1
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Hoogenboezem EN, Patel SS, Lo JH, Cavnar AB, Babb LM, Francini N, Gbur EF, Patil P, Colazo JM, Michell DL, Sanchez VM, McCune JT, Ma J, DeJulius CR, Lee LH, Rosch JC, Allen RM, Stokes LD, Hill JL, Vickers KC, Cook RS, Duvall CL. Structural optimization of siRNA conjugates for albumin binding achieves effective MCL1-directed cancer therapy. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1581. [PMID: 38383524 PMCID: PMC10881965 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45609-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The high potential of siRNAs to silence oncogenic drivers remains largely untapped due to the challenges of tumor cell delivery. Here, divalent lipid-conjugated siRNAs are optimized for in situ binding to albumin to improve pharmacokinetics and tumor delivery. Systematic variation of the siRNA conjugate structure reveals that the location of the linker branching site dictates tendency toward albumin association versus self-assembly, while the lipid hydrophobicity and reversibility of albumin binding also contribute to siRNA intracellular delivery. The lead structure increases tumor siRNA accumulation 12-fold in orthotopic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors over the parent siRNA. This structure achieves approximately 80% silencing of the anti-apoptotic oncogene MCL1 and yields better survival outcomes in three TNBC models than an MCL-1 small molecule inhibitor. These studies provide new structure-function insights on siRNA-lipid conjugate structures that are intravenously injected, associate in situ with serum albumin, and improve pharmacokinetics and tumor treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella N Hoogenboezem
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Shrusti S Patel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Justin H Lo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ashley B Cavnar
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Lauren M Babb
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Nora Francini
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Eva F Gbur
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Prarthana Patil
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Juan M Colazo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Danielle L Michell
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Violeta M Sanchez
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Joshua T McCune
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jinqi Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Carlisle R DeJulius
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Linus H Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jonah C Rosch
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ryan M Allen
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Larry D Stokes
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jordan L Hill
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kasey C Vickers
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Rebecca S Cook
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Craig L Duvall
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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2
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Colazo JM, Hoogenboezem EN, Keech MC, Francini N, Shah V, Yu F, Lo JH, Sorets AG, McCune JT, Cho H, DeJulius CR, Michell DL, Maerz T, Vickers KC, Gibson-Corley KN, Hasty KA, Crofford L, Cook RS, Duvall CL. Albumin-binding RNAi Conjugate for Carrier Free Treatment of Arthritis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.31.542971. [PMID: 37333210 PMCID: PMC10274717 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.31.542971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are joint diseases that are associated with pain and lost quality of life. No disease modifying OA drugs are currently available. RA treatments are better established but are not always effective and can cause immune suppression. Here, an MMP13-selective siRNA conjugate was developed that, when delivered intravenously, docks onto endogenous albumin and promotes preferential accumulation in articular cartilage and synovia of OA and RA joints. MMP13 expression was diminished upon intravenous delivery of MMP13 siRNA conjugates, consequently decreasing multiple histological and molecular markers of disease severity, while also reducing clinical manifestations such as swelling (RA) and joint pressure sensitivity (RA and OA). Importantly, MMP13 silencing provided more comprehensive OA treatment efficacy than standard of care (steroids) or experimental MMP inhibitors. These data demonstrate the utility of albumin 'hitchhiking' for drug delivery to arthritic joints, and establish the therapeutic utility of systemically delivered anti-MMP13 siRNA conjugates in OA and RA. Editorial summary Lipophilic siRNA conjugates optimized for albumin binding and "hitchhiking" can be leveraged to achieve preferential delivery to and gene silencing activity within arthritic joints. Chemical stabilization of the lipophilic siRNA enables intravenous siRNA delivery without lipid or polymer encapsulation. Using siRNA sequences targeting MMP13, a key driver of arthritis-related inflammation, albumin hitchhiking siRNA diminished MMP13, inflammation, and manifestations of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis at molecular, histological, and clinical levels, consistently outperforming clinical standards of care and small molecule MMP antagonists.
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3
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Kusznir EA, Hau JC, Portmann M, Reinhart AG, Falivene F, Bastien J, Worm J, Ross A, Lauer M, Ringler P, Sladojevich F, Huber S, Bleicher K, Keller M. Propensities of Fatty Acid-Modified ASOs: Self-Assembly vs Albumin Binding. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:866-879. [PMID: 37145959 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
We conducted a biophysical study to investigate the self-assembling and albumin-binding propensities of a series of fatty acid-modified locked nucleic acid (LNA) antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) gapmers specific to the MALAT1 gene. To this end, a series of biophysical techniques were applied using label-free ASOs that were covalently modified with saturated fatty acids (FAs) of varying length, branching, and 5'/3' attachment. Using analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), we demonstrate that ASOs conjugated with fatty acids longer than C16 exhibit an increasing tendency to form self-assembled vesicular structures. The C16 to C24 conjugates interacted via the fatty acid chains with mouse and human serum albumin (MSA/HSA) to form stable adducts with near-linear correlation between FA-ASO hydrophobicity and binding strength to mouse albumin. This was not observed for the longer fatty acid chain ASO conjugates (>C24) under the experimental conditions applied. The longer FA-ASO however adopted self-assembled structures with increasing intrinsic stabilities proportional to the fatty acid chain length. For instance, FA chain lengths smaller than C24 readily formed self-assembled structures containing 2 (C16), 6 (C22, bis-C12), and 12 (C24) monomers, as measured by analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). Incubation with albumin disrupted these supramolecular architectures to form FA-ASO/albumin complexes mostly with 2:1 stoichiometry and binding affinities in the low micromolar range, as determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). Binding of FA-ASOs underwent a biphasic pattern for medium-length FA chain lengths (>C16) with an initial endothermic phase of particulate disruption, followed by an exothermic binding event to the albumin. Conversely, ASO modified with di-palmitic acid (C32) formed a strong, hexameric complex. This structure was not disrupted when incubated with albumin under conditions above the critical nanoparticle concentration (CNC; <0.4 μM). It is noteworthy that the interaction of parent, fatty acid-free malat1 ASO to albumin was below detectability by ITC (KD ≫150 μM). This work demonstrates that the nature of mono- vs multimeric structures of hydrophobically modified ASOs is governed by the hydrophobic effect. Consequently, supramolecular assembly to form particulate structures is a direct consequence of the fatty acid chain length. This provides opportunities to exploit the concept of hydrophobic modification to influence pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution for ASOs in two ways: (1) binding of the FA-ASO to albumin as a carrier vehicle and (2) self-assembly resulting in albumin-inert, supramolecular architectures. Both concepts create opportunities to influence biodistribution, receptor interaction, uptake mechanism, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) properties in vivo, potentially enabling access to extrahepatic tissues in sufficient concentration to treat disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric-André Kusznir
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, Lead Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Christophe Hau
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, Lead Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Michaela Portmann
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anne-Gaëlle Reinhart
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Fabio Falivene
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jessica Bastien
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, RMR, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jesper Worm
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, RMR, Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Fremtidsvej 3, 2970 Hoersholm, Denmark
| | - Alfred Ross
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Lauer
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, Lead Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Philippe Ringler
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Spitalstrasse 41, CH - 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Filippo Sladojevich
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sylwia Huber
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, Lead Discovery, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Konrad Bleicher
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, RMR, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Michael Keller
- Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Therapeutic Modalities, pCMC, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Grenzacherstrasse 124, 4070 Basel, Switzerland
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4
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Harms M, Hansson RF, Carmali S, Almeida-Hernández Y, Sanchez-Garcia E, Münch J, Zelikin AN. Dimerization of the Peptide CXCR4-Antagonist on Macromolecular and Supramolecular Protraction Arms Affords Increased Potency and Enhanced Plasma Stability. Bioconjug Chem 2022; 33:594-607. [PMID: 35293739 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Peptides are prime drug candidates due to their high specificity of action but are disadvantaged by low proteolytic stability. Here, we focus on the development of stabilized analogues of EPI-X4, an endogenous peptide antagonist of CXCR4. We synthesized macromolecular peptide conjugates and performed side-by-side comparison with their albumin-binding counterparts and considered monovalent conjugates, divalent telechelic conjugates, and Y-shaped peptide dimers. All constructs were tested for competition with the CXCR4 antibody-receptor engagement, inhibition of receptor activation, and inhibition of the CXCR4-tropic human immunodeficiency virus infection. We found that the Y-shaped conjugates were more potent than the parent peptide and at the same time more stable in human plasma, with a favorable outlook for translational studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirja Harms
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Rikke Fabech Hansson
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Sheiliza Carmali
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Yasser Almeida-Hernández
- Computational Biochemistry, Center of Medical Biotechnology, University Duisburg-Essen, D-45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Elsa Sanchez-Garcia
