Lentiviral vectors are the most common gene delivery vehicle used for stable genetic modification of cells. The vectors integrate into the host’s genome, expressing therapeutic transgene. However, the RNA genome of lentivirus is first reverse transcribed to DNA and then integrated into the cell genome in a seemingly random fashion, although some literature suggests that lentiviral integration has certain hotspots. To avoid lentiviral integration affecting cellular function when the integration happens near oncogenes or within key genes, identification of the exact site of lentiviral integration should be performed after lentiviral infections of target cells. The selected integration site has important consequences for both the expression of the transgene and the phenotype of the host cell.
