Liposomal mediated transfection of mature rat astrocytes in vitro: a comparison of ten reagents.

Ten cationic liposomes were tested for their ability to transfect mature, astrocyte monolayers in vitro using the eucaryotic expression vector plasmid p cytomegalovirus (CMV)-beta. Liposomal agents were examined for optimum length of exposure and optimum cDNA/lipid ratios. Lipofectin demonstrated the highest transfection efficiencies of all agents tested (3.3%). When examined at 3 days following transfection, 24-h exposures yielded higher efficiencies compared to 6 h exposures (1.9%, P=0.07). Although expression appeared to decline by up to 80%, positive cells were still detected up to 2 weeks after transfection with all reagents. Lipofectin represents a useful tool for transfecting mature astrocytes for investigation of gene transfer in vitro.