Non-viral vaccination through cationic guanidium polymer-pDNA polyplex mediated gene transfer

Abstract

Vaccination through cellular transfection of nucleotide-based vaccines is a powerful approach to combatting disease. Plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines are particularly promising vectors for non-viral immunomodulation that afford high degrees of potency and flexibility. Versatile guanidinium-functionalized poly(oxanorbornene)imide (PONI-Guan) homopolymers were used to facilitate non-disruptive pDNA condensation into discrete polyplexes, enabling efficient in vitro transfection of endothelial cells and HD-11 macrophages. Translation of these vectors for vaccination of white leghorn chickens against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) elicited strong humoral immune responses against the virus. This approach presents a highly versatile method for targeted immunomodulation in vivo, with the potential for translatability as a non-viral vaccine platform.