FIND ARTICLE

SONIC HEDGEHOG – A MORPHOGEN WITH THERAPEUTIC IMPORTANCE

A development of contemporary methods of therapy as gene therapy is directly based on a search of genes that encode therapeutic proteins. Angiogenic gene therapy takes advantage of genes encoding proangio- genic factors. It is described that embryonic sonic hedgehog protein is a strong stimulator of neovascularization. Sonic hedgehog is implicated in the regulation of central nervous system polarity and differentiation of various organs.

INDUCTION OF APOPTOSIS AS A TARGET OF CANCER GENE THERAPY

Cell death, commonly recognized as necrosis or apoptosis, is thought to be a one of biological processes describing cell life. The phenomena of cell recycling during human life is known for a various types of cells and the resistance of cancer cells to apoptosis is also well described. Proapoptotic gene therapy is one of the method of cancer therapy. The main rationales are focused on induction of apopto- sis of cancer cells and therefore inhibition its growth. Mostly, gene therapy trials are concerned on genes encoding well known proteins of apoptotic signaling as BAX, P53, TNF, caspases.

Viral gene therapy strategies, with particular emphasis vectors constructed with adeno-associated virus (AAV)

Gene therapy can be used in the treatment of many diseases - cancer, AIDS or cardiovascular disorders. Its limited clinical applications mainly due to the difficulties associated with the introduction of genes into tissues and obtaining them effective expression. To date, most gene therapy protocols using a viral system. More often considered the possibility of using a vector constructed from the adeno-associated virus (adeno-associated virus, AAV). AAV vectors to efficiently infect cells that are dividing and non-dividing, integrate into the host genome.

The Editorial Board
Andrzej Łukaszyk - przewodniczący, Zofia Bielańska-Osuchowska, Szczepan Biliński, Mieczysław Chorąży, Aleksander Koj, Włodzimierz Korochoda, Leszek Kuźnicki, Aleksandra Stojałowska, Lech Wojtczak

Editorial address:
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu, ul. Święcickiego 6, 60-781 Poznań, tel. +48 61 8546453, fax. +48 61 8546440, email: mnowicki@ump.edu.pl

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