A cure for cancer
- Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a rare blood cell cancer.
- It is the most common type of leukaemia in children.
- Kymriah is an (FDA approved) gene therapy.
- This lentiviral vector delivers a special cancer-receptor gene (CAR) to immune (T) cells to make them cancer-fighting!
This is one example of how researchers are taking advantage of lentiviral vectors to treat disease.
Lentiviral vectors:
- Long-term curative potential: Integration of gene into the cell genome enables expression from daughter cells.
- Relatively large therapeutic gene capacity.
- Efficient ex vivo (outside the body) delivery.
- Can be pseudotyped (coated) with different receptors to expand tropism or enhance efficiency to target the right cells.
Click here to discover how a lentiviral vector is also being developed to cure Cystic Fibrosis!
Other viral vectors are also being used or developed to treat disease:
Find out more about the work of the Gill Hyde Gene Medicine research group at the University of Oxford.