Efficient Gene Transfer to Myelinating Schwann Cells in the Rodent Sciatic Nerve Using In Vivo Electroporation.

To study the signaling mechanism of the development and maintenance of myelinating Schwann cells (SCs) in the peripheral nervous system, in vivo techniques for SC-selective gene manipulation are useful. The present protocol describes an in vivo electroporation method that allows efficient transfection of myelinating SCs in rodent sciatic nerves. This technique allows us to introduce the genes of interest into myelinating SCs by simply applying electric pulses to the sciatic nerve after plasmid DNA injection.