ABSTRACT
In general, baculoviruses have been utilized as a biopesticides to control agricultural pests and a vector for the production of recombinant proteins in insect cells and insects. However, recently, the application of baculoviruses has been directed to various fields, nanotechnology, vaccinology and medical sciences. Especially, it was revealed that baculoviruses can enter mammalian cells without its amplification and allow foreign genes to be expressed in mammalian cells under the control of mammalian promoters. Among baculoviruses, two kinds of baculoviruses are well-known. Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) has been normally used for the transduction of foreign genes into mammalian cells in vitro and tissues in vivo as well as for the recombinant protein production in insect cells. However, it was recently shown that Bombyx mori nuleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), which infects silkworms, can be also used for the transduction of foreign genes into mammalian cells. In this chapter, the gene delivery using baculoviruses into mammalian cells in vitro and tissues in vivo is discussed.
