Abstract
The Pseudorabies virus (PrV) strain Bartha is widely used as a tool for retrograde transneuronal tracing in mammals. Traced neurons can be identified in cell culture allowing the analysis of their physiological features (“live-cell”-tracing). Compared to PrV-Bartha, PrV-Kaplan is known for higher virulence and transsynaptic spread in both retrograde and anterograde direction. Herein we assess the authors assess PrV-Kaplan for transsynaptic anterograde “live-cell”-tracing. Following intranasal application in mice, labelled trigeminal and brainstem neurons could be identified in vitro. Detailed electrophysiological analysis indicated that viral infection did not affect neuronal properties, making PrV-Kaplan eligible for functional analysis of identified neurons within somatosensory systems.
The present address of Nils Damann is Departement Moleculaire Celbiologie, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Graduiertenkolleg 736 “Development and Plasticity of the Nervous System: Molecular, Synaptic and Cellular Mechanisms,” University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany). This work was additionally supported by the Ruhr-University Research School funded by the DFG in the framework of the Excellence Initiative. The authors also thank Harry Bartel for his technical support with equipping patch-clamp setups.