What are retroviruses, and how can they be safely used in gene therapy?
Retroviruses contain ribonucleic acid (RNA) as their genetic material instead of DNA. Because retroviruses produce an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, they can transform their RNA into DNA, which becomes part of the DNA of the host cells. There are many retroviruses. Retroviruses can cause AIDS and other diseases. In gene therapy, scientists inactivate certain retroviruses to prevent them from causing disease and to make them safe for use. This enables scientists to take advantage of the retroviruses’ ability to deliver genes into the DNA of the host. In addition to using retroviruses as the basis of treatment, researchers may also use a retrovirus to deliver a gene that makes cancer cells sensitive to an antibiotic. This technique can be used to stop a gene therapy experiment. What are the basic steps involved in gene therapy? In most gene therapy clinical trials, cells from the patient’s blood or bone marrow are removed and grown in the laboratory. The cells are exposed to the vi
