Comparison of the efficiency and toxicity of sonoporation with branched polyethylenimine-mediated gene transfection in various cultured cell lines.
The objective of this study is to evaluate transfection efficiency and safety for gene delivery by sonoporation in comparison with cationic polymer gene carrier branched polyethylenimine (BPEI). The cDNA expressing VEGF(165) was cloned under chicken beta-actin promoter. The plasmid DNA was transfected into the CHO, HEK293, and NIH3T3 cells using microbubble-based sonoporation and BPEI (25 kDa) under various conditions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine the expressed protein level. Cytotoxicities of transfection methods were compared by Cell Counting Kit-8. At 1 MHz intensity, transfection efficiency of sonoporation was enhanced by microbubble concentration with no detrimental effects. By contrast, BPEI exacerbated cell viability, despite its high transgene expression efficiency. Sonoporation gene therapy might be the safest technique to be used in actual clinical practice.