In vivo gene transfer to the brain cortex using a single injection of HSV-1 vector into the medial septum

This study shows that an ICP4- replication-deficient herpes simplex virus containing the Moloney murine leukaemia virus LTR fused with the coding sequence for the β-galactosidase gene can be used as a very effective vector for delivering the β-galactosidase reporter gene into the rat brain septum. F344 rats received bilateral stereotaxic injections into the nucleus of the diagonal band and into the medial septum. The X-gal stain was used to detect the activity of the expressed β-galactosidase enzyme. The delivered reporter gene was expressed successfully not only in the neuronal cells of the injected areas but also in cells that project to the injection area such as cortex cells about 6mm away from the injection sites. Expression was visible at 1, 3 and 9 weeks following injection. We conclude that this vector can effectively deliver genes into different regions of the mature mammalian brain and also to areas distant from the injection site.