Successful Transduction of Mammalian Astrocytes and Oligodendrocytes by“Pseudotyped”Baculovirus Vector and

Baculovirus vectors can efficiently transduce human hepatoma cells and primary hepatocytes in culture. We report the potential use of baculovirus as a vector for gene delivery into cells of the mammalian central nervous system. We generated a “pseudotyped”baculovirus encoding the bacterialβ-galactosidase(β-Gal)gene(LacZ),under the control of the cytomegalovirus promoter, and the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein gene,under the control of the polyhedrin promoter. This virus was used to infect primary cultures of rat glial cells. Three days after infection,these cells were immunostained forβ-Gal,glial fibrillary acidic protein (for astrocytes),or galactocerebroside (for oligodendrocytes) to identify the infected cell types. Positiveβ-Gal immunofluorescence was observed in 10.4% of glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells and 35.6% of galactocerebroside-positive cells at a multiplicity of infection of 50. When the virus was injected into adult mouse striatum,β-Gal-positive cells were demonstrated, and no cytological or histological evidence of cell damage, inflammation, or cell infiltration was observed after infection. These findings suggest that baculovirus-mediated gene transfer can be used for gene therapy against nervous system diseases,especially demyelinating disorders,affecting mainly oligodendrocytes. (Jikeikai Med J 2006;53:55-62)