- Computational Biochemistry, Center of Medical Biotechnology, University Duisburg-Essen, D-45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Jan Münch
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Alexander N Zelikin
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
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5
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Kim S, Fan J, Lee CS, Chen C, Lee M. Sulfonate Hydrogel-siRNA Conjugate Facilitates Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Controlled Gene Silencing and Activation of BMP Signaling. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2021; 4:5189-5200. [PMID: 34661086 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.1c00369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Hydrogels have been widely used in bone tissue engineering due to their tunable characteristics that allow facile modifications with various biochemical properties to support cell growth and guide proper cell functions. Herein, we report a design of hydrogel-siRNA conjugate that facilitates osteogenesis via gene silencing and activation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. A sulfonate hydrogel is prepared by modifying chitosan with sulfoacetic acid to mimic a natural sulfated polysaccharide and to provide a hydrogel surface that enables BMP binding. Then, siRNA targeting noggin, an endogenous extracellular antagonist of BMP signaling, is covalently conjugated to the sulfonate hydrogel by visible blue light crosslinking. The sulfonate hydrogel-siRNA conjugate is efficient to bind BMPs and also successfully prolongs the release of siRNA for sustained noggin suppression, thereby resulting in significantly increased osteogenic differentiation. Lastly, demineralized bone matrix (DBM) is incorporated into the sulfonate hydrogel-siRNA conjugate, wherein the DBM incorporation induces noggin expression via a negative feedback mechanism that regulates BMP signaling in DBM. However, simultaneous delivery of siRNA downregulates noggin thus facilitating endogenous BMP activity and enhancing the osteogenic efficacy of DBM. These findings support a promising hydrogel RNA silencing platform for bone tissue engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyon Kim
- Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Jiabing Fan
- Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Chung-Sung Lee
- Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Chen Chen
- Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Min Lee
- Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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6
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Hang Y, Tang S, Tang W, Větvička D, Zhang C, Xie Y, Yu F, Yu A, Sil D, Li J, Singh RK, Oupický D. Polycation fluorination improves intraperitoneal siRNA delivery in metastatic pancreatic cancer. J Control Release 2021; 333:139-150. [PMID: 33774121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a growing medical problem associated with extensive metastasis and high mortality. Intraperitoneal (IP) administration of therapeutics promises to help the treatment of cancers originated from organs in the peritoneal cavity. In this study, we evaluated how physicochemical properties of self-assembled polycation/siRNA nanoparticles affect their IP delivery efficacy in an orthotopic PDAC model. We have examined the effect of covalent polycation modification with lipophobic and hydrophobic tetrafluoro-p-toluic acid (TFTA), hydrophobic cholesterol, and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) respectively. The surface charge of the three different nanoparticles was also modulated by coating the surface with serum albumin. We found that positively charged fluorine-containing particles with lipophobic properties based on a mixture of positively charged polymeric AMD3100 CXCR4 antagonist (PAMD) and PAMD modified with TFTA (mPAMD-TFTA)/siRNA displayed the best cell uptake and transfection efficacy in vitro. Biodistribution evaluation of the nanoparticles in a syngeneic orthotopic PDAC model revealed that the fluorine-containing formulation also achieved the highest PDAC tumor accumulation after IP administration. With a combination of CXCR4 inhibition by PAMD and PLK1 downregulation by siRNA, the treatment with mPAMD-TFTA/siPLK1 showed significant inhibition of both primary and metastatic PDAC tumors. Overall, our study provides insights into and guides the design of the nanoparticles for improved IP delivery of siRNA in PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Hang
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Siyuan Tang
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Weimin Tang
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - David Větvička
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA; Institute of Biophysics and Informatics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Chuhan Zhang
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Ying Xie
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Fei Yu
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Ao Yu
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Diptesh Sil
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Jing Li
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - Rakesh K Singh
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
| | - David Oupický
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
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7
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Albumin-Binding Fatty Acid-Modified Gapmer Antisense Oligonucleotides for Modulation of Pharmacokinetics. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2176:163-174. [PMID: 32865790 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0771-8_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged circulation and modulation of the pharmacokinetic profile are important to improve the clinical potential of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Gapmer ASOs demonstrate excellent nuclease stability and robust gene silencing activity without the requirement of transfection agents. A major challenge for in vivo applications, however, is the short blood circulatory half-life. This work describes utilization of the long circulation of serum albumin to increase the blood residence time of gapmer ASOs. The method introduces fatty acid modifications into the gapmer ASOs design to exploit the binding and transport property of serum albumin for endogenous ligands. The level of albumin-gapmer ASOs interaction, blood circulatory half-life and biodistribution was dependent on number, position, and fatty acid type (palmitic or myristic acid) within the gapmer ASO sequence and either phosphorothioate or phosphodiester backbone modifications. This work offers a strategy to optimize gapmer ASO pharmacokinetics by a proposed endogenous assembly process with serum albumin that can be tuned by gapmer ASO design modifications.
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8
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Pilati D, Howard KA. Albumin-based drug designs for pharmacokinetic modulation. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol 2020; 16:783-795. [DOI: 10.1080/17425255.2020.1801633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Diego Pilati
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C Denmark
| | - Kenneth A. Howard
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C Denmark
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9
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Abdallah M, Müllertz OO, Styles IK, Mörsdorf A, Quinn JF, Whittaker MR, Trevaskis NL. Lymphatic targeting by albumin-hitchhiking: Applications and optimisation. J Control Release 2020; 327:117-128. [PMID: 32771478 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.07.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The lymphatic system plays an integral role in the development and progression of a range of disease conditions, which has impelled medical researchers and clinicians to design, develop and utilize advanced lymphatic drug delivery systems. Following interstitial administration, most therapeutics and molecules are cleared from tissues via the draining blood capillaries. Macromolecules and delivery systems >20 kDa in size or 10-100 nm in diameter are, however, transported from the interstitium via draining lymphatic vessels as they are too large to cross the blood capillary endothelium. Lymphatic uptake of small molecules can be promoted by two general approaches: administration in association with synthetic macromolecular constructs, or through hitchhiking on endogenous cells or macromolecular carriers that are transported from tissues via the lymphatics. In this paper we review the latter approach where molecules are targeted to lymph by hitchhiking on endogenous albumin transport pathways after subcutaneous, intramuscular or intradermal injection. We describe the properties of the lymphatic system and albumin that are relevant to lymphatic targeting, the characteristics of drugs and delivery systems designed to hitchhike on albumin trafficking pathways and how to further optimise these properties, and finally the current applications and potential future directions for albumin-hitchhiking approaches to target the lymphatics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Abdallah
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Olivia O Müllertz
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia; Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ian K Styles
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia
| | - Alexander Mörsdorf
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - John F Quinn
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Michael R Whittaker
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Natalie L Trevaskis
- Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia.
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10
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Chemical modulation of siRNA lipophilicity for efficient delivery. J Control Release 2019; 307:98-107. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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11
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Krüger F, Kumar V, Monge P, Conzelmann C, Smith N, Gothelf KV, Tolstrup M, Münch J, Zelikin AN. Nucleic Acids as a Nature-Inspired Scaffold for Macromolecular Prodrugs of Nucleoside Analogues. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2019; 6:1802095. [PMID: 30937274 PMCID: PMC6425433 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201802095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Macromolecular prodrugs (MP) built on the natural phosphodiester and deoxyribose backbone are developed using marketed antiviral nucleoside analogues. These MP are synthesized using automated synthesis, have defined molecular composition, and have a natural mechanism for drug release. These unique attributes, coupled to the efficient cell entry and potent antiviral effects, position the prodrugs scaffolded on nucleic acids favorably for translational studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Krüger
- Institute of Molecular VirologyUlm University Medical Center89081UlmGermany
| | - Vipin Kumar
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience CentreAarhus UniversityAarhus C8000Denmark
| | - Pere Monge
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience CentreAarhus UniversityAarhus C8000Denmark
| | - Carina Conzelmann
- Institute of Molecular VirologyUlm University Medical Center89081UlmGermany
| | - Nikaïa Smith
- Institute of Molecular VirologyUlm University Medical Center89081UlmGermany
| | - Kurt V. Gothelf
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience CentreAarhus UniversityAarhus C8000Denmark
| | | | - Jan Münch
- Institute of Molecular VirologyUlm University Medical Center89081UlmGermany
| | - Alexander N. Zelikin
- Department of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience CentreAarhus UniversityAarhus C8000Denmark
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12
