In Vivo Expression of β-Galactosidase in Hippocampal Neurons by HSV-Mediated Gene Transfer

Overview summary Development of suitable vectors for transfer of genes to the central nervous system (CNS) is an active field of research. Fink et al. have determined that disruption of a herpes simplex virus (HSV) protein kinase gene (Us3) results in significant virus attenuation and prevents spread in the CNS, and that this mutant virus can establish long-term latency in the brain. These results suggest that this vector should be useful for expression of foreign genes in neurons localized to precise regions of the brain following stereotactic vector delivery.