Kumar-Singh and colleagues used an in vivo model to compare the effectiveness of PEG-POD with two other carriers (PEG-TAT and PEG-CK30) and a control (injections of DNA alone).

"Gene expression in specimens injected with PEG-POD was 215 times greater than the control. While all three carriers delivered DNA to the retinal cells, PEG-POD was by far the most effective," said first author Sarah Parker Read, an MD/PhD candidate at TUSM and Sackler and member of Kumar-Singh's lab.

Age-related macular degeneration, which results in a loss of sharp, central vision, is the number one cause of vision loss in Americans age 60 and older. Retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited condition resulting in retinal damage, affects approximately 1 in 4,000 individuals in the United States.

This study was supported by grants from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, the Foundation for Fighting Blindness, The Ellison Foundation, The Virginia B. Smith Trust, the Lions Eye Foundation, and Research to Prevent Blindness. Sarah Parker Read is part of the Sackler/TUSM Medical Scientist Training Program, which is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Tufts University, Health Sciences