Question

Lentiviruses are useful because they lead to stable integration into the genome, can infect dividing and non-dividing cells, have broad tissue tropism, and don't generate immunogenic proteins. What do each of these four phrases mean and why are they useful/essential?

Answer 1

Lentivirus are virus that can integrate to host genomes but as the other virus they doesn't require the  proliferation of infected cell to enter the host genome. Its character enables them to be used as major gene delivery viral vector. Incooperating with both dividing and non divining cells adds as a benefit in crispr cas system. Initially used viral vectors like MMLV and adenoviruses can only affect the dividing or non dividing cells respectively. But the leftovers can target both. Now a days lentivirus are used highly in stable transgene expressing and knockout cell lines. They are helpful in lineage tracing in heterogeneous tumors too. Other viral vectors shows restricted gene delivery by narrow tropism but the broad tropism helps the lentiviral genome to be transferred in a broad range of cells or tissues especially those that are very quiescent cells like that of neurons.