Expression of exogenous DNA in rat liver cells after liposome-mediated transfection in vivo

Abstract Liposomes containing the expression vector pRSVneo coding for neomycin phosphotransferase-II were used for a gene transfer into rat liver cells in vivo. After intravenous application of liposomes to male Wistar-rats, nonintegrated vector DNA was detected by blot-hybridisation in isolated nuclei of hepatocytes. Presence of messenger RNA specific for the transferred construct was demonstrated by Northern analyses of poly(A)+RNA. The biological activity of the neomycin phosphotransferase-II gene and its enzyme could be demonstrated in hepatocytes for at least 7d post injection. Liposome-mediated gene transfer into adult animals is discussed as a model system to study the expression and fate of transferred genes in adult rat hepatocytes under physiological conditions.