virus-based-gene-therapy-research

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a well-established model to investigate virus-host interactions due to its ability to modulate cell fate and establish lifelong persistence. Among the immediate-early genes, the multifunctional regulatory protein ICP27, encoded by the UL54 gene, plays a central role in viral mRNA processing, nuclear export, and reprogramming host gene expression. This study …

Every single day, human cells are forced to contend with genomic DNA damage. Caused by everything from environmental toxins and sunlight radiation to the simple, everyday byproduct of our own respiration and metabolism, this stress gradually wears down our telomeres.

The pandemic has left some evidence that viral infection may play a role in reawakening dormant cancer cells already present in a patient’s body before infection.

Nature Communications, Published online: 15 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74435-9 Breast cancers with HER2 overexpression can vary in whether they also express the estrogen receptor, influencing tumor behavior and treatment response. Here, the authors show that in transgenic mouse models, the HER2Δ16 splice variant promotes the development of aggressive luminal tumors by facilitating luminal …

Boston-based biotechnology company Life Biosciences has launched the first-in-human clinical trials of a pioneering “partial cellular reprogramming” technique designed to treat optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma and NAION. Based on previous genetic research, the therapy utilizes a modified virus to deliver three youth-restoring genes to retinal cells, aiming to reverse cellular aging while pre…

The first participant has been treated in a landmark clinical trial of cellular reprogramming, which aims to rejuvenate aging cells

Scientists studying the remarkable regenerative abilities of planarian flatworms have uncovered a previously unknown type of immune cell with an unusually destructive defense strategy. What if an immune cell could wipe out nearby threats by detonating itself? That is exactly what Stanford researchers have discovered in one of nature’s most unlikely creatures: the planarian flatworm. [...]

Scientific Reports, Published online: 14 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-54099-7 Molecular and biological characterization of a newly discovered Kayfunavirus bacteriophage targeting multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli from swine feces

Researchers from Amsterdam UMC, in collaboration with other hospitals, have successfully completed the first-ever Phase 3 study of an in vivo CRISPR therapy.

Revolutionary devices, age rewinding, and cell regeneration: scientists are finding multiple promising approaches for curing blindness, and even for stopping vision loss before it starts.

The first participant has been treated in a landmark clinical trial of cellular reprogramming, which aims to rejuvenate aging cells

An experimental antibody treatment that binds to a protein known as PCDH7 shrank tumors in preclinical models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including those resistant to a targeted therapy, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers showed. The findings, published in Science Advances, could eventually lead to a new class of drugs […]

A new treatment platform developed by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was able to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) of the full-length DMD gene into preclinical models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, successfully restoring the production of an important muscle protein, dystrophin, and dramatically improving muscle strength, endurance and function in vivo. […]

Cancer treatment has improved greatly over the past few decades. Many people with cancer can now undergo surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or newer targeted treatments and achieve excellent results. Yet one of the biggest challenges remains the same: preventing cancer from returning after treatment appears successful. This problem is especially serious for pancreatic cancer and […] The po…

Cancer remission, in which tumor cells enter a dormant state and a patient’s symptoms subside, can persist for years or decades.1 Both the cancer cells themselves and the tumor microenvironment maintain this period of inactivity.2 While inflammation has been shown to disrupt this microenvironment, leading to metastasis, the mechanisms of this process remain unclear. Seeing […]

While non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has revolutionised prenatal diagnostics by allowing the detection of a number of genetic problems in a fetus, it is currently limited and thus misses many genetic causes of abnormalities.

Malcolm Brenner, an internationally recognized physician‑scientist renowned for his leadership in cell and gene therapy, has been tapped to lead the newly formed Houston Methodist Center for Cell and Gene Therapy.

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Researchers have identified a target that may improve the response of CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment for patients with recurrent or difficult to treat blood cancers....

Malcolm Brenner to lead newly-formed Houston Methodist Center for Cell and Gene Therapy