Gene therapy for diabetic rats by electroporational transfer of naked plasmid with human pre-pro-insulin gene into skeletal muscle

A naked plasmid with human pre-pro-insulin gene was transferred into skeletal muscle of diabetic rats by electric pulses and gene expression was detected. Blood glucose concentration was decreased from 24 mmol l(-1) to 8.5 mmol l(-1). Circulating insulin-like protein was increased significantly to 15-20 muU ml(-1), while that of the control group injected with the empty vector remained at less than 10 muU ml(-1). The low blood glucose concentration lasted for more than two months. These studies indicate that electroporational transfer of plasmid with human pre-pro-insulin gene into skeletal muscle could be a potential method of gene therapy for human diabetes mellitus.Biotechnology & Applied MicrobiologySCI(E)5ARTICLE10851-8552