Targeted Delivery of Expression Plasmids to the Lung via Macroaggregated Polyethylenimine-Albumin Conjugates

Gene therapy for lung cancer has great potential to treat and possibly cure one of the most deadly diseases in man. Various methods are being developed to treat lung cancer by the delivery and expression of a specific gene or genes) to the lung. These methods are intended to exploit the antineoplastic properties of the gene product, to elicit specific immune responses against cancer cells via the gene product, or to enhance immune responses elicited by the tumor itself. The advantages and disadvantages of a number of delivery methods are discussed in other chapters of this text. In this chapter, we will describe the preparation and use of macroaggregates of albumin-polyethylenimine conjugates (MAA-PEI) as a novel nonviral method of delivery of gene-expression vectors to lung tissue, and will illustrate this method as a means of immunization as well as gene delivery.