Gene therapy for obesity.
A sedentary life-style and an environment of caloric abundance have contributed to the recent rise in the incidence of obesity. Treating such a complex disease requires an understanding of its underlying molecular mechanisms that has only recently become possible with the sequencing of the human genome and the mapping of hundreds of genes associated with increased risk of obesity. With few safe and efficacious weight-maintenance drugs available on the market, gene therapy offers an alternative long-term treatment modality. Still in its infancy, gene therapy for obesity is poised for significant progress, due in large part to a wide variety of available gene targets and the development of novel systems to control gene expression. Coincidently, novel vectors are being developed based on adeno-associated virus providing efficient and sustained expression of a transgene in metabolically important tissues. These advances are driving the development of gene therapy as a viable therapeutic option in treating obesity and its associated disorders.
Zolotukhin
Sergei
S
University of Florida, Division of Cellular and Molecular Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, 13706 Innovation Drive, Progress Park, Alachua, FL 32615-9586, USA. sergei@ufl.edu
D018390:Gene Targeting / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy*