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<\/p>\nResearchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a modified bacterial virus that can deliver gene therapies cheaper and more efficiently \u2013 moving us closer toward personalised, affordable genetic medicine.<\/p>\n
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Researchers at the University of Waterloo\u2019s School of Pharmacy<\/a> have developed a new method using a modified bacterial virus to deliver gene therapies cheaper more efficiently. The team focuses on a bacterial virus called M13 \u2013 which can target specific human cells while carrying only the therapeutic genes \u2013 eliminating any unwanted virus or bacterial material.<\/p>\n The study, published in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids<\/a>, allows scientists to fine-tune M13 to deliver different therapeutic genes \u2013 potentially treating a wide range of diseases.<\/p>\n The need for accessible treatments<\/p>\n About one in 25 people has an inherited disease<\/a>. Despite this prevalence, many genetic conditions lack effective treatments and are still incurable. The Waterloo team believes their method could address not only inherited disorders but also acquired conditions \u2013 including some forms of cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Waterloo team believes their method could address not only inherited disorders but also acquired conditions \u2013 including some forms of cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a real need for customisable gene therapies to address the gap in treatments,\u201d said Dr Roderick Slavcev, a professor in Waterloo\u2019s School of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s exciting about M13 is that it is very simple genetically and structurally, a single-stranded DNA phage. This simplicity allows for a cost-effective, efficient, and controllable approach to gene therapy that may represent a step towards personalised gene therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n Limitations of current gene therapy<\/p>\n Current gene therapies \u2013 which often use modified viruses to deliver genetic material \u2013have successfully treated some eye and immune system disorders. These therapies replace, repair or turn off faulty genes to restore normal cell function.<\/p>\n However, traditional viral methods are expensive and can trigger toxic side effects, including unwanted immune responses, restricting them to a single use per patient. Non-viral methods, while safer and cheaper, struggle to deliver genetic material efficiently.<\/p>\n \u201cAt scale, this platform can lead to treatments that could cost as low as one-millionth the cost of current viral gene therapies,\u201d Slavcev said.<\/p>\n Potential future applications<\/p>\n Dr Slavcev and the Waterloo team\u2019s work highlights how re-engineering a simple bacterial virus could move us toward safer, cheaper and more versatile gene therapies. By refining M13 into a controllable delivery system, researchers aim to overcome the cost and safety barriers that have limited current approaches. While further testing is needed, this platform could expand treatment options for both rare inherited conditions and widespread diseases such as cancer, stroke and Alzheimer\u2019s \u2013 bringing the possibility of accessible, personalised gene therapy closer to reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a modified bacterial virus that can deliver gene therapies cheaper…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[267,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-374971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115095188674539937","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}