Efficient Gene Transfection into Mammalian Cells Mediated by Cross-linked Polyethylenimine

25 kDa branched polyethylenimine (PEI) has successfully been used for in vitro and in vivo gene delivery approaches, but it is cytotoxic. Smaller PEIs are usually non-cytotoxic but less efficient. In order to enhance the gene delivery efficiency and minimize cytotoxicity of PEI, we explored to synthesize cross-linked PEIs with degradable bonds by reacting amines of small branched 2000 Da PEI with small diacrylate (1,4-butanediol diacrylate or ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) for 2–6 hours. The efficiency of the cross-linked PEIs during in vitro delivering plasmid containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene reporter and their cytotoxicity were assessed in melanoma B16F10 cell and other cell lines. In vivo gene delivery efficiency was evaluated by direct injection delivery of the EGFP plasmid/cross-linked PEI complexes into mice and by estimating the EGFP expression in animal muscles. Compared to commercially available 25-kDa branched PEI, the cross-linked PEIs reported here could mediate more efficient expression of reporter gene than the 25-kDa PEI control, 19-fold more efficiently in B16F10 cells, 17-fold in 293T cells, 2.3-fold in 3T3 cells, and they exhibited essentially nontoxic at their optimized condition for gene delivery. Furthermore the transfection activity of polyplexs was preserved in the presence of serum proteins. The muscle transfected with the cross-linked PEI prepared here exhibited normal morphology and excellent gene expression. The cross-linked PEIs reported here were evidently more efficient than the commercial 25-kD PEI control and had less cytotoxicity in gene delivery in vitro and in vivo.     

FABP7基因真核表达载体的构建及其对人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7增殖的影响

目的构建脑脂肪酸结合蛋白(BLBP/B-FABP,FABP7)基因的真核表达载体,并检测其对人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7增殖的影响。方法采用逆转录方法从星型细胞瘤组织中扩增FABP7基因,双酶切后插入线性化的pcDNA3.1载体真核启动子下游,构建重组真核表达载体,转染人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7后,采用半定量RT-PCR检测FABP7基因mRNA的表达,MTT法检测细胞的增殖活性、流式细胞术检测细胞的周期变化情况,并对细胞进行计数。结果FABP7基因重组真核表达质粒经双酶切及测序鉴定证明构建正确,转染MCF-7细胞后48、72和96h,pcDNA3.1-FABP7组的细胞数和细胞的A490值均比pcDNA3.1空质粒组明显降低,G1期细胞百分含量均明显升高。结论已成功构建了FABP7基因的真核表达载体,该载体可抑制人乳腺癌细胞MCF-7的增殖。