Brigitte Sternberg

Structures formed during interaction of cationic liposomes and plasmid DNA were studied by freeze-fracture electron microscopy and their morphology was found to be dependent on incubation time and DNA concentration. These structures were formed with liposomes composed of DC-Chol and DOPE after 30 min incubation at DNA:lipid concentrations encompassing maximal transfection activity. They resembled liposome complexes (meatballs) and additionally bilayer-covered DNA tubules (spaghetti), whereby the DNA-tubules were found to be connected to the liposome complexes as well as occurring free in the suspension. At later times and higher DNA-to-liposome ratios the complexes grow larger while their membranes become discontinuous, allowing the self-encapsulation of the DNA. The relative transfection potency of the various morphologically distinct structures is discussed.

Modification of liposome surface with polyethylene glycol was used to improve oligodeoxyribonucleotide (ODN) loading, stability of the resulting complexes, and specificity of cellular delivery of ODN by cationic liposomes. Liposomes composed of a cationic lipid (DOTAP, DOGS, DDAB), a neutral lipid (DOPE), and a phospholipid derivative of polyethylene glycol (PEG-PE) formed a complex with 18-mer phosphorothioate up to ODN/lipid molar ratio of 0.25. The complexes showed intact vesicular structures similar to original liposomes and their size (100-130 nm) was unchanged after several weeks of storage, whereas complexes lacking PEG-PE showed progressive aggregation and/or precipitation. After exposure to human plasma, PEG-modified cationic liposomes retained over 60% of the originally bound ODN. PEG-coated complexes resulted in 4-13-fold enhancement of the ODN uptake by human breast cancer cells in serum-supplemented growth medium, relative to free ODN. Complexes containing conjugated anti-HER2 F(ab') fragments at the distal termini of PEG chains efficiently delivered ODN primarily into the cytoplasm and nuclei of HER2 overexpressing cancer cells and greatly enhanced the biological activity of antisense ODN. The development of PEG-modified cationic liposomes may lead to improved ODN potency in vivo.