Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) Vectors in Neurobiology and Gene Therapy

Gene delivery methods play a key role in molecular neurobiology. The possibility to efficiently deliver and express genes not only in cell lines, but also in neurons in culture in vivo has facilitated studies on the understanding of gene function. Generally, neurons are not very susceptible to gene transfer methods. This means that the gene delivery is either rather inefficient or causes damage to the cells. However, several viral vectors such as adeno-associated virus (AAV), lentivirus, herpes simplex virus and alphaviruses have been proven to efficiently transduce neurons.