title: Novel guanidinylated bioresponsive poly(amidoamine)s designed for short hairpin RNA delivery.
abstract: Two different disulfide (SS)-containing poly(amidoamine) (PAA) polymers were constructed using guanidino (Gua)-containing monomers (ie, arginine [Arg] and agmatine [Agm]) andN,N'-cystamine bisacrylamide (CBA) by Michael-addition polymerization. In order to characterize these two Gua-SS-PAA polymers and investigate their potentials as short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-delivery carriers, pSilencer 4.1-CMVFANCFshRNA was chosen as a model plasmid DNA to form complexes with these two polymers. The Gua-SS-PAAs and plasmid DNA complexes were determined with particle sizes less than 90 nm and positive ζ-potentials under 20 mV at nucleic acid:polymer weight ratios lower than 1:24. Bioresponsive release of plasmid DNA was observed from both newly constructed complexes. Significantly lower cytotoxicity was observed for both polymer complexes compared with polyethylenimine and Lipofectamine 2000, two widely used transfection reagents as reference carriers. Arg-CBA showed higher transfection efficiency and gene-silencing efficiency in MCF7 cells than Agm-CBA and the reference carriers. In addition, the cellular uptake of Arg-CBA in MCF7 cells was found to be higher and faster than Agm-CBA and the reference carriers. Similarly, plasmid DNA transport into the nucleus mediated by Arg-CBA was more than that by Agm-CBA and the reference carriers. The study suggested that guanidine and carboxyl introduced into Gua-SS-PAAs polymers resulted in a better nuclear localization effect, which played a key role in the observed enhancement of transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity. Overall, two newly synthesized Gua-SS-PAAs polymers demonstrated great potential to be used as shRNA carriers for gene-therapy applications.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Jiankun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Jinmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Haonan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Husson University, Bangor, ME, USA.
authors.forename: Tianzhi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Cuifang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, School of Life Science and Biopharmaceutics, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Pingtian
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D052239:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group E Protein / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010316:Particle Size; D010957:Plasmids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D011073:Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry*; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: C499907:FANCE protein, human; D052239:Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group E Protein; C531249:Poly(amidoamine); D011073:Polyamines; D011108:Polymers; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D011094:Polyethyleneimine; D004247:DNA
keywords: bioresponsive; cytotoxicity; gene carrier; guanidinylated disulfide-containing poly(amido amine); nuclear localization; short hairpin RNA; transfection efficiency