Phase I Study to Assess Safety of Laser-Assisted Topical Administration of an Anti-TNF Biologic in Patients With Chronic Plaque-Type Psoriasis

Lipid Nanoparticle-Mediated Hit-and-Run Approaches Yield Efficient and Safe In Situ Gene Editing in Human Skin

Despite exciting advances in gene editing, the efficient delivery of genetic tools to extrahepatic tissues remains challenging. This holds particularly true for the skin, which poses a highly restrictive delivery barrier. In this study, we ran a head-to-head comparison between Cas9 mRNA or ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver gene editing tools into epidermal layers of human skin, aiming for in situ gene editing. We observed distinct LNP composition and cell-specific effects such as an extended presence of RNP in slow-cycling epithelial cells for up to 72 h. While obtaining similar gene editing rates using Cas9 RNP and mRNA with MC3-based LNPs (10-16%), mRNA-loaded LNPs proved to be more cytotoxic. Interestingly, ionizable lipids with a pKa ∼ 7.1 yielded superior gene editing rates (55%-72%) in two-dimensional (2D) epithelial cells while no single guide RNA-dependent off-target effects were detectable. Unexpectedly, these high 2D editing efficacies did not translate to actual skin tissue where overall gene editing rates between 5%-12% were achieved after a single application and irrespective of the LNP composition. Finally, we successfully base-corrected a disease-causing mutation with an efficacy of ∼5% in autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis patient cells, showcasing the potential of this strategy for the treatment of monogenic skin diseases. Taken together, this study demonstrates the feasibility of an in situ correction of disease-causing mutations in the skin that could provide effective treatment and potentially even a cure for rare, monogenic, and common skin diseases.

miRNA-559 and MTDH as possible diagnostic markers of psoriasis: Role of PTEN/AKT/FOXO pathway in disease pathogenesis

Psoriasis is a persistent, inflammatory, autoimmune skin disorder which can be elicited by genetic and environmental factors. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) that are abnormally expressed in psoriasis have emerged as an interesting candidate in psoriasis pathogenesis. However, the expression profile and function of miRNA-559, and its direct target metadherin (MTDH), in psoriasis need to be further illuminated. This study intended to assess miRNA-559 and MTDH levels in skin and sera of psoriatic patients and to investigate their clinical significance in an attempt for developing novel distinct tools for early diagnosis of psoriasis. Moreover, this study aimed at exploring participation of miRNA-559 in regulating MTDH/PTEN/AKT pathway in psoriasis. Expression levels of miRNA-559, AKT, FOXO1 and PTEN were measured by real-time qRT-PCR, whereas MTDH and p27 levels were assessed by ELISA in lesional, non-lesional tissues and serum of 20 psoriatic patients and 20 matching controls. Correlation study was conducted between different parameters. The diagnostic performance of miRNA-559 and MTDH in psoriasis was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Expression of miRNA-559 in psoriatic patients was significantly downregulated in both lesional tissues and serum as compared to controls. Conversely, MTDH protein level showed significant increase in both tissues and serum of psoriatic patients and was inversely correlated with miRNA-559 level. Meanwhile, levels of PTEN, AKT and FOXO1 were dramatically changed in psoriatic patients compared to controls. Furthermore, serum miRNA-559 and MTDH displayed comparable diagnostic accuracy in discriminating psoriatic patients from controls. Yet, miRNA-559 demonstrated superior diagnostic performance than MTDH in psoriasis diagnosis. Together, the current findings provide the first suggestion of a new mechanism by which downregulation of miRNA-559 might induce proliferation in psoriasis through modulating PTEN/AKT/FOXO1 pathway by positive regulation of MTDH. Thus, miRNA-559 and MTDH might be proposed as promising diagnostic biomarkers of psoriasis.

Laser microporation facilitates topical drug delivery: a comprehensive review about preclinical development and clinical application

INTRODUCTION

Topical drug delivery is highly attractive and yet faces tissue barrier challenges. Different physical and chemical methods have been explored to facilitate topical drug delivery.

AREAS COVERED

Ablative fractional laser (AFL) has been widely explored by the scientific community and dermatologists to facilitate topical drug delivery since its advent less than two decades ago. This review introduces the major efforts in exploration of AFL to facilitate transdermal, transungual, and transocular drug delivery in preclinical and clinical settings.

EXPERT OPINION

Most of the preclinical and clinical studies find AFL to be safe and highly effective to facilitate topical drug delivery with little restriction on physicochemical properties of drugs. Clinical studies support AFL to enhance drug efficacy, shorten treatment time, reduce pain, improve cosmetic outcomes, reduce systemic drug exposure, and improve safety. Considering most of the clinical trials so far involved a small sample size and were in early phase, future trials will benefit from enrolling a large group of patients for thorough evaluation of the safety and efficacy of AFL-assisted topical drug delivery. The manufacturing of small and less costly AFL devices will also facilitate the translation of AFL-assisted topical drug delivery.

Laser-Assisted Drug Delivery: A Systematic Review of Safety and Adverse Events

Laser-assisted drug delivery (LADD) is an increasingly studied and applied methodology for drug delivery. It has been used in a wide variety of clinical applications. Given the relatively low barrier to entry for clinicians as well as ongoing research in this area, the authors aimed to review outcomes relating to safety in laser-assisted drug delivery. A systematic review was conducted, with the databases PubMed, Medline and Embase searched in September 2022. Included articles were those that mentioned laser-assisted drug delivery in human subjects that also reported adverse effects or safety outcomes. There were no language-based exclusions. Conference abstracts and literature reviews were excluded. The results were then tabulated and categorized according to the application of LADD. In total, 501 articles were obtained. Following deduplication, screening, and full text review 70 articles of various study designs were included. Common findings were erythema, oedema, pain, and crusting following LADD. Several notably more severe adverse effects such as generalized urticaria, infection, scarring and dyspigmentation were noted. However, these events were varied depending on the clinical use of LADD. Relevant negatives were also noted whereby no studies reported life-threatening adverse effects. Limitations included limited details regarding the adverse effects within the full texts, lack of follow-up, and risk of bias. In conclusion, there were multiple adverse effects that clinicians should consider prior to carrying out LADD, where treatment goals and patient tolerability should be considered. Further evidence is needed to quantitatively determine these risks.

Effect of mRNA Delivery Modality and Formulation on Cutaneous mRNA Distribution and Downstream eGFP Expression

In vitro transcribed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) constitutes an emerging therapeutic class with several clinical applications. This study presents a systematic comparison of different technologies—intradermal injection, microneedle injection, jet injection, and fractional laser ablation—for the topical cutaneous delivery of mRNA. Delivery of Cy5 labeled mRNA and non-labeled enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) expressing mRNA was investigated in a viable ex vivo porcine skin model and monitored for 48 h. Forty 10 µm-thick horizontal sections were prepared from each skin sample and Cy5 labeled mRNA or eGFP expression visualized as a function of depth by confocal laser scanning microscopy and immunohistochemistry. A pixel-based method was used to create a semi-quantitative biodistribution profile. Different spatial distributions of Cy5 labeled mRNA and eGFP expression were observed, depending on the delivery modality; localization of eGFP expression pointed to the cells responsible. Delivery efficiencies and knowledge of delivery sites can facilitate development of efficient, targeted mRNA-based therapeutics.