Ultrasound-targeted cationic microbubbles combined with the NFκB binding motif increase SDF-1α gene transfection: A protective role in hearts after myocardial infarction.

Treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) remains a major challenge. The chemokine family plays an important role in cardiac injury, repair, and remodeling following MI, while stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) is the most promising therapeutic target. This study aimed to increase SDF-1α expression using a novel gene delivery system and further explore its effect on MI treatment. In this study, two kinds of plasmids, human SDF-1α plasmid (phSDF-1α) and human SDF-1α- nuclear factor κB plasmid (phSDF-1α-NFκB), were constructed and loaded onto cationic microbubble carriers, and the plasmids were released into MI rabbits by ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction. The transfection efficiency of SDF-1α and the degree of heart repair were further explored and compared. In the MI rabbit models, transfection with phSDF-1α-NFκB resulted in higher SDF-1α expression in peri-infarct area compared with transfection with phSDF-1α or no transfection. Upregulation of SDF-1α was shown beneficial to these MI rabbit models, as demonstrated with better recovery of cardiac function, greater perfusion of the myocardium, more neovascularization, smaller infarction size and thicker infarct wall 1 month after treatment. Ultrasound-targeted cationic microbubbles combined with the NFκB binding motif could increase SDF-1α gene transfection, which would play a protective role after MI.