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Yuan Z, Yan R, Fu Z, Wu T, Ren C. Impact of physicochemical properties on biological effects of lipid nanoparticles: Are they completely safe. Sci Total Environ 2024; 927:172240. [PMID: 38582114 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are promising materials and human-use approved excipients, with manifold applications in biomedicine. Researchers have tended to focus on improving the pharmacological efficiency and organ targeting of LNPs, while paid relatively less attention to the negative aspects created by their specific physicochemical properties. Here, we discuss the impacts of LNPs' physicochemical properties (size, surface hydrophobicity, surface charge, surface modification and lipid composition) on the adsorption-transportation-distribution-clearance processes and bio-nano interactions. In addition, since there is a lack of review emphasizing on toxicological profiles of LNPs, this review outlined immunogenicity, inflammation, hemolytic toxicity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by LNPs and the underlying mechanisms, with the aim to understand the properties that underlie the biological effects of these materials. This provides a basic strategy that increased efficacy of medical application with minimized side-effects can be achieved by modulating the physicochemical properties of LNPs. Therefore, addressing the effects of physicochemical properties on toxicity induced by LNPs is critical for understanding their environmental and health risks and will help clear the way for LNPs-based drugs to eventually fulfill their promise as a highly effective therapeutic agents for diverse diseases in clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyi Yuan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruyu Yan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zuyi Fu
- College of Rehabilitation, Captital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Wu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Enze Biomass Fine Chemicals, College of New Materials and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China.
| | - Chaoxiu Ren
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
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2
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Chen Z, Yang Y, Tian Y, Yang J, Xiong H. Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease via a H 2S-Responsive Bioluminescent Probe Combined with Firefly Luciferase mRNA Delivery. Anal Chem 2024. [PMID: 38767294 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c01462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
The early detection of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through bioluminescent probes is of great significance. However, there remains a challenge to apply them in nontransgenic natural animals due to the lack of exogenous luciferase. To address this issue, we herein report a new strategy for in situ monitoring of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the liver of NAFLD mice by leveraging a H2S-responsive bioluminescent probe (H-Luc) combined with firefly luciferase (fLuc) mRNA delivery. The probe H-Luc was created by installing a H2S recognition moiety, 2,4-dinitrophenol, onto the luciferase substrate (d-luciferin), which is allowed to release cage-free d-luciferin in the presence of H2S via a nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction. In the meantime, the intracellular luciferase was introduced by lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-mediated fLuc mRNA delivery, rendering it suitable for bioluminescence (BL) imaging in vitro and in vivo. Based on this luciferase-luciferin system, the endogenous H2S could be sensitively and selectively detected in living cells, showing a low limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.72 μM. More importantly, after systematic administration of fLuc mRNA-loaded LNPs in vivo, H-Luc was able to successfully monitor the endogenous H2S levels in the NAFLD mouse model for the first time, displaying a 28-fold higher bioluminescence intensity than that in the liver of normal mice. We believe that this strategy may shed new light on the diagnosis of inflammatory liver disease, further elucidating the roles of H2S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoming Chen
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yuexia Yang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yang Tian
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Jieyu Yang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Hu Xiong
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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Yang J, Chen Z, Yang Y, Zheng B, Zhu Y, Wu F, Xiong H. Visualization of Endogenous Hypochlorite in Drug-Induced Liver Injury Mice via a Bioluminescent Probe Combined with Firefly Luciferase mRNA-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles. Anal Chem 2024; 96:6978-6985. [PMID: 38652863 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c00008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common liver disease with a high rate of morbidity, and its pathogenesis is closely associated with the overproduction of highly reactive hypochlorite (ClO-) in the liver. However, bioluminescence imaging of endogenous hypochlorite in nontransgenic natural mice remains challenging. Herein, to address this issue, we report a strategy for imaging ClO- in living cells and DILI mice by harnessing a bioluminescent probe formylhydrazine luciferin (ClO-Luc) combined with firefly luciferase (fLuc) mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). LNPs could efficiently deliver fLuc mRNA into living cells and in vivo, expressing abundant luciferase in the cytoplasm in situ. In the presence of ClO-, probe ClO-Luc locked by formylhydrazine could release cage-free d-luciferin through oxidation and follow-up hydrolysis reactions, further allowing for bioluminescence imaging. Moreover, based on the luciferase-luciferin system, it was able to sensitively and selectively detect ClO- in vitro with a limit of detection of 0.59 μM and successfully monitor the endogenous hypochlorite generation in the DILI mouse model for the first time. We postulate that this work provides a new method to elucidate the roles of ClO- in related diseases via bioluminescence imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jieyu Yang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhaoming Chen
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yuexia Yang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Bingbing Zheng
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yu Zhu
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Fapu Wu
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Hu Xiong
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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Germer J, Lessl AL, Pöhmerer J, Grau M, Weidinger E, Höhn M, Yazdi M, Cappelluti MA, Lombardo A, Lächelt U, Wagner E. Lipo-Xenopeptide Polyplexes for CRISPR/Cas9 based Gene editing at ultra-low dose. J Control Release 2024; 370:239-255. [PMID: 38663751 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.04.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/30/2024]
Abstract
Double pH-responsive xenopeptide carriers containing succinoyl tetraethylene pentamine (Stp) and lipo amino fatty acids (LAFs) were evaluated for CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing. Different carrier topologies, variation of LAF/Stp ratios and LAF types as Cas9 mRNA/sgRNA polyplexes were screened in three different reporter cell lines using three different genomic targets (Pcsk9, eGFP, mdx exon 23). One U-shaped and three bundle (B2)-shaped lipo-xenopeptides exhibiting remarkable efficiencies were identified. Genome editing potency of top carriers were observed at sub-nanomolar EC50 concentrations of 0.4 nM sgRNA and 0.1 nM sgRNA for the top U-shape and top B2 carriers, respectively, even after incubation in full (≥ 90%) serum. Polyplexes co-delivering Cas9 mRNA/sgRNA with a single stranded DNA template for homology directed gene editing resulted in up to 38% conversion of eGFP to BFP in reporter cells. Top carriers were formulated as polyplexes or lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for subsequent in vivo administration. Formulations displayed long-term physicochemical and functional stability upon storage at 4 °C. Importantly, intravenous administration of polyplexes or LNPs mediated in vivo editing of the dystrophin gene, triggering mRNA exon 23 splicing modulation in dystrophin-expressing cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle and brain tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janin Germer
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Anna-Lina Lessl
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Jana Pöhmerer
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Melina Grau
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Eric Weidinger
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Miriam Höhn
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Mina Yazdi
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany
| | - Martino Alfredo Cappelluti
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan 20132, Italy
| | - Angelo Lombardo
- San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan 20132, Italy; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan 20132, Italy
| | - Ulrich Lächelt
- Center for Nanoscience (CeNS), LMU Munich, Munich 80799, Germany; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Ernst Wagner
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Pharmacy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Butenandtstrasse 5-13, Munich 81377, Germany; Center for Nanoscience (CeNS), LMU Munich, Munich 80799, Germany; CNATM - Cluster for Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Munich, Germany.
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5
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Xu F, Si X, Wang Y, Sun C, Liu M, Zhang Y, Xu X, Tian T. Ionizable Lipids from Click Reactions for Lipid Nanoparticle Assembling and mRNA Delivery. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:3643-3651. [PMID: 38588455 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Ionizable lipid-containing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are regarded as promising nonviral vectors for gene therapy delivery systems. Rationale design of the ionizable lipid structure based on initial screening of ionizable lipid molecule libraries combined with systematic comparison and analysis on the physical chemical parameters related to delivery efficiency greatly accelerated the discovery of novel LNP candidates for delivering various nucleic acid therapeutics like mRNAs (mRNAs). Based on the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click reaction, which is highly efficient and biocompatible, we were able to obtain the lipid molecule library containing a common triazole moiety between different lipid tails and various substituents as hydrophilic head groups. Herein, we systematically investigated the change of pKa values of different ionizable lipid molecules with different substituents as head groups in the click-based lipid library, mapping the pKa value change to different steps in the process of the LNP assembly and mRNA delivery. Systematic analyses on the data including the pKa value of the ionized lipids and the encapsulation and delivery efficiency of mRNA in LNPs with these ionized lipids provided the possibility of rational design on the head and tail structure for the triazole containing ionized lipids to realize highly efficient delivery of different mRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feiyang Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiao Si
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yixiang Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Cheng Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Minglun Liu
- Nanjing Vazyme Biotechnology Company, Nanjing 210034, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiaoyu Xu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- Nanjing Vazyme Biotechnology Company, Nanjing 210034, China
| | - Tian Tian
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
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Yang C, Lin ZI, Zhang X, Xu Z, Xu G, Wang YM, Tsai TH, Cheng PW, Law WC, Yong KT, Chen CK. Recent Advances in Engineering Carriers for siRNA Delivery. Macromol Biosci 2024; 24:e2300362. [PMID: 38150293 DOI: 10.1002/mabi.202300362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been a promising treatment strategy for combating intractable diseases. However, the applications of RNAi in clinical are hampered by extracellular and intracellular barriers. To overcome these barriers, various siRNA delivery systems have been developed in the past two decades. The first approved RNAi therapeutic, Patisiran (ONPATTRO) using lipids as the carrier, for the treatment of amyloidosis is one of the most important milestones. This has greatly encouraged researchers to work on creating new functional siRNA carriers. In this review, the recent advances in siRNA carriers consisting of lipids, polymers, and polymer-modified inorganic particles for cancer therapy are summarized. Representative examples are presented to show the structural design of the carriers in order to overcome the delivery hurdles associated with RNAi therapies. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspective for developing RNAi as a clinical modality will be discussed and proposed. It is believed that the addressed contributions in this review will promote the development of siRNA delivery systems for future clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengbin Yang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Zheng-Ian Lin
