AAV2 Ribbon Diagram

Adeno-associated virus looked like a promising vector for gene therapy in the mid-1990s, but then sank with the death of Jesse Gelsinger in 1999 who was gene therapy’s first death resulting from the treatment, and more specifically, from his immune system response to the AAV vector. AAV is not linked to any human disease in itself, and in due course, interest in this gene delivery means has rebounded with new findings. In this piece, researchers at Stanford and the Oregon Health Sciences University report their discovery of the transmembrane receptor that allows AAV to attach to the cell surface and enter the cytosol without integrating into the cell’s chromosomes. MORE

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