Human gene therapy aims to change a gene's expression or the biological makeup of live cells for therapeutic purposes. Gene therapy is a method for treating or curing disease by changing a person's DNA. Gene treatments can function in a variety of ways:
• Utilizing a healthy set of genes to replace a disease-causing gene
• A disease-causing gene that is malfunctioning can be turned off.
• The process of adding a new or altered gene to the organism to treat a condition
• Products utilizing gene therapy are being investigated to treat diseases such as cancer, genetic disorders, and infectious diseases.
Gene therapy is now a field that primarily exists in research labs, and its applicability is still being tested. Most trials occur in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. The therapy options are varied and might include viral infections, acquired genetic illnesses including cancer, and diseases brought on by recessive gene defects.
Recombinant DNA technology is one of the most frequently used techniques. In this method, a healthy gene or gene of interest is inserted into a vector, which can be nanostructured, plasmidial, or viral; the latter is most frequently used because it is most effective at invading cells and introducing its genetic material.
What Is the Purpose of Gene Therapy?
Gene therapy aims to repair any harm brought on by any defective genes you may have. Gene therapy is ideally a means of treating or curing certain illnesses. Some people are born with faulty or missing genes. Some people have genes that evolve or alter with time.
New genes are introduced to replace or overcome the disease-causing, faulty genes already present in the body. Thus, the gene therapy market is predicted to grow in the coming years.
What Distinguishes In Vivo Gene Therapy from Ex Vivo Gene Therapy?
Ex-vivo gene therapy involves removing specific cells from the body and sending them to a lab. These cells are changed in the laboratory. A viral vector is frequently used to introduce fresh DNA into the cells. The freshly modified cells are then processed and returned to you, often by an intravenous infusion.
In-vivo gene therapy involves inserting fresh genetic material—typically DNA—directly into your cells. Typically, a vector delivers the novel genetic material straight to the target organ or by an injection into the blood. The in vivo gene therapy is expected to dominate the gene therapy market in the future.
Why Is Gene Therapy Delivered by Viruses?
A researcher may seek to utilize gene therapy to cure a genetic abnormality, and viruses offer a perfect method for delivering the therapy to the host cell. A virus is particularly successful at entering a cell because of its natural architecture.
Many viruses have had their whole genomes—the entire collection of genes that make up an organism—mapped or generated as blueprints by scientists. They can separate the viral genome's elements that are efficient at entering cells from the virus genome's potential pathogenic components. The gene therapy market is expected to increase faster in the virus category.
In addition, only a few harmless components of the original virus design are utilized, and these components are insufficient to spread a virus. Additionally, viral vectors are frequently used worldwide since they are more effective than non-viral alternatives.
