GENE DELIVERY TO NEURONS - IS HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS THE RIGHT TOOL FORTHE JOB

Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-derived vectors are currently being develop ed for the introduction of foreign DNA into neurons. HSV vectors can f acilitate a range of molecular studies on postmitotic neurons and may ultimately be used for somatic cell gene therapy for certain neurologi c diseases. In this article, the salient features of the pathogenesis and molecular biology of HSV relevant to its use as a vector are descr ibed, along with an overview of the methods used to derive these vecto rs. The accomplishments which have been made to date using the HSV vec tor system are discussed, with emphasis on the issues of this technolo gy which remain to be addressed. HSV has the potential to be a most us eful tool for neuronal cell transgenesis and it is likely that importa nt neurobiological questions will be answered using this vector system .