Third-Generation Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Chimeric Antigen Receptor Expression on Human T Cells Improves with Two-Signal Activation

Engineering Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics in Tumor

In the past 10 years, with the increase of investment in clinical nano-gene therapy, there are many trials that have been discontinued due to poor efficacy and serious side effects. Therefore, it is particularly important to design a suitable gene delivery system. In this paper, we introduce the application of liposomes, polymers, and inorganics in gene delivery; also, different modifications with some stimuli-responsive systems can effectively improve the efficiency of gene delivery and reduce cytotoxicity and other side effects. Besides, the co-delivery of chemotherapy drugs with a drug tolerance-related gene or oncogene provides a better theoretical basis for clinical cancer gene therapy.

Zinc-Finger Nucleases Induced by HIV-1 Tat Excise HIV-1 from the Host Genome in Infected and Latently Infected Cells

Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) cannot clear infected cells harboring HIV-1 proviral DNA from HIV-1-infected patients. We previously demonstrated that zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) can specifically and efficiently excise HIV-1 proviral DNA from latently infected human T cells by targeting long terminal repeats (LTRs), a novel and alternative antiretroviral strategy for eradicating HIV-1 infection. To prevent unwanted off-target effects from constantly expressed ZFNs, in this study, we engineered the expression of ZFNs under the control of HIV-1 LTR, by which ZFN expression can be activated by the HIV-1 (Trans-Activator of Transcription) Tat protein. Our results show that functional expression of ZFNs induced by Tat excise the integrated proviral DNA of HIV-NL4-3-eGFP in approximately 30% of the population of HIV-1-infected cells. The results from HIV-1-infected human primary T cells and latently infected T cells treated with the inducible ZFNs further validated that proviral DNA can be excised. Taken together, positively regulated expression of ZFNs in the presence of HIV-1 Tat may provide a safer and novel implementation of genome-editing technology for eradicating HIV-1 proviral DNA from infected host cells.