Abstract
Electroporation is a technology that increases cell membrane permeability by the application of electric pulses. Electrochemotherapy (ECT), the best-known application of electroporation, is a very effective local treatment for tumors of any histology in human and veterinary medicine. It induces a local yet robust immune response that is responsible for its high effectiveness. Gene electrotransfer (GET), used in research to produce a systemic immune response against cancer, is another electroporation-based treatment that is very appealing for its effectiveness, low cost, and simplicity. In this review, we present the immune effect of electroporation-based treatments and analyze the results of the vast majority of the published papers related to immune response enhancement by gene electrotransfer in companion animals with spontaneous tumors. In addition, we present a brief history of the initial steps and the state of the art of the electroporation-based treatments in Latin America. They have the potential to become an essential form of immunotherapy in the region. This review gives insight into the subject and helps to choose promising research lines for future work; it also helps to select the adequate treatment parameters for performing a successful application of this technology.
Highlights
Veterinary medicine has been continually growing as owners seek for better care for their pets.Companion animals have become a vital component of many families, and the expenditure in their treatments has been increasing steadily in the last decades [1]
Veterinarians used to treat every disease without distinction, but in recent times some of them have specialized in specific fields, giving rise to different medical specialties in veterinary medicine such as the ones which exist in human medicine
ECT is a treatment for cancer which consists in the application of an electric field to increase cell membrane permeability to bleomycin or cisplatin
Summary
Veterinary medicine has been continually growing as owners seek for better care for their pets. ECT is a treatment for cancer which consists in the application of an electric field to increase cell membrane permeability to bleomycin or cisplatin. It was first described by Mir et al in 1991 [2], and the first clinical trial was published later that same year [3]. Before using electric fields to introduce cisplatin or bleomycin into cells, they were used to introduce genes and increase their expression using a technique called Gene Electrotransfer (GET) It was first introduced by Neumann et al in 1982 [4], who described it as a simple, applicable, and efficient method for gene transfection. The high response rate of electroporation-based treatments for biomedical applications made them an increasingly-used therapeutic procedure in oncology both in human and veterinary medicine. We will explore the reasons why each of the electroporation-based treatments mentioned could be a good candidate for developing an immunogenic strategy, the state of the art of electroporation-based treatments, and the availability of electroporation devices for their application in Latin America
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
