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Nucleic Acids Research Advance Access published online on June 18, 2007
Nucleic Acids Research, doi:10.1093/nar/gkm450
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© 2007 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Molecular Biology

Interplay of polyethyleneimine molecular weight and oligonucleotide backbone chemistry in the dynamics of antisense activity

Sumati Sundaram1, Li Kim Lee1 and Charles M. Roth1,2,*

1Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 599 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +732-445-4500; Fax: +732-445-3753; Email: cmroth{at}rci.rutgers.edu

Received January 22, 2007. Revised April 19, 2007. Accepted May 21, 2007.

The widespread utilization of gene silencing techniques, such as antisense, is impeded by the poor cellular delivery of oligonucleotides (ONs). Rational design of carriers for enhanced ON delivery demands a better understanding of the role of the vector on the extent and time course of antisense effects. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of polymer molecular weight (MW) and ON backbone chemistry on antisense activity. Complexes were prepared between branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) of various MWs and ONs of phosphodiester and phosphorothioate chemistries. We measured their physico-chemical properties and evaluated their ability to deliver ONs to cells, leading to an antisense response. Our key finding is that the antisense activity is not determined solely by PEI MW or by ON chemistry, but rather by the interplay of both factors. While the extent of target mRNA down-regulation was determined primarily by the polymer MW, dynamics were determined principally by the ON chemistry. Of particular importance is the strength of interactions between the carrier and the ON, which determines the rate at which the ONs are delivered intracellularly. We also present a mathematical model of the antisense process to highlight the importance of ON delivery to antisense down-regulation.


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