Sugar-mediated uptake of glycosylated polylysines and gene transfer into normal and cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells.

We have examined the membrane lectin expressed by immortalized normal and cystic fibrosis (CF) airway epithelial cells, using fluorescein-labeled neoglycoproteins; the uptake of plasmid DNA using fluoresceinylated glycoplexes (plasmid/glycosylated polylysine complexes); and the efficiency of gene transfer when glycosylated polylysines and glycosylated, partially gluconoylated polylysines were used as vectors. The most efficient uptake of neoglycoproteins by normal and CF cells was obtained with mannosylated BSA (bovine serum albumin). Similarly, the most efficient uptake of plasmid DNA was obtained with glycoplexes bearing alpha-D-Man residues. Surprisingly, glycoplexes bearing alpha-D-Man residues were poorly efficient for gene transfer into normal and CF cells. The highest luciferase activity was achieved with lactosylated polylysine- and beta-D-GlcNAc-substituted gluconoylated polylysine as vectors. Gene transfer efficiency obtained with gluconoylated polylysine bearing beta-D-GlcNAc residues was similar to that observed with polyethylenimine (PEI; 25 and 800 kDa) and 10-fold higher than that observed with lipofectin and LipofectAMINE. These results suggest that the transfection efficiency with glycoplexes is not determined only by the specificity of the lectin expressed at the cell surface membrane but also by intracellular trafficking of the glycoplexes, which could be mediated by lectins present inside the cells.