Evaluation of chitosan salts as non-viral gene vectors in CHO-K1 cells

The aim of this study was to investigate chitosan/DNA complexes formulated with various chitosan salts (CS) including chitosan hydrochloride (CHy), chitosan lactate (CLa), chitosan acetate (CAc), chitosan aspartate (CAs) and chitosan glutamate (CGl). They were assesed for their DNA complexing ability, transfection efficiency in CHO-K1 (Chinese hamster ovary) cells and their effect on cell viability. CHy, CLa, CAc, CAs and CGl, MW 45kDa formed a complex with pcDNA3-CMV-Luc at various N/P ratios. CGl/DNA complexes were formulated with various chitosan molecular weights (20, 45, 200 and 460kDa). The CS/DNA complexes were characterized by agarose gel electrophoresis and investigated for their transfection efficiency in CHO-K1 cells. The cytotoxicity of the complexes was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in CHO-K1 cells. Gel electrophoresis illustrated that complete complexes formed at N/P ratios above 2 in all CS of MW 45kDa. The transfection efficiency of CS/DNA complexes was dependent on the salt form and MW of chitosan, and the N/P ratio of CS/DNA complexes. Of different CS, the maximum transfection efficiency was found in different N/P ratios. CHy/DNA, CLa/DNA, CAc/DNA, CAs/DNA and CGl/DNA complexes showed maximum transfection efficiencies at N/P ratios of 12, 12, 8, 6 and 6, respectively. Cytotoxicity results showed that all CS/DNA complexes had low cytotoxicity. This study suggests CS have the potential to be used as safe gene delivery vectors.     

Methylated N-(4-pyridinylmethyl) chitosan as a novel effective safe gene carrier

The objective of this study was to study the transfection efficiency of quaternized N-(4-pyridinylmethyl) chitosan; TM-Py-CS, using the pDNA encoding green fluorescent protein (pEGFP-C2) on human hepatoma cell lines (Huh 7 cells). The factors affecting the transfection efficiency, e.g. degree of quaternization (DQ), the extent of N-pyridinylmethyl substitution (ES) and weight ratio, have been investigated. The results revealed that TM-Py-CS was able to condense with pDNA. Illustrated by agarose gel electrophoresis, complete complexes of TM(69)Py(62)CS/DNA were formed at weight ratio above 1.1, whereas those of TM(53)Py(40)CS/DNA and TM(52)Py(13)CS/DNA were above 1.8 and 8, respectively. TM(69)Py(62)CS showed superior transfection efficiency to TM(53)Py(40)CS, TM(52)Py(13)CS, TM(65)CS and TM(43)CS at all weight ratios tested. The highest transfection efficiency of TM(69)Py(62)CS/DNA complexes was found at weight ratio of 4. The results indicated that the improved gene transfection was possibly due to 4-pyridinylmethyl substitution on CS which promoted the interaction and condensation with DNA as well as N-quaternization which increased CS water solubility. In cytotoxicity studies, high concentration of TM-Py-CS and TM-CS could decrease the Huh 7 cell viability. In conclusion, this novel CS derivative, TM(69)Py(62)CS, showed promising potential as a gene carrier by efficient DNA condensation and mediated higher level of gene transfection.     

