| abstract |
Lentiviral gene transfer vectors pseudotyped with hemagglutinin neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) proteins from a respiratory paramyxovirus, comprising a promoter and a transgene but lacking an intron or introns positioned between said promoter and transgene are claimed. The lentiviral vector may be a HIV, SIV, FIV or EIAV or Visna/maedi vector. Alternatively claimed are methods of producing lentivirus comprising transfecting cells with plasmids encoding the lentivrus, adding a nuclease, harvesting the lentivirus, adding trypsin and purification. The use of said vectors in gene therapy, particularly for the treatment of respiratory tract diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is claimed. |