scholarly journals Healing the Fundamental Unit of Heredity (Gene Therapy): Current Perspective and What the Future Holds

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Bunga Anggreini Sari ◽  
Azalia Talitha Zahra ◽  
Ganda Purba Tasti ◽  
Ziske Maritska

The ability to make precise adjustments to the human genome has been a goal of healing in which gene also introduces as the fundamental unit of heredity, in biomolecular technology in genetic diseases have opened new knowledge such as gene therapy. Gene therapy is a technique to repair DNA where its usage is to treat the malignancy and inherited genetic diseases. Gene therapy is a choice to the genetic cloth that goals to remedy a sickness this is hard to deal with or perhaps has no treatment. Currently, gene remedy is done in approaches to patients, specifically embryonic cells and somatic cells, every in vivo and ex vivo. Moral considerations with modification of the difficulty's cells and oversight of regulation and reagents want to be taken into consideration within the gene therapy project. Applications for using gene remedies have begun to be widely used, which include in case of maximum cancers, coronary heart disorder, infectious sicknesses, and others. Gene therapy has spread to a wide range of applications then go beyond the modification of genetic disorders. Advances in genetic modification of cancer cells and immunity and the use of viruses and bacteria to control cancer cells have resulted in many clinical trials and product developments for cancer treatment. The miracles and blessings of gene therapy are might believe, but even though they are being studied and developed now and, in the future, so that the desire for gene therapy may be even better future.Keywords: gene therapy, genetic recombination, gene therapy application

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-332
Author(s):  
Yunbo Liu ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Lin Yang

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a promising vector for in vivo gene therapy because of its excellent safety profile and ability to mediate stable gene expression in human subjects. However, there are still numerous challenges that need to be resolved before this gene delivery vehicle is used in clinical applications, such as the inability of AAV to effectively target specific tissues, preexisting neutralizing antibodies in human populations, and a limited AAV packaging capacity. Over the past two decades, much genetic modification work has been performed with the AAV capsid gene, resulting in a large number of variants with modified characteristics, rendering AAV a versatile vector for more efficient gene therapy applications for different genetic diseases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Dowaidar

Nucleic acid-based therapeutics such as siRNA and miRNA employ the silencing capabilities of the RNAi mechanism to affect the expression of one gene or several genes in target cells. Nucleic acid-based therapies enable accurate, targeted administration and overcoming drug resistance in diverse cancer cells. Several studies have shown that they can be utilized alongside pharmacological therapy to increase the efficacy of existing therapies. In addition, nucleic acid-based therapies have the potential to widen the spectrum of druggable targets for a range of diseases and emerge as a novel therapeutic technique for treating a number of diseases that are today untreatable. Nucleic acids are dependent on their effective distribution to target cells, which need correct complexation and encapsulation in a delivery mechanism. Although nucleic acids exist in a variety of forms and sizes, their physical and chemical commonality allow them to be loaded into a wide range of delivery vehicles. The primary biomaterials used to encapsulate genetic components were cationic lipids and polymers. Furthermore, the experiments focused particularly on effective transfection in target cells.Recent breakthroughs in NP-based RNA therapeutics have spurred a flood of clinical research, facing many challenges. In vivo, pharmacokinetics of different RNA-based medications must be researched to establish the viability and therapeutic potential of nucleic acid-based therapeutics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized many NP-based gene therapy. In 2019, Novartis authorized Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) to treat spinal muscle atrophy. The first clinical research employing siRNA began in 2004 and is considered a milestone in nucleic acid-based drug development. Thirty clinical investigations have subsequently been completed. In 2018, the US FDA cleared Onpattro (Patisiran, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by transthyretin amyloidosis.Several new generations of nucleic acid compositions employing polymer nanoparticles or liposomes are presently undergoing clinical testing. If allowed, the debut of nucleic acid-based treatments would represent a watershed event in immunotherapy. Advances in the design and development of biocompatible nanomaterials would allow us to overcome the above-mentioned problems and so show the potential to deliver nucleic acids in the treatment of a number of illnesses.


