Kun Liang, Ki Hyun Bae, Fan Lee, Keming Xu, Joo Eun Chung, Shu Jun Gao, Motoichi Kurisawa, Self-assembled ternary complexes stabilized with hyaluronic acid-green tea catechin conjugates for targeted gene delivery, Journal of Controlled Release, Volume 226, 2016, Pages 205-216, ISSN 0168-3659, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.02.004.
Abstract:
Nanosized polyelectrolyte complexes are attractive delivery vehicles for the transfer of therapeutic genes to diseased cells. Here we report the application of self-assembled ternary complexes constructed with plasmid DNA, branched polyethylenimine and hyaluronic acid-green tea catechin conjugates for targeted gene delivery. These conjugates not only stabilize plasmid DNA/polyethylenimine complexes via the strong DNA-binding affinity of green tea catechin, but also facilitate their transport into CD44-overexpressing cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The hydrodynamic size, surface charge and physical stability of the complexes are characterized. We demonstrate that the stabilized ternary complexes display enhanced resistance to nuclease attack and polyanion-induced dissociation. Moreover, the ternary complexes can efficiently transfect the difficult-to-transfect HCT-116 colon cancer cell line even in serum-supplemented media due to their enhanced stability and CD44-targeting ability. Confocal microscopic analysis demonstrates that the stabilized ternary complexes are able to promote the nuclear transport of plasmid DNA more effectively than binary complexes and hyaluronic acid-coated ternary complexes. The present study suggests that the ternary complexes stabilized with hyaluronic acid-green tea catechin conjugates can be widely utilized for CD44-targeted delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics.
License type:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Funding Info:
This research is supported by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (Biomedical Research Council, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore).