title: Neural toxicity of retroviruses.
abstract: Recombinant retroviruses containing the cDNA for human tyrosine hydroxylase-1 and Escherichia coli lacZ gene were used to infect primary foetal ventral mesencephalon and cortical cultures from rat brain. Severe neuronal toxicity resulted 3-4 days after infection, glial cells seemed to be much more resistant. The toxicity was likely to have resulted from an agent present within the virus-containing medium itself, rather than from the retrovirus itself. The results of this study indicate that retroviruses are not suitable vectors for the introduction of tyrosine hydroxylase into primary neuronal cultures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, South Kensington, London, UK. m.hurley@ic.ac.uk
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Bradford
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Hare
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uchida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006583:Hexadimethrine Bromide / Q000494:pharmacology; D007763:Lac Operon; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D051381:Rats; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006583:Hexadimethrine Bromide; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase