Efficient and innocuous delivery of small interfering RNA to microglia using an amphiphilic dendrimer nanovector.

Alterations of microglia, the brain-resident macrophages, are associated with numerous brain pathologies. Genetic manipulation of microglia in diseases using small interfering RNA (siRNA) is hampered by the lack of safe and efficient siRNA delivery methods. We assessed the amphiphilic dendrimer (AD) for functional siRNA delivery and gene knockdown in primary microglia. We characterized the ability of AD to form nanoparticles with siRNA, and studied their size, surface potential, cell uptake and gene silencing in rodent microglia. AD effectively delivered siRNA to primary microglia and decreased target gene and protein expression, leading to transcriptomic changes without affecting basal microglial functions. The dendrimer AD promises to be an innocuous carrier for siRNA delivery into microglia.