Cedars-Sinai researchers demonstrate a new way to switch therapeutic genes 'on'...( e hit roadblocks such as toxic side-eff...),Health

e hit roadblocks such as toxic side-effects from over-expression of the therapeutic gene, and adverse events caused by immune system reactions to the viral delivery systems currently used to deliver the therapeutic genes," said Pedro Lowenstein, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Institute and co-author of the study. "Now, we've engineered a genetic switch in a novel gene transfer vector that will overcome those barriers and set the stage to allow the next phase of research to occur."

Gene therapy is an experimental treatment that uses genetically engineered viruses (vectors) to transfer therapeutic genes and/or proteins into cells. As in a viral infection, the viruses work by tricking cells into accepting them as part of their own genetic machinery. To make them safe, scientists remove the viral genes that cause infection and engineer them so that they stop reproducing after they have delivered the therapeutic gene.

In this study, researchers created a genetic switch system that is turned on in the presence of the antibiotic tetracycline. Therefore, if this method is tested eventually in humans, patients would need to be given this antibiotic before they begin gene therapy treatment. The switch system also produces a protein called silencer, which completely shuts down gene expression in the "off" state, thereby preventing leakage of the therapeutic gene when it is no longer needed. According to Castro, this novel vector system is much less likely to create an undesirable immune response in the host and would still be functional in the presence of an infection to wild type adenovirus (a non-engineered virus that causes conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract infections) as is present in a high percentage of patients undergoing clinical trails. These are the main hurdles that needed to be overcome before gene therapy can be considered a safe and efficacious clinical strategy.

According to Drs. Castro and Lowenstein, the next step in the de
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Contact: Simi Singer
simi.singer@cshs.org
310-423-4768
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
22-Dec-2005

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