title: Delivery of nucleic acid into mammalian cells by anthrax toxin.
abstract: Gene delivery vehicles based on receptor-mediated endocytosis offer an attractive long-term solution as they might overcome the limitations of toxicity and cargo capacity inherent to many viral gene delivery systems. The protective antigen component of anthrax toxin bind to specific receptors and deliver lethal factor or edema factor into the cytosol of mammalian cells. The N-terminal 254 amino acids of LF (LF(1-254)) binds to PA and, when fused to heterologous proteins, delivers such proteins into the cytosol. However, so far no attempt has been made to use the anthrax toxin system for the intracellular delivery of DNA. In the present study, LF(1-254) of anthrax toxin was fused to the DNA-binding domain of GAL4 protein. The fusion protein (LF(254)-GAL4DBD) showed both PA binding as well as DNA-binding activity in solution. The complex of fusion protein with plasmid DNA containing a reporter gene (luciferase or green fluorescent protein) along with PA delivered plasmid DNA into the cytosol of COS-1 cells. These results suggest that anthrax toxin components can be used as a non-viral system for the efficient delivery of DNA into the cytosol of mammalian cells.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biochemical Technology, Mall Road, Near Jubilee Hall, 110 007, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Reetika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gaur
authors.forename: Pradeep K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goyal
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wels
authors.forename: Yogendra
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019556:COS Cells; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008156:Luciferases / Q000378:metabolism; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C052130:GAL4 protein, S cerevisiae; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C030325:anthrax toxin; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D004247:DNA; D008156:Luciferases