title: Alphavirus vectors for gene expression and vaccines.
abstract: Alphavirus expression vectors are finding novel uses in research. They are showing increasing promise as vaccines and are being developed for diagnostic assays of other viruses. Some highlights over the past couple of years include improvements in packaging of replicons, targeting of Sindbis virus replicons, stable cell lines that can be induced to produce replicons, and the isolation of noncytopathic variants of Sindbis virus replicons. Reports that alphavirus vectors can efficiently infect neurons in rat hippocampal slices should increase their use in neurobiological studies.
authors.affiliation: Box 8230 Department of Molecular Microbiology Washington University School of Medicine 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110-1093, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schlesinger
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Dubensky
mesh_terms: D000524:Alphavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D005544:Forecasting; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000821:virology; D051381:Rats; D012093:Replicon; D014612:Vaccines / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines