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Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), belonging to the genus Vesiculovirus in the family Rhabdoviridae, is a bullet-shaped enveloped negative-sense RNA virus with a genome of approximately 11 kb that contains genes encoding the nucleocapsid (N) protein, phosphoprotein (P), matrix (M) protein, G protein, and large polymerase (L). The G protein enables VSV to infect most mammalian cell types, and the N protein tightly encapsulates the RNA genome to form a nuclease-resistant nucleocapsid. VSV is known for its rapid replication and assembly, high infection efficiency, and foreign gene expression, and has been shown to be delivered anterogradely between neurons. These properties make it suitable for efficient anterograde transsynaptic tracing of output networks.
The VSV G protein can be pseudotyped with glycoproteins from other viruses to achieve different labeling properties and anterograde or retrograde transsynaptic delivery. The VSV G protein has been found to facilitate infection in a variety of species, when on the surface of the VSV virion, or when on the surface of other types of viruses. In addition to its broad host range and rapid gene expression, VSV is not as biohazardous as other viruses used for neuronal tracing. In its native form, VSV is prevalent in certain human populations with little evidence of pathology. Its low toxicity, flexibility to accept G proteins from other viruses, and ease of replication in tissue culture make VSV particularly suitable for mapping connected neurons in different species.
Figure 1. rVSV(VSV-G) transmission shows an anterograde, and rVSV(RABV-G) shows a retrograde, polysynaptic pattern of transmission among neurons in mice. (Mundell N A, et al., 2015)
Creative Biogene offers a variety of VSV-derived tools that replace traditional tracers with highly efficient, more specific, and less invasive viral methods. VSV exhibits specific anterograde transsynaptic properties. When injected into the target experimental area, it infects nerve cells and replicates, expressing the fluorescent protein gene carried by the virus. The progeny virus is transported along the axon to the presynaptic terminal, where it crosses the synapse into downstream neurons, initiating another round of replication, packaging, and transsynaptic propagation. Our VSV products are valuable tools for rapidly mapping neuronal projection patterns and developing anterograde transsynaptic tracing systems.
| Cat.NO. | Product Name | Application | Price |
| VNTV-1 | VSV-EGFP | Anterograde muti-synaptic tracing | Inquiry |
| VNTV-2 | VSV-mCherry | Anterograde muti-synaptic tracing | Inquiry |
| VNTV-3 | VSV-ΔG-EGFP | Anterograde non-synaptic tracing | Inquiry |
| VNTV-4 | VSV-ΔG-mCherry | Anterograde non-synaptic tracing | Inquiry |
The Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) has emerged as a powerful tool in neuroscience, particularly for neuronal tracing applications. Its versatility and unique properties make it an attractive option for various research purposes.
(1) Central nervous system (CNS) anterograde trans-multisynaptic labeling
This application allows researchers to label neurons that are connected in a sequence, moving forward from the initial neuron through synaptically connected pathways. By using engineered VSV strains with specific genetic markers, scientists can trace the progression of neural signals across multiple synapses.
(2) The CNS forwardly marks the primary output circuit
This application is essential for understanding how signals are propagated from central to peripheral targets and is particularly useful in exploring how various regions of the brain communicate and coordinate with one another to produce specific behaviors or physiological responses.
(3) rVSV(RABV-G) is a retrograde tracer in the CNS
VSV can be modified to encode the rabies virus glycoprotein (RABV-G) protein in the viral genome, allowing the virus to replicate and spread in cells with multiple synaptic connections, i.e., as a polysynaptic tracer. Alternatively, if the G gene is deleted from the virus's genome and RABV-G is provided in trans, it behaves as a monosynaptic tracer.
(4) VSV as a viral vector for the CNS: rapid gene expression and large genome capacity
The early onset of gene expression in VSV (one hour vs. several hours) compared to RABV makes it beneficial in experimental paradigms that require experiments to be completed in a shorter time frame, such as tissue sections and explants. In addition, multiple transgenes can be encoded in the viral genome without the need for 2A or IRES elements. The size of the viral capsid is not fixed and can therefore contain a genome much larger than the native genome.
(5) Sufficiency of glycoproteins to confer directionality of rVSV spread enables novel applications
The fact that VSV can spread anterogradely or retrogradely across synapses by simply changing a single gene offers several advantages over viral tracers that have so far not shown such flexibility in tracing directionality. In addition to the obvious application of tracing anterograde connections, combinations can be made to exploit different forms of the virus. Furthermore, the spread of a polysynaptic rVSV (RABV-G) appears to decrease as the number of cross-synapses increases, allowing for the analysis of more restricted viral spread.
VSV-derived vectors have great potential in basic research and gene therapy for neurological diseases. Creative Biogene can also provide customized VSV-derived vectors to customers all over the world. If you are interested in our services and products, please feel free to contact us for more details.
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