Electroporation in Clinical Applications—The Potential of Gene Electrotransfer and Electrochemotherapy

Abstract

Electroporation (EP) allows for the transport of molecules into the cytoplasm with significant effectiveness by forming transient pores in the cell membrane using electric pulses. This can be used for cellular transport (RE—reversible electroporation) or ablation (IRE—irreversible electroporation). The first of described options fortifies medicine with novel possibilities: electrochemotherapy (ECT), which creates promising perspectives for cancer treatment, and gene electrotransfer (GET), a powerful method of DNA delivery as well as immunogen electrotransfer. The review constitutes a comprehensive explanation of the mechanism of EP in the case of GET, its present and prospective employment in medicine, including gene delivery, vaccinations, therapy, and transfection, are also presented.

Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria Escherichia coli by electroporation

“…Electroporation (under this name) was first described 50 years ago ( Neumann and Rosenheck, 1972 ) and causes transient increase in permeability of the cell membrane by applying high-voltage electric field pulses. This technique has gained attention as an effective, non-chemical method for introducing molecules into cells, including foreign DNA ( Potocnik et al, 2022 ; Rakoczy et al, 2022 ) and membrane-impermeable anticancer drugs (i.e., electrochemotherapy) ( Yarmush et al, 2014 ). At stronger electric fields, cells are damaged, leading to cell death.…”

Effects of buffer composition and plasmid toxicity on electroporation-based non-viral gene delivery in mammalian cells using bursts of nanosecond and microsecond pulses

“…EP is widely used as a non-viral gene delivery technique, termed gene electrotransfer (GET). This physical method improves cellular uptake of DNA, plasmid DNA (pDNA), and RNA and can be applied to both in vitro and in vivo models ( Lambricht et al, 2015 ; Cervia and Yuan, 2018 ; Rakoczy et al, 2022 ). The wide applicability of GET involves treatment of cancer and other diseases ( Li and Huang, 2000 ; Fewell et al, 2005 ) and DNA vaccination ( Chattergoon et al, 1997 ).…”

“…In addition, it is important to consider that GET is a multistep process that includes electropermeabilization of the cell membrane lipid bilayer, electrophoretic migration of DNA toward the membrane with subsequent interaction, translocation across the membrane, migration toward the nucleus, and passage through it to ensure gene expression ( Gong et al, 2022 ; Rakoczy et al, 2022 ), where the interaction of a DNA molecule with the cell membrane was marked as one of the key steps ( Neumann et al, 1996 ; Golzio et al, 2002 ). Moreover, maintaining high viability and ensuring adequate plasmid quality are imperative for successful cell electrotransfection.…”