STS CH 3: LESSON 5

• Gene therapy is a potential method to either treat or cure genetic-related human illnesses. First realized in 1971.
• A gene is inserted into another gene using a carrier or vector. The most common type of vectors are viruses that have been genetically changed to carry normal human DNA.
• The 2 Types of Gene Therapy are Somatic Gene Therapy and Germ-Line Gene Therapy.
• Somatic Gene Therapy is the manipulation of genes in cells that will be helpful to the patient but not inherited to the next generation. Germ-Line Gene Therapy, on the other hand, is the genetic modification of germ cells or the origin cells that will pass the changes onto the next generation.
• Stem cells are mother cells that have the potential to become any type of cell in the body. They have the ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to develop into other types of cells.
• Stem cell gene therapy is derived from different sources such as embryonic and somatic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a four- or five-day old human embryo that is in the blastocyst phase of development. Somatic stem cells are cells that exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue.
• Stem cell gene therapy is derived from different sources such as:

  Embryonic and Somatic stem cells