A team of Stanford inventors have developed a robust non-viral gene therapy technique for delivering genes to treat cardiovascular disease. This technology relies on a novel minicircle vector (see Stanford Docket S02-109) for high-efficiency transfection. This approach has shown gene expression five to ten times greater than plasmid vectors, with therapeutic gene expression lasting up to four months. Because the minicircles are non-viral and do not contain a bacterial backbone, they are unlikely to result in immunogenicity or inflammatory response.Stage of Research The inventors have demonstrated that the minicircles are capable of transferring a reporter gene and a therapeutic gene with high efficiency both in vitro and in vivo. Mouse studies have shown that minicircle vectors with the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) gene can significantly improve function of infarcted hearts through increased small vessel formation.Ongoing Research The inventors are perfecting this approach with newer generations of minicircles. [ - ]

A team of Stanford inventors have developed a robust non-viral gene therapy technique for... [ + ]