Retroviral gene therapy

Section 4

Retroviral therapy is the use of retroviral vectors to provide remedy to disease via the genetic modification of a patient’s own cells. Retroviral vectors are themselves derived from natural retroviruses such as HIV. The name retrovirus refers to the unique ability of these viruses to convert viral RNA into DNA. A critical part of the viral life cycle is the integration of this viral DNA into the host cell’s genome, conferring a permanent genetic change to the cell. Therefore, retroviruses may be used as a vector for gene therapy, a method of treatment dealing specifically with the alteration of genes to achieve a therapeutic effect. Gene therapy techniques are divided into three main categories; viral(including retroviral gene therapy), nonviral, and physical. The use of retroviruses bears a significant advantage over these other forms of gene therapy. Nonviral and physical techniques are less efficient in transfection and, in the case of nonviral vectors, have a more limited expression. Viral techniques, however, are more efficient in transfection and better integrate viral genes into the target genome.