Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a Bioresponsive and Endosomolytic siRNA-Polymer Conjugate
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of a Bioresponsive and Endosomolytic siRNA-Polymer Conjugate
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DOI:
10.1021/mp9000124
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发表时间:
2009-05-01
影响因子:
4.9
通讯作者:
Wagner, Ernst
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Meyer, Martin;Dohmen, Christian;Wagner, Ernst
Extracellular stability of electrostatically formed siRNA polyplexes is a significant concern in the delivery process. To overcome the risk of polyplex dissociation in the extracellular environment, siRNA was covalently incorporated into a pH- and redox-responsive polymer conjugate. The novel siRNA conjugate consists of polylysine (PLL) as RNA binding and protecting polycation, polyethylene glycol (PEG) as solubilizing and shielding polymer, the lytic peptide melittin masked by dimethylmaleic anhydride (DMMAn) removable at endosomal pH, and the siRNA attached at the 5'-end of the sense strand via a bioreducible disulfide bond. The purified siRNA conjugate was stable in the presence of the polyanion heparin at conditions where the analogous electrostatic siRNA polyplexes disassemble. Only the combination of heparin plus a reducing agent such as glutathione triggered the release of siRNA from the conjugate. High in vitro biocompatibility (absence of cytotoxicity or hemolytic activity at neutral pH) and efficient and sequence-specific gene silencing was found at >= 25 nM siRNA, comparable to the corresponding electrostatic polyplexes. In vivo toxicity studies of this formulation demonstrated that conjugates remain to be optimized for therapeutic application.