Abstract

When one considers the choice of viral vectors for use in gene therapy systems, candidates usually include adenovirus and retrovirus families and, in the case of retrovirus, most recently the HIV-derived lentiviral vectors. These vectors have been chosen based on criteria such as tropism, duration of expression, and capacity to integrate in the host genome. A number of characteristics of their life cycle make poxviruses poor candidates for long-term expression, and, as a result, they are neglected by investigators and rarely represented in reviews and at conferences. However, vaccinia and its relatives may be ideal in immunotherapy applications, including their use as replicating agents that can be directed against solid tumors. Poxvirus vectors, which enable us, as immunologists, to revisit 1 of our greatest triumphs (Figure ​(Figure1),1), can be used both to deliver recombinant vaccines and to effect in situ gene transfer to provide cytokines that promote the recognition and rejection of tumors.

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