Introduction to Vectors for Suicide Gene Therapy

Suicide gene therapy requires vectors or vehicles capable of efficient and selective gene delivery of the therapeutic genes to tumor cells. A number of vector systems has been proposed for gene therapy. These include: the viral vectors, adenoviruses (see Chapters 4 and 5 ), adeno-associated viruses (AAV), herpes simplex virus (1 ), parvoviruses, lentiviruses, retroviruses (2 ,3 ) (see Chapter 6 ), naked DNA (with or without electroporation) (4 ), bacteria (see Chapter 3 )—and nonviral vectors—cationic lipids, liposomes, polyethyleneimine (PEI), polyamino acids, peptides, and dendrimers (see Chapters 7 and 8 ).