A direct in vivo approach for skin gene therapy.

In vivo gene therapy is a direct and effective way to express genes in the epidermis. Plasmid DNA that contains the desired gene can be injected intradermally, and it is rapidly absorbed and expressed by the epidermis. Because gene expression following plasmid injection is transient, the two principal therapeutic uses of this approach are genetic immunization and the expression of biological response modifiers to treat skin disease.