Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo

Gene therapy has great potential for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases, as evidenced by the progress and ongoing research. Using the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system, we developed a non-viral gene delivery system for electroporation-based transfection of rd10 retinas ex vivo. SB100X...

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Main Authors: Jiao Zhang, Ziyu Bing, Corinne Marie, Zsuzsanna Izsvák, Frank Müller, Gabriele Thumann, Peter Walter, Sandra Johnen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2162253125001702
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author Jiao Zhang
Ziyu Bing
Corinne Marie
Zsuzsanna Izsvák
Frank Müller
Gabriele Thumann
Peter Walter
Sandra Johnen
author_facet Jiao Zhang
Ziyu Bing
Corinne Marie
Zsuzsanna Izsvák
Frank Müller
Gabriele Thumann
Peter Walter
Sandra Johnen
author_sort Jiao Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Gene therapy has great potential for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases, as evidenced by the progress and ongoing research. Using the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system, we developed a non-viral gene delivery system for electroporation-based transfection of rd10 retinas ex vivo. SB100X transposase and Venus transposon plasmids were transfected at a ratio of 1:16 into rd10 retinas of different ages and corresponding wild-type (WT) controls. Transfection efficiency was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and transfected cells were identified by immunohistochemistry. Retinal integrity and cell viability were assessed by FITC-dextran electroporation, histology, and apoptosis assay. The highest transfection efficiency was observed in degenerated stages P61 and older, with Müller cells being the only transfected cell type. A 31% reduction in transposon plasmid size resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in transfection efficiency. Integrity and morphology of degenerated retinas were preserved after electroporation-based plasmid transfer; the number of apoptotic cells in the inner nuclear layer (INL) was reduced by half compared to WT controls. We demonstrated that electroporation-based delivery of the SB transposon system resulted in efficient transfection of degenerated retinas. Our results are an important first step toward the combined use of retinal prostheses and gene therapy to improve the treatment of inherited retinal dystrophies.
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spelling doaj-art-e040a2d7ac014fbeb0d850ab15095bbb2025-08-20T03:50:58ZengElsevierMolecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids2162-25312025-09-0136310261610.1016/j.omtn.2025.102616Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivoJiao Zhang0Ziyu Bing1Corinne Marie2Zsuzsanna Izsvák3Frank Müller4Gabriele Thumann5Peter Walter6Sandra Johnen7Department of Ophthalmology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Ophthalmology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, GermanyUniversité Paris Cité, CNRS, Inserm, UTCBS, 75006 Paris, France; Chimie ParisTech, Université PSL, 75005 Paris, FranceMax Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, 13125 Berlin, GermanyInstitute of Biological Information Processing, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, IBI-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, GermanyDepartment of Ophthalmology, University Hospitals of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland; Experimental Ophthalmology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Ophthalmology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Ophthalmology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Corresponding author: Sandra Johnen, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.Gene therapy has great potential for the treatment of inherited retinal diseases, as evidenced by the progress and ongoing research. Using the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system, we developed a non-viral gene delivery system for electroporation-based transfection of rd10 retinas ex vivo. SB100X transposase and Venus transposon plasmids were transfected at a ratio of 1:16 into rd10 retinas of different ages and corresponding wild-type (WT) controls. Transfection efficiency was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and transfected cells were identified by immunohistochemistry. Retinal integrity and cell viability were assessed by FITC-dextran electroporation, histology, and apoptosis assay. The highest transfection efficiency was observed in degenerated stages P61 and older, with Müller cells being the only transfected cell type. A 31% reduction in transposon plasmid size resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in transfection efficiency. Integrity and morphology of degenerated retinas were preserved after electroporation-based plasmid transfer; the number of apoptotic cells in the inner nuclear layer (INL) was reduced by half compared to WT controls. We demonstrated that electroporation-based delivery of the SB transposon system resulted in efficient transfection of degenerated retinas. Our results are an important first step toward the combined use of retinal prostheses and gene therapy to improve the treatment of inherited retinal dystrophies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2162253125001702MT: Delivery Strategiesnon-viral gene therapyelectroporationMüller cellsretinal degenerationrd10 mouse model
spellingShingle Jiao Zhang
Ziyu Bing
Corinne Marie
Zsuzsanna Izsvák
Frank Müller
Gabriele Thumann
Peter Walter
Sandra Johnen
Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids
MT: Delivery Strategies
non-viral gene therapy
electroporation
Müller cells
retinal degeneration
rd10 mouse model
title Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
title_full Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
title_fullStr Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
title_full_unstemmed Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
title_short Effect of degeneration stage on non-viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
title_sort effect of degeneration stage on non viral tissue transfection of rd10 retina ex vivo
topic MT: Delivery Strategies
non-viral gene therapy
electroporation
Müller cells
retinal degeneration
rd10 mouse model
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2162253125001702
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