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Cancer Gene Therapy (2002) 9, 692 699D 2002 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0929-1903 / 02 $25.00www.nature.com / cgtViruses as gene delivery vectors: Application to gene
function, target validation, and assay developmentMichael T Lotze,1 and Thomas A Kost 21Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, UPMC Health System,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, USA; and2Gene Expression and Protein Biochemistry, GlaxoSmithKlineDiscovery Research, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.A Biochemical Pharmacology Discussion Group Conference, was held at the headquarters of the New York Academy of Scienceson December 4, 2001 as part of an ongoing series designed to highlight and review areas important to modern drug development(Figure 1). Briefly introduced by Tom Kost (GlaxoSmithKline ) and Michael Lotze (University of Pittsburgh ), the focus was on theintersection of genomics, proteomics, and now viromics. The latter term refers to the use of viruses and viral gene transfer toexplore the complexity arising from the vast array of new targets available from the human and murine genomes. Indeed, access tolarge numbers of genes using viral vectors is a key tool for drug discovery and drug delivery. With 38,000 genes identified within thehuman genome, only 5000 are considered readily druggable. Generating tools such as these to validate targets represents a majorpart of the armamentarium of the postgenomic scientist. During the last 12 years alone, there have been over 26,000 publications onvirus vectors. Many of them have been found useful in target validation, assay development, and evaluation in in vivo models andgene therapy. Thus, there is now an extensive knowledge base for several viral vectors, with unique attributes within each of themproviding versatility, efficiency, and ease of use. The individual scientists presenting at the meeting illustrated many of the unique anduseful characteristics of such vector systems including retrovirus, adenovirus, herpes virus, simbis virus, and baculovirus.Cancer Gene Therapy (2002 ) 9, 692 699 doi:10.1038/sj.cgt.7700493Keywords: gene therapy; vectors; gene delivery; target validation; assay development; retrovirus; adenovirus; herpes virus; simbis
virus; baculovirusGarry Nolan, PhD [Stanford]; Delivery and delivered.
Retroviridae and intracellular combinatorial chemistryDescriptive genomics, relational genomics, and biochemical
approaches can all be used to develop an understanding of
novel molecular targets. Any target that is identified through
genomics will ultimately need to pass through a cellular
physiology screen of biology and functional genomic
analysis....