2005 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Scott Ralph ◽  
Katie Binley ◽  
Liang-Fong Wong ◽  
Mimoun Azzouz ◽  
Nicholas D. Mazarakis

Gene therapy holds great promise for the treatment of a wide range of inherited and acquired disorders. The development of viral vector systems to mediate safe and long-lasting expression of therapeutic transgenes in specific target cell populations is continually advancing. Gene therapy for the nervous system is particularly challenging due to the post-mitotic nature of neuronal cells and the restricted accessibility of the brain itself. Viral vectors based on lentiviruses provide particularly attractive vehicles for delivery of therapeutic genes to treat neurological and ocular diseases, since they efficiently transduce non-dividing cells and mediate sustained transgene expression. Furthermore, novel routes of vector delivery to the nervous system have recently been elucidated and these have increased further the scope of lentiviruses for gene therapy application. Several studies have demonstrated convincing therapeutic efficacy of lentiviral-based gene therapies in animal models of severe neurological disorders and the push for progressing such vectors to the clinic is ongoing. This review describes the key features of lentiviral vectors that make them such useful tools for gene therapy to the nervous system and outlines the major breakthroughs in the potential use of such vectors for treating neurodegenerative and ocular diseases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Kobayashi ◽  
Takanori Sasaki ◽  
Fumiaki Takenaka ◽  
Hiromasa Yakushiji ◽  
Yoshihiro Fujii ◽  
...  

Mesothelin (MSLN) is a 40-kDa cell differentiation-associated glycoprotein appearing with carcinogenesis and is highly expressed in many human cancers, including the majority of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, ovarian cancers, and mesotheliomas, while its expression in normal tissue is limited to mesothelial cells lining the pleura, pericardium, and peritoneum. Clone 11-25 is a murine hybridoma secreting monoclonal antibody (mAb) against human MSLN. In this study, we applied the 11-25 mAb toin vivoimaging to detect MSLN-expressing tumors. Inin vitroandex vivoimmunochemical studies, we demonstrated specificity of 11-25 mAb to membranous MSLN expressed on several pancreatic cancer cells. We showed the accumulation of Alexa Fluor 750-labeled 11-25 mAb in MSLN-expressing tumor xenografts in athymic nude mice. Then, 11-25 mAb was labeled with64Cu via a chelating agent DOTA and was used in bothin vitrocell binding assay andin vivopositron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the tumor-bearing mice. We confirmed that64Cu-labeled 11-25 mAb highly accumulated in MSLN-expressing tumors as compared to MSLN-negative ones. The64Cu-labeled 11-25 mAb is potentially useful as a PET probe capable of being used for wide range of tumors, rather than18F-FDG that occasionally provides nonspecific accumulation into the inflammatory lesions.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1526
Author(s):  
Valentina Poletti ◽  
Fulvio Mavilio

Lentiviral vectors are the most frequently used tool to stably transfer and express genes in the context of gene therapy for monogenic diseases. The vast majority of clinical applications involves an ex vivo modality whereby lentiviral vectors are used to transduce autologous somatic cells, obtained from patients and re-delivered to patients after transduction. Examples are hematopoietic stem cells used in gene therapy for hematological or neurometabolic diseases or T cells for immunotherapy of cancer. We review the design and use of lentiviral vectors in gene therapy of monogenic diseases, with a focus on controlling gene expression by transcriptional or post-transcriptional mechanisms in the context of vectors that have already entered a clinical development phase.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Dowaidar

It is anticipated that in utero stem cell transplantation and in utero gene therapy will hold great promise in the treatment of a wide range of genetic disorders that may be discovered before birth. Before in utero stem cell transplantation and in utero gene therapy can be used in the clinic, it is necessary to properly investigate the ethical and safety problems involved. Future animal studies, as well as human studies, will be required to determine the likelihood and consequences of maternal exposure to medicine.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-147
Author(s):  
John Foreman

