聚谷氨酸为骨架的梳状基因载体的合成及生物学性能评价

以聚谷氨酸为骨架, 用低分子量聚乙烯亚胺胺解聚谷氨酸苄酯, 得到聚谷氨酸-g-聚乙烯亚胺, 用异佛尔酮二异氰酸酯将聚乙二醇单甲醚偶联到聚谷氨酸-g-聚乙烯亚胺上, 合成了梳状聚阳离子基因载体聚谷氨酸-g-(聚乙烯亚胺-b-聚乙二醇). 利用核磁共振氢谱、 激光粒度分析仪、 Zeta电位仪和凝胶电泳对聚阳离子载体及其与质粒脱氧核糖核酸(pDNA)形成的复合物进行了表征. 通过噻唑蓝(MTT)细胞毒性测试、 绿色荧光蛋白质粒pEGFP-C1及荧光素酶质粒pGL3体外转染实验考察了载体的细胞毒性及基因转染效率. 结果表明, 当聚乙烯亚胺中N原子和DNA中P原子的摩尔比(N/P)大于5时, 载体能很好地包裹DNA, 载体与DNA形成的复合物粒径约为130 nm, Zeta电位约为28 mV; 通过MTT实验和体外质粒转染实验显示出载体在测量范围内具有极低的细胞毒性和较高的转染效率.     

普鲁兰多糖为骨架的新型阳离子非病毒基因载体

通过琥珀酸酐将低分子量支化聚乙烯亚胺(PEI, 分子量1000)偶联到普鲁兰多糖(Pullulan)上, 合成了新型基因载体P-PEI. 利用 ¹H NMR、 FTIR、 粒度仪、 Zeta电位仪、 透射电镜和凝胶电泳对聚阳离子载体及其与质粒pDNA 的复合物进行了表征. 凝胶阻滞实验结果证明, 载体P-PEI在体外可以通过静电相互作用稳定结合pDNA, 并能有效抑制DNA水解酶及血清成分对pDNA的降解. 噻唑蓝(MTT)细胞毒性测试、 绿色荧光蛋白表达质粒(pGFP)及荧光素酶表达质粒(pGL3)转染实验结果表明, 载体P-PEI在N/P高达12.5时对细胞MCF-7, HeLa和COS-7的毒性低于PEI; 当N/P 为6.25时能有效将pGFP和pGL3带入Hela 细胞并表达, 最佳转染效率及荧光素酶活分别为, 比Lipo 2000[(49.13±0.61)%, (58.47±7.62)×10⁸ RLU/mg蛋白) 略低. 因此以Pullulan为骨架材料的P-PEI是一种新的有潜在应用价值的非病毒基因载体.     

原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)阳离子化菊粉作为非病毒基因载体的研究

利用原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)将聚甲基丙烯酸N,N-二甲氨基乙酯[P(DMAEMA)]偶联到菊粉多糖(Inulin)上,合成了新型基因载体PDIN.利用核磁共振仪、动态光散射分析仪、透射电子显微镜和凝胶电泳对PDIN及其与质粒pDNA的复合物进行了表征.凝胶阻滞实验结果表明,PDIN可以通过静电相互作用稳定结合pDNA.噻唑蓝(MTT)细胞毒性测试、溶血实验、绿色荧光蛋白表达质粒(pGFP)及β半乳糖苷酶表达质粒(pβgal)转染实验结果表明,PDIN对MCF-7,Hela,COS7和HepG2细胞的毒性较小;其溶血率低,具有良好的血液相容性;载体PDIN能有效将pGFP和pβgal带入COS7细胞并表达,在N/P为1时转染效率最高,其β半乳糖苷酶的酶活为(3.36±0.74)U/mg蛋白,比Lipo2000转染效率[(4.33±0.77)U/mg蛋白]略低.因此,所合成的载体PDIN是一种有潜在应用价值的非病毒基因载体.     

