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Huang W, Paul D, Calin GA, Bayraktar R. miR-142: A Master Regulator in Hematological Malignancies and Therapeutic Opportunities. Cells 2023; 13:84. [PMID: 38201290 PMCID: PMC10778542 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of non-coding RNA whose dysregulation is frequently associated with the onset and progression of human cancers. miR-142, an ultra-conserved miRNA with both active -3p and -5p mature strands and wide-ranging physiological targets, has been the subject of countless studies over the years. Due to its preferential expression in hematopoietic cells, miR-142 has been found to be associated with numerous types of lymphomas and leukemias. This review elucidates the multifaceted role of miR-142 in human physiology, its influence on hematopoiesis and hematopoietic cells, and its intriguing involvement in exosome-mediated miR-142 transport. Moreover, we offer a comprehensive exploration of the genetic and molecular landscape of the miR-142 genomic locus, highlighting its mutations and dysregulation within hematological malignancies. Finally, we discuss potential avenues for harnessing the therapeutic potential of miR-142 in the context of hematological malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilson Huang
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (W.H.); (G.A.C.)
| | - Doru Paul
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - George A. Calin
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (W.H.); (G.A.C.)
- Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Recep Bayraktar
- Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Zhang B, Zhu Z, Jia W, Qu F, Huang B, Shan B, Yu H, Tang Y, Chen L, Du H. In vitro activity of aztreonam-avibactam against metallo-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae-A multicenter study in China. Int J Infect Dis 2020; 97:11-18. [PMID: 32473388 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To study the molecular epidemiology of clinical metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates in China and to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of MBL-Enterobacteriaceae isolates to aztreonam-avibactam. METHODS Bacterial speciation was determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. PCR was used to screen for common carbapenemase genes. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of common clinical antibiotics and aztreonam-avibactam was performed using the standard broth microdilution method. RESULTS A total of 161 MBL-Enterobacteriaceae isolates were included, with Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 73, 45.4%) and Escherichia coli (n = 53, 32.9%) being the most common species. Among the 161 isolates, blaNDM (n = 151), blaIMP (n = 13), and blaVIM (n = 2) were detected, including five strains (3.1%) co-harboring two MBLs. MBL-Enterobacteriaceae isolates frequently contained two (n = 55, 34.2%) or more (n = 89, 55.3%) additional serine β-lactamase genes (blaKPC, blaCTX-M, blaTEM, or blaSHV). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that 81.4% of isolates (n = 131) were resistant to aztreonam. The rates of resistance to cefazolin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and piperacillin-tazobactam were all over 90%. The addition of avibactam (4 μg/ml) significantly reduced the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the aztreonam-resistant isolates by more than 8-fold (range ≤0.125 to 4 μg/ml), with a MIC50/MIC90 of ≤0.125/1 μg/ml among the 131 isolates. Overall, 96.9% (n = 156) of the total isolates were inhibited at an aztreonam-avibactam concentration of ≤1 μg/ml. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis found that in patients with MBL-Enterobacteriaceae infections, the presence of pre-existing lung disease (adjusted odds ratio 8.267, 95% confidence interval 1.925-28.297; p = 0.004) was associated with a hazard effect on worse disease outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The combined use of aztreonam-avibactam is highly potent against MBL-Enterobacteriaceae and may serve as a new candidate for the treatment of infections caused by MBL-Enterobacteriaceae in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biying Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhichen Zhu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei Jia
- Center of Medical Laboratory, The General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Fen Qu
- The Center of Clinical Diagnosis Laboratory, 302 Hospital of PLA, Beijing, China; China Aviation General Hospital of China Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Bin Shan
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hua Yu
- Sichuan Academy of Medical Science and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yiwei Tang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA; Cepheid Shanghai, Shanghai, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Center for Discovery and Innovation, Hackensack-Meridian Health, Nutley, NJ, USA; Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, Nutley, NJ, USA
| | - Hong Du
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
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Synergistic and independent action of endogenous microRNAs 122a and 199a for post-transcriptional liver detargeting of gene vectors. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15539. [PMID: 30341383 PMCID: PMC6195616 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33801-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which usually develops in a cirrhotic liver, treatments preserving normal liver function and viability are vitally important. Here, we utilise the differential expression of miRNAs 122a and 199a between normal hepatocytes and HCC to generate vectors harbouring their binding sites for hepatocyte detargeting. Using a reporter gene, we observed a synergistic detargeting of cells expressing both miRNAs as well as cells expressing either of the miRNAs; while expression was retained in HCC cells negative for both miRNA122a and miRNA199a. Mimics and inhibitors for individual miRNAs were used to confirm these results. Furthermore, suicide gene therapy with cytosine deaminase (CD)/5-fluorocytosine system resulted in limited killing of cells expressing either of the two miRNAs. Finally, we report feasibility of using adeno associated virus (AAV) based vectors for delivery of this dual regulated gene delivery system. These results present a novel dual targeted system whereby miRNA122a and miRNA199a act either synergistically or independently in regulating transgene expression with vectors harbouring binding sites of both miRNAs and have implications in detargeting vectors from multiple cell types in the liver.
