Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
Mechanisms of retroviral integration and mutagenesis
Alessia Cavazza1, Arianna Moiani, Fulvio Mavilio
1Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Abstract:
Gene transfer vectors derived from oncoretroviruses or lentiviruses are the most robust and reliable tools to stably integrate therapeutic transgenes in human cells for clinical applications. Integration of these vectors in the genome may, however, have undesired effects caused by insertional deregulation of gene expression at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level. The occurrence of severe adverse events in several clinical trials involving the transplantation of stem cells genetically corrected with retroviral vectors showed that insertional mutagenesis is not just a theoretical event, and that retroviral transgenesis is associated with a finite risk of genotoxicity. In addressing these issues, the gene therapy community offered a spectacular example of how scientific knowledge and technology can be put to work to understand the causes of unpredicted side effects, design new vectors, and develop tools and models to predict their safety and efficacy. As an added benefit, these efforts brought new basic knowledge on virus-host interactions and on the biology and dynamics of human somatic stem cells. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the interactions between retroviruses and the human genome and addresses the impact of target site selection on the safety of retroviral vector-mediated gene therapy.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Viral Mutations
Mutations in Microorganisms
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Spontaneous and Induced Mutations

