Seminari VHIR - Dr. Rubén Hernández Alcoceba "Adenoviral vectors"

Dr. Rubén Hernández Alcoceba, Division of Gene Therapy and Hepatology CIMA -Universidad de Navarra  (UNAV)

"Adenoviral vectors"

The Adenoviridae family comprises a wide variety of human and animal viruses sharing genetic and structural characteristics. Their 80-100 nm non-enveloped icosahedral capsids contain core proteins and a ~36 Kb double-stranded genome packed with structural and regulatory genes. The study of adenoviral life cycle and its interactions with the host has revealed fundamental biological processes over several decades, and most likely it will enlighten us for many years to come.
More recently, adenoviruses have become versatile platforms for the development of therapeutic agents. The stability of their genome and the relative simplicity of its manipulation have enabled the development of a wide repertoire of adenovirus-based products with different properties, all of them sharing a high transduction efficacy in mammalian cell cultures and in vivo.
Their lytic life cycle has been exploited for the development of oncolytic agents, whereas progressive deletions of the viral genomes has resulted in gene therapy vectors with optimal cloning capacity and increased episomal stability. The strong immune responses elicited by adenoviral particles have been a drawback for early generation adenoviral vectors, but they are currently harnessed to develop vaccines and improved cancer immunotherapies.
This seminar will cover general characteristics of adenovirus and their adaptation as gene therapy vectors, with special attention to High-Capacity Adenoviral vectors.

Host: Immunomediated Diseases and Innovative Therapies  jordi.barquinero@vhir.org