Organ-specific endothelial cell uptake of cationic liposome-DNA complexes in mice

This study identified the organ and cellular distribution of cationic liposome-DNA complexes injected intravenously into CD-1 mice for gene delivery. DOTIM-cholesterol liposomes were labeled with the fluorescent dye CM-Dil and complexed with plasmid DNA encoding the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. The distribution of the complexes was examined in 29 organs and tissues by fluorescence, confocal, and electron microscopy from 5 min to 24 h after injection. The complexes formed clusters in blood, which were cleared within 20 min. Complexes visible by fluorescence microscopy were taken up by endothelial cells, leukocytes, and macrophages and did not leave the vasculature except in the spleen. At 5 min, the complexes formed a patchy coating on the endothelial surface, but by 4 h, they were internalized into endosomes and lysosomes in organ- and vessel-specific patterns. Uptake by capillary endothelial cells was greatest in the lung, ovary, and anterior pituitary, less in muscle and the heart, and nearly absent in the brain and pancreatic islets. In lymph nodes and intestinal Peyer's patches, the uptake was sparse in capillaries but abundant in high endothelial venules. In the liver and spleen, most of the uptake was in Kupffer cells and macrophages. Measurements of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene expression were generally consistent with the pattern of uptake by endothelial cells. The uptake and gene expression were accompanied by a decrease in circulating leukocytes and platelets. Overall, our results showed that the complexes were internalized by endothelial cells in organ- and vessel-specific patterns that did not match any previously identified properties of the microvasculature. The unusual distribution of endothelial cell uptake may be explained by a heterogeneously distributed membrane receptor for which the complexes are ligands.