[Development of nucleic acid transfection technology to the kidney]

The kidney is one of the most important organs that play a crucial role in homeostasis and, therefore, congenital or acquired renal dysfunction causes refractory diseases, i.e., Alport's syndrome, Fabry's disease, diabetic nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, kidney cancer, transplant glomerulopathy. Nucleic acid transfection technology to the kidney is indispensable for the progress of biomedical research and the realization of gene therapy and nucleic acid drug for renal diseases. Control of renal nucleic acid transfection was difficult because of the structural complexity; however, the study of recombinant virus, synthetic carrier and physical force-mediated nucleic acid transfection to the kidney has advanced. Recombinant virus and synthetic carrier-mediated methods require long-term block of the blood or urinary flow for efficient transfection of nucleic acid because of the rich blood flow of the kidney. In contrast, physical force-mediated methods that transfect with nucleic acid via transient membrane permeability do not apprehend ischemia-reperfusion injury and, therefore, may be beneficial for nucleic acid transfection to the kidney. In this article, we collect the information of therapeutic gene, target molecule of the nucleic acid drug and target cells for renal diseases and structural property of the kidney from the point of view of nucleic acid transfection. Additively, current status of nucleic acid transfection technology to the kidney is reviewed.