- Polymeric Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Materials and Optoelectronic Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Xinmeng Zhang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Zhourui Xu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Gaixia Xu
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, P. R. China
| | - Yu-Min Wang
- Polymeric Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Materials and Optoelectronic Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Hsien Tsai
- Division of Cardiology and Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, 60002, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Wen Cheng
- Department of Medical Education and Research, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, 81362, Taiwan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
| | - Wing-Cheung Law
- Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, 999077, P. R. China
| | - Ken-Tye Yong
- School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
| | - Chih-Kuang Chen
- Polymeric Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Materials and Optoelectronic Science, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
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Tang X, Zhang J, Sui D, Xu Z, Yang Q, Wang T, Li X, Liu X, Deng Y, Song Y. Durable protective efficiency provide by mRNA vaccines require robust immune memory to antigens and weak immune memory to lipid nanoparticles. Mater Today Bio 2024; 25:100988. [PMID: 38379935 PMCID: PMC10877184 DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2024.100988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The Pegylated lipids in lipid nanoparticle (LNPs) vaccines have been found to cause acute hypersensitivity reactions in recipients, and generate anti-LNPs immunity after repeated administration, thereby reducing vaccine effectiveness. To overcome these challenges, we developed a new type of LNPs vaccine (SAPC-LNPs) which was co-modified with sialic acid (SA) - lipid derivative and cleavable PEG - lipid derivative. This kind of mRNA vaccine can target dendritic cells (DCs) and rapidly escape from early endosomes (EE) and lysosomes with a total endosomal escape rate up to 98 %. Additionally, the PEG component in SAPC-LNPs was designed to detach from the LNPs under the catalysis of carboxylesterase in vivo, which reduced the probability of PEG being attached to LNPs entering antigen-presenting cells. Compared with commercially formulated vaccines (1.5PD-LNPs), mice treated with SAPC-LNPs generated a more robust immune memory to tumor antigens and a weaker immune memory response to LNPs, and showed lower side effects and long-lasting protective efficiency. We also discovered that the anti-tumor immune memory formed by SAPC-LNPs mRNA vaccine was directly involved in the immune cycle to rattack tumor. This immune memory continued to strengthen with multiple cycles, supporting that the immune memory should be incorporated into the theory of tumor immune cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueying Tang
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Jiashuo Zhang
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Dezhi Sui
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Zihan Xu
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Qiongfen Yang
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Tianyu Wang
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Xiaoya Li
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
| | - Xinrong Liu
- College of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110016, China
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Zhang H, Gao X, Sun Q, Dong X, Zhu Z, Yang C. Incorporation of poly(γ-glutamic acid) in lipid nanoparticles for enhanced mRNA delivery efficiency in vitro and in vivo. Acta Biomater 2024; 177:361-376. [PMID: 38342193 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2024.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapy shows immense potential for broad biomedical applications. However, the development of safe and efficacious mRNA delivery vectors remains challenging due to delivery barriers and inefficient intracellular payload release. Herein, we presented a simple strategy to boost the mRNA intracellular release by incorporation of anionic poly(γ-glutamic acid) (PGA) into an ionizable lipid-based LNP/mRNA. We systematically investigated the impact of PGA incorporation on mRNA transfection both in vitro and in vivo. The molecular weights and formulation ratios of PGA greatly affected the transfection efficacy of LNP/mRNA. From in vitro study, the optimized LNP/mRNA/PGA was formulated by incorporation of PGA with the molecular weight of 80 kDa or 200 kDa and the charge ratio (N/P/C) of 25/1/1. The optimized formulation achieved around 3-fold mRNA expression in HeLa cells compared to the bare LNP/mRNA. The intracellular releasing study using specific DNA probe revealed that this enhancement of transfection efficacy was attributed to the elevated mRNA release into cytoplasm. Moreover, the optimized LNP/mRNA/PGA achieved up to 5-fold or 3-fold increase of luciferase mRNA expression in vivo after being injected into mice systematically or intramuscularly, respectively. In addition, the incorporation of PGA did not significantly alter the biodistribution profile of the complexes on both organ and cellular levels. Therefore, our work provides a simple strategy to boost mRNA delivery, which holds great promise to improve the efficacy of mRNA therapeutics for various biomedical applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The process of designing and screening potent mRNA carriers is complicated and time-consuming, while the efficacy is not always satisfying due to the delivery barriers and inefficient mRNA release. This work presented an alternative strategy to boost the mRNA delivery efficacy by incorporating an anionic natural polymer poly(γ-glutamic acid) (PGA) into LNP/mRNA complexes. The optimized LNP/mRNA/PGA achieved up to 3-fold and 5-fold increase in transfection efficacy in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Intracellular releasing analysis revealed that the enhancement of transfection efficacy was mainly attributed to the elevated intracellular release of mRNA. In addition, the incorporation of PGA did not alter the biodistribution or the biosafety profile of the complexes. These findings indicate that PGA incorporation is a promising strategy to improve the efficacy of mRNA therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongqian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China
| | - Xue Gao
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China
| | - Qian Sun
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China
| | - Xiaoxue Dong
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China
| | - Zongwei Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China
| | - Chuanxu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 25010, China.
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