Snail Down-Regulation using siRNA Complexes Delivered through Collagen Scaffolds

摘要

Control of gene expression via small interferingRNA (siRNA) has enormous potential for the treatmentof a variety of diseases, including cancer andHuntington’s disease [1]. However, before anytherapies can be developed, effective techniques forcontrolled delivery of siRNA must be devised. In thisproof-of-concept study, siRNA was complexed with apolymer and loaded into a biomaterial scaffold. Thescaffold was introduced primarily to control the releaseof the complexes, while the polymer improved thetransfection efficiency. An optimal dose andcomplexation ratio was selected, for which more than50% down-regulation of the target gene Snail-1 (Sna1)was observed in 2D culture. Significantsustaineddown-regulation of Sna1 was observed with thescaffold system after both 2 and 7 days. Thus, thereappears to be support for further studies with othertherapeutic genes and longer time periods.