High-efficiency receptor-mediated delivery of small and large (48 kilobase gene constructs using the endosome-disruption activity of defective or chemically inactivated adenovirus particles.

One limit to successful receptor-mediated gene delivery is the exit of the endocytosed material from the endosome. We demonstrate here the delivery of marker genes to tissue culture cells using a modification of the receptor-mediated gene delivery technique that exploits the endosomolytic activity of defective adenovirus particles. In particular, >90% of the transfected-cell population is found to express a β-galactosidase gene, and, most importantly, this high level of expression can be obtained with psoralen-inactivated virus particles.One limit to successful receptor-mediated gene delivery is the exit of the endocytosed material from the endosome. We demonstrate here the delivery of marker genes to tissue culture cells using a modification of the receptor-mediated gene delivery technique that exploits the endosomolytic activity of defective adenovirus particles. In particular, >90% of the transfected-cell population is found to express a β-galactosidase gene, and, most importantly, this high level of expression can be obtained with psoralen-inactivated virus particles