lentiviral

Lentiviral refers to lentiviruses, a genus of enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses in the Retroviridae family. Lentiviruses include HIV-1, HIV-2 and related species. Lentiviral vectors are engineered derivatives used to deliver genetic material into cells. The genome is RNA and is reverse-transcribed to double-stranded DNA, then integrated into the host genome, enabling stable expression in dividing and non-dividing cells.

Vector design concentrates the transgene under an internal promoter and uses an envelope protein such as VSV-G to broaden host range. Vectors are typically replication-incompetent and produced in packaging cell lines that provide gag, pol, and env in trans. Third-generation systems separate packaging functions onto multiple plasmids to reduce the probability of generation-competent lentivirus.

Applications include gene knockdown and overexpression, genome editing component delivery, and cellular reprogramming, in vitro and in vivo. They are widely used in biomedical research and have progressed toward clinical gene therapy in some contexts. Limitations and risks include insertional mutagenesis from integration, limited cargo capacity (roughly 8–10 kilobases), immunogenicity, and manufacturing complexity. Regulatory oversight and proper biosafety practices are required, typically at biosafety level 2 for routine research use.