Foamy virus as a gene transfer vector to the central nervous system

Gene Ther. 2009 Mar;16(3):448-52. doi: 10.1038/gt.2008.171. Epub 2008 Dec 4.

Abstract

Engineered foamy virus (FV) vectors have been lauded for their superior safety profiles and stable integration patterns compared to their gammaretroviral counterparts. The drawback has been the belief that FV incorporation is cell cycle-dependent, thereby limiting its utility in post-mitotic tissues such as the central nervous system. In this brief communication, we challenged this theory by examining FV in vivo. We injected equal titers of FV and lentivirus (LV) into the adult rat brain and found that at 1 week, FV transduced a significantly greater volume of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-negative brain parenchyma than did LV. By 8 weeks, however, the volume of transduced tissue was greatly reduced--comparable to LV-and restricted to BrdU+. Taken together, these data implicate a role for FV in short-term gene delivery strategies to the CNS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / virology*
  • Cell Cycle / genetics
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Transfer Techniques*
  • Genetic Vectors*
  • Lentivirus / genetics
  • Lentivirus / physiology
  • Rats
  • Spumavirus / genetics*
  • Spumavirus / physiology
  • Transduction, Genetic
  • Transgenes
  • Virus Integration