, 2004). The AAV may be unique in producing widespread transduction following intraventricular delivery. The pattern of transduction suggests that the virus follows the flow of the cerebrospinal fluid through the subarachnoid space (Passini & Wolfe, 2001). At just 20–25 nm in diameter, the small size of AAV particles may facilitate their dissemination throughout the brain. In contrast, at 100+ nm in diameter, lentivirus injected at the same age transduced only the ventricular surface and choroid plexus (Watson et al., 2005). Although not yet empirically

tested, the still larger herpes simplex virus (180–200 nm) might also be expected to show little transduction PLX4032 research buy outside the ventricle. Size is clearly not the only factor influencing viral spread as, unlike AAV1, 2, 6, 8, and 9 (our data and Passini & Wolfe, 2001; Passini et al., 2003; Broekman et al., 2006; Cearley et al., 2008),

AAV5 transduction does not advance much beyond the injection site (Watson et al., 2005). The distribution of cellular receptors and their affinity for different AAV serotypes may also contribute to viral spread. AAV5 and, to a lesser extent, AAV1 (Fig. 6) appear to bind strongly at the ventricular surface, leaving fewer particles to enter the parenchyma. Because of their varying receptor affinities, viral transgenesis also opens the possibility of harnessing serotype specificity to target distinct cellular populations. We demonstrate that AAV1 favors superficial layers of the cortex, RXDX-106 purchase whereas AAV8 transfects more evenly across layers. AAV6 offers improved transduction of cerebellar Purkinje neurons, but works less well in the forebrain. Past work on

neonatal AAV transduction has shown that the serotype strongly Metalloexopeptidase biases which brain regions and cell types are targeted, with select capsid proteins preferring inhibitory neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes (Broekman et al., 2006; Cearley et al., 2008; Nathanson et al., 2009). Although the precise mechanism of AAV transduction is not well understood, receptors for several serotypes have been identified, including the 37/67 kDa laminin receptor (AAV8), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (AAV5), αVβ5 integrin (AAV2), hepatocyte growth factor receptor (AAV2), and fibroblast growth factor receptor [AAV2 and 3; reviewed in Akache et al. (2006)]. Specific sialic acid and heparan sulfate linkages also contribute to AAV tropism, and binding of several serotypes can be eliminated by enzymatic deglycosylation of cultured cells (AAV2-5). With over 100 AAV variants isolated to date, the repertoire of possible transduction patterns has yet to be fully exploited (Wu et al., 2006), and rational engineering of AAV glycoproteins and their cell-surface receptors promises even greater control in the future (Wang et al., 2011).