OPTIMIZATION OF THE TRANSFECTION OF HUMAN ENDOTHELIAL-CELLS BY ELECTROPORATION

A method for efficient transfection of human umbilical vein endothelia l cells (HUVEC) is presented here. The procedure involves cell synchro nization followed by electroporation and allows the detection of the a ctivity of low-strength promoters. Sodium butyrate, added to the cultu re medium after electroporation, strongly potentiates the transcriptio nal activity of viral promoters. The method can be successfully applie d to analyze the transcriptional activity of different promoters linke d to reporter genes or to express foreign genes controlled by viral pr omoters.