Transfection of Cultured Primary Neurons

The efficient delivery of genes into neurons is a crucial tool for the study of neuronal cell biology as well as for the development of novel therapeutic approaches, such as gene therapy. Over the past years, numerous techniques have been established to deliver genes into cells. These methods can be broadly classified into two main groups: viral based and nonviral methods. The viral methods use viral particles such as adenoviruses, adeno-associated, lentiviruses, and herpes simplex viruses. Nonviral methods can be subdivided into physical and chemical methods. While the first one includes techniques such as electroporation, magnetofection, microinjection, and biolistics, the latter comprises lipofection and calcium phosphate/DNA co-precipitation. Each one of these methods has its own advantages and drawbacks and the choice of a particular method depends on the experimental setting and objective. In this chapter, we summarize the key advantages and disadvantages of various techniques for the gene delivery in primary neurons and neuronal stem cells.