Somatic Therapy for SCID

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) is due to a defective gene for Adenosine Deaminase (ADA). A retrovirus, which is capable of transferring it's DNA into normal eukaryotic cells (transfection), is engineered to contain the normal human ADA gene. Isolated T-cell stem line cells from the patient are exposed to the retrovirus in cell culture, and take up the ADA gene. Reimplantation of the transgenic cells into the patient's bone marrow establishes a line of cells with functional ADA, which effecitvely treats SCID.