ABSTRACT
Cationic liposomes, liposomes bearing a net positive charge, have been shown to avidly complex to DNA, and to efficiently deliver cloned genes both in vitro and in vivo. The efficiency and versatility of liposome-mediated DNA delivery, as well as the wide range of cationic DNA carrier molecules which have been synthesized and tested for gene delivery, have generated substantial interest in this approach to gene transfer. The preformed cationic liposomes have been shown to efficiently complex with DNA. These DNA-cationic liposome complexes have been shown to transfer and express cloned genes in a wide variety of cultured cells, including both transformed cell lines and primary cultures of human cells. The use of cationic liposomes as a DNA-carrier system for transfecting cultured cells offers several potential advantages over other cellular transfection systems. Cationic liposomes have also been used to directly transfer and express a variety of cloned genes in individual tissues following administration to animals.
