Lentiviral vector in gene therapy
Lentiviral vectors in gene therapy is a method by which genes can be inserted, modified, or deleted in organisms using lentiviruses. Lentiviruses are a family of viruses that are responsible for diseases like AIDS, which infect by inserting DNA into their host cells' genome. Many such viruses have been the basis of research using viruses in gene therapy, but the lentivirus is unique in its ability to infect non-dividing cells, and therefore has a wider range of potential applications. Lentiviruses can become endogenous (ERV), integrating their genome into the host germline genome, so that the virus is henceforth inherited by the host's descendants. Scientists use the lentivirus' mechanisms of infection to achieve a desired outcome to gene therapy. Lentiviral vectors in gene therapy have been pioneered by Luigi Naldini. To understand the capabilities of a lentiviral vector, one has to consider the biology of the infection process. The lentivirus is a retrovirus, meaning it has a single stranded RNA genome with a reverse transcriptase enzyme. Lentiviruses also have a viral envelope with protruding glycoproteins that aid in attachment to the host cell's outer membrane. The virus contains a reverse transcriptase molecule found to perform transcription of the viral genetic material