Acta Pharmacologica Sinica 2008 November; 29 (11): 1342-1349; doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7254.2008.00888.x

Aim: To study the expression of human insulin gene wrapped with chitosan nanoparticles in NIH3T3 cells and diabetic rats.

Methods: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is associated with tumor metastasis and prostate cancer. We evaluated the mechanism and effect of 17-(allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17AAG), a novel inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), on the IL-6 gene expression in human prostatic carcinoma (PC-3) cells.

Results: Approximately 10% of NIH3T3 cells transfected by chitosan_pCMV.Ins expressed human insulin. Human insulin in the culture medium of NIH3T3 cells transfected by chitosan_pCMV.Ins significantly increased compared with that of the control group (P<0.01). Fasting blood glucose levels of the lavage group and the coloclysis group decreased significantly in 5 d (P<0.01) in comparison, while plasma insulin levels were much higher (P<0.01). The human insulin gene mRNA and human insulin were only detected in the lavage and the coloclysis groups.

Conclusion: The human insulin gene can be transfected and expressed successfully by chitosan_pCMV.Ins in NIH3T3 cells and diabetes rats, which indicates that chitosan is a promising, non-viral vector for gene expression.

Keywords: human insulin gene; gene expression; diabetes mellitus; chitosan nanoparticle