Role of calcium in gene delivery

Abstract

The treatment of genetic diseases using therapeutic gene transfer is considered to be a significant development. This development has brought with it certain limitations, and the process of overcoming these barriers has seen a drastic change in gene delivery. Many metal ions such as Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ba²⁺ and, most importantly, Ca²⁺ have been demonstrated to have significant roles in gene delivery. Recently, calcium phosphate alone, or in combination with viral and nonviral vectors, was found to exert a positive effect on gene transfer when incorporated in the colloidal particulate system, which is an advancing approach to gene delivery. This review elaborates on various successful methods of using calcium in gene delivery.

Keywords::

• calcium phosphate
• co-precipitate
• liposomes
• nanoparticles
• nonviral vectors
• plasmid
• transfection
• viral vectors

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for their constructive comments and would like to extend their thanks to the Indian Council for Medical Research, New Delhi, India, for their financial support for the authors’ existing project.