LABELING NEURAL CELLS USING ADENOVIRAL GENE-TRANSFER OF MEMBRANE-TARGETED GFP

We describe an experimental system to visualize the soma and processes of mammalian neurons and glia in living and fixed preparations by usi ng a recombinant adenovirus vector to transfer the jellyfish green flu orescent protein (GFP) into postmitotic neural cells both in vitro and in vivo. We have introduced several modifications of GFP that enhance its fluorescence intensity in mammalian axons and dendrites. This met hod should be useful for studying the dynamic processes of cell migrat ion and the development of neuronal connections, as well as for analyz ing the function of exogenous genes introduced into cells using the ad enovirus vector.