A gene therapy research team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has developed a new method of signaling therapeutic genes to turn “off” or “on,” a mechanism that could enable scientists to fine-tune genetic- and stem cell-based therapies so that they are safer, more controllable and more effective.

Although other similar signaling systems have been developed, the Cedars-Sinai research is the first to give physicians the flexibility to arbitrarily turn the gene expression on or off even in the presence of an immune response to adenovirus, as would be present in most patients undergoing clinical trials. This has been a major obstacle in bringing the testing of genetic therapies to humans in a clinical setting.

As reported in a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Virology, the development of a new delivery system that can more effectively regulate therapeutic gene expression has important implications for efforts to advance gene and stem cell therapy strategies that may ultimately be used to treat life-threatening neurodegenerative diseases in the clinical setting. The study, which involved laboratory rats, focused on the area of the brain that has already been the target for research into genetic therapies for Parkinson’s disease.

Source: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center news release