Viral vectors are viruses modified in a lab to introduce genetic material into cells for therapeutic treatments, gene therapy, and research. Adenoviruses, retroviruses, herpesviruses, and lentiviruses are popular choices. They can be modified to target specific cells and have potential bioterrorism uses. Creating a single vector can take time and genetic markers can be used to trace them.
A viral vector is a virus that has been modified in a laboratory setting for the purpose of introducing genetic material into a cell. There are numerous uses for viral vectors, including therapeutic disease treatments, gene therapy, and pure research. Laboratories around the world make viral vectors for their own research and produce vectors for use by other laboratories, and some companies specialize in manufacturing and selling viral vectors that can be customized upon request.
The development of the viral vector dates back to the 1960s, when a number of researchers recognized that since viruses operate by inserting genetic material into cells, surely researchers could exploit this trait by modifying viruses to change the genetic material they are inserting. A viral vector is created by taking a virus, removing the harmful genetic material it uses to gain control over cells, and replacing it with desirable genetic material. The process of delivering genetic material with the use of a virus is known as transduction, with the first attempt being successful in 1968 with plant cells.
Adenoviruses, retroviruses, herpesviruses and lentiviruses are popular choices for viral vectors. Modifying a virus to act as a viral vector isn’t as simple as removing a few genes and splicing new ones together. The virus must be altered to be safe, with minimal toxicity, so that the cells it transduces are not inadvertently damaged or killed, and it must also be highly stable. Viral vectors can also be modified to target specific types of cells, which is of particular interest to cancer researchers who want to create targeted therapies that go after cancer cells and nothing else.
The process of developing viral vectors can be painstaking and challenging, and creating a single viral vector can take some time. Researchers may choose to insert genetic markers into the organisms they modify so they can be easily identified, with the markers acting like a fingerprint allowing a vector to be traced to a particular project, researcher or laboratory. This allows researchers to track their carriers when they share them and in case they are released.
Viral vectors can be used for a wide variety of purposes in the medical community. They are also used to vaccinate plants against disease and to conduct laboratory research designed to advance science as a whole. There are also some potential nasty uses for vectors; if they can be modified to introduce good genetic material, they can also be modified to introduce bad genetic material, which means they could be applied in bioterrorism which is designed to harm human, animal or plant populations.
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