Development of novel cationic liposomes for efficient gene transfer into peritoneal disseminated tumor

A novel series of cationic lipids has been found, by in vivo screening, to be effective for gene transfer into peritoneal disseminated tumor. O,O'-Ditetradecanoyl-N-(alpha-trimethylammonioacetyl)diethan olamine chloride (DC-6-14), having dimyristyl acid, has shown the highest transfection activity in vitro, provided that 10% fetal bovine serum is present. To enhance the transfection efficiency of DC-6-14, we added dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and/or cholesterol (Chol) as helper lipids in various ratios. Cationic liposomes containing DC-6-14, DOPE, and Chol in molar ratios of 1:0.75:0.75 and 1:1:0.8 maintained efficient transfection activity under serum-containing conditions in HRA, mEIIL, and ES-2 cell lines in vitro, as determined by luciferase assay. With our novel liposomes, transfection efficiencies were higher in cells proliferating faster than in cells proliferating slower, depending on mitotic activity as represented by labeling index. In the mEIIL peritoneal disseminated tumor model, cancer cells were specifically transfected with the lacZ gene. Gene transfer was observed by X-Gal staining not only in floating cancer cells in the ascites, but also in the peritoneal disseminated cancer tissue. The percentage of LacZ-positive cells was about 1%, which was significantly higher than with commercially available Lipofectin (0.38%), LipofectACE (0.62%), or LipofectAMINE (0.23%). In the mEIIL peritoneal disseminated tumor-nude mouse model, herpes simplex thymidine kinase gene (HSV tk) transfer with our novel liposomes, followed by ganciclovir (GCV) treatment, resulted in significantly longer survival compared with control mice (p < 0.05, Cox-Mantel). These results suggest that these liposomes show promise as tools in gene therapy for patients with intraperitoneal disseminated cancer.