A cross-species protocol for ultrasound-guided intrauterine injections across gestation
This step-by-step protocol provides a cross-species, non-surgical approach that enables prenatal gene delivery to the developing nervous system in rats and marmosets. Under transabdominal ultrasound guidance, intracerebroventricular injection of recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors into the fetal brain achieves robust and long-term transduction from prenatal stages into adulthood. This approach can be adapted to other species and target sites outside nervous system, enabling safe and selective intrauterine manipulation and the generation of diverse experimental models for basic and preclinical research. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Ribeiro Gomes et al (2026)1. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=181 SRC="FIGDIR/small/737050v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (47K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@696364org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@fc3c7forg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1e7c7caorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1edcef0_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG Before you beginExperimental procedures during gestation allow researchers to study developmental processes, including how manipulations of the fetus and its intrauterine environment influence biological outcomes. Ultrasound imaging guidance greatly facilitates such interventions by providing safe and targeted access to fetal compartments, including for prenatal gene delivery to developing neural cell populations. Critically, delivery of recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of developing animals enables widespread gene transfer across the brain. The efficiency and distribution of transduction are strongly influenced by developmental stage, making the timing of delivery an important experimental variable. In altricial species such as mice, major developmental processes, including cortical lamination and the establishment of long-range connections, begin prenatally but continue throughout early postnatal life. In primates, however, development is more advanced at birth, and many equivalent developmental events are shifted to the prenatal period. Consequently, developmental stages that can be targeted postnatally in mice require prenatal access in primates. Here, we present a step-by-step protocol for ultrasound-guided fetal intracerebroventricular viral injection (FIVI) of rAAV in marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and rats (Rattus norvegicus). The procedure was initially developed and optimized in rats before being translated to marmosets, small New World primates that share key developmental, anatomical, and functional characteristics with humans. Together, these models illustrate the cross-species applicability of the approach, while providing gene delivery strategies for both a genetically tractable rodent model and a translationally relevant nonhuman primate. FIVI enables broad gene transfer and stable, long-term transgene expression in wild type animals, facilitating the generation of complementary quasi-transgenic models for research and translational applications from prenatal development through adulthood.