Liposomes as Gene Delivery Vectors for Human Placental Cells

Lucie Valero (1) , Khair Alhareth (1) , Jenifer Espinoza Romero (1) , Warren Viricel (2) , Jeanne Leblond (2) , Audrey Chissey (3) , Hélène Dhotel (1) , Caroline Roques (1) , Danielle Campiol Arruda (1) , Virginie Escriou (1) , Nathalie Mignet (1) , Thierry Fournier (4, 3) , Karine Andrieux (1)

1 UTCBS - UM 4 (UMR 8258 / U1022) - Unité de Technologies Chimiques et Biologiques pour la Santé
2 Faculty of Pharmacy [Montréal, QC, Canada]
3 3PHM - UMR-S 1139 - Physiopathologie et pharmacotoxicologie placentaire humaine : Microbiote pré & post natal
4 SCM - Service de Chimie Moléculaire

Nanomedicine as a therapeutic approach for pregnancy-related diseases could offer improved treatments for the mother while avoiding side effects for the fetus. In this study, we evaluated the potential of liposomes as carriers for small interfering RNAs to placental cells. Three neutral formulations carrying rhodamine-labelled siRNAs were evaluated on an in vitro model, i.e., human primary villous cytotrophoblasts. siRNA internalization rate from lipoplexes were compared to the one in the presence of the lipofectamine reagent and assessed by confocal microscopy. Results showed cellular internalization of nucleic acid with all three formulations, based on two cationic lipids, either DMAPAP or CSL-3. Moreover, incubation with DMAPAP+AA provided a rate of labelled cells as high as with lipofectamine (53 ± 15% and 44 ± 12%, respectively) while being more biocompatible. The proportion of cells which internalized siRNA were similar when using DMAPAP/DDSTU (16 ± 5%) and CSL-3 (22 ± 5%). This work highlights that liposomes could be a promising approach for gene therapy dedicated to pregnant patients

Domaines: Sciences pharmaceutiques; Biologie de la reproduction

Lucie Valero, Khair Alhareth, Jenifer Espinoza Romero, Warren Viricel, Jeanne Leblond, et al.. Liposomes as Gene Delivery Vectors for Human Placental Cells. Molecules, 2018, 23 (5), pp.1085. ⟨10.3390/molecules23051085⟩. ⟨hal-02123142⟩