Chitosan-Thiamine Pyrophosphate as a Novel Carrier for siRNA Delivery

Purpose  A novel siRNA carrier was formulated between chitosan (CS) and thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP). Their ability to deliver siRNA were evaluated in stable and constitutive EGFP-expressing HepG2 cells. Methods  CS-TPP was prepared by dissolving CS in TPP solution at a CS:TPP molar ratio of 1.5:1. Complexes of CS-TPP/siRNA were formed at varying weight ratios and characterized using gel electrophoresis. Their morphologies and particle sizes were evaluated, and the transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity of CS-TPP/siRNA complexes were examined in stable and constitutive EGFP-expressing HepG2 cells. Results  Gel electrophoresis results indicated that binding of CS-TPP and siRNA depended on the molecular weight (MW) and weight ratio of CS, and the particle sizes of CS-TPP/siRNA complexes were in nano-size. The CS-TPP-mediated siRNA silencing of the endogenous EGFP gene occurred maximally with 70–73% efficiency. The CS-TPP/siRNA complex with the lowest MW of CS (20 kDa) at a weight ratio of 80 showed the strongest inhibition of gene expression, which was higher than Lipofectamine 2000™. Over 90% the average cell viabilities of the complexes were observed by MTT assay. Conclusions  This study suggests that CS-TPP is straightforward to prepare, safe and exhibits significantly improved siRNA delivery potential in vitro.     

Methylated N-(4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzyl) chitosan for novel effective gene carriers

The objective of this study was to investigate the transfection efficiency of quaternized N-(4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzyl) chitosan, TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS, using the plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (pEGFP-C2) on human hepatoma cell lines (Huh7 cells), in comparison to quaternized chitosan (TM(43)-CS) and chitosan (CS). Factors affecting the transfection efficiency, such as the carrier/DNA weight ratio, the pH of the culture medium, and the presence of serum, have been investigated. The results revealed that TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS was able to condense with pDNA. As illustrated by the agarose gel electrophoresis, the complete complexes of TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS/DNA were formed at a weight ratio of above 0.5, whereas those of TM(43)-CS/DNA and CS/DNA were formed at a ratio of above 1. TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS showed superior transfection efficiency to TM(43)-CS and CS at all weight ratios tested. Higher transfection efficiency and gene expression were observed when the carrier/DNA weight ratios increased. The highest transfection efficiency was found at a weight ratio of 8. The results indicated that the improved gene transfection was due to the hydrophobic group (N,N-dimethylaminobenzyl) substitution on CS, which promoted the interaction and condensation with DNA, as well as N-quaternization, which increased the CS water solubility. During cytotoxicity studies, it was found that high concentrations of TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS and TM(43)-CS could decrease the Huh7 cell viability. In conclusion, this novel CS derivative, TM(47)-Bz(42)-CS, shows promising potential as a gene carrier by efficient DNA condensation and a mediated higher level of gene transfection in Huh7 cells.     

Effect of oligopeptides on gene expression: comparison of DNA/peptide and DNA/peptide/liposome complexes

Plasmid DNA is known to form complexes with a variety of cationic peptides and lipids, which have been explored as possible carriers for DNA transfection in mammalian cells. We synthesized oligopeptides consisting of nine amino acid residues including lysine (K), tryptophan (W), and cysteine (C), and also their symmetrical dimmers with a disulfide bond as possible carriers. The pDNA(pGL3)/oligopeptide complexes generally showed poor transfection efficiencies but little cytotoxicity for HeLa S3. The ternary system of pDNA/oligopeptide/liposome containing cationic liposomes formulated from the cholesterol derivative (DMB-Chol) and dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) showed 10(4)-10(5)-fold greater effective gene expression (10(8)-10(9) level, RLU/min/mg protein) than those of the corresponding pDNA/oligopeptide complexes. In the presence of 10% serum, the ternary complexes were maintained at 10(7) levels. The ethidium bromide exclusion studies showed the ternary complexes have much greater affinity to pDNA than the corresponding pDNA/oligopeptide complexes. Plasmid sensitivity against DNase I degradation showed that the ternary complexes were well protected from the digestion. Synthetic oligopeptides are active as potential enhancers for DOPE-containing cationic liposome-mediated transfection. These findings have implications for successful in vivo transfection.     

