Bacterial ghosts as drug carrier and targeting vehicles.

A novel system for the packaging of drugs as well as vaccines is presented. Bacterial ghosts are intact, non-denatured bacterial envelopes that are created by lysis of bacteria through the expression of cloned phage PhiX174 gene E. Inhibition of induced E-mediated lysis by MgSO(4), harvesting of cells by centrifugation, and resuspension in low-ionic-strength buffers leads to rapid, violent lysis and results in empty bacterial envelopes with large (approximately 1 microm in diameter) openings. The construction of plasmid pAV1, which encodes a streptavidin fusion protein with an N-terminal membrane anchor sequence, allows the loading of the inner side of the cytoplasmic membrane with streptavidin. The functionality and efficacy of binding of even large biotinylated compounds in such streptavidin ghosts (SA-ghosts) was assessed using the enzyme alkaline phosphatase. The successful binding of biotinylated fluorescent dextran, as well as fluorescent DNA complexed with biotinylated polylysine, was demonstrated microscopically. The display by bacterial ghosts of morphological and antigenic surface structures of their living counterparts permits their attachment to target tissues such as the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract, and their uptake by phagocytes and M cells. In consequence, SA-ghosts are proposed as drug carriers for site-specific drug delivery.