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Schelde KK, Nicholls K, Dagnæs-Hansen F, Bunting K, Rawsthorne H, Andersen B, Finnis CJA, Williamson M, Cameron J, Howard KA. A new class of recombinant human albumin with multiple surface thiols exhibits stable conjugation and enhanced FcRn binding and blood circulation. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:3735-3743. [PMID: 30602565 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.005870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Revised: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Human serum albumin is an endogenous ligand transport protein whose long circulatory half-life is facilitated by engagement with the human cellular recycling neonatal Fc receptor (hFcRn). The single free thiol located at Cys-34 in domain I of albumin has been exploited for monoconjugation of drugs. In this work, we increased the drug-to-albumin ratio potential by engineering recombinant human albumin (rHSA) variants with varying hFcRn affinity to contain three free, conjugation-competent cysteines. Structural analysis was used to identify positions for cysteine introduction to maximize rHSA stability and formation of the conjugated product without affecting hFcRn binding. The thiol rHSA variants exhibited up to 95% monomeric stability over 24 months and retained hFcRn engagement compared with a WT unconjugated control demonstrated by Biolayer Interferometry. The additional cysteines were further introduced into a panel of rHSA variants engineered with different affinities for hFcRn. After conjugation with three Alexa Fluor 680 (AF680) fluorophores, hFcRn binding was similar to that of the original triple-thiol nonconjugated rHSA variants (0.88 and 0.25 μm for WT albumin with or without 3xAF680 respectively, and 0.04 and 0.02 μm for a high hFcRn-binding variant with or without 3xAF680, respectively). We also observed a 1.3-fold increase in the blood circulatory half-life of a high hFcRn-binding triple-thiol variant conjugated with AF680 (t ½ = 22.4 h) compared with its WT counterpart (t ½ = 17.3 h) in mice. Potential high drug-to-albumin ratios combined with high hFcRn engagement are attractive features of this new class of albumins that offer a paradigm shift for albumin-based drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Kræmmer Schelde
- From the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and
| | - Karl Nicholls
- Albumedix Ltd., Nottingham NG7 1FD, United Kingdom, and
| | | | - Karen Bunting
- Albumedix Ltd., Nottingham NG7 1FD, United Kingdom, and
| | | | | | | | | | - Jason Cameron
- Albumedix Ltd., Nottingham NG7 1FD, United Kingdom, and
| | - Kenneth A Howard
- From the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and
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13
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Chandela A, Ueno Y. Systemic Delivery of Small Interfering RNA Therapeutics: Obstacles and Advances. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.7831/ras.7.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Akash Chandela
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Gifu University
| | - Yoshihito Ueno
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Gifu University
- Course of Applied Life Science, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University
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14
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Frich CK, Krüger F, Walther R, Domar C, Andersen AHF, Tvilum A, Dagnæs-Hansen F, Denton PW, Tolstrup M, Paludan SR, Münch J, Zelikin AN. Non-covalent hitchhiking on endogenous carriers as a protraction mechanism for antiviral macromolecular prodrugs. J Control Release 2018; 294:298-310. [PMID: 30552954 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Albumin is a highly successful tool of drug delivery providing drastically extended body and blood residence time for the associated cargo, but it only traffics single drug copies at a time. In turn, macromolecular prodrugs (MP) are advantaged in carrying a high drug payload but offering only a modest extension of residence time to the conjugated drugs. In this work, we engineer MP to contain terminal groups that bind to albumin via non-covalent association and reveal that this facile measure affords a significant protraction for the associated polymers. This methodology is applied to MP of acyclovir, a successful drug against herpes simplex virus infection but with poor pharmacokinetics. Resulting albumin-affine MP were efficacious agents against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) both in vitro and in vivo. In the latter case, sub-cutaneous administration of MP resulted in local (vaginal) antiviral effects and a systemic protection. Presented benefits of non-covalent association with albumin are readily transferrable to a wide variety of MP in development for drug delivery as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral measures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Franziska Krüger
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Raoul Walther
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Cecilie Domar
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Anna H F Andersen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Anne Tvilum
- Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Paul W Denton
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Martin Tolstrup
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus N, Denmark
| | - Søren R Paludan
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jan Münch
- Institute of Molecular Virology, Ulm University Medical Center, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
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15
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16
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Cai Y, Makarova AM, Wengel J, Howard KA. Palmitoylated phosphodiester gapmer designs with albumin binding capacity and maintained in vitro gene silencing activity. J Gene Med 2018; 20:e3025. [PMID: 29800498 DOI: 10.1002/jgm.3025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antisense gapmer oligonucleotide drugs require delivery and biodistribution enabling technologies to increase in vivo efficacy. An attractive approach is their binding and consequent transport by the endogenous human serum albumin pool as mediated by fatty acid incorporation into the gapmer design. METHODS The present study investigated the effect of palmitoyl modification and position on albumin-binding, cellular uptake and in vitro gene silencing of gapmers with either a phosphorothioate (PS) or phosphodiester (PO) backbone. RESULTS Two palmitoyls positioned exclusively at the 5' end, or a single palmitoyl at both the 3' and 5' positions, showed similar binding to human serum albumin as demonstrated by a gel-shift assay. Decreased cellular uptake determined by flow cytometry (27% compared to nonpalmitoyl gapmers) was observed for palmitoylated Cy5.5 labelled