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Use of Minicircle Plasmids for Gene Therapy

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Gene Therapy of Cancer

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 542))

Summary

A large number of cancer gene therapy clinical trials are currently being performed that are attempting to evaluate novel approaches to eliminate tumor cells by the introduction of genetic material into patients. One of the most important objectives in gene therapy is the development of highly safe and efficient vector systems for gene transfer in eukaryotic cells. Currently, viral and nonviral vector systems are used, both having their advantages and limitations. Minicircles are novel supercoiled minimal expression cassettes, derived from conventional plasmid DNA by site-specific recombination in vivo in Escherichia coli for the use in nonviral gene therapy and vaccination. Minicircle DNA lacks the bacterial backbone sequence consisting of an antibiotic resistance gene, an origin of replication, and inflammatory sequences intrinsic to bacterial DNA. In addition to their improved safety profile, minicircles have been shown to greatly increase the efficiency of transgene expression in various in vitro and in vivo studies. In this chapter, we describe the production, purification, and application of minicircle DNA and discuss the rationale of the improved gene transfer efficiencies compared to conventional plasmid DNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayrhofer & Jechlinger OEG, Strozzigasse 38/12, A-1080, Vienna, Austria

    Peter Mayrhofer & Wolfgang Jechlinger

  2. PlasmidFactory GmbH & Co. KG, Meisenstraase 96, D-33607, Bielefeld, Germany

    Martin Schleef

  3. Institute of Bacteriology, Mycology and Hygiene, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Jechlinger

Authors
  1. Peter Mayrhofer
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  2. Martin Schleef
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  3. Wolfgang Jechlinger
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Correspondence to Wolfgang Jechlinger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Medicine (MDC), Max Delbrück Center for, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Wolfgang Walther

  2. Molecular Medicine (MDC), Max Delbrück Center for, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Ulrike S. Stein

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Mayrhofer, P., Schleef, M., Jechlinger, W. (2009). Use of Minicircle Plasmids for Gene Therapy. In: Walther, W., Stein, U. (eds) Gene Therapy of Cancer. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 542. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-561-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-561-9_4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-934115-85-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-561-9

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