An approach towards bronchoscopic-based gene therapy using electrical field accelerated plasmid droplets.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease affecting the distal lung, due to failure of the alveolar epithelium to heal after micro-injuries, leading to inefficient gas exchange and resulting in death. Therapeutic options are very limited. A new therapeutic approach based on gene therapy restores the self-healing process within the lung in the experimental setup. A basic requirement of this therapy is the successful transduction of genes into the alveolar epithelium in the distal part of the lung, for which a new therapeutic instrument is required. In this paper we present the concept and first experimental results of a device which uses an electrical field to accelerate the charged droplets of plasmid suspension toward the tissue and which overcomes cell membrane with its impact energy. The aim is to develop a therapeutic device capable of being integrated into minimally invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy.
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Medical and Analytical Technologies, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland. david.hradetzky@fhnw.ch
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D
Hradetzky
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S
Boehringer
Th
T
Geiser
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A
Gazdhar
D000818:Animals; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004560:Electricity; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000628:therapy*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D010957:Plasmids; D051381:Rats