Gene therapy modalities in lung transplantation

Organ transplantation is the ultimate treatment for end-stage organ failure patients. However, the success of lung transplantation is hindered by multiple factors, the most important of which being the adverse effects of systemic immunosuppressive therapy, chronic transplant dysfunction and a severe shortage of donor lungs. The genetic modification of organs or cells is an attractive approach to protect allogeneic transplants from acute rejection and other complications. Many different therapeutic concepts and vector systems have been investigated in the pre-clinical area with a view to prolonging lung allograft survival. This review explores both the candidate genes and ways in which they have been arranged to overcome both immune and non-immune barriers to transplantation success in experimental models.