An overview of gene therapy approaches to neurological malignancies.
Tumour development is a disease of both somatic and genetic origin. It originates from a combination of oncogene and tumour suppressor alterations that force the cell into unprogrammed proliferation. It is reasonable to think that a genetic disease could be cured by gene therapy, and several strategies along this line are presently being employed. The use of retroviruses to carry 'suicide' genes has been the most successful approach to date for the treatment of neurological malignancies. The use of adenoviruses with deletions in the E1B region opens a new and elegant possibility for the destruction of tumours deficient in the p53 suppressor gene. Strategies based on the inhibition of angiogenesis are being developed, and those based on blockade of inducers of angiogenesis have given encouraging results in experimental animal models. However, gene therapy has not yet been able to permanently cure a human genetic disease, thereby creating a certain degree of caution among scientists and clinicians.
Izquierdo
M L
ML
Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. MIzquierdo@cbm.uam.es