A retroviral provirus engineered to remove all but the sequences necessary to produce copies of the viral RNA sequences along with the sequences necessary for packaging of the viral genomic RNA in retroviral-mediated gene therapy.
A helper virus is a virus used when producing copies of a helper dependent viral vector which does not have the ability to replicate on its own. The helper virus is used to coinfect cells alongside the gutless virus and provides the necessary enzymes for replication of the genome of the gutless viral vector.
