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Gene therapy is a medical technology that aims to produce a therapeutic effect through the manipulation of gene expression or through altering the biological properties of living cells.
Adenoviruses are medium-sized,nonenveloped viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double-stranded DNA genome. Their name derives from their initial isolation from human adenoids in 1953.
In the field of genetics,a suicide gene is a gene that will cause a cell to kill itself through the process of apoptosis. Activation of a suicide gene can cause death through a variety of pathways,but one important cellular "switch" to induce apoptosis is the p53 protein. Stimulation or introduction of suicide genes is a potential way of treating cancer or other proliferative diseases.
SV40 is an abbreviation for simian vacuolating virus 40 or simian virus 40,a polyomavirus that is found in both monkeys and humans. Like other polyomaviruses,SV40 is a DNA virus that sometimes causes tumors in animals,but most often persists as a latent infection. SV40 has been widely studied as a model eukaryotic virus,leading to many early discoveries in eukaryotic DNA replication and transcription.
A cancer vaccine is a vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer. Vaccines that treat existing cancer are known as therapeutic cancer vaccines or tumor antigen vaccines. Some of the vaccines are "autologous",being prepared from samples taken from the patient,and are specific to that patient.
An oncolytic virus is a virus that preferentially infects and kills cancer cells. As the infected cancer cells are destroyed by oncolysis,they release new infectious virus particles or virions to help destroy the remaining tumour. Oncolytic viruses are thought not only to cause direct destruction of the tumour cells,but also to stimulate host anti-tumour immune system responses. Oncolytic viruses also have the ability to affect the tumor micro-environment in multiple ways.
Virotherapy is a treatment using biotechnology to convert viruses into therapeutic agents by reprogramming viruses to treat diseases. There are three main branches of virotherapy:anti-cancer oncolytic viruses,viral vectors for gene therapy and viral immunotherapy. These branches use three different types of treatment methods:gene overexpression,gene knockout,and suicide gene delivery. Gene overexpression adds genetic sequences that compensate for low to zero levels of needed gene expression. Gene knockout uses RNA methods to silence or reduce expression of disease-causing genes. Suicide gene delivery introduces genetic sequences that induce an apoptotic response in cells,usually to kill cancerous growths. In a slightly different context,virotherapy can also refer more broadly to the use of viruses to treat certain medical conditions by killing pathogens.
A short hairpin RNA or small hairpin RNA is an artificial RNA molecule with a tight hairpin turn that can be used to silence target gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi). Expression of shRNA in cells is typically accomplished by delivery of plasmids or through viral or bacterial vectors. shRNA is an advantageous mediator of RNAi in that it has a relatively low rate of degradation and turnover. However,it requires use of an expression vector,which has the potential to cause side effects in medicinal applications.
Viral vectors are tools commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into cells. This process can be performed inside a living organism or in cell culture. Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the cells they infect. Delivery of genes or other genetic material by a vector is termed transduction and the infected cells are described as transduced. Molecular biologists first harnessed this machinery in the 1970s. Paul Berg used a modified SV40 virus containing DNA from the bacteriophage λto infect monkey kidney cell maintained in culture.
An adenovirus vaccine is a vaccine against adenovirus infection. According to American CDC,"There is currently no adenovirus vaccine available to the general public.
A genetically modified virus is a virus that has been altered or generated using biotechnology methods,and remains capable of infection. Genetic modification involves the directed insertion,deletion,artificial synthesis or change of nucleotide bases in viral genomes. Genetically modified viruses are mostly generated by the insertion of foreign genes intro viral genomes for the purposes of biomedical,agricultural,bio-control,or technological objectives. The terms genetically modified virus and genetically engineered virus are used synonymously.
Gene therapy utilizes the delivery of DNA into cells,which can be accomplished by several methods,summarized below. The two major classes of methods are those that use recombinant viruses and those that use naked DNA or DNA complexes.
The Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is a cancer treatment,research and education institution with six locations in the St. Louis area. Siteman is the only cancer center in Missouri and within 240 miles of St. Louis to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Siteman is also the only area member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network,a nonprofit alliance of 32 cancer centers dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of cancer care.
