Sustained transgene expression in rat kidney with naked plasmid DNA and PCR-amplified DNA fragments.

Recently, we developed a kidney-targeted gene transfer technique, in which naked DNA was injected into the renal vein while the renal vein and artery were clamped. Kidney-targeted DNA transfer with only the renal vein clamped is an important modification that may permit less invasive catheter-based gene transfer in future clinical applications. The preparation of PCR-amplified DNA fragments is less time-consuming than that of naked plasmid DNA.