Gene Transfer into Muscle by Electroporation In Vivo

Among the nonviral techniques for gene transfer in vivo, the direct injection of plasmid DNA into muscle is especially simple, inexpensive, and safe. However, applications of this method have been limited by the relatively low expression levels of the transferred gene. Recently, we investigated the applicability of in vivo electroporation for gene transfer into muscle, using plasmid DNA expressing a cytokine as the vector. The results demonstrated that gene transfer into muscle by electroporation in vivo is far more efficient than simple intramuscular DNA injection and provides a potential approach toward systemic delivery of cytokines, growth factors, and other serum proteins for human gene therapy.