Short electric pulses show promise for enhancing gene therapy

The researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison exposed liver cells to short electric pulses that caused the liver cells to take in over 40 times the amount of gene therapy material compared to cells that were not exposed to pulsed electric fields. The method could help reduce the dosage needed for these treatments, making them much safer and more affordable. The research is detailed in PLOS ONE. 

Gene therapy replaces, alters or introduces new genetic material into a patient’s cells to cure or compensate for genetic diseases - including cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell disease, haemophilia and diabetes – but getting the right dose of genetic material into the target cells is a bottleneck in the process.

The UW–Madison research suggests that applying a moderate electric field, which left no lasting damage to the cells that received it, could help create more effective therapies. 

The project began almost a decade ago with the late Hans Sollinger, who developed a gene therapy treatment for Type 1 diabetes.