BACKGROUND Gene therapy continues to hold great potential for treating many different types of disease and dysfunction. Safe and efficient techniques for gene transfer and expression in vivo are needed to enable gene therapeutic strategies to be effective in patients. Currently, the most commonly used methods employ replication-defective viral vectors for gene transfer, while physical gene tran...

The initial analysis of complete genomes has suggested that horizontal gene transfer events are very frequent between microorganisms. This could potentially render the inference, and even the concept itself, of the organismal phylogeny impossible. However, a coherent phylogenetic pattern has recently emerged from an analysis of about a hundred genes, the so-called 'core', strongly suggesting th...

A simple physical chemical method of transferring genes into eucaryotic cells is described. Electric impulses in the intensity range of 5-10 kV/cm with a duration of 5-10 bs were found to appreciably increase the uptake of DNA into cells. After electric field treatment, stable transformants were obtained in a system containing mouse cells deficient in thymidine kinase and a plasmid DNA harbouri...

With the specter of dwindling biotic diversity, need is increased for preservatio n of available germplasm . Plant germplasm may be preserved in a variety of ways including seed storage, cryopreservation, and tissue culture . A new method of germplasm preservatio n may be through the storage of DNA libraries, which maintain in test tubes the genes tha t encode life's diversity . This new area o...

Gene transfer approaches offer the promise of revolutionizing medicine. In this review, we focus on the current and future prospects of somatic gene transfer into the kidney. The advantages and disadvantages of current vector systems are described, and the ex vivo and in vitro approaches applicable to the kidney are reviewed. We discuss uses of gene transfer approaches to dissect the pathogenes...

Gene therapy could result in the permanent correction or amelioration of the clinical manifestations of many genetic diseases. However, immune responses to the therapeutic protein pose a significant hurdle for successful gene therapy. Problematic immune responses can include the development of a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response that results in the destruction of genetically-modified cells ...

The field of gene transfer has developed in an era of expanding biomedical knowledge. The potential for gene transfer to treat cardiovascular disease is great, yet identified and unidentified barriers remain. Gene transfer and its ultimate application, gene therapy, require extensive details of not only the mechanism of disease but the biological implications of the vectors used to deliver the ...

Horizontal transfer of nucleic acid sequences is a widespread process of genetic change in bacterial populations, one taking on a variety of specific forms. A model capturing some of the general features of this process is formulated. Two major subsidiary variants of this model are analyzed. The first lacks competition between cells. In this case, the transferred genetic element can approach fi...

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) refers to the acquisition of foreign genes by organisms. The occurrence of HGT among bacteria in the environment is assumed to have implications in the risk assessment of genetically modified bacteria which are released into the environment. First, introduced genetic sequences from a genetically modified bacterium could be transferred to indigenous micro-organisms...

years ago the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene was cloned. The discovery of the gene encoding the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl – channel marked the opening of Chapter 1 in the development of gene transfer as a treatment for this common autosomal recessive disease. One year later, Chapter 1 ended when expression of CFTR in CF epithelial cells corrected the CF Cl – transport defect. ...