Enhanced cellular uptake and gene silencing activity of siRNA molecules mediated by chitosan-derivative nanocomplexes

The RNA interference (RNAi) constitutes a conservative mechanism in eukaryotic cells that induces silencing of target genes. In mammalians, the RNAi is triggered by siRNA (small interfering RNA) molecules. Due to its potential in silencing specific genes, the siRNA has been considered a potential alternative for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. However, the siRNA therapy has been limited by its low stability and rapid degradation in presence of nucleases, low cellular uptake, and immune response activation. In order to overcome these drawbacks, we propose the synthesis and characterization of non-viral delivery systems using chitosan derivatives to obtain siRNA complexes (polyplexes). The non-viral delivery systems synthesized included PEG-g-OCs (oligochitosan) and PEG-g-Cs (chitosan medium molecular weight). Both systems allowed the formation of siRNA polyplexes, increased the stability of siRNA in the presence of nucleases, enhanced cellular internalization, and showed low toxicity in the A549 cell line. Finally, the complexes obtained with the PEG-g-OCs system showed silencing activity in a GFP model in the cell line A549 in comparison with naked siRNA.