Many variants of herpes simplex virus have been considered for viral therapy of cancer;the early development of these was thoroughly reviewed in the journal Cancer Gene Therapy in 2002. This page describes the most notable variants—those tested in clinical trials:G207,HSV1716,NV1020 and Talimogene laherparepvec. These attenuated versions are constructed by deleting viral genes required for infecting or replicating inside normal cells but not cancer cells,such as ICP34.5,ICP6/UL39,and ICP47.
Adenovirus varieties have been explored extensively as a viral vector for gene therapy and also as an oncolytic virus.
Lentiviral vectors in gene therapy is a method by which genes can be inserted,modified,or deleted in organisms using lentiviruses.
Ram I. Mahato is a professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,University of Nebraska Medical Center,Omaha,United States. He was Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center,Memphis. He was Research Assistant Professor at the University of Utah,Senior Scientist at GeneMedicine Inc and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California,Washington University in St. Louis,and Kyoto University. He received a PhD in drug delivery from the University of Strathclyde and BS from China Pharmaceutical University. He is a CRS Fellow,AAPS Fellow,Permanent Member of BTSS/NIH Study section (2009–2013),and ASGCT Scientific Advisor.
Maurice Green was an American virologist. He is regarded as a pioneer in the study of animal viruses,in particular their role in cancer. Green founded the Institute of Molecular Virology at St. Louis University School of Medicine in the late 1950s,and later served as its chairman.
Enadenotucirev is an investigational oncolytic virus that is in clinical trials for various cancers.
A viral vector vaccine is a vaccine that uses a viral vector to deliver genetic material (DNA) that can be transcribed by the recipient's host cells as mRNA coding for a desired protein,or antigen,to elicit an immune response. As of April 2021,six viral vector vaccines,four COVID-19 vaccines and two Ebola vaccines,have been authorized for use in humans.
References
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- ↑ Pou, Toni (3 July 2021). "RNA vaccines: A story of scientific tenacity". Diari ARA. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "$13 million breast cancer grant establishes UAB among Nation's leaders". Abbeville Herald. October 5, 2000. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023– via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "First 'Unconventional Innovations Program' NCI Grants Awarded". Oncology NEWS International Vol 8 No 12. Cancer Network. December 1, 1999. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Better Gene Therapy". Newswire. February 23, 2002. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Smart Virus Eliminates Brain Cancer In Animal Experiments". Science Daily. May 7, 2003. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
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- ↑ Baugher, David (September 20, 2011). "Bench to bed: Washington University is carrying research from the lab to practice". St. Louis NPR. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Virotherapy in spotlight again, in use at bedside". University of Alabama at Birmingham. September 11, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Tumor-Busting Viruses". Scientific American. July 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ "Trustees grant faculty promotions, tenure". Washington University in St. Louis. April 5, 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
- ↑ Brumble, Melody (February 23, 2012). "Curing cancer". The Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023– via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Gene therapy method targets tumor blood vessels". Science Daily. December 23, 2013. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ Evangelou Strait, Julia (December 8, 2015). "Bear Cub Challenge awardees announced". Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ Feldt, Brian (March 31, 2017). "St. Louis startup attacking Zika raises $500,000 from Japanese firm". St. Louis Business Journal. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ "$2.2 million supports research into genome editing". Washington University in St. Louis. December 3, 2019. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ "SIX FACULTY PROJECTS LEAP TOWARD COMMERCIALIZATION". Washington University in St. Louis. May 11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ "St. Louis scientist developing 'no shot' COVID-19 vaccine". NewsNation. January 23, 2021. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ↑ "Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD creates world's first nasal COVID-19 vaccine, approved in India". Washington University in St. Louis. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ↑ Nicklaus, David (September 23, 2020). "St. Louis startup licenses 'underdog' COVID-19 vaccine from Washington University". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ↑ "Curiel named to National Academy of Inventors". Washington University in St. Louis. February 16, 2022. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ↑ Das, Basudha (January 26, 2023). "India gets its first intranasal vaccine for COVID for Rs 800 per dose". businesstoday.in. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