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Machitani M, Sakurai F, Wakabayashi K, Nakatani K, Tachibana M, Kato N, Fujiwara T, Mizuguchi H. Suppression of Oncolytic Adenovirus-Mediated Hepatotoxicity by Liver-Specific Inhibition of NF-κB. MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS 2017; 7:76-85. [PMID: 29202008 PMCID: PMC5704103 DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2017.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Telomerase-specific replication-competent adenoviruses (Ads), i.e., TRADs, which possess an E1 gene expression cassette driven by the human telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter, are promising agents for cancer treatment. However, even though oncolytic Ads, including TRAD, are intratumorally administered, they are disseminated from the tumor to systemic circulation, causing concern about oncolytic Ad-mediated hepatotoxicity (due mainly to leaky expression of Ad genes in liver). We reported that inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) leads to the suppression of replication-incompetent Ad vector-mediated hepatotoxicity via reduction of the leaky expression of Ad genes in liver. Here, to develop a TRAD with an improved safety profile, we designed a TRAD that carries a liver-specific promoter-driven dominant-negative IκBα (DNIκBα) expression cassette (TRAD-DNIκBα). Compared with a conventional TRAD, TRAD-DNIκBα showed hepatocyte-specific inhibition of NF-κB signaling and significantly reduced Ad gene expression and replication in the normal human hepatocyte cell line. TRAD-induced hepatotoxicity was largely suppressed in mice following intravenous administration of TRAD-DNIκBα. However, the replication profiles and oncolytic activities of TRAD-DNIκBα were comparable with those of the conventional TRAD in human non-hepatic tumor cells. These results indicate that oncolytic Ads containing the liver-specific DNIκBα expression cassette have improved safety profiles without inhibiting oncolytic activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuhiro Machitani
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Fuminori Sakurai
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Laboratory of Regulatory Sciences for Oligonucleotide Therapeutics, Clinical Drug Development Unit, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Keisaku Wakabayashi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Kosuke Nakatani
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Masashi Tachibana
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Nobuyuki Kato
- Department of Tumor Virology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
| | - Toshiyoshi Fujiwara
- Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Mizuguchi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Laboratory of Hepatocyte Regulation, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, 7-6-8 Saito, Asagi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0085, Japan.,iPS Cell-Based Research Project on Hepatic Toxicity and Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.,Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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Geisler A, Fechner H. MicroRNA-regulated viral vectors for gene therapy. World J Exp Med 2016; 6:37-54. [PMID: 27226955 PMCID: PMC4873559 DOI: 10.5493/wjem.v6.i2.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2015] [Revised: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Safe and effective gene therapy approaches require targeted tissue-specific transfer of a therapeutic transgene. Besides traditional approaches, such as transcriptional and transductional targeting, microRNA-dependent post-transcriptional suppression of transgene expression has been emerging as powerful new technology to increase the specificity of vector-mediated transgene expression. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs and often expressed in a tissue-, lineage-, activation- or differentiation-specific pattern. They typically regulate gene expression by binding to imperfectly complementary sequences in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the mRNA. To control exogenous transgene expression, tandem repeats of artificial microRNA target sites are usually incorporated into the 3' UTR of the transgene expression cassette, leading to subsequent degradation of transgene mRNA in cells expressing the corresponding microRNA. This targeting strategy, first shown for lentiviral vectors in antigen presenting cells, has now been used for tissue-specific expression of vector-encoded therapeutic transgenes, to reduce immune response against the transgene, to control virus tropism for oncolytic virotherapy, to increase safety of live attenuated virus vaccines and to identify and select cell subsets for pluripotent stem cell therapies, respectively. This review provides an introduction into the technical mechanism underlying microRNA-regulation, highlights new developments in this field and gives an overview of applications of microRNA-regulated viral vectors for cardiac, suicide gene cancer and hematopoietic stem cell therapy, as well as for treatment of neurological and eye diseases.
