pillspaythebills t1_j0wqgre wrote on December 19, 2022 at 11:59 PM

Reply to comment by Heavy-Invite-3014 in Gene therapy gel heals decades-old wounds in trial for blistering skin disease. Researchers find that a gel tested in patients with a life-threatening blistering skin disease helps wounds heal. The gel — the first topical gene therapy — awaits FDA approval. by Zee2A

This is targeted gene therapy- these patients all lack a gene to make a specific protein in the skin. This gel introduces the gene so the body can make the protein. It could also be helpful to treat burn patients, but there are a lot of complexities in burn treatment, and I’m not sure what part the specific protein (collagen VII) plays in burn or other skin pathologies.

Sefony t1_j0xbz4u wrote on December 20, 2022 at 2:42 AM

I just typed out a whole comment to ask you a question, then decided I was going to be good and google it first. The answer was in the top few results.

....so now I'm three wikipedia articles deep and enjoying the heck out of it. Thank you! I

pillspaythebills t1_j0xdcbb wrote on December 20, 2022 at 2:52 AM

Glad you found an answer and that you’re enjoying the topic! Gene therapy is really an incredible field of medicine. I’m happy to answer any questions though.

montymatzinn t1_j0xpwc2 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 4:37 AM

If you don't mind answering questions, could I ask how the gel introduces the gene? How does that take place? Sorry if this is a really simple question!

pillspaythebills t1_j0z6gfc wrote on December 20, 2022 at 2:37 PM

Good question! The crux of gene therapy is getting the missing gene delivered to the right place in the body to ensure it gets integrated into the patient’s DNA, so gene expression can occur. Most gene therapy treatments leverage a modified virus to deliver the gene. For this particular treatment, the researchers are using a modified herpes simplex virus to introduce the gene to the skin cells.