scholarly journals In Vitro Gene Delivery Mediated by Asialofetuin-Appended Cationic Liposomes Associated with γ-Cyclodextrin into Hepatocytes

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Motoyama ◽  
Yoshihiro Nakashima ◽  
Yukihiko Aramaki ◽  
Fumitoshi Hirayama ◽  
Kaneto Uekama ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study is to evaluate in vitro gene delivery mediated by asialofetuin-appended cationic liposomes (AF-liposomes) associating cyclodextrins (CyD/AF-liposomes) as a hepatocyte-selective nonviral vector. Of various CyDs, AF-liposomes associated with plasmid DNA (pDNA) and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CyD) (pDNA/γ-CyD/AF-liposomes) showed the highest gene transfer activity in HepG2 cells without any significant cytotoxicity. In addition, γ-CyD enhanced the encapsulation ratio of pDNA with AF-liposomes, and also increased gene transfer activity as the entrapment ratio of pDNA into AF-liposomes was increased. γ-CyD stabilized the liposomal membrane of AF-liposomes and inhibited the release of calcein from AF-liposomes. The stabilizing effect of γ-CyD may be, at least in part, involved in the enhancing gene transfer activity of pDNA/γ-CyD/AF-liposomes. Therefore, these results suggest the potential use of γ-CyD for an enhancer of transfection efficiency of AF-liposomes.

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 2860-2866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongwon Lee ◽  
Richard Lockey ◽  
Shyam Mohapatra

Chitosan-mediated gene delivery has gained an increasing interest due to its ability to treat cancers and genetic diseases. However, low transfection efficiency and lack of target specificity limit its application for gene and drug delivery. In the present work, folic acid was covalently conjugated to chitosan as a targeting ligand in an attempt to specifically deliver DNA to folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. Folic acid-conjugated chitosan (FACN) was successfully synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR and is biocompatible. In vitro gene transfer potential of FACN was evaluated in human epithelial ovarian cancer OV2008 cells and human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. FACN at a weight ratio of 10 : 1 exhibited significantly (< 0.01) enhanced gene transfer potential in folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells as compared to unmodified chitosan. Transfection of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is competitively inhibited by free folic acid, suggesting the specific gene delivery of FACN/pDNA nanocomplexes is achieved through folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Taken together, these results demonstrate that FACN provides a promising carrier for cancer gene therapy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shingo Nakamura ◽  
Tadaaki Maehara ◽  
Satoshi Watanabe ◽  
Masayuki Ishihara ◽  
Masahiro Sato

The liver is an important organ for supporting the life of an individual. Gene transfer toward this organ has been attempted in many laboratories to date; however, there have been few reports on improved liver-targeted gene delivery by using a nonviral vector. In this study, we examined the effect of various types of gene delivery carriers on enhancing the uptake and gene expression of exogenous DNA in murine hepatocytes when a hydrodynamics-based gene delivery (HGD) is performed via tail-vein injection. Mice were singly injected with a large amount of phosphate-buffered saline containing reporter plasmid DNA and/or with a gene delivery carrier. One day after the gene delivery, the animals' livers were dissected and subjected to biochemical, histochemical, and molecular biological analyses. The strongest signal from the reporter plasmid DNA was observed when the DNA was mixed with a polyethylenimine- (PEI-) based reagent. Coinjection with pCRTEIL (aloxP-floxed reporter construct) and pTR/NCre (a liver-specific Cre expression vector) resulted in the liver-specific recombination of pCRTEIL. The combination of PEI with HGD would thus be a valuable tool for liver-specific manipulation to examine the function of a gene of interest in the liver and for creating liver disease models.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 647-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Barthélémy ◽  
Michel Camplo

AbstractThe design of safe and efficient gene transfer vectors remains one of the key challenges in gene therapy. Despite their remarkable transfection efficiency, viral vectors suffer from known safety issues. Consequently, significant research activity has been undertaken to develop nonviral approaches to gene transfer during the last decade. Numerous academic and industrial research groups are investigating synthetic cationic vectors, such as cationic amphiphiles, with the objective of increasing the gene transfection activity. Within this area, the development of functional synthetic vectors that respond to local environmental effects have met with success. These synthetic vectors are based on mechanistic principles and represent a significant departure from earlier systems. Many of these systems for gene delivery in vitro and in vivo are discussed in this article.


