title: Lifelong reporter gene imaging in the lungs of mice following polyethyleneimine-mediated sleeping-beauty transposon delivery.
abstract: Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a cationic polymer that is effective in gene delivery in vivo. Plasmid DNA incorporating the Sleeping-Beauty (SB) transposon has been shown to induce long-term transgene expression in mouse lungs after PEI-mediated delivery. In the current report, we followed the reporter gene expression mediated by PEI/SB delivery in lungs of mice using the non-invasive bioluminescent imaging (BLI) technology. After delivery, the reporter gene signal showed a rapid decay in the first two weeks to a nearly undetectable level, but then the signal augmented gradually in the following weeks and finally reached a stable level that maintained until the natural death of animals. The stabilization of transgene expression is associated with the multiplication of a small number of PEI/SB-labeled alveolar cells, which proliferated both under normal conditions and in response to acute local injury for epithelia repair, and may play a role in long-term homeostatic maintenance in alveoli. The data presented here suggests that systemic delivery of PEI/SB induces stable transfection specifically in a small population of alveolar progenitor cells. The technique provides a promising platform for future research in distal lung biology and tissue regenerative therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, and Center of Excellence for Cancer Research, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Erh-Hsuan
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keramidas
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rome
authors.forename: Wen-Ta
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Cheng-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Coll
authors.forename: Win-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D017930:Genes, Reporter / Q000235:genetics*; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D011094:Polyethyleneimine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D011094:Polyethyleneimine