Question from New Jersey, USA:

I was just wondering if it is possible to localize a virus only in the pancreas and keep it there. If I were to put a virus with beta cell DNA in the lytic cycle, can it maintain itself only in the pancreas? Here’s what I’m thinking: Get a virus. Kill it�s DNA, put the protein coat in with the beta cells. The virus takes the beta cell DNA, which is injected into the pancreas, if possible, one time, if not, through a monthly injection into the arm or stomach. It attacks T cells, so add immunosuppressant drugs first, then the virus injects DNA into localized T cells. The T cells in the pancreas become beta cells, which produce islet cells. The islet cells produce insulin and the virus continues to attacks T cells to become beta cells due to the lytic cycle. One becomes insulin independent, but the virus must stay localized in pancreas; it must not leave the pancreas. The problem is that I don’t know how to get the virus directly to the pancreas. It would be CD4+ T cells are what causes adaptive immune responses, so the virus would have to react to the T cell.