title: Polybrene increases the efficiency of gene transfer by lipofection.
abstract: Lipofection involves the introduction of foreign genetic information into mammalian cells through the use of lipophilic reagents that enhance cellular uptake of polynucleotides. Despite the use of currently optimized lipofection conditions, including the use of serum-depleted media, the efficiency of gene transfer is often low. We show here that, in a variety of cell lines, polybrene markedly enhances the efficiency of lipofection under standardized conditions and also compensates the serum-mediated inhibition of lipofection. Although the degree of the polybrene effect depends on the nature of the cell line, these results indicate that individually optimized concentrations of polybrene can be useful for increasing the efficiency of lipofectin-mediated gene transfer in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego 92093-0634, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miyanohara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Friedmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006494:Heparin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006583:Hexadimethrine Bromide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008322:Mammals; D014162:Transfection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D006494:Heparin Antagonists; D006583:Hexadimethrine Bromide