Delivery of antisense oligonucleotides and plasmid DNA with various carrier agents

A series of cationic nucleic acid carriers was evaluated for their ability to deliver pLuc plasmid DNA or a 2'-O-methyl-oligoribonucleoside phosphorothioate, ON-705. Oligonucleotide delivery and its antisense function were assayed by a recently developed assay based on alternative splicing of modified luciferase pre-mRNA (Kang et al., 1998). This assay scores only the nuclear and sequence-specific antisense activity of the oligonucleotides. The results show that the efficiencies of delivery of plasmid DNA and oligonucleotides by the tested carriers, with the exception of Exgene and Lipofectamine, differed markedly. The efficiency of the delivery of ON-705 oligonucleotide was reduced by 70%-90% for all carriers, except Effectene, in culture media containing 8% fetal bovine serum. Interestingly, the efficiency of delivery of the ON-705-Effectene complex increased with serum concentrations of up to 30%.