Renal artery injection for delivery of biological materials to the glomerulus

We investigated whether injection of synthetic small interfering siRNAs via renal artery followed by electroporation could be effective in silencing specific genes in glomerulus.

Solution of siRNA targeting enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was injected via the renal artery of EGFP-transgenic rats followed by delivery of electric pulses.

The delivery of siRNA reduced endogenous EGFP expression, mainly in glomerular mesangial cells.

Electroporation-mediated gene transfer system via renal artery in rats is very useful for the delivery of a range of different materials including cells, viruses and proteins. Here, we provide a step-by-step description of this perfusion method and a discussion of the key points for the success of the technique.