TRANSDUCTION OF HIPPOCAMPAL CA1 BY ADENOVIRUS IN-VIVO

Replication-deficient adenoviral recombinants were assessed for in viv o transduction of rat hippocampal CA1 cells. Results show that efficie nt widespread transduction of CA1 in vivo was rapidly achievable and w as sustained for more than 5 weeks. Assessment of electrophysiological properties in acute hippocampal slices showed that synaptic functioni ng and mechanisms involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) were preser ved for minimally 5 weeks postinfection. Hence, adenovirus-mediated ge ne transfer in vivo promises to be a valuable tool for dissecting mole cular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, such as LTP and long-term dep ression (LTD).