Guiding a cell through differentiation to its eventual fate requires a precise recipe of molecular signals, with transcription factors (TFs) as the key ingredients. With the right combination of TFs, scientists can also reprogram cell identity in the lab. In immune cells, such ...
Lentiviral vectors have been a staple in molecular biology for over three decades. Widely used across various research applications, they have become indispensable tools for manipulating cells and organisms. They can be used for a variety of research purposes
The widespread use of γ-retroviruses (gamma-retroviruses) in cancer and stem cell research has prompted the development of multiple virus packaging methods. Across these methods, the following components are needed:
Viruses are simple: a genome packaged in a protein shell (Taylor, 2014). They’re so simple that we can’t even decide if they’re alive or not. Yet these simple, small particles have quite the outsized impact — and not just on the disease front.
The Retroviridae (commonly called retrovirus) family — of which HIV is a member — may seem like an unlikely candidate to use as a viral vector, but retroviruses have been developed into some of the most widely used tools in molecular biology. “Retroviruses” is an umbrella term ...
If you’ve ordered a pooled library from Addgene, you may have been a little surprised at how this powerful tool is in such a small package. But don’t let the simple presentation deceive you; pooled libraries can be quite challenging to use! In this post, I’ll walk you through ...
To deliver genes using lentiviral vectors, you need an envelope protein on the virus’s surface and a corresponding receptor in the host cell. Some of these envelope-receptor pairings are broad, allowing delivery into many cell types, while others are specific, allowing delivery ...
While lentiviral vectors are popular gene delivery tools, producing lentivirus, can pose certain challenges. Whether choosing a system that is the best fit for the experiment, trying to produce virus of a usable titer, or fine-tuning selection and expression in your target cell ...
