CAV-2--why a canine virus is a neurobiologist's best friend

Canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) vectors are powerful tools for fundamental and applied neurobiology due to their negligible immunogenicity, preferential transduction of neurons, widespread distribution via axonal transport, and duration of expression in the mammalian brain. CAV-2 vectors are internalized in neurons by the selective use of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), which is located at the presynapse in neurons. Neuronal internalization and axonal transport is mediated by CAR, which potentiates vector biodistribution. The above characteristics, together with the ∼30kb cloning capacity of helper-dependent (HD) CAV-2 vectors, optimized CAV-2 vector creation, production and purification, is expanding the therapeutic and fundamental options for CNS gene transfer.