RECOMBINANT ADENOVIRUS-MEDIATED GENE DELIVERY INTO THE RAT RETINAL-PIGMENT EPITHELIUM IN-VIVO

Purpose: The present paper describes changes following the subretinal injection of a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus carrying t he beta-galactosidase reporter gene construct in-to the rat retina. Me thods: Ad.RSV.beta gal-mediated transduction of rat retinal pigment ep ithelium (RPE) cells in vitro and in vivo was examined following X-gal staining. Results: There was a low level of beta-galactosidase expres sion in the RPE cells at 4 days postinjection. At 7 days postinjection , a strong transgene expression was present in RPE cells and the expre ssion was maintained at 14 days postinjection. Except for the accumula tion of cells at the site of the injection, the morphology of the rest of the retina remained normal. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the RPE layer can be successfully targeted for gene delivery in t he rat.