The number of genes associated with renal disease is increasing every day and this has led to a clearer understanding of the pathophysiology of renal disease in many disorders. It is also appreciated now that a genetic mutation(s) underlie many renal syndromes. Genetic testing may also offer the possibility to diagnose some renal diseases without the need for a renal biopsy. It also allows the prenatal diagnosis of certain renal diseases in at risk fetuses or identification of potential renal disease before it has become manifest. Finally, identification of a specific gene mutation holds the possibility of correction though gene therapy in the future. It is increasingly clear that many renal disorders in pediatrics are a consequence of genetic mutations. In the future, genetic testing will become as easy and as common as ordering a serum creatinine today.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 5006
Author(s):  
Ricardo Gaspar ◽  
Filipe Coelho ◽  
Bruno F. B. Silva

Cancer is an extremely complex disease, typically caused by mutations in cancer-critical genes. By delivering therapeutic nucleic acids (NAs) to patients, gene therapy offers the possibility to supplement, repair or silence such faulty genes or to stimulate their immune system to fight the disease. While the challenges of gene therapy for cancer are significant, the latter approach (a type of immunotherapy) starts showing promising results in early-stage clinical trials. One important advantage of NA-based cancer therapies over synthetic drugs and protein treatments is the prospect of a more universal approach to designing therapies. Designing NAs with different sequences, for different targets, can be achieved by using the same technologies. This versatility and scalability of NA drug design and production on demand open the way for more efficient, affordable and personalized cancer treatments in the future. However, the delivery of exogenous therapeutic NAs into the patients’ targeted cells is also challenging. Membrane-type lipids exhibiting permanent or transient cationic character have been shown to associate with NAs (anionic), forming nanosized lipid-NA complexes. These complexes form a wide variety of nanostructures, depending on the global formulation composition and properties of the lipids and NAs. Importantly, these different lipid-NA nanostructures interact with cells via different mechanisms and their therapeutic potential can be optimized to promising levels in vitro. The complexes are also highly customizable in terms of surface charge and functionalization to allow a wide range of targeting and smart-release properties. Most importantly, these synthetic particles offer possibilities for scaling-up and affordability for the population at large. Hence, the versatility and scalability of these particles seem ideal to accommodate the versatility that NA therapies offer. While in vivo efficiency of lipid-NA complexes is still poor in most cases, the advances achieved in the last three decades are significant and very recently a lipid-based gene therapy medicine was approved for the first time (for treatment of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis). Although the path to achieve efficient NA-delivery in cancer therapy is still long and tenuous, these advances set a new hope for more treatments in the future. In this review, we attempt to cover the most important biophysical and physicochemical aspects of non-viral lipid-based gene therapy formulations, with a perspective on future cancer treatments in mind.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Leth Jensen ◽  
Casper René Gøtzsche ◽  
David P. D. Woldbye

In recent years, gene therapy has been raising hopes toward viable treatment strategies for rare genetic diseases for which there has been almost exclusively supportive treatment. We here review this progress at the pre-clinical and clinical trial levels as well as market approvals within diseases that specifically affect the brain and spinal cord, including degenerative, developmental, lysosomal storage, and metabolic disorders. The field reached an unprecedented milestone when Zolgensma® (onasemnogene abeparvovec) was approved by the FDA and EMA for in vivo adeno-associated virus-mediated gene replacement therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Shortly after EMA approved Libmeldy®, an ex vivo gene therapy with lentivirus vector-transduced autologous CD34-positive stem cells, for treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy. These successes could be the first of many more new gene therapies in development that mostly target loss-of-function mutation diseases with gene replacement (e.g., Batten disease, mucopolysaccharidoses, gangliosidoses) or, less frequently, gain-of-toxic-function mutation diseases by gene therapeutic silencing of pathologic genes (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease). In addition, the use of genome editing as a gene therapy is being explored for some diseases, but this has so far only reached clinical testing in the treatment of mucopolysaccharidoses. Based on the large number of planned, ongoing, and completed clinical trials for rare genetic central nervous system diseases, it can be expected that several novel gene therapies will be approved and become available within the near future. Essential for this to happen is the in depth characterization of short- and long-term effects, safety aspects, and pharmacodynamics of the applied gene therapy platforms.


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