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Direct Reprogramming of Mouse Fibroblasts into Melanocytes
Published on: August 27, 2021
Effective gene transfer to melanoma cells using bacterial ghosts
Pavol Kudela1, Susanne Paukner, Ulrike Beate Mayr
1Cancer Research Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Vlarska, Bratislava, Slovakia. pavol.kudela@savba.sk
Cancer Letters
|January 1, 2008
Summary
Bacterial ghosts (BG) effectively bind and are phagocytosed by melanoma cells. These bacterial ghosts demonstrate high potential for gene delivery, achieving up to 82% transfection efficiency in specific cell lines.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Cell Biology
- Bacteriology
Background:
- Bacterial ghosts (BG) are derived from Gram-negative bacteria, lacking cytoplasmic content.
- They are produced via controlled expression of the PhiX174 lysis gene E.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the binding and phagocytosis of bacterial ghosts by melanoma cell lines.
- To evaluate the transfection efficiency of DNA-loaded bacterial ghosts in vitro.
Main Methods:
- Eight melanoma cell lines were analyzed for their interaction with BG from Escherichia coli and Mannheimia haemolytica.
- Transfection efficiency was measured using BG loaded with plasmid DNA.
Main Results:
- Most melanoma cell lines showed a high capacity for binding BG.
- Melanoma cells successfully phagocytosed BG, irrespective of the bacterial species used.
- Bowes cells achieved up to 82% transfection efficiency when incubated with plasmid-loaded BG.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial ghosts are readily bound and internalized by various melanoma cell lines.
- BG show significant promise as a non-viral vector for gene delivery in cancer research.
