Current Gene Therapy - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2003

Numerous gene therapy vectors, both viral and non-viral, are taken into the cell by endocytosis, and for efficient gene delivery the therapeutic genes carried by such vectors have to escape from endocytic vesicles so that the genes can further be translocated to the nucleus. Since endosomal escape is often an inefficient process, release of the transgene from endosomes represents one of the most important barri Read More

The biological therapy of tumors using live viruses was first proposed a century ago but was abandoned due to potential virulence of wild-type strains. Thanks to advances in recombinant technology, replication-restricted strains have been genetically engineered, which replicate selectively within tumor cells. Examples include replication-competent mutants of herpes simplex virus (HSV), adenovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus, Read More

Targeted gene therapy aims at achieving the expression of therapeutic transgenes in specific and restricted cell populations, thus sparing all other cells of the unwanted effects of the gene product. This strategy is particularly appealing for therapy of the central nervous system (CNS), where many different cell types exist, and where the inappropriate expression of a molecule can produce grave consequences. To accomplish t Read More

Preclinical studies in animal models and human clinical trials have evaluated the safety and efficacy of adenoviral vectors for cancer gene therapy. These studies have indicated that gene delivery via adenoviral vectors, including p53 gene therapy, represents a promising therapeutic modality for many types of human cancers. This review focuses on novel strategies to induce apoptosis in glioma cells by transduction with adenovir Read More

The past decade has been marked by significant advances in the application of gene transfer into living cells of animals and humans, with the resulting catapulting of preclinical and basic scientific concepts into therapeutic trials. A variety of virus-mediated gene delivery techniques have proved to be superior to other methodologies. This article concisely reviews the current status of gene and tumor therapy, focusing on v Read More