The precise alteration of sequences by homologous recombination is an important strategy for gene therapies as well as investigating gene function and cellular DNA repair pathways. Inefficient delivery of template DNA to the nucleus using transfection or electroporation metho ...
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has become a versatile vector platform. In recent years, powerful �techniques for the generation of tropism-modified vectors (rAAV-targeting vectors) and for investigation of virus–cell interaction were developed. The following chapter descr ...
The process of moving a novel drug such as an adeno-associated viral vector from the bench top to bedside is an arduous process requiring coordination and skill from multiple laboratories and regulatory agencies. Proceeding to a phase I safety trial in humans after most of the proof-of-concept d ...
Determining the AAV vector biodistribution and shedding is central for the safety assessment of proposed early-phase clinical trials. It is especially crucial in the case of AAV vectors since they are injected directly in situ with no possibility of an intermediate ex vivo step, such as in retr ...
The use of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors in gene therapy for preclinical studies in animal models and human clinical trials is increasing, as these vectors have been shown to be safe and to mediate persistent transgene expression in vivo. Constant improvement in rAAV ma ...
Recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors mediate the safe and long-term correction of genetic diseases following a single administration. Preclinical studies in animal models and human trials have shown rAAV vector persistence and safety. In some trials, sustained or tr ...
Recombinant AAV vectors have been used in clinical trials since the mid-1990s, with over 300 subjects enrolled in studies. Although there are not yet licensed AAV products, there are several clear examples of clinical efficacy, and recombinant AAV vectors have a strong safety record after ad ...
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) was first discovered as a contaminant of adenovirus stocks in the 1960s. The development of recombinant AAV vectors (rAAV) was facilitated by early studies that generated infectious molecular clones, determined the sequence of the genome, and defined the g ...
Using the basic principles of molecular biology and laboratory techniques presented in this chapter, researchers should be able to create a wide variety of AAV vectors for both clinical and basic research applications. Basic vector design concepts are covered for both protein coding gene ...
Twelve AAV serotypes have been described so far in human and nonhuman primate (NHP) populations while surprisingly high diversity of AAV sequences is detected in tissue biopsies. The analysis of these novel AAV sequences has indicated a rapid evolution of the viral genome both by accumulati ...
The Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are not associated with any diseases, and their ability to package non-genomic DNA and to transduce different cell/tissue populations has generated significant interest in understanding their basic biology in efforts to improve their utiliz ...
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is the most promising gene delivery vehicle for muscle-directed gene therapy. AAV’s natural tropism to muscle cells, long-term persistent transgene expression, multiple serotypes, as well as its minimal immune response have made AAV vectors well suited ...
The liver is directly or indirectly involved in many essential processes and is affected by numerous inherited diseases. Therefore, many inherited diseases could be effectively treated by targeting the liver using gene transfer approaches. The challenges associated with liver-d ...
Recombinant AAV-mediated gene delivery to the CNS can be performed either by direct delivery at the target site or from the periphery, using intramuscular injections and retrograde transport along motor neuron projections or intravenous injections and blood–brain barrier cross ...
Retinal gene therapy holds great promise for the treatment of inherited and noninherited blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. The most widely used vectors for ocular gene delivery are based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) because it m ...
Cardiac gene transfer may serve as a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of heart disease. For it to reach its full potential, methods for highly efficient cardiac gene transfer must be available to investigators so that informative preclinical data can be collected and evaluated. We ...
To date the genomes of over 600 organisms have been generated of which 100 are from eukaryotes. Together with partial genome data for an additional 700 eukaryotic organisms, these exceptional sequence resources offer new opportunities to explore phylogenetic relationships and spec ...
This chapter outlines key considerations for constructing and implementing an EST database. Instead of showing the technological details step by step, emphasis is put on the design of an EST database suited to the specific needs of EST projects and how to choose the most suitable tools. Using TBe ...
The genomes of an increasing number of species are being investigated through the generation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs). However, ESTs are prone to sequencing errors and typically define incomplete transcripts, making downstream annotation difficult. Annotation would be ...
Microarray analyses provide information on the relative expression levels of large numbers of gene products (transcripts). As such they have been widely used to examine differences in gene expression across a variety of samples such as tissues and life-cycle stages. Due to a previous lack of s ...