Viral vectors for gene therapy: the art of turning infectious agents into vehicles of therapeutics

Considered by some to be among the simpler forms of life, viruses represent highly evolved natural vectors for the transfer of foreign genetic informa tion into cells. This attribute has led to extensive attempts to engineer r ecombinant viral vectors for the delivery of therapeutic genes into disease d tissues. While substantial progress has been made, and some clinical succ esses are over the horizon, further vector refinement and/or development is required before gene therapy will become standard care for any individual disorder.