In vivo placental gene modulation via sonoporation.

Autor: Nunes LGA; Institute for Biogenesis Research, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, United States., Rosario FJ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States., Urschitz J; Institute for Biogenesis Research, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, United States. Electronic address: johann@hawaii.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Placenta [Placenta] 2024 Oct 23. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 23.
DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2024.10.015
Abstrakt: Placental dysregulation frequently results in pregnancy complications that impact fetal well-being and potentially predispose the infant to diseases later in life. Thus, efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying placental disorders are crucial to aid the development of effective treatments to restore placental function. Currently, the most common methods used for trophoblast-specific gene modulation in the laboratory are transgenic animals and lentiviral trophectoderm transduction. The generation of transgenic animal lines is costly and requires a considerable amount of time to generate and maintain, while the integration preference of lentiviruses, actively transcribed genes, may result in genotoxicity. Therefore, there is much interest in the development of non-viral in vivo transfection techniques for use in both research and clinical settings. Herein, we describe a non-viral, minimally invasive method for in vivo placental gene modulation through sonoporation, an ultrasound-mediated transfection technique wherein the application of ultrasound on target tissues is used to direct the uptake of DNA vectors. In this method, plasmids are bound to lipid microbubbles, which are then injected into the maternal bloodstream and ultimately delivered to the placenta when subjected to low-frequency ultrasound. Syncytiotrophoblasts are directly exposed to maternal blood and, therefore highly accessible to therapeutic agents in the maternal circulation. This technique can be used to modulate gene expression and, subsequently, the function of the placenta, circumventing the requirement to generate transgenic animals. Sonoporation also offers a safer alternative to existing viral techniques, making it not only an advantageous research tool but also a potentially adaptable technique in clinical settings.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest I Lance G. A. Nunes, declare that I substantially contributed to the conception, design and preparation of the manuscript. I have seen and approved the final version. I have no conflicts of interest. I Fredrick J Rosario, declare that I substantially contributed to the conception, design and preparation of the manuscript. I have seen and approved the final version. I have no conflicts of interest. I Johann Urschitz, declare that I substantially contributed to the conception, design and preparation of the manuscript. I have seen and approved the final version. I have no conflicts of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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