Using Lasers for Gene Therapy

Scottish researchers have devised a new way to deliver genes to cells using laser light. The new method, which is inexpensive and powerful, could have significant implications for future research in healthcare and biomedicine.

Optical technology holds a lot of promise for new developments in the biomedical field, and investigators at the University of St. Andrews (UKuk) have focused a miniature violet laser onto cell membranes for a fraction of a second--this causes the membrane to open up, allowing foreign genes to enter. The cell's internal process causes the membrane of the cell to close up, therefore appearing to suffer no long-lasting damage. After insertion of the genes, the researchers grew the cells, which appeared to remain healthy and multiplied normally. The presence of the inserted gene in the multiplied cells was then validated by observing and by the red/green fluorescent protein generated by the "new” gene.

This new technology could be used for a variety of applications including gene therapy, the delivery of anticancer agents, and advanced studies of neurodegenerative diseases. "We believe we have only touched the surface with this technology. The method is simple and inexpensive, and could have important biomedical implications and should find wide use. Since it also has the potential to assist in the cellular delivery of other biomolecules, we are now looking at other cell types to see how widely applicable the method proves to be,” stated investigator Dr. Lynn Paterson.

Even though other scientists have worked in this area, this team has simplified the method by using a very simple and versatile laser that is compatible with conventional microscopes. The technique is very powerful, and in contrast to other methods, the St. Andrews researchers can select any individual cell to be treated under the microscope.