gapmers. However, HER3 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 3) gene silencing was exhibited by the palmitoylated gapmers with transfection agent in PC-3 and Caco-2 cells (68% and 62%, respectively), which was comparable to nonpalmitoyl gapmers (68% and 82%, respectively). Importantly, PO gapmers with a single palmitoyl positioned at both the 3' and 5' positions showed high silencing efficiencies (68% and 66% in PC-3 and Caco-2 cells, respectively) similar to those of PS nonpalmitoylated gapmers (67% and 66% in PC-3 and Caco-2 cells, respectively) in the absence of a transfection agent. CONCLUSIONS The present study defines phosphodiester gapmer design criteria exhibiting high gene silencing activity and albumin binding that may be utilized with potentially less in vivo toxicity that can be associated with phosphorothioate gapmer designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunpeng Cai
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Jesper Wengel
- Nucleic Acid Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Kenneth A Howard
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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17
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Hoogenboezem EN, Duvall CL. Harnessing albumin as a carrier for cancer therapies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2018; 130:73-89. [PMID: 30012492 PMCID: PMC6200408 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2018.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 322] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Serum albumin, a natural ligand carrier that is highly concentrated and long-circulating in the blood, has shown remarkable promise as a carrier for anti-cancer agents. Albumin is able to prolong the circulation half-life of otherwise rapidly cleared drugs and, importantly, promote their accumulation within tumors. The applications for using albumin as a cancer drug carrier are broad and include both traditional cancer chemotherapeutics and new classes of biologics. Strategies for leveraging albumin for drug delivery can be classified broadly into exogenous and in situ binding formulations that utilize covalent attachment, non-covalent association, or encapsulation in albumin-based nanoparticles. These methods have shown remarkable preclinical and clinical successes that are examined in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Craig L Duvall
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
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18
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Chen Y, Li J, Oupický D. Conjugate Polyplexes with Anti-Invasive Properties and Improved siRNA Delivery In Vivo. Bioconjug Chem 2018; 29:296-305. [PMID: 29338191 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
This study reports on a simple method to prepare siRNA-polycation conjugate polyplexes by in situ thiol-disulfide exchange reaction. The conjugate polyplexes are prepared using thiol-terminated siRNA and a bioreducible branched polycationic inhibitor of the CXCR4 chemokine receptor (rPAMD). The rPAMD-SS-siRNA conjugate polyplexes exhibit improved colloidal stability and resistance against disassembly with heparin, serum, and physiological salt concentrations when compared with control conventional rPAMD/siRNA polyplexes. Coating the polyplexes with human serum albumin masks the positive surface charge and contributes to the enhanced in vitro gene silencing and improved safety in vivo. The conjugate polyplexes display improved in vivo reporter gene silencing following intravenous injection in tumor-bearing mice. Because the conjugate polyplexes retained the ability of rPAMD to inhibit CXCR4 and restrict cancer cell invasion, the developed systems show promise for future combination anti-metastatic siRNA therapies of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Chen
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - Jing Li
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
| | - David Oupický
- Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, Nebraska 68198, United States
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19
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Godinho BMDC, Gilbert JW, Haraszti RA, Coles AH, Biscans A, Roux L, Nikan M, Echeverria D, Hassler M, Khvorova A. Pharmacokinetic Profiling of Conjugated Therapeutic Oligonucleotides: A High-Throughput Method Based Upon Serial Blood Microsampling Coupled to Peptide Nucleic Acid Hybridization Assay. Nucleic Acid Ther 2017; 27:323-334. [PMID: 29022758 DOI: 10.1089/nat.2017.0690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapeutic oligonucleotides, such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), hold great promise for the treatment of incurable genetically defined disorders by targeting cognate toxic gene products for degradation. To achieve meaningful tissue distribution and efficacy in vivo, siRNAs must be conjugated or formulated. Clear understanding of the pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic behavior of these compounds is necessary to optimize and characterize the performance of therapeutic oligonucleotides in vivo. In this study, we describe a simple and reproducible methodology for the evaluation of in vivo blood/plasma PK profiles and tissue distribution of oligonucleotides. The method is based on serial blood microsampling from the saphenous vein, coupled to peptide nucleic acid hybridization assay for quantification of guide strands. Performed with minimal number of animals, this method allowed unequivocal detection and sensitive quantification without the need for amplification, or further modification of the oligonucleotides. Using this methodology, we compared plasma clearances and tissue distribution profiles of two different hydrophobically modified siRNAs (hsiRNAs). Notably, cholesterol-hsiRNA presented slow plasma clearances and mainly accumulated in the liver, whereas, phosphocholine-docosahexaenoic acid-hsiRNA was rapidly cleared from the plasma and preferably accumulated in the kidney. These data suggest that the PK/biodistribution profiles of modified hsiRNAs are determined by the chemical nature of the conjugate. Importantly, the method described in this study constitutes a simple platform to conduct pilot assessments of the basic clearance and tissue distribution profiles, which can be broadly applied for evaluation of new chemical variants of siRNAs and micro-RNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno M D C Godinho
