Cell Therapy and Gene Silencing

The course is organized in three modules including single bench laboratory practical.
The module of Cell-based Technology will cover the aspects relative to the use of cellular models in biomedical research. These include aspects of cell culture manipulation, differences between immortalised and primary cells, stems cells, iPSCs, CAR T cells, methods of transfection and protein production.
The module of Viral Vectors for Gene Delivery will cover the aspects relative to the use of viral gene transfer/gene therapy including viral replication and gene expression strategies, retroviral and lentiviral vectors and applications, adenoviral vectors and Adenovirus-Associated virus (AAV) vectors and relative applications, innate immune response to viral vectors, the use of viral vectors for gene editing, RNAi, epigenetic silencing and genetic vaccines.
The module of Pharmacological aspects of Cell Therapy and Gene Silencing will present the pharmacological use and implications of therapeutic strategies based on the cell and/or gene targeting.

The practical sections will include demonstrations on cell culture, transfection, protein production and localization; use of software for the analysis and interpretations of biological implications of cell therapy and gene silencing.