Comments on: A Ten-Year Check-Up Shows Gene Therapy Patients are Alive and Well http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/08/25/a-ten-year-check-up-shows-gene-therapy-patients-are-alive-and-well/ Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:34:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: sorry paul http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/08/25/a-ten-year-check-up-shows-gene-therapy-patients-are-alive-and-well/#comment-29196 sorry paul Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:19:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=31400#comment-29196 This type of functional recovery is referred to as a "rescue experiment". However, including a redudant proto-oncogene in a recombinant virus will yield an oncovirus. Including every proto-oncogene as you suggest will certainly result in a metastatic tumor formation. Rather, replacement of the missing or faulty gene via homologous recombination and/or simply sequencing the resultant repaired clones could circumvent any problems. I'm frankly very surprised this was not done in the first place and that this trial treatment was allowed to be used on human patients. This type of functional recovery is referred to as a “rescue experiment”.

However, including a redudant proto-oncogene in a recombinant virus will yield an oncovirus. Including every proto-oncogene as you suggest will certainly result in a metastatic tumor formation.

Rather, replacement of the missing or faulty gene via homologous recombination and/or simply sequencing the resultant repaired clones could circumvent any problems. I’m frankly very surprised this was not done in the first place and that this trial treatment was allowed to be used on human patients.

]]> By: Paul http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/08/25/a-ten-year-check-up-shows-gene-therapy-patients-are-alive-and-well/#comment-29195 Paul Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:38:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/?p=31400#comment-29195 If there are a limited number of genes that would cause cancer if disrupted, perhaps the gene package inserted by these artificial viruses could include a copy of each such gene. That way, even if by accident one of the genes was disrupted, another copy would be present to take over its function. If there are a limited number of genes that would cause cancer if disrupted, perhaps the gene package inserted by these artificial viruses could include a copy of each such gene. That way, even if by accident one of the genes was disrupted, another copy would be present to take over its function.

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