Impact of Hydrodynamic Injection and phiC31 Integrase on Tumor Latency in a Mouse Model of MYC-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hydrodynamic injection is an effective method for DNA delivery in mouse liver and is being translated to larger animals for possible clinical use. Similarly, ϕC31 integrase has proven effective in mediating long-term gene therapy in mice when delivered by hydrodynamic injection and is being considered for clinical gene therapy applications. However, chromosomal aberrations have been associated with ϕC31 integrase expression in tissue culture, leading to questions about safety. oncogene in the liver was followed by hydrodynamic injection. Without injection, mice had a median tumor latency of 154 days. With hydrodynamic injection of saline alone, the median tumor latency was significantly reduced, to 105 days. The median tumor latency was similar, 106 days, when a luciferase donor plasmid and backbone plasmid without integrase were administered. In contrast, when active or inactive ϕC31 integrase and donor plasmid were supplied to the mouse liver, the median tumor latency was 153 days, similar to mice receiving no injection.-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in adult mice. Although it remains to be seen to what extent these findings may be extrapolated to catheter-mediated hydrodynamic delivery in larger species, they suggest that caution should be used during translation of hydrodynamic injection to clinical applications