Mannosylated polyethylenimine coupled mesoporous silica nanoparticles for receptor-mediated gene delivery

Organic-inorganic nanohybrids have been studied for their use as non-viral transfection agents. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) coupled with mannosylated polyethylenimine (MP) to transfect plasmid DNA in vitro. Although MSN is biocompatible and has low cytotoxicity, it is not easily transfected into a variety of cell types. To overcome this barrier, MP was coupled to MSN (abbreviated as MPS) to target macrophage cells with mannose receptors and enhance transfection efficiency. The DNA conveyance ability of MPS was examined by evaluating properties such as particle size, zeta potential, complex formation, protection of plasmid DNA against DNase-I, and the release of DNA upon cell entry. Particle sizes of the MPS/DNA complexes decreased with increasing weight ratio of MPS to DNA, while the zeta potential increased. Complete MPS/DNA complexes were formed at a weight ratio of five, and their resistance to DNase-I was evaluated. Cytotoxicity studies showed that MPS/DNA complexes resulted in a high percentage of cell viability, compared with PEI 25K as a vector. The transfection efficiency of MPS/DNA complexes was evaluated on Raw 264.7 and HeLa cell lines. It was found that MPS/DNA complexes showed enhanced transfection efficiency through receptor-mediated endocytosis via mannose receptors. These results indicate that MPS can be employed in the future as a potential gene carrier to antigen presenting cells.     

鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物的构建与生物性能评价

目的研究非病毒基因载体鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物的制备方法及对其细胞毒性、不同量鱼精蛋白对pDNA的结合能力、体外细胞转染率。方法不同量鱼精蛋白与DNA在室温孵育后,得到鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物;用MTT法检测鱼精蛋白对HeLa子宫颈癌细胞的毒性作用,同时与PEI进行比较;利用琼脂糖电泳实验测定不同N／P比形成复合物时对DNA的阻滞情况;用结合沉淀试验比较不同量鱼精蛋白对包裹DNA的能力的影响;在荧光显微镜下观察比较它们对BEL-7402肝癌细胞转染率的大小。结果当鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物浓度升高时,对He—La子宫颈癌细胞的毒性均为0级,而聚乙烯亚胺（PEI）浓度升高时,对细胞的毒性明显增加;鱼精蛋白与质粒DNA形成复合物时所需的N／P比为1．5：1,较PEI／DNA复合物形成时所需的N／P比2：1要小;鱼精蛋白包裹DNA的能力随N／P比增大而增强,并且包裹DNA的能力要比PEI／DNA复合物转变得快;鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物对BEL-7402肝癌细胞的转染率较PEI／DNA复合物低,但毒性较低。结论鱼精蛋白／DNA复合物是一种制备工艺简单、细胞毒性小、对pDNA包裹能力高、转染率相对较高,具有一定应用潜力的非病毒基因载体。     

Ternary Complexes with Core-Shell Bilayer for Double Level Targeted Gene Delivery: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation

Purpose

Hyaluronic acid (HA)/polyethyleneimine-dexamethasone (PEI-Dex)/DNA ternary complexes with “core-shell” bilayer were developed for double level targeted gene delivery. A PEI₁₈₀₀-Dex, as a core, was applied to compact DNA into a nano-sized structure and facilitate the nuclear translocation of DNA after endocytosis into tumor cells, and a polyanion HA, as the outer corona, was employed to improve targeted tumor delivery and reduce cytotoxicity.

Methods

PEI-Dex was synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR. The characterizations of ternary complexes were investigated. Their biological properties, including transfection efficiency, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and in vivo efficacy were evaluated systemically.

Results

Ternary complexes with the size of about 160 nm exhibited the lowest cytotoxicity and the highest transfection efficiency in B16F10 cells among investigated complexes. The sub-cellular localization study confirmed that ternary complexes could facilitate more efficient cell uptake and nuclear transport of DNA than binary complexes. Moreover, Cy7-labeled ternary complexes obviously accumulated in the tumor after i.v. administration, indicating that ternary complexes could assist the DNA targeting to the tumor. In in vivo studies, HA/PEI₁₈₀₀-Dex/DNA ternary complexes showed confirmed anti-inflammation activity, and could significantly suppress tumor growth of tumor-bearing nude mice.

