Retrograde transduction of dopaminergic cells in substantia nigra of the rhesus monkey

Recent advances in molecular tools have changed how researchers approach selective neural modulation, especially in rodent models where germline modifications and viral vector delivery are readily optimized. However, these tools have not advanced as rapidly for nonhuman primates, despite critical need for translational gene therapy models. A key barrier is targeting specific neuronal populations in the larger primate brain with cell-type and circuit specificity. Dopaminergic neurons pose a particular challenge due to their inaccessible ventral midbrain location, where local injection non-selectively targets all dopaminergic neurons. This work provides NHP researchers with a comparison of retrograde viral vectors, highlighting one which achieves efficient dopaminergic neuron transduction, establishing a foundation for combining vectors with cell-type-specific enhancers for basic and translational applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2026-06-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-55097-5
Primary Topic
Virus-based gene therapy research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Retrograde transduction of dopaminergic cells in substantia nigra of the rhesus monkey

Mark A. G. Eldridge, Zayd M. Khaliq, Walter Lerchner, Alexander Cummins et al.
Scientific Reports
Virus-based gene therapy research
article

Retrograde transduction of dopaminergic cells in substantia nigra of the rhesus monkey

Mark A. G. Eldridge, Zayd M. Khaliq, Walter Lerchner, Alexander Cummins, Barry J. Richmond, Bruno B. Averbeck, Vincent D. Costa, Leonardo Salhani, Gang Chen, Anya S. Plotnikova
article en

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular tools have changed how researchers approach selective neural modulation, especially in rodent models where germline modifications and viral vector delivery are readily optimized. However, these tools have not advanced as rapidly for nonhuman primates, despite critical need for translational gene therapy models. A key barrier is targeting specific neuronal populations in the larger primate brain with cell-type and circuit specificity. Dopaminergic neurons pose a particular challenge due to their inaccessible ventral midbrain location, where local injection non-selectively targets all dopaminergic neurons. This work provides NHP researchers with a comparison of retrograde viral vectors, highlighting one which achieves efficient dopaminergic neuron transduction, establishing a foundation for combining vectors with cell-type-specific enhancers for basic and translational applications.

Scientific Reports
Oregon National Primate Research Center (US), National Institutes of Health (US), Allen Institute for Brain Science (US), Emory University (US), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (US), Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod (FR), Research Network (United States) (US), National Institute of Mental Health (US), National Institute of Mental Health (CZ), Newcastle University (GB), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Intramural Research Program
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Virus-based gene therapy research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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