by Martin Glenz, Principal Scientist, Pall Biotech
What Are Adeno-Associated Viruses?
Discovered in the 1960s, AAVs were initially viewed as contamination in preparations of adenoviruses. So, what are they?
To define them simply, adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are small viruses that can infect humans and primates. They belong to the same family of parvovirdae viruses that we often vaccinate our dogs and cats against. The same family of viruses that bioprocessing scientists find as potential contaminants in cell cultures such as the minute virus of mice (MVM). Critically, while AAV can be found everywhere, there is no evidence to date that they can cause disease – at most, they trigger a very mild immune response.
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