Conclusions

HA/PEI-Dex/DNA ternary complexes might be a promising targeted gene delivery system.     

Novel biomimetic vectors with endosomal-escape agent enhancing gene transfection efficiency

Low cytotoxicity and high transfection efficiency are critical issues in designing current non-viral gene delivery vectors. In the present study, a novel biomimetic lipid-polycation copolymer, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-graft-poly(l-lysine)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (DOPE-g-PLL-b-PEG) was first synthesized and the potential of this novel hybrid lipid-polycation as efficient gene vector was further evaluated. DOPE-g-PLL-b-PEG and DNA could self-assemble into lipid modified polyion complex micelles (LPCM) through electrostatic interactions. Compared with PEG-b-PLL/DNA polyion complex micelles (PIC), LPCM could protect DNA from plasma, nuclease degradation in vitro and showed lower cytotoxicity to HepG2 and HeLa cells (P<0.05). The results of transfection study in vitro indicated that LPCM exhibited higher gene expression than PIC. Especially, the corresponding LPCM displayed the highest transfection efficiency in HeLa cells (P<0.05) when DOPE grafting ratio reached up to 30%. These results suggested that LPCM could facilitate gene transfer in cultured cells and might alleviate the drawbacks of the conventional cationic vector/DNA complexes. As a novel hybrid lipid-polycation, DOPE-g-PLL-b-PEG was valuable to be evaluated for its further application as gene carrier in vivo.     

Poly(L-lactic acid)/polyethylenimine nanoparticles as plasmid DNA carriers

Non-viral vectors such as liposomes, polycations, and nanoparticles have been used as gene delivery systems. In this study, we prepared and characterized biodegradable poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA)/polyethylenimine (PEI) nanoparticles as gene carriers. pCMV/β-gal and pEGFP-C1 were utilized as model plasmid DNAs (pDNA). Nanoparticles were prepared using a double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique, and their pDNA binding capacity was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Transfection was studied in HEK 293 and HeLa cell lines, and the transfection efficiencies were determined by β-galactosidase assay or flow cytometry. Three kinds of PLA/PEI systems were studied by varying the molecular weight of PEI. The PLA/PEI 25K system had a higher transfection efficiency than the PLA/PEI 0.8K or PLA/PEI 750K systems. The transfection efficiency was found to be dependent on the ratio of PLA/PEI nanoparticles to pDNA with an optimum ratio of 60:1 (w/w). The cytotoxicity was dependent on the quantity of PLA/PEI nanoparticles used, but it was comparable to that of commercial Lipofectin™. These results demonstrate the potential of PLA/PEI nanoparticles as gene carriers.     

Calcium enhanced delivery of tetraarginine-PEG-lipid-coated DNA/protamine complexes

As we have previously reported the delivery of plasmid DNA (DNA) complexed with oligoarginine-PEG artificial lipids (oligoarginine/DNA complexes), we focused on tetra- and decaarginine (Arg4, Arg10) to improve transfection efficiency by both the formation of oligoarginine-coated DNA complexed with protamine (PD), and the addition of Ca(2+) after formation of complexes. The efficiency of DNA condensation was determined by gel electrophoresis. Cellular uptake and transfection efficiency were evaluated in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells using flow cytometry and luciferase assay. Oligoarginine-coated PD enhanced transfection efficiency significantly more than complexes where Arg10 in both vectors exhibited higher transfection efficiency than Arg4. As assessed by gel retardation assay, high gene expression by Arg10 may be explained by Arg4 binding DNA more strongly than Arg10. The addition of Ca(2+) to incubation medium increased transfection efficiency of Arg4-coated PD 70-fold, similar to that of Arg10-coated PD alone without an increase of cellular uptake, suggesting that Ca(2+) induced the release of DNA from complexes in endosomes. Only Arg4 with low cytotoxicity could gain an advantage from Ca(2+) in transfection, but Arg10 with relatively high cytotoxicity could not. The present results demonstrate that Arg4-coated PD with Ca(2+) has great potential as an efficient non-viral vector with low toxicity.     

Self-assembled human serum albumin-coated complexes for gene delivery with improved transfection

The efficiency and safety of gene delivery vectors were important factors for gene therapy. To enhance gene transfection efficiency and to incorporate biocompatible components to the polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer mediated gene delivery systems, human serum albumin (HSA) was introduced to dendriplexes of PAMAM dendrimer and DNA via electrostatic interactions to form self-assembled PAMAM/DNA/HSA complexes (HSA-dendriplexes). The self-assembled complexes were characterized by gel retardation assay and particle size and zeta potential analysis. Meanwhile, the toxicity of HSA-dendriplexes was evaluated by the MTT assay and haemolysis test, which indicated that the complexes exhibited decreased cytotoxicity with the incorporation of HSA. As compared to dendriplexes, the ternary HSA-dendriplexes increased the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (EGFP) expression in vitro by 1.7-fold. In addition, HSA-dendriplexes showed a significantly higher luciferase gene expression than dendriplexes or naked DNA in the liver, kidney, lungs and spleen of mice. Our results demonstrated that HSA-dendriplexes increases PAMAM mediated gene transfection efficiency and decreases the cytotoxicity and haemolysis, which made the ternary complexes a promising targeting gene delivery system.     

聚乙二醇-壳聚糖共聚物作为基因传递载体的体外研究

本文通过将单甲氧基聚乙二醇(mPEG)的端羟基氧化为醛基，进而与壳聚糖(CS)链节上的氨基反应，合成了聚乙二醇-壳聚糖(mPEG-CS)共聚物。用MTT法检验不同浓度共聚物对HeLa细胞和A549细胞的毒性，结果显示5~100 μg·mL^-1聚合物的细胞毒性较低。通过考察不同PEG取代度的共聚物与质粒DNA所形成复合物的粒径、zeta电位及凝胶阻滞分析，筛选出最佳共聚物为取代度3.55%的mPEG(3.55)-CS。将mPEG(3.55)-CS作为基因传递载体，介导绿色荧光蛋白基因(pEGFP-C1)转染HeLa细胞和A549细胞，荧光显微镜下观察到荧光蛋白的表达，流式细胞仪测定HeLa细胞与A549细胞的最高转染率分别为8.1%和4.8%，证实了mPEG-CS共聚物是一种有效的非病毒类基因传递载体。     

Targeting delivery of oligonucleotide and plasmid DNA to hepatocyte via galactosylated chitosan vector

Delivery of oligonucleotide to specific cells and maintenance of its biological function are important for nucleic acid therapy. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that galactosylated low molecular weight chitosan (gal-LMWC) is a safe and effective vector of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and plasmid DNA for the hepatocyte targeting delivery. Gal-LMWC has been successfully prepared and MTT cytotoxic assay shows that cytotoxicity of gal-LMWC is lower than that of high molecular weight chitosan (HMWC) and low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) in HepG2 cells. Using a complex coacervation process, gal-LMWC can form stable nano-complexes with plasmid DNA or with ASO by the electrostatic interaction. The morphometrics, particle size, and the zeta potential of gal-LMWC/ASO complexes and gal-LMWC/plasmid DNA complexes are very similar. The transfection efficiency by using gal-LMWC vector is significantly higher than that of naked DNA or naked ASO in HepG2 cells. Transfection efficiency of gal-LMWC/ASO complexes and gal-LMWC/plasmid DNA complexes depends on the molar ratio of the positive chitosan amino group and the negative DNA phosphate group (N/P ratio) strongly. Inhibition experiments confirm that the enhanced transfection efficiency is due to the ASGR mediated endocytosis of the gal-LMWC/ASO complexes or gal-LMWC/DNA complexes. These results suggest that gal-LMWC can be used in gene therapy to improve the transfection efficiency in vitro and in vivo.     

