Our goal is to understand the molecular processes that take place during retroviral transduction and develop new strategies to increase the efficiency of gene transfer to target cells and more specifically, epidermal keratinocytes. In addition, we seek to understand the forces that drive keratinocyte differentiation and stratification at the air-liquid interface. The cellular mechanisms of in vitro epidermopoiesis may suggest ways to improve the properties of skin equivalents in order to promote wound healing. Our ultimate goal is to either impart new functions to cells or enhance existing cellular activities, in order to improve the therapeutic potential of skin substitutes. Gene therapy is a new therapeutic modality that is likely to play an important role in the delivery of health care during the coming century.
Gene therapy is defined as the transfer of genes into cells to achieve a therapeutic effect .
Although gene therapy was initially developed for the treatment of single gene defects, the majority of ongoing clinical trials involve various gene transfer technologies in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers and infectious diseases. Currently, recombinant retroviruses are used in the majority of gene therapy clinical trials. However, clinical implementation of gene therapy is still hampered primarily due to the low efficiency of gene transfer achieved with current protocols . Overcoming these limitations will have a significant impact on the transition of gene therapy from the laboratory to clinical implementation, with important socio-economic consequences. Structure of Retrovirus Retroviruses are complex enveloped particles with a lipid bilayer surrounding a nucleocapsid containing genetic material and enzymes necessary for replication.