Novel suction-based in vivo cutaneous DNA transfection platform

Abstract

Suction-mediated cutaneous DNA uptake yielded high in vivo efficiency and thus provides an alternative transfection platform.

Immune Responses of a Novel Bi-Cistronic SARS-CoV-2 DNA Vaccine Following Intradermal Immunization With Suction Delivery

“…The application of suction to the skin has been found to increase vasodilation and blood flow to the application site and to cause tensile stresses that may stimulate recruitment of immune cells, both of which would be expected to contribute to better immunogenicity after ID vaccine delivery (57,58). Design, modeling, and optimization of the GeneDerm suction devise was recently described (32). In this prior study, application of suction to rat skin with GeneDerm was atraumatic by histologic exam and induced gene expression within an hour after injection.…”

“…In anticipation of future clinical investigation of pGO-1002, we moved to investigate pGO-1002 immunogenicity after intradermal (ID) vaccination as this route is more accessible and more tolerable than intramuscular injection. In a recent study, we developed a new ID delivery protocol for DNA plasmids that involves the application of suction to the ID injection site which they found led to more rapid and robust transgene expression in rat skin (32). Furthermore, they demonstrated that ID immunization with a DNA vaccine followed by suction applied by our GeneDerm device led to more rapid and stronger antibody responses in rats.…”

“…Full seroconversion to Spike was observed after one immunization with pGO-1002 and humoral responses in pGO-1002-immunized mice blocked binding between the Spike RBD and its cellular receptor ACE2 as well as neutralized infection by a clinical SARS-CoV-2 isolate. Recently we developed GeneDerm, an easy-to-use, cost-effective, and scalable device that applies suction to an intradermal delivery site to enhance in vivo gene expression of DNA plasmids (32). Rats immunized with pGO-1002 by GeneDermassisted intradermal (ID) delivery developed cellular responses to Spike and ORF3a as well as Spike-targeting humoral responses that blocked Spike RBD-ACE2 binding and neutralized SARS-CoV-2 infection.…”

Harnessing DNA for Immunotherapy: Cancer, Infectious Diseases, and Beyond

“…[157] Very recently, Lallow et al drew inspiration from traditional therapies used in China and the Middle East to develop a noninvasive and effective approach that utilizes suction to facilitate DNA delivery. [158] After intradermal Mantoux injection of plasmid DNA into rat skin, the injection site is subjected to a moderate negative pressure, which can enhance the transfection efficacy and immune response without causing significant tissue damage. This technology is cost-effective, easy to implement and does not require substantial training, which may have broad application in the future.…”

Needleless administration of advanced therapies into the skin via the appendages using a hypobaric patch

“…Suction devices that stretch the skin using hypobaric pressure have been developed to improve burn therapy ( 19 ), wound healing ( 20 ), skin laser therapy ( 21 ), and the in vivo transfection of DNA after intradermal injection ( 22 ). The safety of skin stretching using suction has been well-established using these devices and it has been extensively studied as a means to determine skin elasticity; for example, the Cutometer, a commercial hypobaric system that uses 500 mbar of pressure to measure skin elasticity in humans, has been reported in >200 studies.…”