Juha Rutanen
A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences
University of Kuopio

American Society of Gene Therapy
Boston, MA, USA
5.6.-9.6.2002

I participated in the meeting with a poster "VEGF-D is Abundantly Expressed in Human Arteries and Gene Transfer of VEGF-D^{delta-N-deltaC} Reduces Neointima Formation in Balloon-Denuded Rabbit Aorta". The poster dealt with the therapeutic effect of intravascular adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of functional form of vascular endothelial growth factor -D (VEGF-D^{delta-N-deltaC}) on restenosis in rabbit model. In addition, endogenous VEGF-D gene expression was studied in normal and atherosclerotic human arteries. Several interested collegues visited my poster and I had few compelling discussions about VEGF gene family.

Oral presentations and posters were generally well done and presented, although the quality was quite diverse. In this year's ASGT meeting it was obvious that the stem cells were the "hot topic". Unfortunately in most of those sessions the meeting rooms were undersized and full of people. Occasionally there were even some quarrels in the most interesting sessions when people wanted to get in. Interestingly, also a symposia that dealt the ethics of genetic enhancement for athletic performance as a doping use was included in meeting.

Compared to other gene therapy applications there were only a few abstracts of my own field, cardiovascular gene therapy. In my opinion the most interesting was oral presentation by Amanda Heinl-Green et al. They studied the efficacy of epicardial HIF1alpha gene therapy in a porcine ischemia model with naked plasmid and adenoviral vector.

Taken together, the ASGT 2002 meeting was very educative, especially because it was the first "big" gene therapy meeting I participated. I had some interesting discussions with collegues during the breaks and the posters. I wish to thank Finnish Gene Therapy Society and University of Kuopio for the grant made this possible.

Juha Rutanen