A Natural Human Retrovirus Efficiently Complements Vectors Based on Murine Leukemia Virus

BACKGROUND: Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV) is a rodent gammaretrovirus that serves as the backbone for common gene delivery tools designed for experimental and therapeutic applications. Recently, an infectious gammaretrovirus designated XMRV has been identified in prostate cancer patients. The similarity between the MLV and XMRV genomes suggests a possibility that the two viruses may interact when present in the same cell. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We tested the ability of XMRV to complement replication-deficient MLV vectors upon co-infection of cultured human cells. We observed that XMRV can facilitate the spread of these vectors from infected to uninfected cells. This functional complementation occurred without any gross rearrangements in the vector structure, and the co-infected cells produced as many as 10(4) infectious vector particles per milliliter of culture medium. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The possibility of encountering a helper virus when delivering MLV-based vectors to human cells in vitro and in vivo needs to be considered to ensure the safety of such procedures.