Abstract
Non-viral gene delivery systems have received sustained attention as a promising alternative to viral vectors for disease treatment and prevention in recent years. Numerous methods have been developed to enhance gene uptake and delivery in the cytoplasm; however, due to technical difficulties and delivery efficiency, these systems still face challenges in a range of biological applications, especially in vivo. To alleviate this challenge, we devised a novel system for gene delivery based on a recombinant protein eTAT-ZF9-NLS, which consisted of a multifunctional chimeric peptide and a zinc-finger protein with sequence-specific DNA-binding activity. High transfection efficiency was observed in several mammalian cells after intracellular delivery of plasmid containing ZF9-binding sites mediated by eTAT-ZF9-NLS. Our new approach provides a novel transfection strategy and the transfection efficiency was confirmed both in vitro and in vivo, making it a preferential transfection reagent for possible gene therapy.