Lentiviral Vectors for Gene Delivery to the Nervous System

The efficient management and development of therapeutic strategies for disorders of the nervous system still remains a major medical challenge. Gene therapy for the nervous system diseases is particularly challenging due to the post-mitotic nature of neuronal cells and the restricted accessibility of the brain itself. Viral vectors based on lentiviruses are particularly attractive vehicles, routinely used in developing gene-based therapies to treat neurological diseases. Due to their unique properties, which allow them to transduce most nervous system cell types, maintaining strong, and long-term transgene expression, they present a versatile and powerful tool for many research and gene therapy applications. Lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with envelope glycoproteins derived from various viruses, such as VSV and rabies have been shown to be able to genetically modify cells with good efficiency and broad tropism. This chapter discusses lentiviral vectors properties and applications in gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases, presenting some of the recent progress in this field. We also present the materials and methods necessary to generate high-titer lentiviral vectors. Methods and applications involving lentiviral production are frequently changing. Here we describe the current protocols used and optimized in our laboratories that allow us to produce high-titer lentiviral vector preparations for both in vitro and in vivo applications. Full detailed protocols describe here...

Source: Springer protocols feed by Neuroscience - January 10, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news