Modeling gliomagenesis with somatic cell gene transfer using retroviral vectors

Modeling brain tumor formation in experimental animals with somatic cell ge ne transfer has a long history. In the early experiments naturally occurrin g retroviruses were used to induce primary brain tumors in a variety of tes t animals. The subsequent identification of the v-src oncogene within RSV a nd other cellular proto-oncogenes encoded by other retroviruses moved the f ield of oncology into the molecular age. Recombinant retroviruses were orig inally used to infect cells in vitro followed by transplantation. Since the n, retroviral vectors have been used to generate glioma formation in vivo v ia intracerebral injection of neonatal mice. In the most recent models, pri mary brain tumors can be induced by injecting avian recombinant retroviruse s containing different oncogenes, individually or in combination, into tran sgenic mice genetically engineered for susceptibility to retroviral gene tr ansfer targeting specific cell types in the brain. Animal modeling experime nts have contributed substantially to the understanding of the etiology lea ding to gliomagenesis. The current models provide tumors, which are genetic ally and histologically similar to their human counterparts, making them at tractive to use in drug discovery for treatment of gliomas.