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Stable gene transfer to the nervous system using a non-primate lentiviral vector

Gene Therapy volume 6, pages 1808–1818 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

We have constructed a non-primate lentiviral vector system based on the equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV). This system is able to transduce both dividing and non-dividing cells, including primary cultured hippocampal neurons and neurons and glia in the adult rat central nervous system (CNS), at efficiencies comparable with HIV-based vectors. We demonstrate that the only EIAV proteins required for this activity are gag/pol and that the only accessory protein required for vector production is rev. In addition, we show that the pol encoded dUTPase activity that is found in all non-primate lentiviruses is not required. The vectors can be pseudotyped with a range of envelopes including rabies G and MLV 4070A and can be concentrated to high titres. The ability of EIAV to infect mitotically inactive cells makes this vector an attractive alternative to the immunodeficiency viruses for gene therapy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Harry M Charlton, at the Anatomy Department of Oxford University for his contribution to surgical procedures as well as Huw D Thomas of Leica Microsystems UK Ltd, for confocal microscopy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxford BioMedica (UK) Ltd, Oxford, UK

    K A Mitrophanous, J B Rohll, F J Wilkes, S M Kingsman, A J Kingsman & N D Mazarakis

  2. Biochemistry Department, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    S Yoon, D Patil, V N Kim, S M Kingsman & A J Kingsman

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  1. K A Mitrophanous
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  2. S Yoon
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Mitrophanous, K., Yoon, S., Rohll, J. et al. Stable gene transfer to the nervous system using a non-primate lentiviral vector. Gene Ther 6, 1808–1818 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3301023

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