Lentiviral vectors: excellent tools for experimental gene transfer and promising candidates for gene therapy

Abstract

Lentiviral vectors are tools for gene transfer derived from lentiviruses. From their first application to now they have been strongly developed in design, in biosafety and in their ability of transgene expression into target cells. Primate and non-primate derived lentiviral vectors are now available and with both types of systems a lot of studies tuned to improve their performances in a large number of tissues are ongoing. Here we review the state of the art of lentiviral vector systems discussing their potential for gene therapy.

Expression of c-jun is not mandatory for mouse hepatocyte proliferation induced by two nuclear receptor ligands: TCPOBOP and T3

“…Lentivirus production, cell transduction, and mice injection Lentiviruses were produced as described elsewhere [14]. For detailed experimental description see Supporting material.…”

A bicistronic lentiviral vector based on the 1D/2A sequence of foot-and-mouth disease virus expresses proteins stoichiometrically

“…Namely, they demonstrate low immunogenicity, are able to easily accommodate genetic cargos with a single open reading frame (ORF), and can integrate into the host's genome-with only slight positional variability-in such a way as to evade transcriptional silencing via methylation. These properties often assure very stable, long-term transgene expression (reviewed in Vigna and Naldini, 2000). The utility of lentiviruses for neurobiological research is tempered somewhat by their limited payload capacity (about ∼10 kb of packaged DNA), a feature which complicates the already difficult process of stoichiometrically delivering two independent genes using IRES sequences.…”

A Lentiviral Vector Expressing Desired Gene Only in Transduced Cells: An Approach for Suicide Gene Therapy

“…They have medium capacity for transgene, and are able to transfect both dividing and non-dividing and even quiescent cells. Tissuespecific targeting through the formation of phenotypically mixed particles or pseudotypes, a process that commonly occurs during viral assembly in cells infected with two or more viruses, are among other advantages of these vectors [27,28].…”