Herpesvirus saimiri having mutation in ORF4, ORF14, ORF15, ORF16 or ORF51 genes resulting in non-replicating, safe vehicle for treatments involving gene therapy

摘要

A herpesvirus saimiri having at least one functional mutation in at least one of the following genes; ORF4, ORF14, ORF15, ORF16 or ORF51. The vector includes a beta-galactosidase gene which is preferably under the control of the HCMV IE 3 promoter. The combination of mutations provides for a virus that is incapable of replicating in a target cell and has the capacity of accommodating insertions of a relatively large amount of heterologous genetic material.