Promoter Selection Guide

By Abhilasha Gupta, PhD – Senior Application Scientist

This guide is the second in our four-part series on considerations for using AAV vectors:

  1. AAV serotype choice with respect to tissue tropism
  2. Promoter choice
  3. Route of administration
  4. Other factors

Promoters can generally be categorized as ubiquitous or tissue-specific promoters.

  • Ubiquitous promoters allow for transgene expression across many tissues and cells.
  • Tissue-specific promoters, on the other hand, are used for cell/tissue-specific expressions.

Below is the list of promoters we have currently, and the list is expanding.

Ubiquitous Promoters

Promoter
Size (bp)
CMV 665
CMV7 350
CMVIV (with β-globin intron) 1165
CMVmin 39
CAG 1700
CAGGS 1700
CAG2 1060
CAG3 (no intron) 590
CBh 818
CASI (enhancers CMV+ubiquitin C) 1037
Ef1a 336-1179
UBC 1212
JeT 164
RSV 263
SV40 330
PGK 501
SFFV 50
SCP-1 80
Promoter
Size (bp)
U6 240
H1 215
7Sk 331

Tissue-Specific and Cell-Specific Promoters

Target
Promoter
Size
Species
Neurons (pan) hSYN1 572, 448 Human
eSYN1 (CMV enhancer + hSYN1) 850 Human
Neurons Mecp2 229 Mouse
cFos (serum-inducible) 1700 Human
CRH 2200 Rat
MCH 1183, 1327 Rat, Mouse
POMC 710 Mouse
GABAergic neurons mVGAT 300 Mouse
hVGAT 1800 Human
mDLX 900 Mouse
hDLX 900 Human
wMidbrain dopamine (DA) neuron TH 2500 Mouse
Dopamine neurons Nurr1 1300 Human
Parvalbumin (PV) cortical interneurons S5E2 900 Mouse
Inhibitory neurons SST 860 Rat
mGAD65 2500 Mouse
rGAD65 2700 Rat
Excitatory neurons CamKIIa 400, 1300 Mouse
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Astrocytes GFAP (GfaABC1D/GFA104/gfa2) 700, 2200 Human
Microglia F4/80 1362 Human
CD68 150 Human
Oligodendrocytes MBP 1300 Mouse
Purkinje cells L7-6 800 Mouse
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Photoreceptor GRK1 292 Human
Retina RPE cells RPE 800 Human
Retina rods RHO 2000 Mouse
Retina Best1 1066 Human
VMD2 624 Human
Trabecular meshwork and ciliary body MYOC 180 Human
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Cardiac aMHC 400 Mouse
cTNT 400 Chicken
Cardiac fibroblasts POSTN 1400 Mouse
Tcf21 1000 Human
Atrial cardiomyocytes ANF 700 Rat
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells SPB/SFTPB 700 Human
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Kidney epithelial CALB1 1100 Mouse
Kidney endothelial Ksp-cadherin (KSPC) 1300 Mouse
Kidney proximal tubular PAX8 1300 Human
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Pancreatic acinar cells ELA1 231 Rat
Pancreatic Islet Cell rIP1 581 Rat
rIP2 681 Rat
mIP1 1151 Mouse
mIP2 1204 Mouse
mGCG 1662 Mouse
rGCG 302 Rat
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Adipose tissue Adp 900 Human
AP2 600 Mouse
UCP1 700 Rat
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Liver ALB 1000-1900 Mouse
ApoE/hAAT1 645 Human
TBG 700 Human
TBGS1 176 Human
TTR 529 Human
HLP (hybrid liver promoter) 251 Human
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Skeletal muscle MHCK7 770 Mouse
CK8 (MHCK7 with 2 copies of MHCK enhancer) 450 Mouse
CK8e (CK8 with deletions in enhancer) 434 Mouse
enhan358MCK 600 Mouse
dMCK (double tandem MCK enhancer) 574 Mouse
tMCK (triple tandem MCK enhancer) 700 Mouse
HSA (alpha-actin) 1500 Human
Smooth muscle SM22a 500 Mouse
Skeletal, Cardiac, Smooth muscle Desmin (cytoskeletal) 1000 Mouse
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Type I collagen, extracellular matrix Col1A1 2400 Mouse
Type I collagen, alpha 2 Col1A2 1500 Mouse
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Unlimited proliferation potential to cancer cells TERT 455 Human
Breast cancer cells Survivin 260 Human
Target
Promoter
Size (bp)
Species
Intestine MUC2 449 Human
Embryonic Stem Cells SOX2 1000 Human
Vascular Endothelial Cells VE-cadherin (CDH5) 2500 Mouse
ICAM2 400 Human
Flt1 1100 Human
Tie2 2700 Mouse

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