[Organ transplantation--gene therapy: interactions and transitions]

In general, organ transplantation is associated with the transfer of multiple genes and is in fact a form of gene therapy. One has to distinguish between gene transfer leading to an effective cure of monogeneic diseases and the problems of organ transplantation due to the transfer of genes. These problems arise from the transfer of MHC-genes which induce rejection and from the transfer of infectious agents. Liver transplantation presents itself as a model to discuss the interaction between organ transplantation and gene therapy. There are numerous genetic diseases for which liver transplantation has been shown to be successful. Hopefully, somatic gene therapy will successfully treat such genetic liver diseases, thus helping to relieve the problem of donor organs shortage.