From Wikipedia,
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Adeno associated virus
is a virus associated with
Adenovirus. Note that it is
not an adenovirus. It is commonly
called AAV. It cannot replicate on
its own, it requires a cell to be
co-infected with Adenovirus in
order to replicate. In the absence
of co-infection with Adenovirus,
the AAV goes into a
latent phase. It then
incorporates its DNA into genome
of host cell into a specific site
on 19th chromosome. This latent
phase makes AAV attractive for
gene therapy applications as a
gene of interest in AAV can
persist in the host cell genome
for a long period. AAV is a small
parvovirus, its wildtype
genome is 4.7kb. The upper limit
for its use in gene therapy
applications is about 4.4kb.
Type 2
Studies have shown that a
serotype of the virus, called
AAV-2 apparently kills cancer
cells without harming healthy
ones. "Our results suggest that
adeno-associated virus type 2,
which infects the majority of the
population but has no known ill
effects, kills multiple types of
cancer cells yet has no effect on
healthy cells," said
Craig Meyers, a professor of
immunology and
microbiology at the
Penn State College of Medicine
in
Pennsylvania.[1]
This could lead to a new
anti-cancer agent that could help
millions of people.
References
