Tissue Science and Regenerative Medicine

Gene and Immunotherapy

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Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease and immunotherapy is the treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (defence) system to fight infection and disease. Genetic immunization refers to treatment strategies where gene transfer methods are used to generate immune responses against diseases like Cancer. Our growing knowledge of the mechanisms regulating the initiation and maintenance of cytotoxic immune responses has provided the rationale for the design of several genetic immunization strategies. Tumor cells have been gene-modified to express immune stimulatory genes and are then administered as tumor vaccines, in an attempt to overcome tumour cell ignorance by the immune system. With the description of well-characterized tumor antigens, multiple strategies have been proposed mainly aimed at optimal tumor antigen presentation by antigen-presenting cells (APC).