Navigation Links
Can two killers make a cure?

Regulators in the US could soon be asked to approve a human trial of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis that uses a hybrid of the HIV and Ebola viruses. Tests on monkeys show the hybrid virus delivers genes to the lungs far more efficiently than any other method developed so far. And while the idea of combining two killer viruses sounds horrifying, the risks should be low.

Despite much effort, no one has managed to develop an effective form of gene therapy to treat the lung problems of people with cystic fibrosis. The condition is caused by a mutation in the CFTR gene, and one of the problems in developing a treatment is getting a working version of CFTR into a high enough proportion of cells to restore normal lung function.

While HIV is good at adding genes to cells' genomes, it does not target lung epithelial cells. Ebola binds strongly to these cells, so Gary Kobinger at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia tried adding a surface protein from Ebola to HIV. Initial tests on mice showed the hybrid virus was very efficient: the gene it carried was active in 24 per cent of airway cells after two months, a far better proportion than achieved by other delivery methods (New Scientist, 10 March 2001, p 19).

But will it work in humans? The team has now done the next best thing and used the hybrid virus to deliver a test gene, lacZ, to the lungs of monkeys. After two months the gene was active in 21 per cent of cells, Kobinger told New Scientist. He is preparing the results for publication.

"The gap between monkeys and humans is much smaller than from mice to monkeys," says Ray Pickles, a gene therapy researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "This could be in human trials pretty soon."

Kobinger now plans a more extensive monkey trial to convince the US Food and Drug Administration that human trials will be safe. The hybrid virus is created by adding HIV RNA, a stripped-down version of the Ebola surface prot
'"/>

Source:New Scientist Boston office


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Thinking the pain away? Study shows the brains painkillers may cause placebo effect
2. Ibruprofen and other commonly used painkillers for treating inflammation may increase the risk of heart attack
3. Brazilians sequence genes of pig and poultry killers
4. A new target for painkillers
5. FDA causes unnecessary scare about common painkillers

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Can two killers make cure

(Date:11/23/2009)...itute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of...ting $42.3 million for grants in scientific areas ...eveloped the GO grant program to stimulate biomedi...by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Rec...promise to have a significant impact on a field of...
(Date:11/23/2009)... Casabona is Director of the Interuniversity Profe...iversity and the University of the Basque Country....ut also has other experts such as researchers in t...specialists in ethics. , The Interuniversity Pro...versities of Deusto and the Basque Country was cre...
(Date:11/23/2009)...available in German . , Of all global carbo...the atmosphere where it contributes to global warm...rrestrial ecosystems such as forests, grasslands a...aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is considered o...cing climate change. However, new greenhouse gas b...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):NIGMS invests in scientific Grand Opportunities with Recovery Act funds 2NIGMS invests in scientific Grand Opportunities with Recovery Act funds 3Research and legislation should go hand in hand, as much as possible 2Intensive land management leaves Europe without carbon sinks 2LSUHSC contributes to revealing targets to reduce racial disparity in prostate cancer deaths 53092 1LSUHSC contributes to revealing targets to reduce racial disparity in prostate cancer deaths 53092 2LSUHSC contributes to revealing targets to reduce racial disparity in prostate cancer deaths 53092 3Naming evolutions winners and losers 9412 1Naming evolutions winners and losers 9412 2Naming evolutions winners and losers 9412 3Scientists discover Amazon river is 11 million years old 9407 1
... Culminating a three-year research project, 115 s... 12 issue of the journal Science a "gold mine" of ...th implications for human diseases. , The single-...in soil and ponds, has approximately 15,000 genes,...e of its genome. Several years ago, they knew less...
...Researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Ireland... School of Medicine are part of a new national stu...ding 5,000 previously unmapped genes, from breast ...e by the journal Science on Oct. 11, shows a great...colon cancer tumors, leading the researchers to co...
...Climate change is a reality today, but how can we ...e really need is a full record of the Earths clima...th samples of air from different epochs that can b...record exists, in the icecaps of the Arctic and An... programme has a key role in deciphering it. , Pr...
Other Biology News:Study involving more than 100 scientists provides new insights on green algae 2Study involving more than 100 scientists provides new insights on green algae 3Study involving more than 100 scientists provides new insights on green algae 4European lead in reading past climates from ice cores 2European lead in reading past climates from ice cores 3
(Date:11/23/2009)...Calif.,Nov.23/PRNewswire/--PearlTherapeuticsInc.,a...ctsforthetreatmentofchronicrespiratorydiseases,tod...sBoardofDirectors.Mr.Rosenhas25yearsofexperiencein...ingkeyrolesatGileadSciencesandALZACorporation.Hisa...ardtosix. ,, "Howiebringsawealthofproductdevelo...
(Date:11/20/2009)..., , , , , , , ,...AUDIO: , A team of scientists from Washington...a, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Iowa State Un...The... , , Click here for more in... , , , , , , , ...
(Date:11/20/2009)..., Nov. 20 Veridiam (www.veridiam.c...ize company category at the 2009 Workplace Excelle...ego Society for Human Resources Management and rec...practices. ,, Veridiam was one of nine winners,...mpanies, honored at the recent awards ceremony. Sa...
(Date:11/20/2009)...LE, Md., Nov. 20 Novavax...s priced an underwritten public offering of 6,800,...ublic of $3.30 per share. The approximately $21 m...riting discounts and commissions, will be used for...P-based vaccines, internal research and developmen...
Breaking Biology Technology:Pearl Therapeutics Appoints Howie Rosen to Board of Directors 2Amaizing: Corn genome decoded 2Amaizing: Corn genome decoded 3Amaizing: Corn genome decoded 4Veridiam Wins Workplace Excellence Crystal Award in Mid-Size Company Category 2Novavax Prices Public Offering of Common Stock 2
... Trusted LASIK Surgeons launched its revo... and website at www.TrustedLASIKSurgeons.com in ...to improve their vision. What sets the Trusted LAS...process ensuring that only those who are among the...n the United States are listed. Refractive eye sur...
... The Washington Life Sciences Discovery,Fund (LSDF...art-up phase of,the Washington Vaccine Alliance (W...w vaccines for E. coli, herpes and syphilis. Annou...0 million tobacco-lawsuit-settlement bonus,and pro...ew organization to,life. , WAVA core operati...
... Dec. 16 Fuld & Company today announced that ...vice president consulting, specializing in strateg...dustries. , , "We are excited to have Dr. R...president. "His extensive accomplishment in the gl...mia -- coupled with his involvement on the cutting...
Other Biology Technology:Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 2Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 3Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 4Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 5Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 6Hawaii LASIK Eye Surgery Expert Dr. John D. Olkowski Qualifies and Lists with Trusted LASIK Surgeons 7Life Sciences Discovery Fund Awards $4.7 Million to Support New Vaccine Program 2Life Sciences Discovery Fund Awards $4.7 Million to Support New Vaccine Program 3Life Sciences Discovery Fund Awards $4.7 Million to Support New Vaccine Program 4Fuld & Company Announces Appointment of MIT Fellow to Head Pharmaceutical Team's Strategic Gaming and Consulting Services 2
Nuclease S7; Micrococcal nuclease from Roche Applied Science
Mouse Anti-Human Porin 31HL Monoclonal Antibody, Unconjugated, Clone 89-173/016 from Calbiochem
Thermo Scientific Sorvall RC12BP low speed centrifuge from Thermo Scientific
...iptase is a recombinant Moloney murine leukemia vi...everse Transcriptase is similar to MuLV reverse tr...MuLV reverse transcriptase is a recombinant RNA-de...NA as a template in the presence of a primer to sy...
Biology Products: