%0 Journal Article
%T Biodistribution and blood clearance of plasmid DNA administered in arginine peptide complexes
%A Woo Jung
%A Kim Na
%A Yang Jai
%A Shin Sungho
%J Genetic Vaccines and Therapy
%D 2011
%I 
%R 10.1186/1479-0556-9-13
%X Background Peptide/DNA complexes have great potential as non-viral methods for gene delivery. Despite promising results for peptide-mediated gene delivery technology, an effective systemic peptide-based gene delivery system has not yet been developed. Methods This study used pCMV-Luc as a model gene to investigate the biodistribution and the in vivo efficacy of arginine peptide-mediated gene delivery by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results Plasmid DNA was detected in all organs tested 1 h after intraperitoneal administration of arginine/DNA complexes, indicating that the arginine/DNA complexes disseminated widely through the body. The plasmid was primarily detected in the spleen, kidney, and diaphragm 24 h post administration. The mRNA expression of plasmid DNA was noted in the spleen, kidney, and diaphragm for up to 2 weeks, and in the other major organs, for at least 1 week. Blood clearance studies showed that injected DNA was found in the blood as long as 6 h after injection. Conclusions Taken together, our results demonstrated that arginine/DNA complexes are stable in blood and are effective for in vivo gene delivery. These findings suggest that intraperitoneal administration of arginine/DNA complexes is a promising tool in gene therapy.
%K Arginine peptide
%K Biodistribution
%K Gene therapy
%K Peptide vector
%K Systemic gene delivery
%U http://www.gvt-journal.com/content/9/1/13