Author(s):  
A. A. Mikheev ◽  
E. V. Shmendel ◽  
E. S. Zhestovskaya ◽  
G. V. Nazarov ◽  
M. A. Maslov

Objectives. Gene therapy is based on the introduction of genetic material into cells, tissues, or organs for the treatment of hereditary or acquired diseases. A key factor in the success of gene therapy is the development of delivery systems that can efficiently transfer genetic material to the place of their therapeutic action without causing any associated side effects. Over the past 10 years, significant effort has been directed toward creating more efficient and biocompatible vectors capable of transferring nucleic acids (NAs) into cells without inducing an immune response. Cationic liposomes are among the most versatile tools for delivering NAs into cells; however, the use of liposomes for gene therapy is limited by their low specificity. This is due to the presence of various biological barriers to the complex of liposomes with NA, including instability in biological fluids, interaction with serum proteins, plasma and nuclear membranes, and endosomal degradation. This review summarizes the results of research in recent years on the development of cationic liposomes that are effective in vitro and in vivo. Particular attention is paid to the individual structural elements of cationic liposomes that determine the transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. The purpose of this review was to provide a theoretical justification of the most promising choice of cationic liposomes for the delivery of NAs into eukaryotic cells and study the effect of the composition of cationic lipids (CLs) on the transfection efficiency in vitro.Results. As a result of the analysis of the related literature, it can be argued that one of the most promising delivery systems of NAs is CL based on cholesterol and spermine with the addition of a helper lipid DOPE. In addition, it was found that varying the composition of cationic liposomes, the ratio of CL to NA, or the size and zeta potential of liposomes has a significant effect on the transfection efficiency.Conclusions. Further studies in this direction should include optimization of the conditions for obtaining cationic liposomes, taking into account the physicochemical properties and established laws. It is necessary to identify mechanisms that increase the efficiency of NA delivery in vitro by searching for optimal structures of cationic liposomes, determining the ratio of lipoplex components, and studying the delivery efficiency and properties of multicomponent liposomes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Gavora ◽  
B. Benkel ◽  
H. Sasada ◽  
W. J. Cantwell ◽  
P. Fiser ◽  
...  

Experiments were carried out to transform laboratory mice and domestic chickens by use of sperm incubated with bacterial plasmid DNA. Following demonstration of "uptake" of such DNA by sperm of both species, attempts were made to replicate a previously published procedure (Lavitrano et al. 1989, Cell 57: 717–723) for producing transgenic mice through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Also, female mice and hens were inseminated (AI) with sperm which had been incubated in a DNA solution. Such incubation did not influence the fertility or hatchability of the hens' eggs. However, no transformed progeny were detected among 45 mice produced by IVF or among 69 mice and 470 chickens produced by AI. Key words: Sperm-mediated DNA transfer, mice, chickens


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1170-1176
Author(s):  
Minchen Liu ◽  
Yulan Hu ◽  
Yi Feng

This study aimed to examine the transfection ability of polyethylenimine (PEI) (1800 Da)-grafted chitosan (10 kDa) (CP), a newly synthesized PEI derivative, in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The safety evaluation of the complex/DNA was studied in vitro and in vivo. In addition, CP/pGL3 was applied to investigate the effects of transfection efficiency. In this study, CP/DNA can be formed with compatible physicochemical characteristics for gene delivery. CP cytotoxicity decreased in A549 cells. Moreover, a zebrafish embryo model was used for evaluating the safety in vivo. Compared to the PEI (25 kDa) group, the zebrafish hatching rate increased and the mortality rate decreased in the CP/DNA group, which provided an indication of the safety of CP. In comparison with chitosan (100 kDa)-PEI (1200 Da), CP's transfection efficiency was higher in both A549 cells and MSCs. This study aimed to lay the foundation for further applications of CP in gene delivery. Therefore, further gene therapy investigations of CP by using MSCs need to be performed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 342-343 ◽  
pp. 449-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae Hee Kim ◽  
Hua Jin ◽  
Hyun Woo Kim ◽  
Myung Haing Cho ◽  
Jae Woon Nah ◽  
...  

The key strategy for the advancement of gene therapy is the development of an efficient targeted gene delivery system into cells. The targeted gene delivery system is especially important in non-viral gene transfer which shows the relatively low transfection efficiency. It also opens the possibility of selective delivery of therapeutic plasmids to specific tissues. Chitosan has been considered to be a good candidate for gene delivery system, since it is already known as a biocompatible, biodegradable, and low toxic material with high cationic potential. However, low specificity and low transfection efficiency of chitosan need to be overcome prior to clinical trial. In this study, we focused on the chemical modification of chitosan for enhancement of cell specificity and transfection efficiency. Also, the potential of clinical application was investigated.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document