Plasmids intracellular trafficking

Figure 11.1 The intracellular trafficking pathway of plasmid DNA complexed by poly cationic lipid (lipoplex). Critical steps are indicated by numbers (1) endocytosis, sorting and recycling via vesicular compartments comprising the early (EE) and sorting endosomes (2) entrapment and degradation in the late-endosomes (LE) and lysosomes (3) destabilization of the endo-lysosomal membrane and release into the cytosol, (the precise location of this step is not known) (4) diffusion toward the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and degradation in the cytoplasm, and (5) nuclear translocation across the NPC.

The potential therapeutic use of antisense oligonucleotides has provoked intensive studies of their intracellular trafficking, which noticeably differ from plasmid DNA. Oligonucleotides accumulate very rapidly and preferentially in the nucleus after microinjection into the cytosol. Fluorescently tagged 15-25bp... 

The intracellular trafficking pathway of plasmid DNA complexed by polycationic lipid 192... 

Vaughan EE, Dean DA (2006) Intracellular trafficking of plasmids during transfection is mediated by microtubules. Mol Ther 13 422-428... 

Figure 10.2-3. Study of the intracellular trafficking of a plasmid complexed with a synthetic phosphonolipid nsing electonic microscopy. Cell lines were transfected with lipoplexes. Then, DNA probes specific to the plasmid nsed and tagged with gold particles was incnbated with the cells pellet sections. The DNA migration was also observed. Reprinted from Ref. 1, with permission from Elsevier.

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