Lentiviral vectors

Patent Pending Lentiviruses are a subclass of Retroviruses. They have recently been adapted as gene delivery vehicles (vectors) thanks to their ability to integrate into the genome of non-dividing cells, which is the unique feature of Lentiviruses as other Retroviruses can infect only dividing cells. The viral genome in the form of RNA is reverse-transcribed when the virus enters the cell to produce DNA, which is then inserted into the genome at a random position (recent findings actually suggest that the insertion of viral DNA is not random but directed to specific active genes and related to genome organisation[9]) by the viral integrase enzyme. The vector, now called a provirus, remains in the genome and is passed on to the progeny of the cell when it divides.