[Background]
Gene transfer into the target organ is a critical process of gene therapy. Although gene transfer by physicochemical method has relatively safe, the transfer efficiency is low depending on the target organ. To develop the effective and efficient gene transfer method, we focused on Pyro-drive Jet Injector (PJI) which was developed based on pyrotechnics. The aim is to explore the effectiveness of PJI in gene transfer into muscle tissues.
[Methods/Results]
pcDNA3.1-venus-plasmid was injected to the thigh muscles of C57BL/6J mice with PJI or needle. Immunofluorescence demonstrated the venus was expressed in a wider range in PJI group than needle group. To examine the validity of PJI for gene therapy, pcDNA3.1-humanFGF2 plasmid, an angiogenic factor, was injected into the ischemic thigh muscles with PJI or needle. ELISA showed the FGF2 protein was increased in the thigh muscle tissue in PJI group. Significantly, histological analyses revealed the muscle cell cross-sectional area and endothelial marker CD31 (+) cells was increased in the PJI-FGF2 group compared with needle-FGF2 or PJI-control plasmid. Finally, PJI method was successful in gene transfer into murine heart with high efficiency when compared to needle method.
 [Conclusion]
Gene transfer by PJI may be a useful approach for the treatment of muscle diseases.