Objective To study the condition and method of hydrodynamics-based transgene(HDT) in rat fatty liver. Methods Inject different dosages and concentrations of green fluorescent protein plasmid pEGFP-C1 at different speeds, then collect 4 rats' liver leaves at different time points after injection and prepare their frozen section, finally observe and quantify the GFP expression with fluo rescence microscope at 488 nm excitation wavelength. Results Plasmid pEGFP-C1 concentration 33mg/L, injection speed 2ml/s, injection volume 8.5%of rat body weight, injected plasmid. After 6 hours of injection, GFP-positive cells rate of pedicel leaf is about 18%, left leaf about 14%, middle leaf about 12.5%;R3ight leaf about 10% and tail leaf about 8%. GFP begin to gradually reduce since 24 hours, until 72 hours almost no GFP-positive cells were checked in all liver leaves. Conclusion Hydrodynamics-based transgene can be applied to rat fatty liver, the appropriate conditions of this method are 33mg/L plasmid concentration, 8.5% rat avoirdupois, 2ml/s injection speed, and the suitable time to observe the proportion of GFP-positive cells is 6-24 hours after gene injection.

Objective To study the conditions and methods of hydrodynamics-based transgene into rat regenerating liver in vivo. Methods The solution with concentration 30mg/L gene-containing plasmid was injected into rat tail veins at a speed of 2ml/s, then partial hepatectomy (PH) was performed at different times before/after injection, finally the rat (g) and regenerating liver (g) were weighed, and the liver coefficient (Lc) was calculated. Out of 15 groups which are Lc±Lc*0%, *5%, *10%, *15%, *20%, *25%, *30%, *35%, the most suitable group was chosen as correction coefficient to calculate the most appropriate volume of plasmid solution which was injected into the regenerating liver at different recovery times, and at the same time, right lobe of liver was gathered to make frozen section, then observe and quantify the positive green fluorescent protein (GFP) rate at 488 nm excitation wavelength. Results Injection of either physiological saline or empty plasmid has no significant difference compared with control (only PH performance). The appropriate time of hydrodynamics-based transgene is more than 12 hours before PH or anytime after PH. The solution volume of hydrodynamics-based transgene into liver regenerating rat after PH is rat weight (g) ×9%×1/3×corresponding correction coefficient (Trc). Both vector and target gene have effect on the time and abundance of gene expression. Conclusion Hydrodynamics-based transgene can effectively be applied to gene transfection in rat regenerating liver.

Objective Folate receptors ( FRs) , overexpressed on the surface of a variety of tumor cells , are potential targets for tumor targeting therapy .This study aimed to prepare an FR-mediated drug nanocarrier with folate conjugated pullulan acetate ( FPA) to target chemotherapeutic agents to FR-overexpressed tumor cells and investigate its tumor-suppressing effect in vitro. Methods The cytotoxicity of epirubicin-loaded FPA nanoparticles ( FPA/EPI NP) against HepG2 and Hela cells was evaluated by MTS assay.The HepG2 and Hela cells were divided into five groups to be treated with NPs (NP control), chlorpromazine, chloro-quine, amiloride, and folate, respectively, followed by detection of the fluorescence intensity by flow cytometry . Results FPA/EPI NP was successfully formulated into NPs , with the mean particle size of (268.5 ±12.0) nm, by dialysis with an almost spherical shape . The drug-loading rate and entrapment rate of FPA/EPI NP were (6.45 ±1.04) and (72.45 ±11.50) %, respectively.The survival rates of the HepG2 and Hela cells were both >95%after 24 hours of incubation with FPA NP at 5, 40, 200, 400 and 1000μg/mL and 90.0%after 72 hours.The survival rates of the HepG2 cells treated with 5, 40, 200, 400 and 1000μg/mL FPA/EPI NP for 24 hours were (92.3 ±5.2), (70.4 ±4.6), (50.0 ±4.0), (41.1 ±4.1) and (27.0 ±3.6) %, respectively.Compared with the NP control group, the Hela cells of the chlorpromazine , amiloride and folate groups showed a significantly lower rate of NP uptake (P<0.05), and so did the HepG2 cells pretreated with chlorpromazine or amilo-ride (P<0.05).At 72 hours, the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of FPA/EPI NP against HepG2 and Hela cells were 168 and 105μg/mL, respectively . Conclusion Clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis are involved in the internaliza-tion of FPA/EPI NP in HepG2 cells, while clathrin-and FR-mediated endocytosis in that of Hela cells .FPA NP may serve as a new drug carrier for tumor-targeted therapy .