title: PepFect14 peptide vector for efficient gene delivery in cell cultures.
abstract: The successful applicability of gene therapy approaches will heavily rely on the development of efficient and safe nonviral gene delivery vectors, for example, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). CPPs can condense oligonucleotides and plasmid DNA (pDNA) into nanoparticles, thus allowing the transfection of genetic material into cells. However, despite few promising attempts, CPP-mediated pDNA delivery has been relatively inefficient due to the unfavorable nanoparticle characteristics or the nanoparticle entrapment to endocytic compartments. In many cases, both of these drawbacks could be alleviated by modifying CPPs with a stearic acid residue, as demonstrated in the delivery of both the pDNA and the short oligonucleotides. In this study, PepFect14 (PF14) peptide, previously used for the transport of shorter oligonucleotides, is demonstrated to be suited also for the delivery of pDNA. It is shown that PF14 forms stable nanoparticles with pDNA with a negative surface charge and size of around 130-170 nm. These nanoparticles facilitate efficient gene delivery and expression in a variety of regular adherent cell lines and also in difficult-to-transfect primary cells. Uptake studies indicate that PF14/pDNA nanoparticles are utilizing class A scavenger receptors (SCARA) and caveolae-mediated endocytosis as the main route for cellular internalization. Conclusively, PF14 is an efficient nonviral vector for gene delivery.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: Kadi-Liis
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Veiman
authors.forename: Imre
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mäger
authors.forename: Kariem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ezzat
authors.forename: Helerin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Margus
authors.forename: Tõnis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehto
authors.forename: Kent
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Langel
authors.forename: Kaido
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurrikoff
authors.forename: Piret
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arukuusk
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suhorutšenko
authors.forename: Kärt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Padari
authors.forename: Margus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pooga
authors.forename: Taavi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehto
authors.forename: Ülo
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Langel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006224:Cricetinae; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000235:genetics; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D055666:Lipopeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010316:Particle Size; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides; D055666:Lipopeptides; D009841:Oligonucleotides; C560878:PepFect14 peptide; D004247:DNA