Korean J Anat.  2009 Dec;42(4):285-292.

Gene Knockdown in the Olfactory Bulb, Amygdala, and Hypothalamus by Intranasal siRNA Administration

• Kim ID
• Kim SW
• Lee JK

Abstract

Intranasal administration provides a method of bypassing the blood brain barrier, which separates the systemic circulating system and central interstitial fluid, and directly delivering drugs to the central nervous system. This method also circumvents first-pass elimination by the liver and gastrointestinal tract. In the present study, the authors investigated intranasal siRNA delivery efficiency by using FITC-labeled transfection control siRNA and a genespecific siRNA. The localization of fluorescence-tagged siRNA revealed that siRNA was delivered to cells in the olfactory bulb and that the level of the siRNA target gene (alpha B-crystallin) was significantly reduced in the same area. siRNA was delivered to processes as well as nuclei and cytoplasm. At 12 hrs after intranasal delivery, siRNA-mediated target gene reduction was observed in other more distally located brain regions, for example, in the amygdala, entorhinal cortex, and hypothalamus. Target gene knockdown was demonstrated by double immunohistochemistry, which demonstrated alpha B crystallin expression depletion in more than 70% of cells at 12 hrs after the intranasal delivery. siRNA-mediated target gene suppression was detected not only in neurons but in glia, for example, astrocytes. These results indicate that intranasal siRNA delivery offers an efficient means of reducing specific target genes in certain regions of the brain and of performing gene knockdown-mediated therapy.

Keyword

siRNA; Intranasal delivery; Olfactory bulb; alphaB-crystallin; Gene knockdown

MeSH Terms

Administration, Intranasal
alpha-Crystallin B Chain
Amygdala
Astrocytes
Blood-Brain Barrier
Brain
Central Nervous System
Cytoplasm
Entorhinal Cortex
Extracellular Fluid
Gastrointestinal Tract
Gene Knockdown Techniques
Hypothalamus
Immunohistochemistry
Liver
Neuroglia
Neurons
Olfactory Bulb
RNA, Small Interfering
Transfection
RNA, Small Interfering
alpha-Crystallin B Chain