The application of gene therapy in autoimmune diseases

The application of gene therapy in autoimmune disease represents a novel us e of this technology. The goal of gene therapy in the treatment of autoimmu ne disease is to restore 'immune homeostasis' by countering the pro-inflamm atory effects of the CD4(+) T cells in the lesions of autoimmunity. This ca n be accomplished by adoptive therapy with transduced T cells which can spe cifically home to the site of inflammation and secrete 'regulatory' protein (s) to ameliorate the inflammation or by direct targeting of the retroviral vector to activated T cells in the sites of inflammation. Transduction of autoantigen recognizing CD4(+) T cells, to secrete anti-inflammatory produc ts, may become the 'magic bullet' to combat the ravages of autoimmune infla mmation and tissue destruction.