Delivery of siRNA by gold nanoparticles layer by layer for prevention and control of subgroup J avian leukemia virus (ALV-J)

Abstract Avian leukemia virus (ALV) is a retrovirus that infects a variety of poultry, and is a vertical transmission of poultry-borne disease. The harm of ALV gradually magnifies with the increase of generations. siRNA with high efficiency, high safety, silence specificity, and unlimited targets have aroused increasing attention from the medical profession, However, there is no suitable vehicle to assist ALV-targeted siRNA for cell internalization. In this paper, ALV-targeted siRNA was first loaded by 13 nm Au NPs layer by layer to synthesize Au@PRP NPs with good stability (78 nm, ζ= +38), which provided an opportunity for the safe diffusion of Au@PRP NPs into cells and specific binding with ALV. Au @PRP NPs could effectively deliver siRNA to DF-1 cells (92.1%) and contain 20 pmol Cy3-siRNA/per million. The strong polyelectrolyte on the surface of Au@PRP NPs can effectively capture cells and co-infect with ALV as high as 88-100%. Moreover, Au@PRP NPs can locate C/E chicken embryo fibroblasts (DF-1 cells) with ALV, and have a significant inhibitory effect on the release of virus particles. Au@PRP NPs will bring new opportunity to research how the multifunctional load design and tracking path of gold nanoparticles influence the uptake/inhibition mechanisms of ALV and the other poultry diseases and guide different target genes to exert their effects.