Why aren’t retrovirus enzymes (namely reverse transcriptase and integrase) being used to insert genes in our genome as a way to fight or cure certain diseases?

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Why aren’t retrovirus enzymes (namely reverse transcriptase and integrase) being used to insert genes in our genome as a way to fight or cure certain diseases?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

That’s the basic idea behind gene therapy. A lot of these viral enzymes aren’t particular fussy about *where* they integrate, though. Modern CRISPR-based techniques (which are of bacterial origin) are much better at that. But even then, getting your edit to every cell where it’s needed is a major practical hurdle.

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