title: Gene therapy for cardiovascular disease mediated by ultrasound and microbubbles.
abstract: Gene therapy provides an efficient approach for treatment of cardiovascular disease. To realize the therapeutic effect, both efficient delivery to the target cells and sustained expression of transgenes are required. Ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) technique has become a potential strategy for target-specific gene and drug delivery. When gene-loaded microbubble is injected, the ultrasound-mediated microbubble destruction may spew the transported gene to the targeted cells or organ. Meanwhile, high amplitude oscillations of microbubbles increase the permeability of capillary and cell membrane, facilitating uptake of the released gene into tissue and cell. Therefore, efficiency of gene therapy can be significantly improved. To date, UTMD has been successfully investigated in many diseases, and it has achieved outstanding progress in the last two decades. Herein, we discuss the current status of gene therapy of cardiovascular diseases, and reviewed the progress of the delivery of genes to cardiovascular system by UTMD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Shu ping
authors.initials: Sp
authors.lastname: Ge
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D045423:Microbubbles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014465:Ultrasonics / Q000379:methods*