ATRP法制备聚(甲基丙烯酸氨乙酯-co-甲基丙烯酸N,N-二乙基氨乙基酯)基因载体

为得到低毒、高效的聚阳离子基因载体,以甲基丙烯酸氨乙酯(AMA)和甲基丙烯酸N,N-二乙基氨乙基酯(DEAEMA)为单体,以2-溴代异丁酸乙酯(EBIB)为引发剂,通过原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)制备了两种聚(甲基丙烯酸氨乙酯-co-甲基丙烯酸N,N-二乙基氨乙基酯)阳离子无规共聚物(P(AMA-co-DEAEMA),简称P).琼脂糖凝胶电泳实验结果表明聚合物P作为阳离子载体可以有效地络合DNA,通过粒径仪测定的复合物粒子的尺寸在400 ～ 600 nm之间.扫描电镜观察的P/DNA复合物形貌是分散均匀的球形颗粒.以25kDa PEI为阳性参照,利用MTT比色法考察了聚合物P对HEK293T细胞的毒性.结果表明,聚合物P的细胞毒性低于25 kDa PEI的细胞毒性.以25 kDa PEI和裸质粒DNA作为参照,我们进一步考察了聚合物P与DNA形成的复合物在HEK293T细胞中的转染效率.结果表明P/DNA复合物在HEK293T细胞中的转染效率远远高于裸质粒DNA的转染效率,并且接近于25 kDa PEI/DNA复合物的转染效率.     

细胞核靶向聚乙烯亚胺-地塞米松偶联物的制备及作为基因载体的应用

采用地塞米松(Dex)和低分子量聚乙烯亚胺(PEI)经酰胺化反应, 合成了一种新型靶向基因载体PEI-Dex偶联物. 研究结果表明, PEI-Dex可结合DNA形成复合物, 在最佳制备条件下(N/P=12), PEI-Dex/DNA复合物粒径为(162±1.90) nm, 电位为(12.8±0.11) mV, 适用于基因转染. PEI-Dex的细胞毒性较低, 可促进复合物的细胞核转运, 从而显著提高转染效率.     

交联型聚乙烯亚胺智能基因载体的制备及PEG化影响

使用胱胺双丙烯酰胺(CBA)对低分子量聚乙烯亚胺(PEI)进行交联反应制备智能降解型聚阳离子基因载体.通过与聚乙二醇(PEG)反应得到不同程度PEG化的聚阳离子载体.利用核磁、黏度测试、粒度仪、zeta电位仪和凝胶电泳对聚阳离子载体及其与DNA的复合物进行了表征.研究表明随着PEG含量的增加,聚阳离子载体/DNA复合物颗粒粒径变小、表面正电荷降低,PEG具有明显的屏蔽作用,但过多的PEG也使载体与DNA复合能力下降.通过MTT细胞毒性测试和荧光素酶质粒转染实验得出,含二硫键的交联型阳离子聚合物在测试范围内显示了非常低的细胞毒性,最佳转染效率是PEI25k的4倍,PEG化后其细胞毒性得到进一步改善,转染效率却明显降低.     

壳聚糖在离子液体中均相接枝聚乙烯亚胺及其基因转运

以离子液体1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑氯盐([BMIM]Cl)为反应介质和催化剂,采用羰基二咪唑为偶联试剂,均相合成了壳聚糖/聚乙烯亚胺接枝共聚物(CS-g-PEI).采用红外光谱、核磁共振氢谱等分析手段对接枝共聚物进行了表征,证实了聚乙烯亚胺在壳聚糖分子链上发生了接枝共聚,接枝率达到42%.采用复凝聚的方法制备了CS-g-PEI/DNA纳米复合物,并利用动态光散射、透射电镜、凝胶电泳等技术对CS-g-PEI/DNA复合物的物理化学性质进行了表征.以人宫颈癌Hep-2细胞为宿主细胞、pGL3荧光蛋白为报告基因,考察了CSg-PEI/DNA复合物的体外转染性能.研究发现CS-g-PEI介导的荧光素酶质粒的表达较壳聚糖介导的荧光素酶的表达提高了大约160倍.MTT毒性实验表明,CS-g-PEI/DNA复合物在实验浓度范围内细胞毒性比较低.     

主客体组装构建环糊精修饰基因微载体的研究

合成了二茂铁接枝聚乙烯亚胺( PEI-Fc),利用二茂铁与β-环糊精的主客体嵌套作用制备了环糊精修饰聚乙烯亚胺,核磁测定结果显示,每条PEI-Fc链上通过主客体作用嵌套的CD平均为26个.这种基于弱相互作用力的β-环糊精修饰聚乙烯亚胺能有效诱导DNA分子的缔合,在N/P值达到3以上时,可形成表面为正电荷、粒径为150 ～ 250 nm的球形粒子.在含10％胎牛血清的DMEM体外细胞培养基中,由于培养基中的蛋白质能够在粒子表面发生静电吸附,PEI-Fc/CD/DNA基因微载体显示出良好的稳定性.HEK293细胞培养结果显示,以表达绿色荧光蛋白的质粒pEGFP为模型,以N/P值为10的PEI/DNA组装体作为对照,N/P值为3、5和10的PEI-Fc/CD/DNA组装体的转染效率均达到对照组的2～3倍,这种基于主客体组装构建的环糊精修饰基因微载体显著提高了基因转染效率.     

聚苯丙氨酸修饰低分子量聚乙烯亚胺制备高效基因载体

分别制备了以支化小分子量聚乙烯亚胺(PEI-1.8k)为引发剂,引发苯丙氨酸-NCA开环聚合得到聚乙烯亚胺-聚苯丙氨酸(PEI1.8k-g-PPhe)以及聚乙烯亚胺接枝苯丙氨酸单体(PEI1.8k-g-Phe)的系列基因载体材料.利用核磁、粒度、zeta电位仪、荧光光度计、流式细胞仪以及激光共聚焦显微镜对PEI1.8k-g-PPhe,PEI1.8k-g-Phe以及PEI1.8k-g-PPhe/DNA和PEI1.8k-g-Phe/DNA复合物颗粒进行了系统的表征.研究结果表明,最佳转染条件下,PEI1.8k-g-PPhe10/DNA复合物颗粒的粒径约为150 nm,表面电位约为16 m V.在人源宫颈癌(He La)和人源乳腺癌(MCF-7)2种细胞系中均具有较高的基因转染效率,且最佳转染效率可达到PEI-25k的12倍.MTT细胞毒性实验分别比较了PEI1.8k-g-PPhe和PEI1.8k-g-Phe对He La细胞毒性的大小.从实验结果可见,苯丙氨酸引入的方式及数量决定着其细胞毒性的大小.PEI1.8k-g-PPhe和PEI1.8k-g-Phe都具有较低的细胞毒性(材料在较高浓度1 mg/m L时的细胞存活率大于70%).内吞实验结果表明,PEI1.8k-g-PPhe由于接入了具有规则聚合链的聚苯丙氨酸,而易于被He La细胞内吞.PEI1.8k-g-PPhe10/DNA复合物颗粒相比于PEI-25k/DNA,PEI-1.8k/DNA和PEI1.8k-g-PPhe/DNA具有更高的细胞内吞效率.     

基于原位聚合技术构建细胞内微环境响应型DNA递送系统北大核心CSCD

传统的非病毒载体基于分子间静电自组装作用与核酸结合,组装的复合物在体内复杂的环境中容易发生结构解离,共价结合的交联聚合物载体有望成为解决传统非病毒载体结构稳定性差的有效方案。选择N-(3-氨丙基)甲基丙烯酰胺盐酸盐、1-乙烯基咪唑、2-甲基丙烯酰氧乙基磷酸胆碱与N,N′-双(丙稀酰)胱胺作为多功能性单体,采用原位聚合方法制备包载质粒DNA(pDNA)的交联聚合物-pDNA复合物。其中,共价键为载体提供优异的结构稳定性;1-乙烯基咪唑能够响应胞内溶酶体酸性微环境,触发质子海绵效应便于复合物的溶酶体逃逸;N,N′-双(丙稀酰)胱胺的二硫键可以响应胞内高水平的谷胱甘肽(GSH),实现复合物在细胞内部选择性解聚,释放内含pDNA。研究表明,该复合物平均水合半径约135 nm,ζ电势约−6.5 mV,形貌近似球形。该复合物可在10 mg/mL肝素环境中保持结构稳定性,具有响应细胞内GSH,触发释放包载核酸分子的功能。细胞实验证明该复合物细胞毒性低。细胞摄取、转染能力强。综上所述,基于原位聚合技术制备交联聚合物载体在基因递送领域具有重要应用前景,本研究为新型基因递送载体的开发提供了新思路。     

Novel cationic 6-lauroxyhexyl lysinate modified poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles enhance gene transfection

The leading principle of non-viral delivery systems for gene therapy is to mediate high levels of gene expression with low cytotoxicity. Nowadays, biodegradable nanoparticles formulated with poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-PEG) were wildly developed. However, the relative lower gene transfection efficiency and higher cytotoxicity still remained critical problems. To address these limitations, PLA-PEG nanoparticles have been composited with other components in their formulation. Here, a novel cationic lipid, 6-lauroxyhexyl lysinate (LHLN), was fabricated onto PLA-PEG nanoparticles as a charge modifier to improve the transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. The obtained cationic LHLN modified PLA-PEG nanoparticles (LHLN-PLA-PEG NPs) could condense pDNA thoroughly via electrostatic force, leading to the formation of the LHLN-PLA-PEG NPs/pDNA complexes (NPs/DNA complexes). The nanoparticles obtained have been characterized in relation to their physicochemical and biological properties, and the results are extremely promising in terms of low cell toxicity and high transfection efficiency. These results indicated that the novel cationic LHLN modified PLA-PEG nanoparticles could enhance gene transfection in vitro and hold the potential to be a promising non-viral nanodevice.     

