title: High-efficiency plasmid gene transfer into dystrophic muscle.
abstract: The efficiency of plasmid gene transfer in skeletal muscle is significantly enhanced by pretreatment with hyaluronidase and the application of an electrical field to the muscle following the injection of plasmid DNA, a process referred to as electrotransfer. However, the presence of increased levels of connective tissue in muscular dystrophies, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), may affect the efficiency of this process. Here we demonstrate that the efficiency of electrotransfer is not affected by increased levels of connective tissue in the mdx mouse model of DMD and that any damage induced by the electrotransfer process is not exacerbated in the dystrophic phenotype. However, increasing the concentration of hyaluronidase does not improve transfection efficiencies further. Unlike direct injection of plasmid DNA, the efficiency of electrotransfer is not dependent upon the sex and age of mice used. The combined treatment of hyaluronidase and electrotransfer results in highly efficient gene transfer in dystrophic muscle with limited muscle damage.
authors.affiliation: Gene Targeting Unit, Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Division of Neuroscience and Psychological Medicine, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gollins
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wells
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016189:Dystrophin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D018101:Mice, Inbred mdx; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D009136:Muscular Dystrophies / Q000628:therapy*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016189:Dystrophin; D001616:beta-Galactosidase