Viral vectors whose replication and, optionally, passenger gene are controlled by a gene switch activated by heat in the presence or absence of a small-molecule regulator
OwnerRichard Voellmyinventor
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Abstract
The present invention relates to conditionally replicating viruses or pairs of viruses containing a gene switch that is activatable by transient heat or other proteotoxic stress in the presence or absence of a small molecule regulator. The gene switch controls the expression of a gene for a protein required for efficient viral replication and may also control the activity of a passenger gene.
Claims10
A modified, conditionally replicating virus whose genome includes a gene switch that controls the expression of a viral gene required for efficient replication of the modified virus, wherein the gene switch comprises (1) a gene for a small-molecule-activated transactivator that is functionally linked to a nucleic acid sequence that acts as a heat shock promoter and (2) a promoter that is responsive to the transactivator and is functionally linked to the viral gene required for efficient replication and the gene switch is activated in a cell infected by the modified virus upon exposure of the cell to heat sufficient to activate the heat shock promoter and to the small-molecule activator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.