Concept of gene therapy: types, therapeutic vectors (viral and non-viral), strategies for treating cancer cells

Introducing a new gene by replacing the mutant gene, is the prime goal of any gene therapy. In the present section, we will understand the mechanism of gene therapy and its types. “A process to recover the normal function of a gene by transferring a gene is known as gene therapy.” Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. In the past few decades, many efforts have been made to improve the prognosis of GBM, however, with limited success. Many gene therapy strategies for GBM have been developed and a few have progressed to clinical trials. Retroviral vectors have superior features for gene therapy in brain cancers, including tumor specificity, immunogenicity, and longer half-life. Early gene therapy trials in GBM patients based on transplantation of retrovirus-producing cells into the brain failed to prove efficacious. Adenoviral vectors, which can be prepared as high-titer virus solutions and undergo efficient transduction in tumor cells, failed in clinical trials, likely due to immunogenicity and instability of gene expression. Alternative therapeutics such as oncolytic viruses that specifically target and destroy cancer cells are currently under investigation. In addition to novel vectors, retroviral vectors are still attractive candidates for use in gene therapy against brain tumors. Since yields of properly-packaged viral particles from virus-producing cells have been very limited so far, gene therapy by direct injection of high- titer retroviral vectors into the patients’ brains was not possible. To overcome these disadvantages, a packaging cell line that yields high-titer retroviral solutions was established by our group, enabling the direct injection of massive retroviral vector stocks directly into the brain. Mouse glioma models were effectively cured with a combination of a suicide gene/ prodrug system and a highly-concentrated retrovirus solution. Preclinical assessments, including that of replication-competent retroviruses and tumorigenicity of the combination method, have confirmed the safety of the highly-concentrated retrovirus solution. Addimited so far, gene therapy by direct injection of high- titer retroviral vectors into the patients’ brains was not possible. To overcome these disadvantages, a packaging cell line that yields high-titer retroviral solutions was established by our group, enabling the direct injection of massive retroviral vector stocks directly into the brain. Mouse glioma models were effectively cured with a combination of a suicide gene/ prodrug system and a highly-concentrated retrovirus solution. Preclinical assessments, including that of replication-competent retroviruses and tumorigenicity of the combination method, have confirmed the safety of the highly-concentrated retrovirus solution. Additional studies are needed to address the clinical utility of such combination gene therapies. Taken together, these data suggest that retroviral vectors are still good candidates for development in gene therapy applications.