CNS Gene Therapy and a Nexus of Complexity: Systems and Biology at a Crossroads

Cell Transplantation

Review

Carolyn M. Tyler¹  Howard J. Federoff¹ 

[1]Center for Aging and Developmental Biology, Aab Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Neurology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester NY 14642, USA

关键词: Gene therapy;    CNS;    Neurodegenerative diseases;    Nerve growth factor;   

DOI  :  10.3727/000000006783982007

 received in 2006-02-10, accepted in 2006-02-13,  发布年份 2006

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Gene therapy is a potentially promising new treatment for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), which has been difficult to treat with conventional therapeutics. Viral vector-mediated somatic gene therapy is a rapidly developing methodology for providing never before achieved capability to deliver specific genes to the CNS in a highly localized and controlled manner. With the advent and refinements of this technology one focus is directed to which genes are the most appropriate to select for specific disease indications. Nerve growth factor (NGF), a potent survival factor for critical cell populations that degenerate in AD, has been chosen already for clinical gene therapy trials in human AD patients. Much knowledge about the pathophysiological underpinnings of AD is still lacking to make clear which patients may benefit from a gene therapy approach. Moreover, a detailed understanding of sustained NGF action in the normal and diseased CNS needs to be resolved before conclusions can be drawn regarding the utility of NGF gene therapy. Systematic efforts to acquire this new knowledge should compel clinically and biologically sophisticated efforts to advance gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© 2006 Cognizant Comm. Corp.