Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers

Farraha, Melad; Kumar, Saurabh; Chong, James; Cho, Hee Cheol; Kizana, Eddy

doi:10.3390/jcdd5040050

Open AccessReview

Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers

by

Melad Farraha

^1,2

,

Saurabh Kumar

³,

James Chong

^1,2,3

,

Hee Cheol Cho

⁴ and

Eddy Kizana

^1,2,3,*

¹

Centre for Heart Research, the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia

²

Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

³

Department of Cardiology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia

⁴

Departments of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2018, 5(4), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd5040050

Submission received: 28 September 2018 / Revised: 16 October 2018 / Accepted: 17 October 2018 / Published: 19 October 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiaovascular Gene Therapy)

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Abstract

Bradycardia arising from pacemaker dysfunction can be debilitating and life threatening. Electronic pacemakers serve as effective treatment options for pacemaker dysfunction. They however present their own limitations and complications. This has motivated research into discovering more effective and innovative ways to treat pacemaker dysfunction. Gene therapy is being explored for its potential to treat various cardiac conditions including cardiac arrhythmias. Gene transfer vectors with increasing transduction efficiency and biosafety have been developed and trialed for cardiovascular disease treatment. With an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving pacemaker development, several gene therapy targets have been identified to generate the phenotypic changes required to correct pacemaker dysfunction. This review will discuss the gene therapy vectors in use today along with methods for their delivery. Furthermore, it will evaluate several gene therapy strategies attempting to restore biological pacing, having the potential to emerge as viable therapies for pacemaker dysfunction.

Keywords: atrioventricular node; bradycardia; gene therapy; heart; pacemaker; sinoatrial node; viral vector

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MDPI and ACS Style

Farraha, M.; Kumar, S.; Chong, J.; Cho, H.C.; Kizana, E. Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers. J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2018, 5, 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd5040050

AMA Style

Farraha M, Kumar S, Chong J, Cho HC, Kizana E. Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 2018; 5(4):50. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd5040050

Chicago/Turabian Style

Farraha, Melad, Saurabh Kumar, James Chong, Hee Cheol Cho, and Eddy Kizana. 2018. "Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers" Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease 5, no. 4: 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd5040050

APA Style

Farraha, M., Kumar, S., Chong, J., Cho, H. C., & Kizana, E. (2018). Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 5(4), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd5040050

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Gene Therapy Approaches to Biological Pacemakers

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