Gene therapy for newborns.

Application of gene therapy to treat genetic and infectious diseases may have several advantages if performed in newborns. Because of the minimal adverse effect of the underlying disease on cells of the newborn, the relatively small size of infants, and the large amount of future growth, gene therapy may be more successful in newborns than in older children or adults. The presence of umbilical cord blood from newborns provides a unique and susceptible target for the genetic modification of hematopoietic stem cells. In our first trial of gene therapy in newborns, we inserted a normal adenosine deaminase gene into umbilical cord blood cells of three neonates with a congenital immune deficiency. The trial demonstrated the successful transduction and engraftment of stem cells, which continue to contribute to leukocyte production more than 3 years later. A similar approach may be taken to insert genes that inhibit replication of HIV-1 into umbilical cord blood cells of HIV-1-infected neonates. Many other metabolic and infectious disorders could be treated by gene therapy during the neonatal period if prenatal diagnoses are made and the appropriate technical and regulatory requirements have been met.