Shedding Light on Challenges for DNA Vaccines and Other Therapies: Visualizing the Mechanism of Foreign DNA Uptake into the Nucleus in Living Cells

Successfully visualized plasmid DNA and gene expression from this DNA in living cells

Demonstrated that gene expression from plasmid DNA introduced with transfection reagents occurs only after cell division

Elucidated that plasmid DNA enters the nucleus during the formation of the nuclear envelope at the end of cell division

Demonstrated that plasmid DNA in the cytoplasm cannot enter the nucleus in the presence of the nuclear envelope

Expected to contribute to the development of effective applications for DNA therapeutics, including DNA vaccines