A little basic understanding about a Virus.
First, a virus is not a bacteria. It’s not a fungus. It's a whole different entity. It is not a parasite either. A virus is an infection. It is a microbe. It has segments of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA). Surrounding the DNA or RNA there is a shell or we can consider it to be an inner coat that's made out of proteins. This is called a capsid. Capsids are protein shells that surround and protect the viral genome. Some viruses also have a type of covering on the outside. That outside covering is called an envelope. A virus cannot replicate alone; instead, it has to infect other cells. You or another animal have components that the virus needs in order to make copies of itself. a virus can kill you or another animal, bird, or living host. It causes damage to the host organism. Well-known examples of viruses causing human disease include AIDS, COVID-19, measles, and smallpox. There are many different viruses. In order for viruses to exist through an attempt at annihilation, they mutate in defense and for their survival.
The definition of vaccination was changed to include “therapy” or treatment during the Covid pandemic. ( Prior to the Covid pandemic when you were treated with a true vaccination.) You were given either a live virus or a dead or attenuated (reduced in force, effect, or value) virus inside an injection. Also, a vaccine could be given orally or in your veins in a solution.
A virus is an enemy to a human being. Why? Like cancer, a virus kills good cells. It uses what the good cell has to offer it. After obtaining what it needs, it leaves the attacked human cell unable to function correctly. It then continues its viral reproduction of itself, continuing its harmful destruction of human cells. Viruses are intracellular organisms that depend on our cellular “machinery” for replication. That is why it is hard to kill without killing our own cells too. It is an enemy. Our immune systems naturally recognize it and try to overcome it.
We have antiviral drugs. Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen; instead, they inhibit its development. These drugs work together with our immune systems to render the virals weak and able to be destroyed by our immune T and B cells armies.
Houston We have a problem! With the continued use of Antibiotics and Antiviral drugs, humans have come to be resistant to their benefit. In many people, they are no longer effective. Viruses are difficult to kill. Antiviral drugs, are NOT Gene Therapy.
Gene Therapy is not a vaccination. Gene Therapy is Gene therapy. It involves altering the genes inside your body's cells. Genes contain DNA — the code that controls much of your body's form and function. DNA is instructions that tell cells what to do and when to do it, how to do it, and even when to do it. Genes that don't work properly can cause disease, disabilities, problems, and cell death.
What is a gene?
Genes consist of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA contains the code, or blueprint, used to synthesize a protein. Genes vary in size, depending on the sizes of the proteins for which they code.
Each DNA molecule is a long double helix that resembles a spiral staircase containing millions of steps. The steps of the staircase consist of pairs of four types of molecules called bases (nucleotides). In each step, the base adenine (A) is paired with the base thymine (T), or the base guanine (G) is paired with the base cytosine (C). Each extremely long DNA molecule is coiled up inside one of the chromosomes.
Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside your body's cells in an effort to treat or stop the disease. Gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or adds a new gene. Researchers are still studying how and when to use gene therapy. Currently, in the United States, gene therapy is available only as part of a clinical trial.
Researchers are investigating several ways to do this, including:
Replacing mutated genes. a gene called p53 normally prevents tumor growth. Several types of cancer have been linked to problems with the p53 gene. If doctors could replace the defective p53 gene, that might trigger the cancer cells to die. I heard the priority was to irradicate cancer, not cause it!
Fixing mutated genes. Mutated genes that cause disease could be turned off so that they no longer promote disease or healthy genes that help prevent disease could be turned on so that they could inhibit the disease. Just hope your physician identifies the right gene!
Making diseased cells more evident to the immune system. In some cases, your immune system doesn't attack diseased cells because it doesn't recognize them as intruders. Doctors could use gene therapy to train your immune system to recognize the cells that are a threat. Does this mean I gain a new function?
A gene can't easily be inserted directly into your cells. All nurses tell you don’t let the doc start your IV or give you an injection for a good reason! Rather, it usually has to be delivered using a carrier, called a vector. So, I don't have enough vectors circulating that you need to add more? The most common gene therapy vectors are viruses (oh no!) because they can recognize certain cells and carry genetic material into the cells' genes. (if you can’t beat them join them?)
Researchers remove the original disease-causing genes from the viruses, replacing them with the genes needed to stop the disease. Wait a minute, now I have multiples of the same gene causing a rare disorder like sickle cell disease? This technique presents the following risks:
Unwanted immune system reaction. Your body's immune system may see the newly introduced viruses as intruders and attack them. This may cause inflammation and, in severe cases, organ failure. Oh great!
Targeting the wrong cells. Because viruses can affect more than one type of cells, it's possible that the altered viruses may infect additional cells — not just the targeted cells containing mutated genes. If this happens, healthy cells may be damaged, causing other illnesses or diseases, such as cancer. Oops sorry about that, now you’ll have to be on dialysis the rest of your life because he misfired and it destroyed your whole kidney.
Infection is caused by the virus. It's possible that once introduced into the body, the viruses may recover their original ability to cause disease. How’s that working out for ya?
Possibility of causing a tumor. If the new genes get inserted in the wrong spot in your DNA, there is a chance that the insertion might lead to tumor formation. Skin cancer, boils …is that what you mean?
The gene therapy clinical trials underway in the U.S. are closely monitored by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health to ensure that patient safety issues are a top priority during research.ROFL Currently, the only way for you to receive gene therapy is to participate in a clinical trial. The world population who took the Kool-Ade can relate to that. Clinical trials are research studies that help doctors determine whether a gene therapy approach is safe for people. They also help doctors understand the effects of gene therapy on the body. No, it's not! Its to gain approval from FDA to make more money for Big Pharma and the stockholders.
Your specific procedure will depend on the disease you have and the type of gene therapy being used.
You may have blood drawn or you may need bone marrow removed from your hipbone with a large needle. I don't wish that on anyone. Very painful as well as very subject to infection and damage!
Then, in a lab, cells from the blood or bone marrow are exposed to a virus or another type of vector that contains the desired genetic material. Genetic material from who? A bat, rat, monkey, or pig?
Once the vector has entered the cells in the lab, those cells are injected back into your body into a vein or into the tissue, where your cells take up the vector along with the altered genes. Now your body is no longer made in the image of God; now you are growing hair on the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands. Your head has grown horns and you can see in the dark!
Viruses aren't the only vectors that can be used to carry altered genes into your body's cells. Other vectors being studied in clinical trials include: yes, along with the gain of function from a jellyfish.
Stem cells. Stem cells are the cells from which all other cells in your body are created. For gene therapy, stem cells can be trained in a lab to become cells that can help fight disease. Now you have the ability to bark!
Liposomes. These fatty particles have the ability to carry the new, therapeutic genes to the target cells and pass the genes into your cells' DNA. along with all the ferritin yes?
But several significant barriers stand in the way of gene therapy becoming a reliable form of treatment, including:
Finding a reliable way to get genetic material into cells
Targeting the correct cells
Reducing the risk of side effects, oh, you mean the ones you didn’t report and buried?
(The majority of the above information on Gene Therapy specifics was taken from the Mayo Clinic Website.)
Below is researching further from research studies and reputable website publications.
The global market for the life science sector is expected to grow. The growth rate is estimated at a CAGR(The compound annual growth rate is the annualized average rate of revenue growth between two given years, assuming growth takes place at an exponentially compounded rate or (CAGR)) of 6.2% from 2018 to 2022. This report has covered the most prominent technologies likely to influence the industry and help it flourish. Some of these include AI, Biometrics, Cloud-based services, Data analytics, IoT, Robotics, 3D printing, and Virtual reality. On my way to the reset eh?
Immunity against viral capsids can limit the efficacy of gene therapy. Because most viral-vector gene therapies today use vectors derived from harmless viruses circulating in humans, many patients (up to 60 percent) may have preexisting immunity from past exposure How long did everyone deny this natural immunity eh? CanSinoBIO, for example, reported reduced efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine in individuals with preexisting antibodies to the adenovirus-5 (Ad5) vector it chose for drug delivery. they’re not the only ones! And still insisted on pushing the shot on people. Scoundrels!
Although this effect depends on the vector serotype used, and the clinical impact is still unclear, many clinical-trial sponsors conservatively exclude patients from their studies if they have antibodies to the vector in question. So the study can prove their hypothesis. Oh wow, good science right? This can come at the cost of making most patients ineligible for therapy. Thank God for large favor! Acquired immunity to viral vectors poses additional challenges for viral-vector gene therapy in the long term. Was it really necessary to say that? We aren’t stupid! Patients treated with gene therapy today may not be able to receive second gene therapy in the future if the same viral vector is used in both contexts. I’m sure you’ll think of something sinister! Unraveling the immune system’s intertwined responses to viral-vector gene therapies remains difficult. Animal models do not recapitulate all relevant aspects of the human immune system (as immune systems behave quite differently among species). It did until you added in a rat and we got the Fauci gain of functioning with it. While human clinical trials offer a valuable source of insight, many gene-therapy trials are too small to confidently isolate the parameters associated with a drug’s success or failure. To maximize chances of success, early viral-vector gene therapies have opted to include regulatory elements (DNA sequences such as promoters and enhancers that control how genes are expressed) that have been selected to drive high levels of transgene expression in all cell types. Overreach eh? Oops sorry, you have 3 eyes instead of two now. But at least you don’t have the flu anymore. However, this approach may have significant drawbacks, particularly as gene therapies move beyond gene replacement for monogenic rare diseases. Overexpression of the transgene or its expression in the wrong cells may contribute to inflammation and other toxicities (as was observed in recent studies of nonhuman primates). Rather a limiting statement there. Moreover, current gene therapies, once administered, cannot be controlled or turned off by clinicians should the need ever arise. A life sentence I take. Or a death sentence!
Gene editing is an intriguing potential solution for achieving long-lasting, physiologically appropriate gene expression. For patients with diseases caused by certain types of mutations, restoring the function and expression of the patient’s own copy of the gene through gene editing may be simpler (and more permanent) than attempting to engineer and deliver a replacement. I remember what you all did to the blood that had HIV in it and you infused it into the children!
Two approaches are being developed to reduce the ratio of empty-to-full capsids in manufacturing: developing improved methods to separate the empty from full capsids based on specific properties (for example, charge and molecular weight) and engineering cell lines that package full capsids more efficiently. By reducing the empty-to-full ratio, these advances reduce manufacturing costs, reduce immune responses, and improve the safety of gene therapy. Indeed, regulators have used reducing the empty-to-full capsid ratio as part of the rationale for lifting clinical holds on gene-therapy products with previous safety issues. I guess that rules out generics right? (McKinsey & Co)