A method for delivering a naked or isolated polynucleotide to the interior
of a cell in a vertebrate, comprising the interstitial introduction of a
naked polynucleotide into a tissue of the vertebrate where the
polynucleotide is taken up by the cells of the tissue and exerts a
therapeutic effect on the vertebrate. The method can be used to deliver a
therapeutic polypeptide to the cells of the vertebrate, to provide an
immune response upon in vivo translation of the polynucleotide, to
deliver antisense polynucleotides, to deliver receptors to the cells of
the vertebrate, or to provide transitory gene therapy.