Protein therapy by direct protein transduction into the brain

Abstract

We succeeded in attemptting targeted, direct in vivo protein transduction by microinjecting β-galactosidase (β-gal) with hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope (HVJ-E) vector into the rat nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) (Neurosci Letts, 378; 18-21, 2005). In this study, we investigated changes in blood pressure (BP) by direct in vivo nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase) protein transduction into the rat NTS in order to examine whether the direct in vivo transducted protein in the brain has a function. The BP at 45 min to 3 hr after nNOS microinjection was significantly lower than that of control. Our findings suggest that direct in vivo protein transduction into specific restricted brain areas may have a function. The type of targeted delivery system we present may have wide applications in the administration of therapeutic proteins to the central nervous system. [J Physiol Sci. 2008;58 Suppl:S20]