Development of a fibrin-mediated gene delivery system for the treatment of cystinosis via design of experiment

Abstract

Cystinosis is a rare disease, caused by a mutation in the gene cystinosin and characterised by the accumulation of cystine crystals. Advantages of biomaterial-mediated gene delivery include reduced safety concerns and the possibility to cure organs that are difficult to treat using systemic gene transfer methods. This study developed novel fibrin hydrogels for controlled, localised gene delivery, for the treatment of cystinosis. In the first part, fabrication parameters (i.e., DNA, thrombin, and aprotinin concentrations) were optimised, using a Design of Experiment (DOE) methodology. DOE is a statistical engineering approach to process optimisation, which increases experimental efficiency, reduces the number of experiments, takes into consideration interactions between different parameters, and allows the creation of predictive models. This study demonstrated the utility of DOE to the development of gene delivery constructs. In the second part of the study, primary fibroblasts from a patient with cystinosis were seeded on the biomaterials. Seeded cells expressed the recombinant CTNS and showed a decrease in cystine content. Furthermore, conditioned media contained functional copies of the recombinant CTNS. These were taken up by monolayer cultures of non-transfected cells. This study described a methodology to develop gene delivery constructs by using a DOE approach and ultimately provided new insights into the treatment of cystinosis.

Influence of Diameter and Cyclic Mechanical Stimulation on the Beating Frequency of Myocardial Cell-Laden Fibers

“…Fibrin is a plasma membrane protein that has been widely used because of its high biocompatibility [ 22 , 23 ]. In particular, fibrin gel has been widely used for in vitro tissue formation [ 24 , 25 ] for different applications which include wound reparation [ 26 ], drug delivery systems [ 27 ], cell delivery [ 28 , 29 ], gene delivery [ 30 ], differentiation in tissue engineering [ 31 ] and patterning [ 32 ]. However, fibrin composites lack in terms of mechanical properties compared to other polymers offering equal biocompatibility and biodegradability [ 33 , 34 ].…”