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© The ConversationHelping cells become better protein factories could improve gene therapies and other treatments
By Daniel N. Hebert and Lila Gierasch AMHERST, Mass©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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virusrex
On one side having the requirement of an extra molecular booster like SAHA to the treatment can complicate things because it would be difficult to direct it only to the cells that are producing the proteins necessary, so secondary side effects of the proteostasis de-regulation become a worry.
But on the other side this can also means the booster becomes a switch that can be necessary for gene therapy. By adjusting the proteostasis of the cells the initial transduction can be done with high levels of viral vectors and the amount of protein could be later regulated according to the amount of SAHA that is being taken. No need to finely regulate the initial genetic change or have an irreversible expression always at the same level.
A combination with other solutions (like changing the genetic promoter that regulates how much the protein is expressed and the cell type that does it) will facilitate a lot producing a successful therapy, and as the article points out, not only gene therapy can be improved this way.
Wick's pencil
The problem with that gene therapy is not insufficient protein production. It's that the injected product does not remain at the injection site, the mRNA and lipid nanoparticles spread throw out the body, resulting in a range of serious adverse effects.
I doubt SAHA with only affect the production of the gene therapy target. Messing with the body's regulation system is asking for trouble.
virusrex
The problem would be thinking the mRNA vaccines are gene therapy, when in actually they are not. The natural infection has a much higher risk of changing the genome of the infected cells (and it for sure modifies the expression of the proteins) than the vaccines.
According to the evidence it does not, at least not in any significant way compared with the infection where the protein (and many others made specifically to interfere with the immune response) are actually spread in many cell types of the body in levels no vaccine could ever cause.