Gene therapeutics
Gene therapeutics to be used in treating diseases showing sensitivity to gene therapy, characterized by containing as the active ingredient an efficacious amount of a functional substance which has a function of having an affinity for a virus containing a gene usable in the gene therapy and another function of having an affinity specific for a target cell with a need for the gene transfer, or an efficacious amount of a functional substance which has an affinity for the above virus and an efficacious amount of another functional substance which has an affinity specific for the above cell.
1 . A method for gene transfer into a target cell in vivo, which comprises administering the composition containing:
(1) a retrovirus that contains a gene to be transferred into target cells:
(2) a cell as vehicle which has an affinity for a target cell; and
(3) a fibronectin fragment which has an affinity for the retrovirus and an affinity for the cell as vehicle of above (2).
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said fibronectin fragment has a heparin-II binding domain.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said fibronectin fragment has a ligand for VLA-4 and/or VLA-5.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said cell as vehicle is an umbilical vein endotherial cell.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a protein encoded by the gene to be transferred into target cell is a therapeutic protein.
6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the therapeutic protein is an enzyme or a cytokine.