Vectors for tissue-specific replication

Abstract

The invention generally relates to targeted gene therapy using recombinant vectors and particularly adenovirus vectors. The invention specifically relates to replication-conditional vectors and methods for using them. Such vectors are able to selectively replicate in a target tissue to provide a therapeutic benefit from the presence of the vector per se or from heterologous gene products expressed from the vector and distributed throughout the tissue. In such vectors, a gene essential for replication is placed under the control of a heterologous tissue-specific transcriptional regulatory sequence. Thus, replication is conditioned on the presence of a factor(s) that induces transcription or the absence of a factor(s) that inhibits transcription of the gene by means of the transcriptional regulatory sequence with this vector, therefore, a target tissue can be selectively treated.

1 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A cell containing a vector capable of tissue-specific replication, said vector comprising
 a tissue-specific transcriptional regulatory sequence operably linked to the coding region of a gene that is essential for replication of said vector, wherein said transcriptional regulatory sequence functions in said cell so that replication of the vector occurs in said cell.   
     
     
         20 - 40 . (canceled)