Gene therapy in transplantation

Prolongation of islet allograft survival following ex vivo transduction with adenovirus encoding a soluble type 1 TNF receptor–Ig fusion decoy

“…45,46 Local blockade of these cytokines could confer a shield of immune cover to the transplant, thereby prolonging the life and function of the transplant. TNFa and IL-1b are released by macrophages and, very likely, dendritic cells in response to a variety of anomalous changes in a given tissue.…”

Human myeloid dendritic cells transduced with an adenoviral interleukin-10 gene construct inhibit human skin graft rejection in humanized NOD-scid chimeric mice

“…13 By using somatic gene therapy techniques with immunosuppressive cytokines it is now possible to genetically engineer DC to favour a tolerogenic response and thus prevent recipient T cell activation. [14][15][16] The cytokine IL-10 is an immunosuppressive cytokine with multiple immuno-modulatory effects upon DC function. IL-10 down-regulates cell expression of the DC co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86.…”

Feasibility of CTLA4Ig gene delivery and expression in vivo using retrovirally transduced myeloid dendritic cells that induce alloantigen-specific T cell anergy in vitro

“…37 Gene therapy of graft rejection or autoimmune disease is at an early stage of development, and a variety of gene transfer technologies are under investigation. [46][47][48] The use of adenoviral vectors has already been well-documented, and with respect to transduction efficiency, it appears a most effective method to deliver foreign cDNA into DC. However, transgene expression is comparatively shortlived, and viral protein expression is immunogenic compared with other methods of gene transfer.…”