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - James W Gilbert
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Reka A Haraszti
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Andrew H Coles
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Annabelle Biscans
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Loic Roux
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Mehran Nikan
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Matthew Hassler
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- 1 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,2 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
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20
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Riber CF, Andersen AHF, Rolskov LA, Zuwala K, Gajda P, Løvschall KB, Dagnæs-Hansen F, Banda DH, Pietschmann T, Tolstrup M, Zelikin AN. Synthetic Polymer with a Structure-Driven Hepatic Deposition and Curative Pharmacological Activity in Hepatic Cells. ACS Macro Lett 2017; 6:935-940. [PMID: 35650894 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic polymers make strong contributions as tools for delivery of biological drugs and chemotherapeutics. The most praised characteristic of polymers in these applications is complete lack of pharmacological function such as to minimize the side effects within the human body. In contrast, synthetic polymers with curative pharmacological activity are truly rare. Moreover, such activity is typically nonspecific rather than structure-defined. In this work, we present the discovery of poly(ethylacrylic acid) (PEAA) as a polymer with a suit of structure-defined, unexpected, pharmacological, and pharmacokinetic properties not observed in close structural analogues. Specifically, PEAA reveals capacity to bind to albumin with ensuing natural hepatic deposition in vivo and exhibits concurrent inhibitory activity against the hepatitis C virus and inflammation in hepatic cells. Our findings provide a view on synthetic polymers as curative, functional agents and present PEAA as a unique biomedical tool with applications related to health of the human liver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Frich Riber
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Anna Halling Folkmar Andersen
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
- Department
of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Lærke Anegaard Rolskov
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | - Kaja Zuwala
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
- Department
of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Paulina Gajda
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
- Department
of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Kaja Borup Løvschall
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
| | | | - Dominic H. Banda
- Institute
of Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical
Infection Research, Medical School Hannover/Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Thomas Pietschmann
- Institute
of Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical
Infection Research, Medical School Hannover/Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Martin Tolstrup
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
- Department
of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8200, Denmark
| | - Alexander N. Zelikin
- Department
of Chemistry and iNano Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
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22
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Lipophilic siRNA targets albumin in situ and promotes bioavailability, tumor penetration, and carrier-free gene silencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E6490-E6497. [PMID: 28739942 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1621240114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical translation of therapies based on small interfering RNA (siRNA) is hampered by siRNA's comprehensively poor pharmacokinetic properties, which necessitate molecule modifications and complex delivery strategies. We sought an alternative approach to commonly used nanoparticle carriers by leveraging the long-lived endogenous serum protein albumin as an siRNA carrier. We synthesized siRNA conjugated to a diacyl lipid moiety (siRNA-L2), which rapidly binds albumin in situ. siRNA-L2, in comparison with unmodified siRNA, exhibited a 5.7-fold increase in circulation half-life, an 8.6-fold increase in bioavailability, and reduced renal accumulation. Benchmarked against leading commercial siRNA nanocarrier in vivo jetPEI, siRNA-L2 achieved 19-fold greater tumor accumulation and 46-fold increase in per-tumor-cell uptake in a mouse orthotopic model of human triple-negative breast cancer. siRNA-L2 penetrated tumor tissue rapidly and homogeneously; 30 min after i.v. injection, siRNA-L2 achieved uptake in 99% of tumor cells, compared with 60% for jetPEI. Remarkably, siRNA-L2 achieved a tumor:liver accumulation ratio >40:1 vs. <3:1 for jetPEI. The improved pharmacokinetic properties of siRNA-L2 facilitated significant tumor gene silencing for 7 d after two i.v. doses. Proof-of-concept was extended to a patient-derived xenograft model, in which jetPEI tumor accumulation was reduced fourfold relative to the same formulation in the orthotopic model. The siRNA-L2 tumor accumulation diminished only twofold, suggesting that the superior tumor distribution of the conjugate over nanoparticles will be accentuated in clinical situations. These data reveal the immense promise of in situ albumin targeting for development of translational, carrier-free RNAi-based cancer therapies.
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23
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Hvam ML, Cai Y, Dagnæs-Hansen F, Nielsen JS, Wengel J, Kjems J, Howard KA. Fatty Acid-Modified Gapmer Antisense Oligonucleotide and Serum Albumin Constructs for Pharmacokinetic Modulation. Mol Ther 2017. [PMID: 28641935 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Delivery technologies are required for realizing the clinical potential of molecular medicines. This work presents an alternative technology to preformulated delivery systems by harnessing the natural transport properties of serum albumin using endogenous binding of gapmer antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)/albumin constructs. We show by an electrophoretic mobility assay that fatty acid-modified gapmer and human serum albumin (HSA) can self-assemble into constructs that offer favorable pharmacokinetics. The interaction was dependent on fatty acid type (either palmitic or myristic acid), number, and position within the gapmer ASO sequence, as well as phosphorothioate (PS) backbone modifications. Binding correlated with increased blood circulation in mice (t1/2 increased from 23 to 49 min for phosphodiester [PO] gapmer ASOs and from 28 to 66 min for PS gapmer ASOs with 2× palmitic acid modification). Furthermore, a shift toward a broader biodistribution was detected for PS compared with PO gapmer ASOs. Inclusion of 2× palmitoyl to the ASOs shifted the biodistribution to resemble that of natural albumin. This work, therefore, presents a novel strategy based on the proposed endogenous assembly of gapmer ASOs/albumin constructs for increased circulatory half-life and modulation of the biodistribution of gapmer ASOs that offers tunable pharmacokinetics based on the gapmer modification design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lykke Hvam
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Yunpeng Cai
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Jesper Sejrup Nielsen
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jesper Wengel
- Nucleic Acid Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Jørgen Kjems
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Kenneth A Howard
- The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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Chernikov IV, Gladkikh DV, Meschaninova MI, Ven'yaminova AG, Zenkova MA, Vlassov VV, Chernolovskaya EL. Cholesterol-Containing Nuclease-Resistant siRNA Accumulates in Tumors in a Carrier-free Mode and Silences MDR1 Gene. MOLECULAR THERAPY-NUCLEIC ACIDS 2017; 6:209-220. [PMID: 28325287 PMCID: PMC5363506 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2016.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Revised: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 12/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Chemical modifications are an effective way to improve the therapeutic properties of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), making them more resistant to degradation in serum and ensuring their delivery to target cells and tissues. Here, we studied the carrier-free biodistribution and biological activity of a nuclease-resistant anti-MDR1 cholesterol-siRNA conjugate in healthy and tumor-bearing severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) mice. The attachment of cholesterol to siRNA provided its efficient accumulation in the liver and in tumors, and reduced its retention in the kidneys after intravenous and intraperitoneal injection. The major part of cholesterol-siRNA after intramuscular and subcutaneous injections remained in the injection place. Confocal microscopy data demonstrated that cholesterol-siRNA spread deep in the tissue and was present in the cytoplasm of almost all the liver and tumor cells. The reduction of P-glycoprotein level in human KB-8-5 xenograft overexpressing the MDR1 gene by 60% was observed at days 5–6 after injection. Then, its initial level recovered by the eighth day. The data showed that, regardless of the mode of administration (intravenous, intraperitoneal, or peritumoral), cholesterol-siMDR efficiently reduced the P-glycoprotein level in tumors. The designed anti-MDR1 conjugate has potential as an adjuvant therapeutic for the reversal of multiple drug resistance of cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan V Chernikov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Daniil V Gladkikh
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Mariya I Meschaninova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Alya G Ven'yaminova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Marina A Zenkova
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Valentin V Vlassov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Elena L Chernolovskaya
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
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25
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Tushir-Singh J. Antibody-siRNA conjugates: drugging the undruggable for anti-leukemic therapy. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2016; 17:325-338. [PMID: 27977315 DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2017.1273344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Generating effective RNAi-based therapies with the potential to achieve leukemia remission remains critical unmet need. Despite a growing number of leukemia clinical trials, tissue specific delivery of therapeutic siRNA is a major roadblock in translating its clinical potential. The most recent reports in the antibody-siRNA-conjugates (ARCs) field add new dimensions to leukemic therapy, where a covalently ligated therapeutic antisense-RNA with the potential to repress the oncogenic transcript is selectively delivered into the cancer cells. Despite ARC localization to leukemic cells due to high affinity antigen-antibody interactions, multiple challenges exist to unlock the therapeutic potential of siRNA targeting. Areas covered: This review focuses on antibody and siRNA-based therapies for leukemia as well as potential antibody engineering-based strategies to generate an optimal ARC platform. Expert opinion: In vitro and clinical results have revealed that non-targeted delivery and inefficient cellular internalization of therapeutic siRNA are major contributing factors for the lack of efficacy in leukemia patients. Rational antibody design and selective protein engineering with the potential to neutralize siRNA charge, stabilize ARC complex, restrict off-targeted delivery, optimize endosomal escape, and extend serum half-life will generate clinically relevant leukemic therapies that are safe, selective, and effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jogender Tushir-Singh
- a Laboratory of Novel Biologics, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics , University of Virginia Cancer Center, University of Virginia School of Medicine , Charlottesville , VA , USA
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