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Effect of Plasmid DNA Size on Chitosan or Polyethyleneimine Polyplexes Formulation.
J F A Valente1,2, P Pereira1,3, A Sousa1
1CICS-UBI-Health Sciences Research Centre, Universidade da Beira Interior, Avenida Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Polymers
|April 3, 2021
Summary
Chitosan (CH) polyplexes show superior gene delivery compared to polyethyleneimine (PEI) polyplexes. This study highlights CH as a promising non-viral vector for enhanced p53 gene therapy and protein expression.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Gene Therapy
- Nanomedicine
Background:
- Gene therapy aims to treat disorders by introducing functional genes.
- Non-viral polymeric nanocarriers are effective gene delivery systems.
- Chitosan (CH) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) are key polymers for gene delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically evaluate pDNA delivery systems using CH and PEI.
- To determine the optimal polymer for plasmid complexation regarding size, charge, and encapsulation.
- To assess the transfection efficiency and protein expression of developed nanosystems.
Main Methods:
- Formulation of pDNA/polymer complexes (polyplexes) with varying plasmid sizes.
- Characterization of polyplexes for size, surface charge, and encapsulation efficiency.
- Evaluation of cytotoxicity and in vitro transfection efficiency.
- Assessment of p53 protein expression in transfected cells.
Main Results:
- CH polyplexes demonstrated higher transfection efficiency than PEI polyplexes.
- CH/p53-pDNA polyplexes resulted in a 54.2% increase in P53 protein expression.
- PEI/p53-pDNA polyplexes led to a 32% increase in P53 protein expression.
Conclusions:
- Chitosan-based polyplexes are more effective for gene delivery and protein expression compared to PEI.
- CH represents a promising non-viral vector for gene therapy applications, particularly for p53 delivery.
- Optimized polymeric nanocarriers can significantly enhance gene therapy outcomes.
