2. Adenovirus has been developed into a preferred candidate for
creating viral vectors for gene therapy due to various
advantages.
1) Well tolerated, with post-infection viability of the host cells being almost 100%.
2) Great packaging capacity (up to 8kb).
3) Broad range of infectivity. Adenovirus can infect both dividing and quiescent cells, allowing
gene delivery to a highly diverse range of cell types.
4) It can be produced at high titer (10^10 VP/mL, which can be concentrated up to 10^13
VP/mL). 5) High infection efficiency. Almost 100% gene delivery in most cell types,
completely surpassing other viral vector tools and liposome transfection.
6) Without integration into the host chromosome. Adenovirus remains epichromosomal in
cells and does not inactivate genes or activate oncogenes.
3. Principle:
Adenoviruses are a class of double stranded DNA
viruses that efficiently deliver nucleotides directly
into target cells. After initial binding to the
Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR),
which is expressed on the cell membrane, the
virus enters the host cell via endocytosis.
Following endosomal escape, the viral genome is
transported into the nucleus, where it is
expressed by the replication machineries of the
host cell. In contrast to other viruses, the
adenoviral DNA remains episomal, i.e., it is not
integrated into the host genome. Nowadays,
replication-deficient adenoviruses are widely used
for transduction and gene therapy, due to their
high efficiency and low pathogenicity.
4. Adenovirus-based recombination technology has
several applications in medicine, including:
1. **Gene Therapy:**
This technique holds promise for treating genetic disorders,
cancer, and other diseases by replacing or supplementing faulty genes
with functional ones.
2. **Vaccine Development:**
They have been investigated for vaccines against diseases
such as HIV, malaria, influenza, and COVID-19.
3. **Cancer Therapy:**
This oncolytic virotherapy approach shows potential for
treating various types of cancers.
5. Adenovirus-based recombination technology has
several applications in medicine, including:
4. **Recombinant Protein Production:**
Adenovirus vectors can be employed to produce recombinant proteins in mammalian
cells for therapeutic purposes, such as insulin for diabetes treatment or clotting
factors for hemophilia.
5. **Studying Gene Function:**
Adenovirus vectors are used in research to study gene
function, aiding in understanding disease mechanisms and identifying potential drug
targets.
