Genetic Targeting of Adenoviral Vectors

Gene therapy, which emerged in the late 1980s to early 1990s as an alternative approach to treat serious human illnesses incurable with current therapies, has by now proved its usefulness in a number of clinical trials aimed to develop a cure for several inherited and acquired genetic diseases including various types of cancer, coronary artery disease, and cystic fibrosis (1–9). However, during its development as a novel field of technology, gene therapy has revealed several limitations or shortcomings related to the very essence of the idea on which it is based—that is, efficient expression of a therapeutic gene in the disease-affected tissue in a human body.