Daily Archives: May 23, 2014

Solestia - Genetic Engineering

By: BeyondTheBeyond

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Solestia - Genetic Engineering - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-May-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, May 22, 2014To make up for insufficient amounts of SMN protein, the cause of the inherited neuromuscular disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), researchers have successfully delivered a replacement SMN1 gene directly to the spinal cords of animal models of SMA. A new study demonstrating that enough copies of the SMN1 gene can be delivered to the spinal cord motor neurons to extend the survival of the treated animals is published in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website.

Marco Passini and coauthors from Genzyme (Framingham, MA), University of California San Francisco, Emory University School of Medicine (Atlanta, GA), and Georgetown University Medical Center (Washington, DC) used an adeno-associated viral vector as the delivery vehicle to transport copies of the SMN1 gene into motor neurons in the spinal cord via intrathecal delivery. They report on the effectiveness of restoring the levels of functional SMN protein in normal pig and non-human primate SMA models that would predict efficacy based on gene transfer with the same vector in an authentic mouse model of SMA in the article "Translational Fidelity of Intrathecal Delivery of Self-Complementary AAV9Survival Motor Neuron 1 for Spinal Muscular Atrophy."

"This is a very promising and thorough set of preclinical studies that supports rapid translation to the clinic," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.

About the Publisher

Read more:
Gene therapy extends survival in an animal model of spinal muscular atrophy

Court decision keeps NZ GE-free

A recent High Court decision is a victory for New Zealand consumers, farmers and foresters, says the Soil & Health Association. The High Court ruled against a decision by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) that two new plant breeding techniques were not genetic engineering techniques.

Soil & Health welcomes the court ruling. Without it New Zealand would have lost its status and international reputation as a producer of GE-free food and fibre.

If the EPAs decision had not been challenged and found wanting, plants bred using these GE techniques could have been planted in New Zealand without any public consultation or monitoring of their effects, said Marion Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health.

There are other new techniques like this, and they must all be thoroughly and independently scrutinised and the precautionary principle applied. Otherwise, its an uncontrolled experiment that could have adverse effects for people, animals and the environment.

The High Court ruled that the EPA had misinterpreted the law and that it had failed to apply the precautionary principle.

Soil & Health is concerned about the ability of the EPA to protect our environment, says Thomson. We commend the Sustainability Council for challenging the EPAs decision, but we should not have to rely on not-for-profit watchdog organisations to protect our environment. That is the job of the EPA, and we urge them to apply the precautionary principle in any similar decisions in future.

Soil & Health has been informing its members and the public about genetic engineering for over 25 years. It has played a key role in advocating for a GE-free New Zealand for health, environmental, economic and other reasons. The New Zealand public, and our key markets, have consistently opposed genetic engineering in food and the environment.

ENDS

Scoop Media

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Court decision keeps NZ GE-free