Gene transfection efficacy and biocompatibility of polycation/DNA complexes coated with enzyme degradable PEGylated hyaluronic acid

Abstract Coating the polycation/DNA binary complexes with PEGylated polyanions can improve long-circulation and biocompatibility in vivo . However, it has been certificated PEG dilemma can reduces gene transfection efficiency because of inhibition in cellular uptake and endosomal escape. Herein, two PEGylated anionic polymers, PEGylated hyaluronic acid (HgP) and PEGylated polyglutamic acid (PGgP) were synthesized to coat the binary complexes of core–shell cationic polycaprolactone-graft-poly ( N , N -dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) nanoparticles/DNA (NP-D). The effects of polyanion structure were evaluated in terms of particle size, zeta potential, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake and transfect efficiency in vitro and in vivo. In vitro study illustrated that HgP coated complexes showed better efficiencies in both cell uptake and transfection than PGgP coated complexes. The coating of HgP on NP-D improved the biocompatibility without reduction in cell uptake and transfection efficacy, and resulted in higher accumulation and gene expression in tumor after IV injection. The success of HgP coating in overcoming PEG dilemma is attributed to the hyaluronic acid (HA)-receptor-mediated endocytosis and outer shell-detachment through the hyaluronidases catalyzed degradation of HA. These results demonstrated that HgP was a promising anionic polymer for coating the polycation/DNA complexes and ternary complexes (HgP coated NP-D) hold promising potential for cancer therapy.