Gene delivery to the epidermis

Epidermal gene delivery techniques are being developed as an experimentalapproach to understanding the pathogenesis of skin disorders and fordeveloping therapeutic strategies for the treatment of disease. Thistechnology is being evaluated in many clinical trials in the treatment ofdisorders such as cutaneous melanoma and skin wounding, with 20% of allgene therapy protocols being applied in the field of dermatology. Thisreview focuses on recent advances in the development of gene transfertechnology to the epidermis, describing the diseases that may be amenableto treatment by use of these strategies. We will discuss the advantages andlimitations of the currently used techniques and the future prospects forgene therapy via the epidermis.