Dexamethasone-Conjugated Polyamidoamine Dendrimer for Delivery of the Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene into the Ischemic Brain.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the HO-1 gene was delivered into the brain using dexamethasone-conjugated polyamidoamine generation 2 (PAMAM G2-Dexa) for the treatment of ischemic stroke. PAMAM G2-Dexa formed stable complexes with plasmid DNA (pDNA). The pDNA delivery efficiency of PAMAM G2-Dexa was higher than that of polyethylenimine (PEI25k, 25 kDa), dexamethasone-conjugated PEI (PEI-Dexa), and PAMAM G2 in Neuro2A cells. Therapeutic effect of PAMAM G2-Dexa/pHO-1 complexes was evaluated in a stroke animal model. PAMAM G2-Dexa delivered pHO-1 more efficiently into the ischemic brain than PEI25k and PEI-Dexa with higher therapeutic effect. Therefore, PAMAM G2-Dexa/pHO-1 complexes may be useful for ischemic stroke gene therapy.