PEGylated Polyethylenimine Derivative-Mediated Local Delivery of the shSmad3 Inhibits Intimal Thickening after Vascular Injury

Abstract EN

Intimal hyperplasia is a complex process which contributes to several clinical problems such as atherosclerosis and postangioplasty restenosis.

Inhibition of Smad3 expression inhibits intimal thickening.

Our previous study has modified biscarbamate cross-linked polyethylenimine derivative (PEI-Et) through PEGylation thus obtained polyethylene glycol-graft-polyethylenimine derivative (PEG-Et 1:1), which has lower cytotoxicity and higher gene transfection efficiency compared with PEI-Et.

In this study, PEG-Et 1:1 was employed in Smad3 shRNA (shSmad3) delivery for preventing intimal hyperplasia after vascular injury.

It was observed that PEG-Et 1:1 could condense shSmad3 gene into nanoparticles with particle size of 115–168 nm and zeta potential of 3–6 mV.

PEG-Et 1:1 displayed remarkably lower cytotoxicity, higher transfection efficiency, and shRNA silencing efficiency than PEI-Et and PEI 25 kDa in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).

Moreover, PEG-Et 1:1/shSmad3 polyplex treatment significantly inhibited collagen, matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1), MMP2 and MMP9 expression, and upregulated tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1) expression both in vitro and in vivo.

Furthermore, intravascular delivery of shSmad3 with PEG-Et 1:1 polyplex efficiently reduced Smad3 expression and inhibited intimal thickening 14 days after vascular injury.

Ultimately, this study indicated that PEG-Et 1:1-mediated local delivery of shSmad3 is a promising strategy for preventing intimal thickening.