BACKGROUND: Because certain gene vectors could have deleterious effects in the central nervous system, the choice of a safe and effective vector system has become more important for gene therapy of nerve regeneration. OBJECTIVE: To construct a non-pathogenic, recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) simultaneously expressing human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (hVEGF165) and green fluorescent protein (GFP). DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A randomized controlled experiment was performed at the Virology Laboratory of Shaanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention between March and September 2007. MATERIALS: AAV helper-free system, AAV-293 packaging cell line, and AAV HT-1080 cells were purchased from Stratagene, USA. E. coli DH5α was a stocked strain from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Shaanxi, China. Plasmid pUC18-hHVEGF165 was a gift from Zhibin Shi. METHODS: The hVEGF165 gene was amplified by PCR from pUC18-hHVEGF165 and inserted into plasmid pAAV-IRES-hrGFP to construct recombinant plasmid pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP. Subsequently pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP, pAAV-RC (the rep/cap-gene containing plasmid), and pHelper were co-transfected into AAV-293 cells to complete rAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP packaging through homologous recombination. The efficiency of AAV packaging was monitored under a fluorescent microscope, and the recombinant viral particles were harvested from infected AAV-293 cells, and further concentrated and purified. AAV HT-1080 cells were infected with the recombinant virus AAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Recombinant virus titer was measured by fluorescent cell counting, and infection efficiency was detected by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) upon infecting AAV-HT1080 cells. The recombination with the exogenous gene was verified by PCR. RESULTS: The PCR amplified products were verified as hVEGF165 gene by DNA sequencing, and the recombinant pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-GFP was confirmed by double digestion. The system provided a high packaging ratio of 95%, and the purified recombinant virus had a high titer of 5.5×1011 virus particles/mL. The AAV-HT1080 cells were infected at a ratio of 90.4%. The recombinant virus was confirmed by PCR to contain the exogenous hVEGF165 gene. CONCLUSION: The non-pathogenic rAAV-hVEGF165-GFP vector, carrying hVEGF165 and GFP reporter gene, was successfully constructed with a high titer and infection efficiency. BACKGROUND: Because certain gene vectors could have deleterious effects in the central nervous system, the choice of a safe and effective vector system has become more important for gene therapy of nerve regeneration. OBJECTIVE: To construct a non-pathogenic, recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) simultaneously expressing human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (hVEGF165) and green fluorescent protein (GFP). DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A randomized controlled experiment was performed at the Virology Laboratory of Shaanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention between March and September 2007. MATERIALS: AAV helper-free system, AAV-293 packaging cell line, and AAV HT-1080 cells were purchased from Stratagene, USA. E. coli DH5α was a stocked strain from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of Shaanxi, China . METHODS: The hVEGF165 gene was amplified by PCR from pUC18-hHVEGF165 and inserted into plasmid pAAV-IRE S-hrGFP to construct the recombinant plasmid pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP. After pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP, pAAV-RC (the rep / cap-gene containing plasmid), and pHelper were co-transfected into AAV- 293 cells to complete rAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP packaging through homologous recombination. The efficiency of AAV packaging was monitored under a fluorescent microscope, and the recombinant viral particles were harvested from infected AAV-293 cells, and concentrated and purified. AAV HT-1080 cells were infected with the recombinant virus AAV-hVEGF165-IRES-hrGFP. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Recombinant virus titer was measured by fluorescent cell counting, and infection efficiency was detected by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) upon infecting AAV-HT1080 cells. The recombination with the exogenous gene was verified by PCR. RESULTS: The PCR amplified products were verified as hVEGF165 gene by DNA sequencing, and the recombinant pAAV-hVEGF165-IRES-GFP was confirmed by double digestion. T hThe system was packaged at a high of 95%, and the purified recombinant virus had a high titer of 5.5 × 1011 virus particles / mL. The AAV-HT1080 cells were infected at a ratio of 90.4%. to contain the exogenous hVEGF165 gene. CONCLUSION: The non-pathogenic rAAV-hVEGF165-GFP vector, carrying hVEGF165 and GFP reporter gene, was successfully constructed with a high titer and infection efficiency.