GENE-TRANSFER INTO MAMMALIAN-CELLS BY JET INJECTION

Jet injection of DNA in solution is a technique that can be used to tr ansfer DNA into tissues of living animals, where the introduced genes are expressed.((1-5)) The muscle, fat, skin, and mammary tissue of mic e, and the fat, skin, and mammary tissue of sheep can be transfected w ith DNA.((1)) A jet injector, such as the Ped-o-jet (Stirn Industries, Dayton, NJ), is used to form a jet from 100 to 300 mu l of a DNA solu tion, This jet has sufficient force to travel into and through tissues of adult and juvenile animals, The introduced DNA is found in cells s urrounding the path of the jet, When jet injection is performed throug h the surface of intact skin, underlying muscle, mammary, and fat, cel ls up to 2 cm distant from the point of injection are transfected with DNA, In this study, we demonstrate that the efficiency of DNA transfe r is dependent upon the force of injection, Jet injection is an altern ative to needle injection, lipofection, and particle bombardment for t he introduction of ''naked'' DNA into the tissues of animals, This tec hnique has potential for the introduction of genes into living organis ms for genetic vaccination and gene therapy.