Sonochemical Induction of ABCA1 Expression and Compositions Therefor

A method of transfecting a tissue in vivo to express an active form of ABCA1 in cells of the tissue, the method comprising the steps of (a) intravenously co-administering to a subject a plasmid vector encoding the active form of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), and sonochemically-active microspheres;

• wherein the vector comprises an expressible open reading frame encoding the active form of ABCA1 and at least one sequence adapted to promote expression of the open reading frame in a mammalian cell;
• and wherein the sonochemically-active microspheres comprise gas bubbles encapsulated within shells comprising a protein, a lipid, or a combination thereof, the microspheres being disruptable upon exposure to ultrasonic acoustic energy to release the encapsulated gas bubbles;
• (b) ultrasonically imaging the tissue of the subject to be transfected while the plasmid and microspheres of the composition are circulating through the vasculature of the tissue and thereby detecting the presence of the microspheres in the vasculature of the tissue;
• and
• (c) while the microspheres are present in the tissue, applying pulses of ultrasonic energy to the tissue at an acoustical energy level higher that that required for imaging and at a sufficient energy level to disrupt the microspheres and release the gas bubbles therefrom, the pulses of ultrasonic energy and release of gas bubbles thereby temporarily increasing the porosity of cells in the tissue to facilitate entry of the plasmid into the cells.