Improvements made in DNA transfer in gene therapy

With research and development of genetically modified viruses, DNA has found a way to repair and replace defective genes in cells. Hereditary human diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, are caused by genetic defects. One way to eradicate these traits is through gene therapy. Using gene therapy and the development of genetically modified viruses, DNA is introduced into cells to repair and replace defective genes. Scientist Jens Gruber hypothesizes that the production of viruses can efficiently boost exosome production in cells.

Scientist of the German Primate Center discover an efficient treatment for the cells. The cell like HEK293 is used for the production of therapeutic viruses. The protein, CD9, is produced in large quantities. This protein helps for cell movement, cell to cell contact, and membrane fusion. The modifications were made on the viruses used for gene transfer, for CD9 integrates into the envelope membrane of the cell. Such process produces faster and prevent further infection to the target cells. During gene therapy, defective genes are replaced with functional genes, which help prevent infection of the cell. Having the HEK293-CD9 cells allows for the exome production of CD9 proteins in the membrane, thus allowing for the improvement for DNA transfer. During the process, genes will be repaired and replaced using the proteins.

The results of the study show that the increased amount of CD9 protein resulted in higher infection. As researchers further investigate, their future findings may be a solution to prevent infection to the cells. Although small problems arise during the study, researchers continue to find a way to enhance and make this improvement effective.

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For additional information on genes and gene therapy, click on the following link1 link2.