Regulatory Oversight of Gene Therapy and Cell Therapy Products in Korea.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regulates gene therapy and cell therapy products as biological products under the authority of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. As with other medicinal products, gene therapy and cell therapy products are subject to approval for use in clinical trials and for a subsequent marketing authorization and to post-market surveillance. Research and development of gene therapy and cell therapy products have been progressing rapidly in Korea with extensive investment, offering great potential for the treatment of various serious diseases. To facilitate development of safe and effective products and provide more opportunities to patients suffering from severe diseases, several regulatory programs, such as the use of investigational products for emergency situations, fast-track approval, prereview of application packages, and intensive regulatory consultation, can be applied to these products. The regulatory approach for these innovative products is case by case and founded on science-based review that is flexible and balances the risks and benefits.

Possible role of phosphoinositide-3-kinase in Mx1 protein translation and antiviral activity of interferon-omega-stimulated HeLa cells.

Interferon ω (IFN-ω), a cytokine released during innate immune activation, is well known for promoting direct antiviral responses; however, the possible signal pathways that are initiated by IFN-ω binding to the type I IFN receptors have not been fully studied. Here, we provide evidence that activation of phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling plays a pivotal role in the generation of IFN-ω-mediated biological responses. We found that LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor)-attenuated antiviral activities are induced by IFN-ω treatment. Although such effects of LY294002 are unrelated to regulatory activities on IFN-ω-dependent Mx1 (myxovirus resistance 1) or Mx2 gene transcriptional regulation, translation of Mx1 protein, which was known as a key mediator of cell-autonomous antiviral resistance, was significantly reduced by PI3K inhibition. Further studies showed that PI3K inhibition using LY294002 leads to a decrease in PI3K substrate Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase and p38 phosphorylation/activation. In addition, although LY294002 was not able to reduce STAT1 activation, we found that the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70 S6 kinase pathway was significantly attenuated by inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. These results indicate that the PI3K/Akt pathway is a common and central integrator for antiviral responses in IFN-ω signaling via its regulatory effects on mTOR that are required for initiation of mRNA translation of Mx genes.