Particle-Mediated Gene Therapy of Wounds

Advances in molecular biology and the understanding of the molecular basis of many diseases have provided tools necessary for a new approach to the treatment of both inherited and acquired diseases. This approach, called gene therapy, was initially focused on the correction of inherited diseases for which no therapeutic approaches were available (1 ,2 ). However, it is now clear that the technique of gene therapy can potentially be applied to the local, temporary treatment of acquired diseases, including impaired wound healing and tissue repair (3 ). Gene therapy is becoming a reality, and it is a particularly attractive approach for wound healing, since the wound site is often exposed, the treatment and condition should be transient, and gene products such as growth factors and cytokines suffer from problems with bioavailability and stability. Such approaches are often innovative and provide solutions to the problems inherent in cell-based drug delivery methods.