Gene therapy has shown promising efficiency in particular for the treatment of inherited immunological deficiencies. Its broader use, however, is currently precluded by the occurrence of adverse events which revealed the urgent need for a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of gene delivery into somatic cells. To form a multidisciplinary scientific forum addressing this important topic, the German Research Council (DFG; www.dfg.de) has created the Research Priority Programme "Mechanisms of gene vector entry and persistence". ...more