A retrograde approach for liver gene transfer

Abstract

The development of hydrodynamic injections was based on the pioneering work by Jon Wolff (1956–2020), who discovered that intracellular delivery of nucleic acids can be achieved by injections of large volumes of naked plasmid DNA solutions1 into the portal vein, into the inferior vena cava, or into bile ducts.2 Later, in the late 1990s, two independent groups showed that fast injections of large volumes of solution with naked plasmid DNA into the tail vein of rodents resulted in gene transfer in various organs, particularly the liver.