Diol glycidyl ether-bridged cyclens: preparation and their applications in gene delivery

Polymeric 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecanes (cyclens) using diol glycidyl ether with different chain length as bridges (5a-e) were designed and synthesized from various diols, 1,7-diprotected cyclen and epichlorohydrin. The molecular weights of the title polymers were measured by GPC with good polydispersity. Agarose gel retardation and fluorescent titration using ethidium bromide showed good DNA-binding ability of 5. They could retard plasmid DNA (pDNA) at an N/P ratio of 4-6 and form polyplexes with sizes around 100-250 nm from an N/P ratio of 10 to 60 and relatively low zeta-potential values (5-22 mV). The cytotoxicity of 5 assayed by MTT is much lower than that of 20 kDa PEI. In vitro transfection against A549 and 293 cells showed that the transfection efficiency (TE) of 5c/DNA polyplexes is close to that of 20 kDa PEI at an N/P ratio of 5. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) of 5 was discussed in their DNA-binding, cytotoxicity, and transfection studies. The TE of 5c/DNA polyplexes could be improved by the introduction of 50 μM of chloroquine, the endosomolytic agents, to pretreated cells. These studies may extend the application areas of macrocyclic polyamines, especially for cyclen.     

侧链含咪唑取代基聚(L-天冬酰胺)高效基因载体研究

通过氨基引发聚丁二酰亚胺( PSI)开环反应,制备了系列侧链含氨乙基和咪唑丙基的聚(L-天冬酰胺)共聚物(P1 ～ P5).该系列聚合物不仅具有极低的细胞毒性,而且随侧链中咪唑取代基含量的增加,聚合物在pH 5 ～8范围内缓冲能力显著提高.通过凝胶电泳、粒径和电位分析等研究了聚合物与质粒DNA的相互作用.结果表明,所有...     

Correlation of the Physicochemical and Structural Properties of pDNA/Cationic Liposome Complexes with Their in Vitro Transfection

In this study, we characterized the conventional physicochemical properties of the complexes formed by plasmid DNA (pDNA) and cationic liposomes (CL) composed of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC), 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) (50/25/25% molar ratio). We found that these properties are nearly unaffected at the studied ranges when the molar charge ratio (R(±)) between the positive charge from the CL and negative charge from pDNA is not close to the isoneutrality region (R(±) = 1). However, the results from in vitro transfection of HeLa cells showed important differences when R(±) is varied, indicating that the relationships between the physicochemical and biological characteristics were not completely elucidated. To obtain information regarding possible liposome structural modifications, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments were performed as a function of R(±) to obtain correlations between structural, physicochemical, and transfection properties. The SAXS results revealed that pDNA/CL complexes can be described as being composed of single bilayers, double bilayers, and multiple bilayers, depending on the R(±) value. Interestingly, for R(±) = 9, 6, and 3, the system is composed of single and double bilayers, and the fraction of the latter increases with the amount of DNA (or a decreasing R(±)) in the system. This information is used to explain the transfection differences observed at an R(±) = 9 as compared to R(±) = 3 and 6. Close to the isoneutrality region (R(±) = 1.8), there was an excess of pDNA, which induced the formation of a fraction of aggregates with multiple bilayers. These aggregates likely provide additional resistance against the release of pDNA during the transfection phenomenon, reflected as a decrease in the transfection level. The obtained results permitted proper correlation of the physicochemical and structural properties of pDNA/CL complexes with the in vitro transfection of HeLa cells by these complexes, contributing to a better understanding of the gene delivery process.     