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Sayeg MK, Weinberg BH, Cha SS, Goodloe M, Wong WW, Han X. Rationally Designed MicroRNA-Based Genetic Classifiers Target Specific Neurons in the Brain. ACS Synth Biol 2015; 4:788-795. [PMID: 25848814 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5b00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Targeting transgene expression to specific cell types in vivo has proven instrumental in characterizing the functional role of defined cell populations. Genetic classifiers, synthetic transgene constructs designed to restrict expression to particular classes of cells, commonly rely on transcriptional promoters to define cellular specificity. However, the large size of many natural promoters complicates their use in viral vectors, an important mode of transgene delivery in the brain and in human gene therapy. Here, we expanded upon an emerging classifier platform, orthogonal to promoter-based strategies, that exploits endogenous microRNA regulation to target gene expression. Such classifiers have been extensively explored in other tissues; however, their use in the nervous system has thus far been limited to targeting gene expression between neurons and supporting cells. Here, we tested the possibility of using combinatory microRNA regulation to specify gene targeting between neuronal subtypes, and successfully targeted inhibitory cells in the neocortex. These classifiers demonstrate the feasibility of designing a new generation of microRNA-based neuron-type- and brain-region-specific gene expression targeting neurotechnologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianna K. Sayeg
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Benjamin H. Weinberg
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Susie S. Cha
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Michael Goodloe
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Wilson W. Wong
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Xue Han
- Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
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Evaluation of transduction properties of an adenovirus vector in neonatal mice. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:685374. [PMID: 26075257 PMCID: PMC4444570 DOI: 10.1155/2015/685374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
In gene therapy for congenital disorders, treatments during neonate and infant stages are promising. Replication-incompetent adenovirus (Ad) vectors have been used in gene therapy studies of genetic disorders; however, the transduction properties of Ad vectors in neonates and infants have not been fully examined. Accordingly, this study examined the properties of Ad vector-mediated transduction in neonatal mice. A first-generation Ad vector containing a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter-driven luciferase expression cassette was administered to neonatal mice on the second day of life via retro-orbital sinus. The highest Ad vector genome copy numbers and transgene expression were found in the neonatal liver. The neonatal heart exhibited the second highest levels of transgene expression among the organs examined. There was an approximately 1500-fold difference in the transgene expression levels between the adult liver and heart, while the neonatal liver exhibited only an approximately 30-fold higher level of transgene expression than the neonatal heart. A liver-specific promoter for firefly luciferase expression conferred a more than 100-fold higher luciferase expression in the liver relative to the other organs. No apparent hepatotoxicity was observed in neonatal mice following Ad vector administration. These findings should provide valuable information for gene therapy using Ad vectors in neonates and infants.
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8
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Shimizu K, Sakurai F, Tomita K, Nagamoto Y, Nakamura SI, Katayama K, Tachibana M, Kawabata K, Mizuguchi H. Suppression of leaky expression of adenovirus genes by insertion of microRNA-targeted sequences in the replication-incompetent adenovirus vector genome. MOLECULAR THERAPY-METHODS & CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT 2014; 1:14035. [PMID: 26015975 PMCID: PMC4362365 DOI: 10.1038/mtm.2014.35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2014] [Revised: 06/16/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Leaky expression of adenovirus (Ad) genes occurs following transduction with a conventional replication-incompetent Ad vector, leading to an induction of cellular immunity against Ad proteins and Ad protein-induced toxicity, especially in the late phase following administration. To suppress the leaky expression of Ad genes, we developed novel Ad vectors by incorporating four tandem copies of sequences with perfect complementarity to miR-122a or miR-142-3p into the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of the E2A, E4, or pIX gene, which were mainly expressed from the Ad vector genome after transduction. These Ad vectors easily grew to high titers comparable to those of a conventional Ad vector in conventional 293 cells. The leaky expression of these Ad genes in mouse organs was significantly suppressed by 2- to 100-fold, compared with a conventional Ad vector, by insertion of the miRNA-targeted sequences. Notably, the Ad vector carrying the miR-122a–targeted sequences into the 3′-UTR of the E4 gene expressed higher and longer-term transgene expression and more than 20-fold lower levels of all the Ad early and late genes examined in the liver than a conventional Ad vector. miR-122a–mediated suppression of the E4 gene expression in the liver significantly reduced the hepatotoxicity which an Ad vector causes via both adaptive and non-adaptive immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kahori Shimizu
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
| | - Fuminori Sakurai
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan ; Laboratory of Regulatory Sciences for Oligonucleotide Therapeutics, Clinical Drug Development Unit, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
| | - Kyoko Tomita
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
| | - Yasuhito Nagamoto
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan ; Laboratory of Hepatocyte Differentiation, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation , Osaka, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichiro Nakamura
- Research Center of Animal Life Science, Shiga University of Medical Science , Shiga, Japan
| | - Kazufumi Katayama
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
| | - Masashi Tachibana
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenji Kawabata
- Laboratory of Stem Cell Regulation, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation , Osaka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Mizuguchi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan ; Laboratory of Hepatocyte Differentiation, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation , Osaka, Japan ; iPS Cell-Based Research Project on Hepatic Toxicity and Metabolism, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan ; The Center for Advanced Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University , Osaka, Japan
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Simonato M, Bennett J, Boulis NM, Castro MG, Fink DJ, Goins WF, Gray SJ, Lowenstein PR, Vandenberghe LH, Wilson TJ, Wolfe JH, Glorioso JC. Progress in gene therapy for neurological disorders. Nat Rev Neurol 2013; 9:277-91. [PMID: 23609618 PMCID: PMC3908892 DOI: 10.1038/nrneurol.2013.56] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Diseases of the nervous system have devastating effects and are widely distributed among the population, being especially prevalent in the elderly. These diseases are often caused by inherited genetic mutations that result in abnormal nervous system development, neurodegeneration, or impaired neuronal function. Other causes of neurological diseases include genetic and epigenetic changes induced by environmental insults, injury, disease-related events or inflammatory processes. Standard medical and surgical practice has not proved effective in curing or treating these diseases, and appropriate pharmaceuticals do not exist or are insufficient to slow disease progression. Gene therapy is emerging as a powerful approach with potential to treat and even cure some of the most common diseases of the nervous system. Gene therapy for neurological diseases has been made possible through progress in understanding the underlying disease mechanisms, particularly those involving sensory neurons, and also by improvement of gene vector design, therapeutic gene selection, and methods of delivery. Progress in the field has renewed our optimism for gene therapy as a treatment modality that can be used by neurologists, ophthalmologists and neurosurgeons. In this Review, we describe the promising gene therapy strategies that have the potential to treat patients with neurological diseases and discuss prospects for future development of gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Simonato
- Section of Pharmacology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Fossato di Mortara 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy. michele.simonato@ unife.it
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