Lipoplexes with biotinylated transferrin accessories: novel, targeted, serum-tolerant gene carriers

Novel transfecting assemblies comprising biotinylated cationic liposomes, DNA and tribiotinylated transferrin-streptavidin (streptavidin(bio3-transferrin)) accessories have been prepared, characterized and evaluated for toxicity and DNA delivery capability in human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa). Two new lipophilic cholesteryl-based biotin derivatives, biotinylcholesterylformylhydrazide (MSB1) and aminohexanoylbiotinylcholesterylformylhydrazide (MSB2) provided docking points for streptavidin(bio3-transferrin) on cationic liposomes which were formulated with N,N-dimethylaminopropylaminylsuccinylcholesterylformylhydrazide (MS09) and dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) in a 2:48:50 molar ratio. Ethidium dye displacement assays and gel retardation studies suggest that in ternary complexes, the DNA is electrostatically bound to the cationic liposomes while transferrins remain liposome-bound through streptavidin-biotin interactions. Assemblies fully protected plasmid DNA from serum nuclease digestion over a range of liposome:pGL3 DNA ratios (3-8:1, w/w) and exhibited low growth inhibition of HeLa cells (circa 5%) at the optimal transfection composition for streptavidin(bio3-transferrin):liposome:pGL3 DNA of 10:6:1 (w/w/w). Transfection levels, which were twice those of untargeted lipoplexes containing MSB1 or MSB2, were not significantly diminished in the presence of 10% foetal bovine serum. Excess transferrin (200 microg per well) reduced transfection levels to those of untargeted complexes, supporting the notion that at least 50% of ternary complexes gained entry into the cervical carcinoma cells by receptor mediation. Conversely, transfection levels with untargeted lipoplexes were only slightly reduced in the presence of transferrin at the same concentration.     

PEGylated quaternized copolymer/DNA complexes for gene delivery

The aim of this study was to improve the colloidal stability, decrease unspecific interactions with cells and blood components of a novel gene delivery system composed of epsilon-caprolactone and quaternized epsilon-caprolactone. For this purpose, diblock 50/50 copolymer was used to generate complexes with DNA by either the solvent evaporation technique and by dialysis. The size, surface charge and degree of interaction of the plasmid-loaded formulations were measured. Then, polyplexes were combined with a poly(CL)-b-PEG copolymer to create a hydrophilic corona on the surface of the complexes. The cytotoxicity, transfection efficiency and cellular uptake of polyplexes and their association with PEG were evaluated on HeLa cells. The dialysis method did not allow to reduce the size of complexes as compared to the solvent evaporation method. The zeta potential of polyplexes became positive from a charge ratio of 4. The degree of interaction of copolymer with plasmid DNA was very high. Cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency were found to be comparable to polyethylenimine 50 kDa. Association of polyplexes with poly(CL)-b-PEG copolymer led to a small increase in particle size and a sharp decrease of charge surface. Cytotoxicity, transfection efficiency and cellular uptake were significantly reduced relative to unshielded copolymer/DNA complexes. The PEGylated formulations may be an attractive approach for an in vivo application.     

Dendrosome-dendriplex inside liposomes: as a gene delivery system

Dendrosomes are lipid vesicular entities containing entrapped dendrimer-DNA complexes and possessing low toxicity, acceptable transfection efficiency, and good in vivo tolerance. Herein, an attempt was made to explore the potential of dendrosomes as a gene delivery system combining the advantages of both polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer (nucleic acid condensation, facilitated endosomal release) and of non-cationic liposomes (increased cellular uptake, low cytotoxicity), and at the same time overcoming the drawbacks of these system (low encapsulation efficiency of non-cationic liposome and toxicity of dendrimers). Dendrosomes were assembled by loading optimized DNA-dendrimer complexes into liposomes prepared by solvating of dried lipid films made of DOPE/EggPC/Cholesterol (4.74:4.75:1.5 mole ratio). Dendrosomes were characterized in terms of size, zeta, encapsulation efficiency and the ability to protect the system from DNA degradation. The transfection efficiency and toxicity of the preparations were evaluated in HeLa cells using flow cytometry and CellTiter-Blue^® methods. The efficient transfection and low toxicity makes them an appealing alternative to be further explored for gene delivery in vivo.     

