In 1992 Doctor Claudio Bordignon working at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

The Vita-Salute San Raffaele University is a university located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1996 and is organized in three departments.-History and Profile:...

, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 performed the first procedure of gene therapy

Gene therapy

Gene therapy is the insertion, alteration, or removal of genes within an individual's cells and biological tissues to treat disease. It is a technique for correcting defective genes that are responsible for disease development...

 using hematopoietic stem cells as vectors to deliver genes intended to correct hereditary diseases. This was a world first. In 2002 this work led to the publication of the first successful gene therapy treatment for adenosine deaminase deficiency

Adenosine deaminase deficiency

Adenosine deaminase deficiency, also called ADA deficiency or ADA-SCID, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that causes immunodeficiency. It occurs in fewer than one in 100,000 live births worldwide....

 (SCID). He expanded this work to stem cell gene therapy of other genetic diseases and AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

, and for the immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a medical term defined as the "treatment of disease by inducing, enhancing, or suppressing an immune response". Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies. While immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are...

 of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.

Dr Bordignon graduated in Medicine from the University of Milan

University of Milan

The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....

, where he specialized in Internal Medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

 and in Hematology

Hematology

Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...

.

References

1) Gene therapy. Italians first to use stem cells. Abbott A. Nature. 9 April 1992;356(6369):465.

2) Patent: 20080286305 Antigen Transduced T Cells Used as a Delivery System for Antigens 11-20-2008

• Dr Bordignon's Page at The European Research council