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles for effective delivery of malaria DNA vaccine

Low efficiency is often observed in the delivery of DNA vaccines. The use of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs) to deliver genes via magnetofection could improve transfection efficiency and target the vector to its desired locality. Here, magnetofection was used to enhance the delivery of a malaria DNA vaccine encoding Plasmodium yoelii merozoite surface protein MSP1(19) (VR1020-PyMSP1(19)) that plays a critical role in Plasmodium immunity. The plasmid DNA (pDNA) containing membrane associated 19-kDa carboxyl-terminal fragment of merozoite surface protein 1 (PyMSP1(19)) was conjugated with superparamagnetic nanoparticles coated with polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymer, with different molar ratio of PEI nitrogen to DNA phosphate. We reported the effects of SPIONs-PEI complexation pH values on the properties of the resulting particles, including their ability to condense DNA and the gene expression in vitro. By initially lowering the pH value of SPIONs-PEI complexes to 2.0, the size of the complexes decreased since PEI contained a large number of amino groups that became increasingly protonated under acidic condition, with the electrostatic repulsion inducing less aggregation. Further reaggregation was prevented when the pHs of the complexes were increased to 4.0 and 7.0, respectively, before DNA addition. SPIONs/PEI complexes at pH 4.0 showed better binding capability with PyMSP1(19) gene-containing pDNA than those at neutral pH, despite the negligible differences in the size and surface charge of the complexes. This study indicated that the ability to protect DNA molecules due to the structure of the polymer at acidic pH could help improve the transfection efficiency. The transfection efficiency of magnetic nanoparticle as carrier for malaria DNA vaccine in vitro into eukaryotic cells, as indicated via PyMSP1(19) expression, was significantly enhanced under the application of external magnetic field, while the cytotoxicity was comparable to the benchmark nonviral reagent (Lipofectamine 2000).     

Self-assembling poly( -lysine)/DNA complexes capable of integrin-mediated cellular uptake and gene expression

Integrin-mediated delivery of genes is evaluated using a synthetic vector formed by self-assembly of DNA with an oligolysine- peptide sequence containing RGD (referred to as K₁₆-RGD). The RGD peptide binds plasmid DNA effectively and inhibits ethidium bromide/DNA fluorescence at N-to-P ratios of less than 1.0. At N:P ratio 1.0, peptide/DNA complexes formed show a mixture of normal DNA migration and retention at the origin when analysed by agarose electrophoresis. At N:P ratio of 1.2, the complexes have a slight positive surface charge (5 mV) and in the absence of serum they show 10-fold increase uptake into 293 cells, compared with control poly( -lysine)/DNA vectors, together with a 100-fold increase in transfection. In the presence of serum, RGD-mediated uptake is decreased about 3-fold, but the targeted vectors achieve over 150 times greater transfection than poly( -lysine)/DNA controls. Transfection could be inhibited by addition of competing RGD, and to a lesser extent RGE, peptides. The targeted vector is believed to achieve cell uptake and transfection by binding av integrins in the cell surface, and the approach could be employed to promote internalisation of vectors following their binding to other, high affinity, receptors, in a system analogous to adenovirus entry.     

Dynamics of PEGylated–Dextran–Spermine Nanoparticles for Gene Delivery to Leukemic Cells

Leukemic cells are hard-to-transfect cell lines. Many transfection reagents which can provide high gene transfer efficiency in common adherent cell lines are not effective to transfect established blood cell lines or primary leukemic cells. This study aims to examine a new class of cationic polymer non-viral vector, PEGylated–dextran–spermine (PEG-D-SPM), to determine its ability to transfect the leukemic cells. Here, the optimal conditions of the complex preparation (PEG-D-SPM/plasmid DNA (pDNA)) were examined. Different weight-mixing (w/w) ratios of PEG-D-SPM/pDNA complex were prepared to obtain an ideal mixing ratio to protect encapsulated pDNA from DNase degradation and to determine the optimal transfection efficiency of the complex. Strong complexation between polymer and pDNA in agarose gel electrophoresis and protection of pDNA from DNase were detected at ratios from 25 to 15. Highest gene expression was detected at w/w ratio of 18 in HL60 and K562 cells. However, gene expression from both leukemic cell lines was lower than the control MCF-7 cells. The cytotoxicity of PEG-D-SPM/pDNA complex at the most optimal mixing ratios was tested in HL60 and K562 cells using MTS assay and the results showed that the PEG-D-SPM/pDNA complex had no cytotoxic effect on these cell lines. Spherical shape and nano-nature of PEG-D-SPM/pDNA complex at ratio 18 was observed using transmission electron microscopy. As PEG-D-SPM showed modest transfection efficiency in the leukemic cell lines, we conclude that further work is needed to improve the delivery efficiency of the PEG-D-SPM.