Delivery of cytokines using gene electrotransfer

Abstract

Gene electrotransfer is a safe, inexpensive, effective, and reliable method of delivering nucleic acids to individual cells or tissues in vivo. It is a physical method of introducing external genetic material into a cell by application of a controlled electrical field. Cytokine gene therapy shows great potential for the treatment of a variety of diseases including cancers, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders as it seeks to modulate immune function in order to resolve disease. Electrotransfer of cytokine genes provides an attractive alternative approach to therapy that circumvents many of the concerns associated with delivery of cytokines as recombinant proteins or using viral vectors. Using electrotransfer genes can be delivered as a single therapeutic agent or in combination with other therapeutic agents to targeted sites avoiding involvement of surrounding tissue. Cytokines can be used as an adjuvant in DNA vaccines, to restore homeostasis and reduce inflammation in autoimmune disorders or stimulate host inflammatory responses and immunity to cancers. Decades of preclinical research has culminated in clinical studies investigating electrotransfer of cytokine genes for treatment of cancers and infectious diseases. This chapter gives an overview of how gene electrotransfer is being used clinically to deliver cytokine genes for disease therapeutics.