Viral and non-viral gene delivery and its role in pluripotent stem cell engineering

Human cell culture has become an essential component of biomedical research. The pluripotent phenotype, naturally occurring within the inner cell mass of the early embryo, confers the ability to develop into any cell type of interest. The exploitation of this ability in conjunction with modern genetic engineering tools holds great potential for analysing developmental and adult physiology and pathophysiology as well as for promising an exciting future for regenerative medicine. A broad range of gene delivery systems are available to researchers involved in pluripotent stem cell manipulation. Merits of viral and non-viral systems are driven primarily by the efficiency of stem cell gene transfer. Here, we review the use of viruses (primarily retroviruses, adenoviruses and lentiviruses) and recently optimised non-viral systems for stem cell gene transfer focusing on the recent work on human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Section editors:Peter Sartipy – Cellartis AB, Göteborg, Sweden