Effective gene transfer to melanoma cells using bacterial ghosts

The bacterial ghost platform system

“…72 The inner space of BGs empty envelope can be loaded with a combination of peptides, drugs or foreign DNA which gives us an opportunity to design new types of polyvalent vaccines. 57,71,73,74 We have shown that BGs loaded with plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) are efficiently internalized and phagocytized by both professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) and tumor cells. BGs were able to deliver the heterologous genes to both bacteria before lysis and become elements of the BGs (Fig.…”

“…It is known that e.g., melanoma cells have the capacity to behave as non-professional APCs and can phagocyte both apoptotic and live cells [84][85][86][87] and as recently shown respond to challenge by BGs. 73 Despite the high DNA loading capacity of BGs, relatively low concentrations of DNA are sufficient for effective gene delivery and expression by melanoma cells. High transfection efficiencies were obtained after incubation of BGs with melanoma cells.…”

“…Importantly, no cytotoxic impact was observed on target cells. 32,71,74,75 Intradermal and intramuscular immunization of Balb/c mice with BGs loaded with pCMV encoding beta-galactosidase stimulated more efficient humoral and cellular AG-specific immune responses than naked DNA. Beta-galactosidase-specific immune response was detected after intravenous immunization of mice with autologous dendritic cells (DCs) transfected ex vivo with pCMVbeta-loaded BGs.…”

DNA Vaccines for the Induction of Immune Responses in Mucosal Tissues

“…Nevertheless, quantitative analysis showed that a relatively low DNA concentration (50 plasmids/BG) is sufficient for efficient DNA delivery to the target cells. BGs loaded with plasmid DNA are efficiently internalized and phagocytosed by APCs, especially macrophages and tumor cells (melanoma), leading to transfection efficiencies ranging from 52% to 82% (Ebensen et al, 2004;Kudela et al, 2008;Paukner et al, 2005). Cross-presentation of Ag delivered to DCs by BGs was reported.…”

Lysozymes, Proteinase K, Bacteriophage E Lysis Proteins, and some Chemical Compounds for Microbial Ghosts Preparation: a Review and Food for Thought

“…However, in case of using MGs in the drug delivery, after such loading to the drug, the existed pore must be closed or in better word must be sealed [30]. Recently, another tactic have been introduced where Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell ghosts were loaded with dissolved ghosts gossypol acetic acid, then the dissolved ghosts gossypol acetic was allowed to crystallize inside the yeast cells.…”