Gene therapy: therapeutic gene causing lymphoma

The development of T-cell leukaemia following the otherwise successful treatment of three patients with X-linked severe combined immune deficiency (X-SCID) in gene-therapy trials using haematopoietic stem cells has led to a re-evaluation of this approach. Using a mouse model for gene therapy of X-SCID, we find that the corrective therapeutic gene IL2RG itself can act as a contributor to the genesis of T-cell lymphomas, with one-third of animals being affected. Gene-therapy trials for X-SCID, which have been based on the assumption that IL2RG is minimally oncogenic, may therefore pose some risk to patients.     

Gene therapy in perspective

Weatherall assesses prospects for the development of clinically useful gene therapy. He considers progress to date, technical difficulties, and ethical concerns.     

基因治疗及其研究进展

基因治疗作为一种新型的疾病治疗手段 ,正在广泛用于血友病、糖尿病、癌症、心血管病、爱滋病等多种疾病的治疗领域 .基因治疗的一般步骤包括 :目的基因的转移和目的基因的表达两个方面 .其中目的基因的导入和目的基因表达的精确调控是两个关键步骤 .新发展的还有反义疗法以及应用核酶进行基因治疗等 .本文就基因治疗的基本步骤、基因治疗的对象、方式及基因治疗的现状和前景作一个简单介绍     

转基因表达的精细调控

将细胞特异性表达启动子与可诱导系统相结合 ,建立可用于植物转基因表达时、空、量三维调控的基因开关系统 ,为功能基因组研究及通过基因工程技术对植物代谢实施精确调控提供了全新的思路     

Gene therapy for cancer by mutant HSV deleted apoptosis-inhibited gene

A mutant HSV (mtHSV) deleted icp34.5, an apoptosis-inhibiting gene was constructed. It is supposed that the mtHSV can replicate in p53-deficient cells selectively and lead to oncolysis targetedly. Mice tumor model harboring sarcoma cell line s-180 was developed and the mtHSV was injected into the tumors. We found that the mean volume and weight of tumors of early therapeutic group(ETG) were reduced 49.29% and 38.31% of that of control tumors. In the mid-term group (MTG), the redutcion rate were 26.9% and 24.52% respectively. Foundation item: Supported by Foundation of 863 New Hi-technique Research (39880031); Research Fund for the Doctoral Programm of Higher Education (RFDP98048615); Chen-guang Project of Wuhan City (20005004024). Biography: Lan Ping (1971-), female, Ph.D candidate, research direction: molecular virology.     

Biodiversity (Communications arising): maize transgene results in Mexico are artefacts

Quist and Chapela's conclusion that the transgenes they claim to have detected in native maize in Oaxaca, Mexico, are predominantly reassorted and inserted into a "diversity of genomic contexts" seems to be based on an artefact arising from the inverse polymerase chain reaction (i-PCR) they used to amplify sequences flanking 35S transgenes from cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV).