Department of Animal Health, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy. gaetano.donofrio@unipr.it.
ABSTRACT: Bovine herpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) is a gamma-herpesvirus with no clear disease association. A recombinant BoHV-4 (BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK) expressing Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP), was successfully used to infect F98 rat glioma cells. BoHV-4EGFPDeltaTK was injected into the lateral ventricle of the rat brain. Histology and immunohistochemistry showed that ependymal and rostral migratory stream cells were transduced while neurons were not. Clinical scores, evaluated for 90 days, indicated that the virus was non neuropathogenic, suggesting this virus is a suitable vector for brain tumor gene therapy.