Adenovirus insertion encoding the Lac Z gene in human nervous cells in primary dissociated cultures

Primary dissociated cultures of human fetal central nervous system cells were prepared and inoculated at different days in vitro with adenovirus that contained a reporter gene encoding beta-galactosidase. At various time intervals, the cultures were processed for characterization with X-gal histochemistry and additional immunostaining with neurofilament (NF), GABA and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA-P). We observed that NF (+) and GABA (+) neuronal as well as GFA-P (+) glial cells could express beta-galactosidase activity after inoculation. The labeling was detected up to 3 months after virus treatment. In addition, neurons cultivated for three months were found to be still permissive for virus infection. We can conclude that adenovirus may be considered as a potential vector to transfer genes to nerve cells.