Dr. Amir Hatem Abdul Amir, a lecturer from the microbiology branch at the University of Baghdad held a lecture on “Gene Therapy” in the presence of professors and postgraduate students at the college of veterinary medicine. He introduced two different types of gene therapy depending on which types of cells are treated, namely somatic and germline gene therapies. The first type represents the transfer of a section of DNA to any cell of the body that doesn’t produce sperm or eggs whose effects will not be passed onto the embryos.
The second type of gene therapy, there is transfer of a section of DNA to cells that produce eggs or sperm whose effects will be passed onto embryos and even to the subsequent generations. The latter process of gene therapy is carried out by the use of viral vectors such as the transfer of retrovirus and adenovirus or by the transfer of liposomes. Dr. Amir Hatem found out that the treatment of cancers by the use of gene therapy is an effective modality due to the lack of control of cancer cells in terms of reproduction and genetic mutations.
