Delivery of Herpes Simplex Virus-Based Vectors to Stem Cells
In contrast to traditional drugs that generally act by altering existing gene product function, gene therapy aims to target the root cause of the disease by altering the genetic makeup of the cell to treat the disease. Researchers have adapted several classes of viruses as gene-transfer vectors, taking advantage of natural viral mechanisms designed to efficiently and effectively deliver DNA to the host-cell nucleus. Among these, the human herpesviruses are excellent candidate vectors for a variety of applications. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a particularly attractive gene-transfer vehicle because natural infection in humans includes a latent state in which the viral genome persists in a noninte-grated form without causing disease in an immune-competent host (1 –3 ). HSV-1 is a large DNA virus with a broad host range that can be engineered to accommodate multiple or large therapeutic transgenes (4 ). HSV vectors may be generally useful for gene transfer to a variety of tissues in which short-term or extended transgene expression of therapeutic transgenes achieve a therapeutic effect. We have used therapeutic vectors to successfully treat human disease models in animals, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and nerve damage (5 –10 ).
- Mimic-Based RT-PCR Quantitation of Substance P mRNA in Human Mononuclear Phagocytes and Lymphocytes
- R Statistical Tools for Gene Discovery
- Immunomagnetic Purification of Murine Primordial Germ Cells
- Site-Directed Cleavage of DNA by Linker Histone-Fe(II) EDTA Conjugates
- Sequencing DNA Amplified Directly from a Bacterial Colony
- Down-Regulating Gene Expression by RNA Interference in Trypanosoma brucei
- Random Oligonucleotide Mutagenesis
- Identification of Virus Encoding MicroRNAs Using 454 FLX Sequencing Platform
- Application of Full-Length cDNA Resources to Gain-of-Function Technology for Characterization of Plant Gene Function
- Immunologic Detection of Benzo(a)pyreneDNA Adducts