Abstract
Recent reports have described some of the underlying components and mechanisms that contribute to the species barrier to retro/lentiviruses, and vectors derived from them. At least part of this blockade is thought to be due to restriction factors, which act to subvert incoming virions down non-replicative pathways. At high multiplicities of infection (MOI) such factors can be titrated away, allowing the cell to be transduced. Elsewhere it has been demonstrated that, similarly to HIV and MLV, Equine Infectious Anaemia virus (EIAV) vectors may also be restricted in a variety of cell types, including human cells. If true, this may have implications regarding EIAV vectors' utility for human gene therapy applications. We have developed highly engineered completely minimal EIAV vectors, and have demonstrated the vectors' potential in a number of pre-clinical models of human disease, including recent studies in models of Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We are currently developing the vector system and an associated bank of safety tests, as a prerequisite for treating Parkinson's disease in patients.
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