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Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation02:53

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming01:24

Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming

Nuclear reprogramming is a process of transforming one cell type into an unrelated cell type by epigenetic changes that alter the cell’s original gene expression pattern. Such epigenetic changes force cells to express a different set of genes, which play a significant role in inducing transformation into other cell types. Nuclear reprogramming offers applications in reproductive cloning for livestock propagation and regenerative medicine — developing patient-specific cells for injury repair.
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material for adaptive...
Non-LTR Retrotransposons03:18

Non-LTR Retrotransposons

As the name suggests, non-LTR retrotransposons lack the long terminal repeats characteristic of the LTR retrotransposons. Additionally, both LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons use distinct mechanisms of mobilization. Non-LTR retrotransposons are further divided into two classes - Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), both of which occur abundantly in most mammals, including humans. Some of the active non-LTR retrotransposons in humans are L1...
DNA-only Transposons02:57

DNA-only Transposons

DNA-only transposons are called autonomous transposons since they code for the enzyme transposase that is required for the transposition mechanism. Insertion of transposons can alter gene functions in multiple ways. They can mutate the gene, alter gene expression by introducing a novel promoter or insulator sequence, introduce new splice sites, and change the mRNA transcripts produced, or remodel chromatin structure.
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Epigenetic Engineering of K562 Cells: Dual-Vector Episomal Strategy for Stable Targeted DNA Methylation using dCas9-DNMT3A and -HDAC1 Fusion Proteins
09:56

Epigenetic Engineering of K562 Cells: Dual-Vector Episomal Strategy for Stable Targeted DNA Methylation using dCas9-DNMT3A and -HDAC1 Fusion Proteins

Published on: October 31, 2025

Non-viral episomal modification of cells using S/MAR elements.

Orestis Argyros1, Suet-Ping Wong, Richard P Harbottle

  • 1Imperial College London, Gene Therapy Research Group, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, National Heart and Lung Institute, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK. o.argyros@imperial.ac.uk

Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy
|May 10, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scaffold matrix attachment regions (S/MARs) elements offer a safer, episomal gene therapy vector alternative to integrated retroviral vectors. These S/MARs-based vectors are efficient, cost-effective, and reduce genotoxicity risks in mammalian cells.

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Retroviral Scanning: Mapping MLV Integration Sites to Define Cell-specific Regulatory Regions

Published on: May 28, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Gene therapy vector development
  • Episomal DNA maintenance
  • Mammalian cell modification

Background:

  • Gene therapy shows promise but faces toxicity issues, primarily from integrated retroviral vectors causing oncogenesis.
  • Safer, non-genotoxic vectors are crucial for advancing gene therapy.
  • Scaffold matrix attachment regions (S/MARs) elements offer a unique class of episomal vectors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review studies on S/MAR element-based episomal modification of mammalian cells and tissues.
  • To highlight applications in liver, brain, muscle, eye, cancer, embryonic cells, and neonatal mice.
  • To focus on recent research published between 2000 and 2010.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies utilizing S/MAR elements for episomal modification.
  • Focus on diverse mammalian cell and tissue types.
  • Analysis of data primarily from 2000-2010 publications.

Main Results:

  • S/MAR elements enable episomal maintenance of vectors in mammalian cells.
  • Successful modification demonstrated across various tissues including liver, brain, muscle, and eye.
  • Applications shown in cancer cells, embryonic cells, and neonatal mice models.

Conclusions:

  • Vectors containing S/MAR elements provide an efficient method for episomal modification.
  • This approach offers a safe and cost-effective alternative for gene therapy vectors.
  • S/MAR-based vectors reduce genotoxicity concerns associated with traditional methods.