title: The alpha-herpesviruses: molecular pathfinders in nervous system circuits.
abstract: Several neuroinvasive viruses can be used to study the mammalian nervous system. In particular, infection by pseudorabies virus (PRV), an alpha-herpesvirus with broad host range, reveals chains of functionally connected neurons in the nervous systems of a variety of mammals. The specificity of PRV trans-neuronal spread has been established in several systems. One attenuated strain, PRV-Bartha, causes a reduced inflammatory response and also spreads only from infected post- to pre-synaptic neurons. We review the basics of PRV tracing and then discuss new developments and novel approaches that have enabled a more detailed understanding of the architecture of the nervous system. As questions and techniques evolve in the field of neuroscience, advances in PRV tracing will certainly follow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Mats I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ekstrand
authors.forename: L W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Enquist
authors.forename: Lisa E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Pomeranz
mesh_terms: D018138:Alphaherpesvirinae / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011558:Herpesvirus 1, Suid / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009420:Nervous System / Q000821:virology*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009446:Neurobiology / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins