Direct Current Helium Plasma for In vivo Delivery of Plasmid DNA Encoding Erythropoietin to Murine Skin

The use of electric fields in vivo to deliver DNA, called electroporation, has the potential to broadly impact vaccination and disease treatment. The evidence for this has emerged from a large number of recently completed and ongoing clinical trials. The methods for applying electric fields to tissues traditionally involve contact between metal electrodes and the tissue. In this study, we investigated the use of helium plasma as a noncontact method for electrically treating tissue in a manner that results in the uptake and expression of foreign DNA in murine skin. More specifically, our goal was to demonstrate that DNA encoding a model-secreted protein could be delivered, detected in the blood, and remain functional to produce its known biological effect. Murine erythropoietin (EPO) was the model-secreted protein. Results clearly demonstrated that an intradermal DNA injection followed by plasma treatment for 2 min resulted in elevated levels of EPO in the blood and corresponding hemoglobin increases that were statistically significant relative to DNA injection alone.