Gene transfer of vascular endothelial growth factor plasmid/liposome complexes in glioma cells in vitro: the implication to the treatment of cerebral ischemic diseases

Abstract

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is most promising in therapeutic angiogenesis for ischemic vascular disease. This paper aimed to study VEGF gene therapy for the treatment of cerebral ischemia. The glial cell was chosen as the target cell for gene transfer, and the expression of VEGF was studied in vitro. VEGF plasmid/liposome complexes were constructed by mixing VEGF plasmid with liposome, and then cultured C6 glioma cells were transfected with these complexes by lipofectamine method. As control, the same kind of cells were exposed to liposome only. Immunohistochemistry was performed to both groups at 24, 48 and 72 hours after transfection. The transfected cells expressed VEGF significantly higher than the control. The present result demonstrated the feasibility of choosing the glial cell as the target cell for VEGF gene transfer, and found the rationale for the cerebral VEGF gene therapy.