gene therapy

noun

, Medicine/Medical.

1. the application of genetic engineering to the transplantation of genes into human cells in order to cure a disease caused by a genetic defect, as a missing enzyme.

gene therapy

noun

1. the replacement or alteration of defective genes in order to prevent the occurrence of such inherited diseases as haemophilia. Effected by genetic engineering techniques, it is still at the experimental stage

gene therapy

1. The treatment of a disorder or disease, especially one caused by the inheritance of a defective gene, by replacing defective genes with healthy ones through genetic engineering.

gene therapy

1. A promising technology that involves replacing a defective gene in the body with a healthy one. This can be done by removing cells from the body, using genetic engineering techniques to change defective sequences in the DNA, and then reinserting the cells. This technique has been carried out successfully, for example, on bone marrow cells, in which defective cells were successfully replaced with healthy, genetically engineered cells. Scientists hope to find an agent, such as a therapeutic virus , that will be able to correct defective DNA in situ . ( See cloning vector .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of gene therapy¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Research is underway to use lipid nanoparticles for delivery mechanisms in a variety of vaccines and gene therapies, including in cancer immunotherapy.

From Washington Post

De Laat, who has since found a good new job working in gene therapy for a pharmaceutical company, is on better financial footing now.

From Time

In late 2019, before covid-19, the US National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced they would spend $200 million developing affordable gene therapies for use in sub-Saharan Africa.

From MIT Technology Review

To cap it off, scientists found a new way to use light to control the brain through the skull without surgery—though as of now, you’ll still need gene therapy.

From Singularity Hub 

Using gene therapy, the team introduced three “superstar” genes into the eyes of aged mice to revert those marks and reprogram cells to a younger state.

From Singularity Hub