Neuronal expression of foreign genes with recombinant rabies virus variants

Rabies virus variants obtained by recombinant DNA techniques enabled us to use the high neurotropism of rabies virus to express foreign genes (e.g: Ch loramphenicol Acetyl Transferase gene) in neuronal cell cultures as well as in rodent brain. The foreign gene was inserted in the viral pseudogene reg ion; this insertion did not affect the neurotropism of rabies virus, as sho wn by infection of neuronal cell cultures without any major cytopathic effe cts for several days. Stereotaxic inoculation of these rabies virus variant s into rat striatum indicated that insertion of the foreign gene did not al ter the viral axonal transport and the subsequent widespread brain infectio n. These data allow to consider rabies virus as a vector for the selective expression of foreign genes in neurons.