in surface loops creating different serotypes. These variations affect receptor binding and tissue tropism.
Retroviruses/lentiviruses have more complex enveloped structures with surface glycoproteins. Their diversity comes mainly from rapid mutation of RNA genome and recombination, not capsid variation like AAV.
This structural difference explains why AAV has distinct serotypes while retrovirus/lentivirus show more continuous variation. Learn more about why some researchers choose AAV vs lentivirus.
This chart summarizes the differences in AAV serotypes, which tissue they have optimized performance with, and what the specific viral payload limit is.
| AAV Serotype | Tropism | Packaging Limit |
|---|---|---|
| AAV1 | Muscle; Neurological | 4.7 kb |
| AAV2 | Retinal | 4.7 kb |
| AAV5 | Neurological; Respiratory; Retinal; Skeletal | 4.7 kb |
| AAV6 | Muscle | 4.7 kb |
| AAV8 | Cardiac; Hepatic; Muscle; Pancreatic; Retinal | 4.8 – 5.0 kb |
| AAV9 | Cardiac; Hepatic; Neurological | 5.0 – 5.2 kb |
| AAVDJ | Broad Tissue | 5.3 – 5.5 kb |
| AAVrh10 | Neurological | 4.8 – 5.0 kb |
| AAnc80 | Broad Tissue; Liver; Muscle; Neurological | 5.2 – 5.5 kb |
Did You Know That Different AAV Serotypes Can Have A Different AAV Packaging Limit?
It’s true! The payload capacity variations are due to minor differences in capsid protein structure that can affect DNA packing density, but these differences are generally minimal. The main differences between serotypes are in their tissue tropism and immunogenicity.
The AAV Packaging Process at BioInnovatise
If you have additional adeno-associated virus serotype questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our viral vector team before getting started on your AAV production.
Learn about our quick turnaround AAV packaging services.
Want to learn more about the latest in AAV based research? Our colleagues at ScienceDirect and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News are always collecting and publishing the latest information on AAV based research.
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