Gene Therapy

Paper Summary:

As gene therapy has moved from the laboratory into the clinic, several issues have emerged as central to the development of this technology: gene identification, gene expression and gene delivery. The author of this paper points out that gene therapy is a method for the treatment or prevention of disease that utilizes genes to provide the patient's cells with the genetic information necessary to produce specific therapeutic proteins needed to correct or combat disease. The paper also introduces genomics research, which seeks to map the human genome, or total DNA content of the human cell.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Background and Direction
Potential
Other Gene Therapy Directions

From the Paper:

"Genes are segments of deoxyribonucleic acid ("DNA") present in each cell in the body, which provide the information cells use to produce protein. Protein production begins in the nucleus of the cell when the gene is copied or "transcribed", resulting in the creation of a form of ribonucleic acid ("RNA") known as "messenger RNA." Specific DNA sequences called "promoters" control the extent of copying (transcription) of genes. Messenger RNA then moves from the nucleus of the cell into the cell's cytoplasm, where it is "translated" by the cell into protein. The process of transcription and translation that results in protein production by the cell is called "gene expression". The absence or defective structure of specific genes may change the composition or pattern of proteins expressed by the cell, causing certain inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy as well as acquired diseases such as cancer."

More papers on Gene Therapy:

• Research Paper # 137088 : "Gene Therapy Treatment"
• Analytical Essay # 126596 : "Gene Therapy"
• Analytical Essay # 123144 : "Sickle Cell Disease and Gene Therapy"

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