Effect of depsipeptide on in vitro transfection efficiency of PEI/DNA complexes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of depsipeptide on the in vitro transfection efficiency of PEI/DNA complexes. Materials and Methods: PEI (polyethylenimine 25K) formed a complex with pcDNA3-CMV-Luc and was investigated for its transfection efficiency in KB human oral carcinoma and Raji human lymphoma cell lines. The transfected cells were then incubated with different concentrations of depsipeptide for 24 h and examined for the transfection efficiency and cell viability. Results: The transfection efficiency in KB cells post-incubated with depsipeptide was not different from the cells transfected with PEI alone. The transfection efficiency in Raji cells post-incubated with 15 nM depsipeptide was significantly increased (p<0.05) and found to be 76-fold compared to the cells transfected with PEI alone. Depsipeptide had no effect on the cell viability at a concentration of 0.001-1 nM in KB cells and 1-37.5 nM in Raji cells. A high concentration of depsipeptide decreased the cell viability in both cell lines. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that PEI/DNA complexes post-incubated with depsipeptide can enhance the transfection efficiency in the Raji human lymphoma cell line. The effect of depsipeptide on cell viability was dose-dependent. This study suggests that depsipeptide may have potential usefulness for gene delivery in patients with lymphoma.