Gene Therapy

Gene Therapy is the altering the genotype of a tissue or organ

In early stages treatments hope to include:

• GM white blood cells that produce proteins that kill cancer cells
• targeting genes at cancer cells to kill them or revert them back to normal cells
• white blood cells that would not reproduce if infected with HIV
• germ-line modification (only present in animals) which is currently illegal
• at present, only somatic cell therapy is legal which alters only specific cells in the body

Applications of Gene Technology

3 main applications to date: -

1.Gene Products:

Using genetically modified (GM) organisms (usually microbes) to produce chemicals for medical or industrial applications

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2. New Phenotypes:

Using gene technology to alter the characteristics of organisms such as crops

These include:

• Fast-growing sheep & fish
• Crops resistant to insects, herbicides & viruses
• Long life tomatoes & some fruit
• Crop improvement & nitrogen-fixing crops
• Cattle resistant to mastisis (> higher yield of milk)
• Sheep resistant to ticks (> may not need sheep dip)

3. Gene Therapy:

using gene technology on humans to treat diseases