Selective gene silencing in activated leukocytes by targeting siRNAs to the integrin lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1

Silencing gene expression by RNAi is a powerful method for exploring gene function and validating drug targets and potentially for therapy. Lymphocytes and other primary blood cells are resistant to lipid-based transfection in vitro and are difficult to target in vivo. We show here that antibody-protamine fusion proteins targeting the human integrin lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) efficiently deliver siRNAs and specifically induce silencing in primary lymphocytes, monocytes, and dendritic cells. Moreover, a fusion protein constructed from an antibody that preferentially recognizes activation-dependent conformational changes in LFA-1 selectively targets activated leukocytes and can be used to suppress gene expression and cell proliferation only in activated lymphocytes. The siRNA-fusion protein complexes do not cause lymphocyte activation or induce IFN responses. K562 cells expressing latent WT or constitutively activated LFA-1 engrafted in the lungs of SCID mice are selectively targeted by intravenously injected fusion protein-siRNA complexes, demonstrating the potential in vivo applicability of LFA-1-directed siRNA delivery.