Blending of polyethylenimine with a cationic polyurethane greatly enhances both DNA delivery efficacy and reduces the overall cytotoxicity

Three blending methods were introduced to combine a biodegradable cationic- polyurethane (PUg3) and polyethylenimine (PEI) together with DNA by different mixing sequences. Results of gel electrophoresis assays and particle size measurements show that complexes prepared by method 1 and 3 bear an ability to condense DNA into small nanoparticles. On the contrary, the use of method 2 in making complexes produces significantly large particles because of the weaker interaction with DNA and lack of DNA condensation. Moreover, cell proliferation assays show that no cytotoxicity of the DNA/blended-polymers complexes (exhibited by method 1) was found and due to a result of the outer coating of PUg3, reducing cytotoxic PEI exposure outside the complexes. With a new technique in pharmaceutics, the complexes prepared for DNA delivery by mixing of PEI and PUg3 with DNA in a sequence (method 1) could achieve an even better transfection efficiency (reaching 40% higher) than using PEI alone as well as reduce the cytotoxicity substantially. In conclusion, a new class of complexes (non-viral combo-system) made by a skillful blending sequence (method 1) has been designed and demonstrated to obtain the beneficial properties from two useful and individual polymers for gene delivery. This method can be used in greatly improving the transfection efficiency of polymer-based gene vectors. The blended polymers with DNA also have a better biocompatibility and no cytotoxicity, which are the requirements and critical points for great success in performing gene therapy in vivo.     

脂质体-聚乙烯亚胺-DNA三元复合物的构建及其对细胞的体外转染

目的研究非病毒基因载体脂质体-聚乙烯亚胺(PEI)-DNA三元复合物(TC)的制备方法,评价其体外细胞学性质。方法采用乙醇注入法制备空白阴离子脂质体,与PEI/DNA复合物37℃孵育30 min后,得到TC,考察其理化性质、抗核酸酶降解能力、血浆稳定性、细胞毒性及在卵巢癌细胞(Hela)中的转染效率。结果制备的TC呈类球形,大小较均匀,平均粒径为234.5 nm,Zeta电位为-20.72 mV;TC能在血浆中稳定存在4 h而不发生聚集;与核酸酶作用2 h后,其中的DNA几乎无降解;其细胞毒性较低,在无血清和含血清培养基中均能成功的转染Hela细胞,在含血清培养基中其转染效率明显高于PEI/DNA复合物。结论 TC是一种制备工艺简单、血浆稳定性好、转染率较高、极具应用潜力的非病毒纳米基因载体。     

Assessment of a modular transfection system based upon cellular localization of DNA

Delivery of plasmid DNA for protein production in mammalian cells is not an efficient process. In this study, the theory that cellular localization of plasmid DNA increases transfection efficiency is examined with an emphasis on the understanding of the cellular association of the components of a ternary transfection complex. Mammalian cells take up transfection reagent-DNA complexes primarily from their local environment. Via formation of a ternary complex consisting of the DNA-transfection reagent complex and a heavy particle, such as silica, the efficiency of transfection is substantially increased. We have analyzed cells transfected with the ternary complexes to determine if sedimentation alone affects the percentage of cells that contain the complexes or specific components of the complex. A significant fraction of cells associate with the ternary complexes, including silica nanoparticles. The percentage of cells that associate with DNA was not significantly influenced by the use of the ternary complex. This result suggests that the silica nanoparticles are more than just a sedimentation agent, being also a secondary transfection reagent. These data also confirm that cells may contain transfection reagent-DNA complex but do not express the protein of interest. This knowledge will be used in further research to better design transfection reagents that will increase the efficiency of protein production.