title: Elastin-like recombinamers with acquired functionalities for gene-delivery applications.
abstract: In this work, well-defined elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) were studied as a choice to the existing nonviral vectors due to their biocompatibility and ease of scale-up. Functional motifs, namely penetratin and LAEL fusogenic peptides were incorporated into a basic ELR sequence, and imidazole groups were subsequently covalently bound obtaining ELRs with new functionalities. Stable polyplexes composed of plasmid DNA and ELRs were formed. A particle size around 200 nm and a zeta potential up to nearly +24 mV made them suitable for gene delivery purposes. Additionally, viability and transfection assays with C6 rat glioma cell line showed an increase in the cellular uptake and transfection levels for the construction containing the LAEL motif. This study highlights the importance of controlling the polymer functionality using recombinant techniques and establishes the utility of ELRs as biocompatible nonviral systems for gene-therapy applications.
authors.affiliation: Bioforge Research Group, University of Valladolid, CIBER-BBN, Valladolid, 47011, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Piña
authors.affiliation: Biosurface Technology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 012, India.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alex
authors.affiliation: Bioforge Research Group, University of Valladolid, CIBER-BBN, Valladolid, 47011, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.affiliation: Bioforge Research Group, University of Valladolid, CIBER-BBN, Valladolid, 47011, Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Bioforge Research Group, University of Valladolid, CIBER-BBN, Valladolid, 47011, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Cabello
authors.affiliation: Biosurface Technology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 012, India.
authors.forename: Rekha M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ramesan
authors.affiliation: Biosurface Technology, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 012, India.
authors.forename: Chandra P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides; D004549:Elastin / Q000737:chemistry*; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D057846:Cell-Penetrating Peptides; D009842:Oligopeptides; D004549:Elastin; C414409:penetratin
keywords: ELR; cationic polymers; elastin-like recombinamers; gene therapy; polyplex