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Recommended resources for veterinary and animal science

Gene therapy

General Resources

University of Sydney Library Catalogue
Some recommended subject headings on the University of Sydney Library Catalogue are:

• gene therapy
• gene therapy moral and ethical aspects
• medical genetics
• genetic engineering and related subject headings

Gene Therapy
Published as part of The Human Genome Project, this web site provides a definition of gene therapy, access to full text articles and links to other gene therapy sites. The Human Genome Project is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The expected completion date for the project is 2003. A subject and alphabetical index for the site is available.

Gene Therapy
This full-text article on Gene therapy is by Eric B. Kmiec and is from the May-June 1999 issue of American Scientist: the magazine of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. It discusses gene addition, adenovirus and other viruses, targeted gene repair and clinical trials. A bibliography and seven illustrations have also been included.

Gene Therapy: Potential, Pitfalls and Prospects
This document written by Inder M.Verma, Ph.D. of The Salk Institute, San Diego, California discusses the results of experiments conducted in gene therapy.

Questions and Answers About Gene Therapy
This fact sheet about gene therapy written by the National Cancer Institute and is supported by the OncoLink University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center Web Site. It discusses what genes are, gene therapy, what steps are involved in gene therapy and how genes are transferred into cells, gene therapy in relation to cancer treatment and social and ethical issues concerning human gene therapy. Also discussed are retroviruses and adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. This fact sheet is also available in text only format.

Gene Therapy - Progress and Prospects Review Series
This series is presented on the web by the Nature Publishing Group. Each review "provides a succinct summary of the last 2 years of progress in a specific aspect of gene therapy research and will highlight prospects for the next 2 years." Some of the topics covered include cancer, immunodeficiency, adenoviral vectors, organ transplantation, naked DNA gene transfer, and cystic fibrosis.

Journal of Gene Medicine Gene Therapy Clinical Trials
This site was created and is maintained by Abedia Biomedical Information Technologies and copyrighted by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. It contains an interactive database, which allows for searching of clinical trials by clinical phase, status, country, investigator, disease, vector and by gene. Access is also provided to clinical results, charts and statistics.

Rare Diseases Terms
This alphabetical listing of terms and their definitions and acronyms is by the Office of Rare Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

PhRMA GENOMICS: A Global Resource
Resource compiled by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), an organisation representing research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Viral Gene Therapy

Lecture Notes and Resources in Virology
These virtual lectures and teaching materials have been published by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center. The following lectures are available:

• Introduction to Virology
• Viral Replication Strategies
• Techniques for Studying Viruses - Assay Methods
• DNA Viruses - Herpesviruses I (HSV)
• DNA Viruses - Herpesviruses II (EBV)
• DNA Viruses - Herpesviruses III (KSHV/HHV8)
• Lentiviruses - HIV I (Pathogenesis)
• Lentiviruses - HIV II (Molecular Biology)
• Viral Vectors and Gene Therapy I (Phage Vectors)
• Negative Strand RNA Viruses I (Rhadboviruses, Filoviruses)
• Negative Strand RNA Viruses II (Paramyxoviruses)

The lectures are available in both .html and .pdf format (which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader). The 3D visuals require the chime program, which can be accessed via this site.

Virus Vectors and Gene Therapy: Problems, Promises and Prospects
This paper is a Special Study Module Project Report by David Peel from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Leicester. It discusses the possible treatment of diseases using DNA delivered to cells using viral vectors and non-viral vectors. A list of references has been provided as well as links to the latest Medline publications on virus vectors and gene therapy and to book titles on Amazon.com.

Adenoviruses
Published by the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Leicester as part of the Virology course. It discusses the taxonomy, morphology, replication, gene expression and pathogenesis of adenoviruses. A link is provided to the latest Medline publications on adenoviruses.

Retroviruses
Published by the Department of Microbiology " Immunology at the University of Leicester as part of the Virology course. It discusses the taxonomy, replication, genetics and pathogenesis of retroviruses and their structure. Links are provided to book titles on Amazon.com and to the latest Medline publications on retroviruses.

Nolan Lab
This is the homepage for the Nolan Lab located at Stanford University. "The laboratory focuses on transcriptional control of HIV-1 and signaling in the immune system. Control of apoptosis, autoimmunity, angiogenesis, retrovirology, and blockade of HIV-1 infection" are key research areas. Included on the Web site is information about the Lab's interests and members, plasmid maps, retroviral systems (PHOENIX, FELIX AND HELIX) and tutorials, genetic screens and protocols. A list and details of publications and papers produced by the staff at the Laboratory are given. A virus chat facility will be added in the future.

• PHOENIX is used for the delivery of genes to cells for biomedical research. It is based on Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MMULV) and allows for delivery of genes to most dividing mammalian cell types.
• The FELIX Vector System is derived from Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). The Web site contains background information on the system, FELIX maps and sequence, information about the FELIX CaPO4 Protocol, the FELIX FuGene Protocol and FELIX MTAs, which are available by sending an email to the address listed.
• HELIX (HIV) is the HIV-1 based packaging systems, which allows for delivery of genes to most dividing and nondividing mammalian cell types. These vectors are derived from Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Retroviruses
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has specifically designed these Web-based tools and resources to support the research of retroviruses. Included are a genotyping tool, and alignment tool, HIV-1 automatic sequence annotation and genome maps.

HIV as a Lentiviral Vector in Gene Therapy
This document was written by Neala Kendall a student at Kenyon College. It discusses what gene therapy is, what lentiviral vectors are, and provides information about HIV lentiviruses. Also included is information on current research, references and a glossary.

Vole story: Viral Gene Therapy Makes Males More Faithful and Friendly
Published by Nature Science Update on 24th September 2001, the article discusses current gene therapy research using voles. "...scientists have found a genetic elixir of love. It makes males more faithful to females and more friendly to fellow males. It could also shed light on bonding disorders such as autism."

Non Viral Gene Therapy

Liposomes: General Properties
This document has been produced by The Laboratory of Liposome Research at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. It provides information on what liposomes are, their general properties, applications and a list of references.

Ethical Issues

Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy
This article on "Moral and ethical issues in gene therapy" is written by Dr Donald M. Bruce and forms part of the Society, Religion and Technology project of the Church of Scotland. It contains information on potential ethical issues concerning the manipulation of human genes, genetic engineering in non-human life forms and links to other SRT (Society, Religion and Technology) project pages.

Organisations and Regulatory Bodies

Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR)
The OGTR is an Australian Commonwealth regulatory agency established by the Gene Technology Act 2000 to be responsible for a national scheme to regulate genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

American Society of Gene Therapy
This site is designed for people with an interest in gene therapy. It provides information on membership, links to new developments in gene therapy (media information) and other web sites of interest.

Research databases and indexes

Recommended research databases and indexes for this area of study are: BIOSIS Previews, CAB Abstracts, MEDLINE, AGRICOLA and Web of Science.