PRV (Pseudorabies virus，PRV)

Outstanding Peripheral-Central Nervous System Axis Research Assistant - Porcine Herpesvirus

Pseudorabies virus (PRV), also known as porcine herpesvirus type I, belongs to the α-herpesvirus subfamily of the family Herpesviridae. The virion is oval or round, and its genome is a linear double-stranded DNA molecule of about 150 kb. The diameter of the mature virion with an envelope is about 150-180 nm. There are radially arranged spikes on the surface of the envelope, and its length is about 8-10 nm (Figure 1). PRV is the primary pathogenic factor of porcine pseudorabies. It can infect pigs, cattle, sheep, cats and dogs, etc., but it cannot infect humans and primates, so it has high safety.

The isolated strain of wild pseudorabies virus (becker strain) is highly toxic, and can transmit both antegrade and retrograde in the neural circuit, so it is not suitable as a neurotropic tool virus; while the gE, gl and US9 genes in the genome of the vaccine strain (Bartha strain) have mutations, it can only specifically reverse transsynaptic transmission and has low toxicity, so it is suitable as a neurotropic tool virus.

Figure 1 Structural diagram of PRV virions (Pomeranz LE et al., Microbiol Mol Biol Rev, 2005)

The Bartha strain of PRV has only retrograde trans-multisynaptic properties. The recombinant tracer virus constructed based on the Bartha strain can strictly reverse the labeling of neural networks across polysynapses. After the virus infects nerve cells, it replicates and expresses the target gene in the cell. After the progeny virus is transported to the synapse, it reverses across the synapse and enters the upstream neuron, starting a new round of replication and retrograde trans-synaptic transmission.

Figure 2 Schematic diagram of specific reverse transsynaptic transmission of PRV Bartha strain (Ekstrand MI et al., Trends Mol Med, 2008)

Application

To study the brain-wide multisynaptic input network structure of specific regions of the brain.
Neural network changes during neurodevelopment.
In the nerve injury and rehabilitation model.
Tracing the communication pathways between the peripheral organs and the central nervous system. In the neuropsychiatric disease model, the structural characteristics and abnormal changes of the peripheral neural networks receiving input from the central brain.

Product list

NO.	Product name	Exogenous Gene	Function
BC-PRV-531-Plus	PRV-CAG-EGFP	EGFP	Retrograde muti-synaptic tracing, Green
BC-PRV-803-Plus	PRV-CAG-3Ms	mScarlet3	Retrograde muti-synaptic tracing, Red