752. Equine Infectious Anemia Virus Pseudotyped with the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus G-Protein, Preferentially Targets Neural Precursors in the Adult Mouse Brain

Abstract

The ongoing neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain depends on mitotic activity of specialized stem cells in the subventricular zone. The majority of these stem cells have now been identified to have an astrocytic phenotype. Manipulation of these stem cells, especially through viral mediated gene transfer techniques, can be useful in a wide-range of experimental and potentially therapeutic settings. We used an Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) to express Ehanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) in cells of the subventricular zone (SVZ). The virus, which was pseudotyped with the vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein (VSV-G), seemed to preferentially infect subset of glial fibrillary acidic protein expressing (GFAP+) astrocytic cells that line the ventricles. Furthermore, some of these cells may have given rise to migrating neuroblasts in the rostral migratory stream, which eventually develop into interneurons in the olfactory bulb. The preferential targeting of GFAP+ astrocytes in the SVZ by the EIAV lentivirus is potentially useful for the molecular manipulation of these stem cells.