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Goraltchouk A, Lourie J, Hollander JM, Grace Rosen H, Fujishiro AA, Luppino F, Zou K, Seregin A. Development and characterization of a first-in-class adjustable-dose gene therapy system. Gene 2024; 919:148500. [PMID: 38663689 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148500] [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: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Despite significant potential, gene therapy has been relegated to the treatment of rare diseases, due in part to an inability to adjust dosage following initial administration. Other significant constraints include cost, specificity, antigenicity, and systemic toxicity of current generation technologies. To overcome these challenges, we developed a first-in-class adjustable-dose gene therapy system, with optimized biocompatibility, localization, durability, and cost. METHODS A lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery system was developed and characterized by dynamic light scattering for size, zeta potential, and polydispersity. Cytocompatibility and transfection efficiency were optimized in vitro using primary human adipocytes and preadipocytes. Durability, immunogenicity, and adjustment of expression were evaluated in C57BL/6 and B6 albino mice using in vivo bioluminescence imaging. Biodistribution was assessed by qPCR and immunohistochemistry; therapeutic protein expression was quantified by ELISA. RESULTS Following LNP optimization, in vitro transfection efficiency of primary human adipocytes reached 81.3 % ± 8.3 % without compromising cytocompatibility. Critical physico-chemical properties of the system (size, zeta potential, polydispersity) remained stable over a broad range of genetic cassette sizes (1,871-6,203 bp). Durable expression was observed in vivo over 6 months, localizing to subcutaneous adipose tissues at the injection site with no detectable transgene in the liver, heart, spleen, or kidney. Gene expression was adjustable using several physical and pharmacological approaches, including cryolipolysis, focused ultrasound, and pharmacologically inducible apoptosis. The ability of transfected adipocytes to express therapeutic transgenes ranging from peptides to antibodies, at potentially clinically relevant levels, was confirmed in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION We report the development of a novel, low-cost therapeutic platform, designed to enable the replacement of subcutaneously administered protein treatments with a single-injection, adjustable-dose gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Goraltchouk
- Remedium Bio, Inc. 1116 Great Plain Ave, Suite 203, Needham, MA 02492, United States of America
| | - Jared Lourie
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, United States of America
| | - Judith M Hollander
- Remedium Bio, Inc. 1116 Great Plain Ave, Suite 203, Needham, MA 02492, United States of America
| | - H Grace Rosen
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, United States of America
| | - Atsutaro A Fujishiro
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, United States of America
| | - Francesco Luppino
- Remedium Bio, Inc. 1116 Great Plain Ave, Suite 203, Needham, MA 02492, United States of America
| | - Kai Zou
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, United States of America
| | - Alexey Seregin
- Remedium Bio, Inc. 1116 Great Plain Ave, Suite 203, Needham, MA 02492, United States of America.
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Kugler BA, Lourie J, Berger N, Lin N, Nguyen P, DosSantos E, Ali A, Sesay A, Rosen HG, Kalemba B, Hendricks GM, Houmard JA, Sesaki H, Gona P, You T, Yan Z, Zou K. Partial skeletal muscle-specific Drp1 knockout enhances insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese mice, but not in lean mice. Mol Metab 2023; 77:101802. [PMID: 37690520 PMCID: PMC10511484 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is the key regulator of mitochondrial fission. We and others have reported a strong correlation between enhanced Drp1 activity and impaired skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. This study aimed to determine whether Drp1 directly regulates skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and whole-body glucose homeostasis. METHODS We employed tamoxifen-inducible skeletal muscle-specific heterozygous Drp1 knockout mice (mDrp1+/-). Male mDrp1+/- and wildtype (WT) mice were fed with either a high-fat diet (HFD) or low-fat diet (LFD) for four weeks, followed by tamoxifen injections for five consecutive days, and remained on their respective diet for another four weeks. In addition, we used primary human skeletal muscle cells (HSkMC) from lean, insulin-sensitive, and severely obese, insulin-resistant humans and transfected the cells with either a Drp1 shRNA (shDrp1) or scramble shRNA construct. Skeletal muscle and whole-body insulin sensitivity, skeletal muscle insulin signaling, mitochondrial network morphology, respiration, and H2O2 production were measured. RESULTS Partial deletion of the Drp1 gene in skeletal muscle led to improved whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (P < 0.05) in diet-induced obese, insulin-resistant mice but not in lean mice. Analyses of mitochondrial structure and function revealed that the partial deletion of the Drp1 gene restored mitochondrial dynamics, improved mitochondrial morphology, and reduced mitochondrial Complex I- and II-derived H2O2 (P < 0.05) under the condition of diet-induced obesity. In addition, partial deletion of Drp1 in skeletal muscle resulted in elevated circulating FGF21 (P < 0.05) and in a trend towards increase of FGF21 expression in skeletal muscle tissue (P = 0.095). In primary myotubes derived from severely obese, insulin-resistant humans, ShRNA-induced-knockdown of Drp1 resulted in enhanced insulin signaling, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and reduced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content compared to the shScramble-treated myotubes from the same donors (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION These data demonstrate that partial loss of skeletal muscle-specific Drp1 expression is sufficient to improve whole-body glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity under obese, insulin-resistant conditions, which may be, at least in part, due to reduced mitochondrial H2O2 production. In addition, our findings revealed divergent effects of Drp1 on whole-body metabolism under lean healthy or obese insulin-resistant conditions in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Kugler
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jared Lourie
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicolas Berger
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nana Lin
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paul Nguyen
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Edzana DosSantos
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Abir Ali
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amira Sesay
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - H Grace Rosen
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Baby Kalemba
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gregory M Hendricks
- Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Joseph A Houmard
- Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA; Human Performance Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
| | - Hiromi Sesaki
- Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Philimon Gona
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tongjian You
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zhen Yan
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Exercise Medicine Research, Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, VA, USA; Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Kai Zou
- Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, Robert and Donna Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA.
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