Specific Silencing of Microglial Gene Expression in the Rat Brain by Nanoparticle-Based Small Interfering RNA Delivery.

ABSTRACT: Microglia are the major innate immune cells in the brain and are essential for maintaining homeostasis in a neuronal microenvironment. Currently, a genetic tool to modify microglial gene expression in specific brain regions is not available. In this report, we introduce a tailor-designed method that uses lipid and polymer hybridized nanoparticles (LPNPs) for the local delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), allowing the silencing of specific microglial genes in the hypothalamus. Our physical characterization proved that this LPNP-siRNA was uniform and stable. We demonstrated that, due to their natural phagocytic behavior, microglial cells are the dominant cell type taking up these LPNPs in the hypothalamus of rats. We then tested the silencing efficiency of LPNPs carrying a cluster of

SUBMITTER: Guo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8815040 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature