Retrograde neuronal tracing with a deletion-mutant rabies virus (original) (raw)

Nature Methods volume 4, pages 47–49 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

We have constructed a deletion-mutant rabies virus encoding EGFP and find it to be an excellent tool for studying detailed morphology and physiology of neurons projecting to injection sites within the mammalian brain. The virus cannot spread beyond initially infected cells yet, unlike other viral vectors, replicates its core within them. The cells therefore fluoresce intensely, revealing fine dendritic and axonal structure with no background from partially or faintly labeled cells.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$259.00 per year

only $21.58 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Katz, L.C. J. Neurosci. 7, 1223–1249 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  2. Dacey, D.M., Peterson, B.B., Robinson, F.R. & Gamlin, P.D. Neuron 37, 15–27 (2003).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  3. Tamamaki, N., Nakamura, K., Furuta, T., Asamoto, K. & Kaneko, T. Neurosci. Res. 38, 231–236 (2000).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  4. Tomioka, R. & Rockland, K.S. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 54, 539–548 (2006).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  5. Ugolini, G. J. Comp. Neurol. 356, 457–480 (1995).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  6. Mebatsion, T., Konig, M. & Conzelmann, K.K. Cell 84, 941–951 (1996).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  7. Etessami, R. et al. J. Gen. Virol. 81, 2147–2153 (2000).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  8. Mazarakis, N.D. et al. Hum. Mol. Genet. 10, 2109–2121 (2001).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  9. Frampton, A.R. Jr ., Goins, W.F., Nakano, K., Burton, E.A. & Glorioso, J.C. Gene Ther. 12, 891–901 (2005).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  10. Deschenes, M., Veinante, P. & Zhang, Z.W. Brain Res. Brain Res. Rev. 28, 286–308 (1998).
    Article CAS Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank M. De La Parra and K. Roby for technical assistance, G. Tiscornia and I. Verma (Salk Institute) for plasmids and assistance with making the lentivirus, and D. Chambers for assistance with confocal microscopy and fluorescence quantification. We also thank L. Enquist (Princeton Univ.) for stocks of pseudorabies virus and S. Young (Salk Institute) for providing adenovirus. The SAD B19 glycoprotein expression plasmid pHCMV-RabiesG was a gift from M. Sena-Esteves (Harvard Medical School). This work was supported by US National Institute of Mental Health grant no. 63912 and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant no. SFB455-A3.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Stefan Finke
    Present address: Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Boddenblick 5a, 17493, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, 92037, California, USA
    Ian R Wickersham & Edward M Callaway
  2. Max von Pettenkofer Institute & Gene Center, Ludwig Maximilians University, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, Muenchen, D-81377, Germany
    Stefan Finke & Karl-Klaus Conzelmann

Authors

  1. Ian R Wickersham
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. Stefan Finke
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  3. Karl-Klaus Conzelmann
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  4. Edward M Callaway
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence toIan R Wickersham.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Generation of non-segmented negative-stranded RNA viruses from cloned DNA, described in this paper, is covered by US patent number 6,033,886, “Recombinant infectious non-segmented negative strand RNA virus,” filed Feb. 28, 1997; inventor: K.K.C.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wickersham, I., Finke, S., Conzelmann, KK. et al. Retrograde neuronal tracing with a deletion-mutant rabies virus.Nat Methods 4, 47–49 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth999

Download citation

This article is cited by