title: Lentiviral and adeno-associated vector-based therapy for motor neuron disease through RNAi.
abstract: RNAi holds promise for neurodegenerative disorders caused by gain-of-function mutations. We and others have demonstrated proof-of-principle for viral-mediated RNAi in a mouse model of motor neuron disease. Lentivirus and adeno-associated virus have been used to knockdown levels of mutated superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) in the G93A SOD1 mouse model of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) to result in beneficial therapeutic outcomes. This chapter describes the design, production, and titration of lentivirus and adeno-associated virus capable of mediating SOD1 knockdown in vivo. The delivery of the virus to the spinal cord directly, through intraspinal injection, or indirectly, through intramuscular injection, is also described, as well as the methods pertaining to the analysis of spinal cord transduction, SOD1 silencing, and determination of motor neuron protection.
authors.affiliation: Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Towne
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aebischer
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D000229:Dependovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D055029:Inverted Repeat Sequences; D016086:Lentivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1
chemical_list: C000606290:SOD1 protein, human; D012313:RNA; C000606291:Sod1 protein, mouse; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1