title: Electroporation of plasmid DNA to swine muscle.
abstract: For plasmid-mediated gene therapy applications, a major limitation to scale up from rodents to large animals is the low expression level of injected plasmid DNA. The electroporation technique, which results in the passage of foreign material through the cell membrane, is one method that has been shown to be effective at improving local plasmid uptake and consequently, expression levels. Previous studies have determined that optimized electroporation parameters (such as electric field intensity, number of pulses, lag time between plasmid injections and electroporations, and optimal plasmid formulation conditions) are dependent on the target muscle type and individual species. Here, we provide a detailed protocol to optimize conditions for the successful intramuscular electroporation of plasmid DNA to swine, a large animal model. Our results suggest that the technique is safe and effective for veterinary applications. Furthermore, these results provide evidence for the feasibility of upcoming human applications.
authors.affiliation: Inovio Biomedical Corporation, 2700 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Angela M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bodles-Brakhop
authors.forename: Ruxandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Draghia-Akli
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Broderick
authors.forename: Amir S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D018274:Electroporation; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal; D010957:Plasmids; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase