1
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Chen Y, Lin X, Liu X, Liu Y, Bui-Le L, Blakney AK, Yeow J, Zhu Y, Stevens MM, Shattock RJ, Chen R, Brogan APS, Hallett JP. Thermally Robust Solvent-Free Liquid Polyplexes for Heat-Shock Protection and Long-Term Room Temperature Storage of Therapeutic Nucleic Acids. Biomacromolecules 2024; 25:2965-2972. [PMID: 38682378 PMCID: PMC11094731 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00117] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Nucleic acid therapeutics have attracted recent attention as promising preventative solutions for a broad range of diseases. Nonviral delivery vectors, such as cationic polymers, improve the cellular uptake of nucleic acids without suffering the drawbacks of viral delivery vectors. However, these delivery systems are faced with a major challenge for worldwide deployment, as their poor thermal stability elicits the need for cold chain transportation. Here, we demonstrate a biomaterial strategy to drastically improve the thermal stability of DNA polyplexes. Importantly, we demonstrate long-term room temperature storage with a transfection efficiency maintained for at least 9 months. Additionally, extreme heat shock studies show retained luciferase expression after heat treatment at 70 °C. We therefore provide a proof of concept for a platform biotechnology that could provide long-term room temperature storage for temperature-sensitive nucleic acid therapeutics, eliminating the need for the cold chain, which in turn would reduce the cost of distributing life-saving therapeutics worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyan Chen
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Xiaoyan Lin
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Xuhan Liu
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
- Shenzhen
University General Hospital, Shenzhen University Clinical Medical
Academy, Shenzhen University, No. 1098 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518000, P. R. China
| | - Yifan Liu
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Liem Bui-Le
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Anna K. Blakney
- Department
of Infectious Disease, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1NY, U.K.
- School
of Biomedical Engineering, Michael Smith
Laboratories, 2185 East
Mall, Vancouver, British
Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jonathan Yeow
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London, Prince Consort Rd, SW7 2AZ London, South Kensington, U.K.
| | - Yunqing Zhu
- School
of
Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji
University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London, Prince Consort Rd, SW7 2AZ London, South Kensington, U.K.
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department
of Infectious Disease, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1NY, U.K.
| | - Rongjun Chen
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Alex P. S. Brogan
- Department
of Chemistry, King’s College London, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, U.K.
| | - Jason P. Hallett
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College
London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
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2
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G Popova P, Chen SP, Liao S, Sadarangani M, Blakney AK. Clinical perspective on topical vaccination strategies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2024; 208:115292. [PMID: 38522725 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115292] [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: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Vaccination is one of the most successful measures in modern medicine to combat diseases, especially infectious diseases, and saves millions of lives every year. Vaccine design and development remains critical and involves many aspects, including the choice of platform, antigen, adjuvant, and route of administration. Topical vaccination, defined herein as the introduction of a vaccine to any of the three layers of the human skin, has attracted interest in recent years as an alternative vaccination approach to the conventional intramuscular administration because of its potential to be needle-free and induce a superior immune response against pathogens. In this review, we describe recent progress in developing topical vaccines, highlight progress in the development of delivery technologies for topical vaccines, discuss potential factors that might impact the topical vaccine efficacy, and provide an overview of the current clinical landscape of topical vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petya G Popova
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2222 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B9, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Sunny P Chen
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2222 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B9, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Suiyang Liao
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2222 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B9, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada; Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Manish Sadarangani
- Vaccine Evaluation Center, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, 950 West 28th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak St, Vancouver, BC V6H 0B3, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2222 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B9, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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3
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Popova PG, Lagace MA, Tang G, Blakney AK. Effect of in vitro transcription conditions on yield of high quality messenger and self-amplifying RNA. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 2024; 198:114247. [PMID: 38462138 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2024.114247] [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: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 produced using in vitro transcription (IVT) were clinically approved in 2020 and 2022, respectively. While the industrial production of mRNA using IVT has been extensively optimized, the optimal conditions for saRNA have been explored to a lesser extent. Most T7 polymerase IVT protocols have been specifically optimized for mRNA which is ∼5-10-fold smaller than saRNA and may have profound effects on both the quality and yield of longer transcripts. Here, we optimized IVT conditions for simultaneously increasing the yield of full-length transcripts and reducing dsRNA formation through Design of Experiments. Using a definitive screening approach, we found that the key parameters are temperature and magnesium in the outcome of RNA quality (% full length transcript) and yield in small scale synthesis. The most important parameter for reducing dsRNA formation for both mRNA and saRNA was Mg2+ concentration (10 mM). We observed that a lower temperature was vital for production of high quality saRNA transcripts. mRNA quality was optimal at higher Mg2+ concentration (>40 mM). High quality transcripts correspond to significantly reduced product yield for saRNA, but not for mRNA. The differences between mRNA and saRNA requirements for high quality product and the relationship between high quality large saRNA molecules and low temperature synthesis have not been reported previously. These findings are key for informing future IVT parameters design and optimization for smaller and larger RNA transcripts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petya G Popova
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Melissa A Lagace
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - George Tang
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada.
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4
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Wayne CJ, Blakney AK. Self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine. Cell 2024; 187:1822-1822.e1. [PMID: 38608649 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.018] [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] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
In November 2023, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare granted regulatory approval of ARCT-154, a self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by Arcturus Therapeutics. Clinical trials showed comparable safety and efficacy using a lower dose compared to the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2. To view this Bench-to-Bedside, open or download the PDF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Wayne
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada.
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5
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Chen SP, Blakney AK. Immune response to the components of lipid nanoparticles for ribonucleic acid therapeutics. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 85:103049. [PMID: 38118363 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.103049] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Ribonucleic acid therapeutics have advantages over biologics and small molecules, including lower safety risks, cheaper costs, and extensive targeting flexibility, which is rapidly fueling the expansion of the field. This is made possible by breakthroughs in the field of drug delivery, wherein lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are one of the most clinically advanced systems. LNP formulations that are currently approved for clinical use typically contain an ionizable cationic lipid, a phospholipid, cholesterol, and a polyethylene glycol-lipid; each contributes to the stability and/or effectiveness of LNPs. In this review, we discuss the immunomodulatory effects associated with each of the lipid components. We highlight several studies in which the components of LNPs have been implicated in cellular sensing and explore the pathways involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunny P Chen
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, Canada; Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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6
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Friesen JJ, Blakney AK. Trends in the synthetic polymer delivery of RNA. J Gene Med 2024; 26:e3672. [PMID: 38380796 DOI: 10.1002/jgm.3672] [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: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) has emerged as one of the most promising therapeutic payloads in the field of gene therapy. There are many unique types of RNA that allow for a range of applications including vaccination, protein replacement therapy, autoimmune disease treatment, gene knockdown and gene editing. However, RNA triggers the host immune system, is vulnerable to degradation and has a low proclivity to enter cells spontaneously. Therefore, a delivery vehicle is required to facilitate the protection and uptake of RNA therapeutics into the desired host cells. Lipid nanoparticles have emerged as one of the only clinically approved vehicles for genetic payloads, including in the COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccines. While lipid nanoparticles have distinct advantages, they also have drawbacks, including strong immune stimulation, complex manufacturing and formulation heterogeneity. In contrast, synthetic polymers are a widely studied group of gene delivery vehicles and boast distinct advantages, including biocompatibility, tunability, inexpensiveness, simple formulation and ease of modification. Some classes of polymers enhance efficient transfection efficiency, and lead to lower stimulation of the host immune system, making them more viable candidates for non-vaccine-related applications of RNA medicines. This review aims to identify the most promising classes of synthetic polymers, summarize recent research aimed at moving them into the clinic and postulate the future steps required for unlocking their full potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh J Friesen
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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7
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Casmil IC, Huang C, Blakney AK. A duplex droplet digital PCR assay for absolute quantification and characterization of long self-amplifying RNA. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19050. [PMID: 37923834 PMCID: PMC10624827 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46314-6] [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: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-amplifying messenger ribonucleic acid (saRNA) provides extended expression of genes of interest by encoding an alphavirus-derived RNA replicase and thus is 2-3 times larger than conventional messenger RNA. However, quality assessment of long RNA transcripts is challenging using standard techniques. Here, we utilized a multiplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay to assess the quality of saRNA produced from an in vitro transcription reaction and the replication kinetics in human cell lines. Using the one-step reverse transcription ddPCR, we show that an in vitro transcription generates 50-60% full-length saRNA transcripts. However, we note that the two-step reverse transcription ddPCR assay results in a 20% decrease from results obtained using the one-step and confirmed using capillary gel electrophoresis. Additionally, we provided three formulas that differ in the level of stringency and assumptions made to calculate the fraction of intact saRNA. Using ddPCR, we also showed that subgenomic transcripts of saRNA were 19-to-108-fold higher than genomic transcripts at different hours post-transfection of mammalian cells in copies. Therefore, we demonstrate that multiplex ddPCR is well suited for quality assessment of long RNA and replication kinetics of saRNA based on absolute quantification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irafasha C Casmil
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Cynthia Huang
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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8
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9
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Tregoning JS, Stirling DC, Wang Z, Flight KE, Brown JC, Blakney AK, McKay PF, Cunliffe RF, Murugaiah V, Fox CB, Beattie M, Tam YK, Johansson C, Shattock RJ. Formulation, inflammation, and RNA sensing impact the immunogenicity of self-amplifying RNA vaccines. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2022; 31:29-42. [PMID: 36589712 PMCID: PMC9794906 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
To be effective, RNA vaccines require both in situ translation and the induction of an immune response to recruit cells to the site of immunization. These factors can pull in opposite directions with the inflammation reducing expression of the vaccine antigen. We investigated how formulation affects the acute systemic cytokine response to a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine. We compared a cationic polymer (pABOL), a lipid emulsion (nanostructured lipid carrier, NLC), and three lipid nanoparticles (LNP). After immunization, we measured serum cytokines and compared the response to induced antibodies against influenza virus. Formulations that induced a greater cytokine response induced a greater antibody response, with a significant correlation between IP-10, MCP-1, KC, and antigen-specific antibody titers. We then investigated how innate immune sensing and signaling impacted the adaptive immune response to vaccination with LNP-formulated saRNA. Mice that lacked MAVS and are unable to signal through RIG-I-like receptors had an altered cytokine response to saRNA vaccination and had significantly greater antibody responses than wild-type mice. This indicates that the inflammation induced by formulated saRNA vaccines is not solely deleterious in the induction of antibody responses and that targeting specific aspects of RNA vaccine sensing might improve the quality of the response.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S. Tregoning
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK,Corresponding author John S. Tregoning, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK.
| | - David C. Stirling
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Ziyin Wang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Katie E. Flight
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Jonathan C. Brown
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Anna K. Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Robert F. Cunliffe
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Valarmathy Murugaiah
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Christopher B. Fox
- IDRI, Seattle, WA, USA,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mitchell Beattie
- Acuitas Therapeutics, 6190 Agronomy Road, Ste 405, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Ying K. Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, 6190 Agronomy Road, Ste 405, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cecilia Johansson
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St. Mary’s Campus, London, UK
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10
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McKay PF, Zhou J, Frise R, Blakney AK, Bouton CR, Wang Z, Hu K, Samnuan K, Brown JC, Kugathasan R, Yeow J, Stevens MM, Barclay WS, Tregoning JS, Shattock RJ. Polymer formulated self-amplifying RNA vaccine is partially protective against influenza virus infection in ferrets. Oxford Open Immunology 2022; 3:iqac004. [PMID: 35996628 PMCID: PMC9384352 DOI: 10.1093/oxfimm/iqac004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 has demonstrated the power of RNA vaccines as part of a pandemic response toolkit. Another virus with pandemic potential is influenza. Further development of RNA vaccines in advance of a future influenza pandemic will save time and lives. As RNA vaccines require formulation to enter cells and induce antigen expression, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a recently developed bioreducible cationic polymer, pABOL for the delivery of a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine for seasonal influenza virus in mice and ferrets. Mice and ferrets were immunized with pABOL formulated saRNA vaccines expressing either haemagglutinin (HA) from H1N1 or H3N2 influenza virus in a prime boost regime. Antibody responses, both binding and functional were measured in serum after immunization. Animals were then challenged with a matched influenza virus either directly by intranasal inoculation or in a contact transmission model. While highly immunogenic in mice, pABOL-formulated saRNA led to variable responses in ferrets. Animals that responded to the vaccine with higher levels of influenza virus-specific neutralizing antibodies were more protected against influenza virus infection. pABOL-formulated saRNA is immunogenic in ferrets, but further optimization of RNA vaccine formulation and constructs is required to increase the quality and quantity of the antibody response to the vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- P F McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - J Zhou
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - R Frise
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - A K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - C R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - Z Wang
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - K Hu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - K Samnuan
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - J C Brown
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - R Kugathasan
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - J Yeow
- Departments of Materials and Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - M M Stevens
- Departments of Materials and Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - W S Barclay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - J S Tregoning
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
| | - R J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London , London W2 1PG, UK
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11
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Ly HH, Daniel S, Soriano SKV, Kis Z, Blakney AK. Optimization of Lipid Nanoparticles for saRNA Expression and Cellular Activation Using a Design-of-Experiment Approach. Mol Pharm 2022; 19:1892-1905. [PMID: 35604765 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the leading technology for RNA delivery, given the success of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA (mRNA) vaccines, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies (patisiran). However, optimization of LNP process parameters and compositions for larger RNA payloads such as self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), which can have complex secondary structures, have not been carried out. Furthermore, the interactions between process parameters, critical quality attributes (CQAs), and function, such as protein expression and cellular activation, are not well understood. Here, we used two iterations of design of experiments (DoE) (definitive screening design and Box-Behnken design) to optimize saRNA formulations using the leading, FDA-approved ionizable lipids (MC3, ALC-0315, and SM-102). We observed that PEG is required to preserve the CQAs and that saRNA is more challenging to encapsulate and preserve than mRNA. We identified three formulations to minimize cellular activation, maximize cellular activation, or meet a CQA profile while maximizing protein expression. The significant parameters and design of the response surface modeling and multiple response optimization may be useful for designing formulations for a range of applications, such as vaccines or protein replacement therapies, for larger RNA cargoes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Han Ly
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Simon Daniel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, United Kingdom
| | - Shekinah K V Soriano
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Zoltán Kis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, United Kingdom.,Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
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12
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Blakney AK. Voices in Molecular Pharmaceutics: Meet Dr. Anna Blakney, an Engineer Who Seeks To Develop the Next Generation of Gene Therapies. Mol Pharm 2022; 19:1231-1232. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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13
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Webb C, Ip S, Bathula NV, Popova P, Soriano SKV, Ly HH, Eryilmaz B, Nguyen Huu VA, Broadhead R, Rabel M, Villamagna I, Abraham S, Raeesi V, Thomas A, Clarke S, Ramsay EC, Perrie Y, Blakney AK. Current Status and Future Perspectives on MRNA Drug Manufacturing. Mol Pharm 2022; 19:1047-1058. [PMID: 35238565 PMCID: PMC8905930 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic launched an unprecedented global effort to rapidly develop vaccines to stem the spread of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines were developed quickly by companies that were actively developing mRNA therapeutics and vaccines for other indications, leading to two mRNA vaccines being not only the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to be approved for emergency use but also the first mRNA drugs to gain emergency use authorization and to eventually gain full approval. This was possible partly because mRNA sequences can be altered to encode nearly any protein without significantly altering its chemical properties, allowing the drug substance to be a modular component of the drug product. Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology required to protect the ribonucleic acid (RNA) and mediate delivery into the cytoplasm of cells is likewise modular, as are technologies and infrastructure required to encapsulate the RNA into the LNP. This enabled the rapid adaptation of the technology to a new target. Upon the coattails of the clinical success of mRNA vaccines, this modularity will pave the way for future RNA medicines for cancer, gene therapy, and RNA engineered cell therapies. In this review, trends in the publication records and clinical trial registrations are tallied to show the sharp intensification in preclinical and clinical research for RNA medicines. Demand for the manufacturing of both the RNA drug substance (DS) and the LNP drug product (DP) has already been strained, causing shortages of the vaccine, and the rise in development and translation of other mRNA drugs in the coming years will exacerbate this strain. To estimate demand for DP manufacturing, the dosing requirements for the preclinical and clinical studies of the two approved mRNA vaccines were examined. To understand the current state of mRNA-LNP production, current methods and technologies are reviewed, as are current and announced global capacities for commercial manufacturing. Finally, a vision is rationalized for how emerging technologies such as self-amplifying mRNA, microfluidic production, and trends toward integrated and distributed manufacturing will shape the future of RNA manufacturing and unlock the potential for an RNA medicine revolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Webb
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and
Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street,
Glasgow G4 0RE, United Kingdom
| | - Shell Ip
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Nuthan V. Bathula
- Michael Smith Laboratories & School of Biomedical
Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Petya Popova
- Michael Smith Laboratories & School of Biomedical
Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Shekinah K. V. Soriano
- Michael Smith Laboratories & School of Biomedical
Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Han Han Ly
- Michael Smith Laboratories & School of Biomedical
Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Burcu Eryilmaz
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and
Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street,
Glasgow G4 0RE, United Kingdom
| | - Viet Anh Nguyen Huu
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Richard Broadhead
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Martin Rabel
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Ian Villamagna
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Suraj Abraham
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Vahid Raeesi
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Anitha Thomas
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Samuel Clarke
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Euan C. Ramsay
- Precision NanoSystems Inc,
655 West Kent Avenue North Unit 50, Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6T7,
Canada
| | - Yvonne Perrie
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and
Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 161 Cathedral Street,
Glasgow G4 0RE, United Kingdom
| | - Anna K. Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories & School of Biomedical
Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2185 East Mall,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
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14
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories, Vancouver, BC V6S0K3, Canada.
| | - Linda-Gail Bekker
- The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Cape Town, South Africa
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15
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Hu K, McKay PF, Samnuan K, Najer A, Blakney AK, Che J, O'Driscoll G, Cihova M, Stevens MM, Shattock RJ. Presentation of antigen on extracellular vesicles using transmembrane domains from viral glycoproteins for enhanced immunogenicity. J Extracell Vesicles 2022; 11:e12199. [PMID: 35233930 PMCID: PMC8888812 DOI: 10.1002/jev2.12199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [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: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A vaccine antigen, when launched as DNA or RNA, can be presented in various forms, including intracellular, secreted, membrane-bound, or on extracellular vesicles (EVs). Whether an antigen in one or more of these forms is superior in immune induction remains unclear. In this study, we used GFP as a model antigen and first compared the EV-loading efficiency of transmembrane domains (TMs) from various viral glycoproteins, and then investigated whether EV-bound GFP (EV-GFP) would enhance immune induction. Our data showed that GFP fused to viral TMs was successfully loaded onto the surface of EVs. In addition, GFP-bound EVs were predominantly associated with the exosome marker CD81. Immunogenicity study with EV-GFP-producing plasmids in mice demonstrated that antigen-specific IgG and IgA were significantly increased in EV-GFP groups, compared to soluble and intracellular GFP groups. Similarly, GFP-specific T cell response-related cytokines produced by antigen-stimulated splenocytes were also enhanced in mice immunized with EV-GFP constructs. Immunogenicity study with purified soluble GFP and GFP EVs further confirmed the immune enhancement property of EV-GFP in mice. In vitro uptake assays indicated that EV-GFP was more efficiently taken up than soluble GFP by mouse splenocytes and such uptake was B cell preferential. Taken together, our data indicate that viral TMs can efficiently load antigens onto the EV surface, and that EV-bound antigen enhances both humoral and cell-mediated antigen-specific responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Hu
- Department of Infectious DiseasesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Department of Infectious DiseasesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Department of Infectious DiseasesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Adrian Najer
- Department of MaterialsDepartment of Bioengineeringand Institute of Biomedical EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Anna K. Blakney
- Department of Infectious DiseasesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Junyi Che
- Department of MaterialsDepartment of Bioengineeringand Institute of Biomedical EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Gwen O'Driscoll
- Department of MaterialsDepartment of Bioengineeringand Institute of Biomedical EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK,Division of Radiotherapy and ImagingThe Institute of Cancer ResearchLondonUK
| | - Martina Cihova
- Department of MaterialsDepartment of Bioengineeringand Institute of Biomedical EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Department of MaterialsDepartment of Bioengineeringand Institute of Biomedical EngineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
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16
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Hu K, Samnuan K, Jain N, Brown A, Thomas A, Rogers P, Polra K, Sallah H, Yeow J, Zhu Y, Stevens MM, Geall A, Shattock RJ. Polymeric and lipid nanoparticles for delivery of self-amplifying RNA vaccines. J Control Release 2021; 338:201-210. [PMID: 34418521 PMCID: PMC8412240 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.08.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [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: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) is a next-generation vaccine platform, but like all nucleic acids, requires a delivery vehicle to promote cellular uptake and protect the saRNA from degradation. To date, delivery platforms for saRNA have included lipid nanoparticles (LNP), polyplexes and cationic nanoemulsions; of these LNP are the most clinically advanced with the recent FDA approval of COVID-19 based-modified mRNA vaccines. While the effect of RNA on vaccine immunogenicity is well studied, the role of biomaterials in saRNA vaccine effectiveness is under investigated. Here, we tested saRNA formulated with either pABOL, a bioreducible polymer, or LNP, and characterized the protein expression and vaccine immunogenicity of both platforms. We observed that pABOL-formulated saRNA resulted in a higher magnitude of protein expression, but that the LNP formulations were overall more immunogenic. Furthermore, we observed that both the helper phospholipid and route of administration (intramuscular versus intranasal) of LNP impacted the vaccine immunogenicity of two model antigens (influenza hemagglutinin and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein). We observed that LNP administered intramuscularly, but not pABOL or LNP administered intranasally, resulted in increased acute interleukin-6 expression after vaccination. Overall, these results indicate that delivery systems and routes of administration may fulfill different delivery niches within the field of saRNA genetic medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- The University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z4, Canada,Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom,Corresponding authors at: Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Kai Hu
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Nikita Jain
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P6T7, Canada
| | - Andrew Brown
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P6T7, Canada
| | - Anitha Thomas
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P6T7, Canada
| | - Paul Rogers
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Krunal Polra
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Hadijatou Sallah
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan Yeow
- Imperial College London, Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, London SW72BU, United Kingdom
| | - Yunqing Zhu
- Imperial College London, Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, London SW72BU, United Kingdom,School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Imperial College London, Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, London SW72BU, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Geall
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P6T7, Canada
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom,Corresponding authors at: Imperial College London, Department of Infectious Disease, London W21PG, United Kingdom
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17
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Hernandez JL, Park J, Yao S, Blakney AK, Nguyen HV, Katz BH, Jensen JT, Woodrow KA. Effect of tissue microenvironment on fibrous capsule formation to biomaterial-coated implants. Biomaterials 2021; 273:120806. [PMID: 33905960 PMCID: PMC8135119 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.120806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Within tissue exposed to the systemic immune system, lymphocytes and fibroblasts act against biomaterials via the development of a fibrous capsule, known as the foreign body reaction (FBR). Inspired by the natural tolerance that the uterine cavity has to foreign bodies, our study explores the role of microenvironment across classical (subcutaneous) and immune privileged (uterine) tissues in the development of the FBR. As a model biomaterial, we used electrospun fibers loaded with sclerosing agents to provoke scar tissue growth. Additionally, we integrated these materials onto an intrauterine device as a platform for intrauterine biomaterial studies. Polyester materials in vitro achieved drug release up to 10 days, greater pro-inflammatory and pro-healing cytokine expression, and the addition of gelatin enabled greater fibroblast attachment. We observed the materials that induced the greatest FBR in the mouse, had no effect when inserted at the utero-tubal junction of non-human primates. These results suggest that the FBR varies across different tissue microenvironments, and a dampened fibrotic response exists in the uterine cavity, possibly due to immune privilege. Further study of immune privileged tissue factors on biomaterials could broaden our understanding of the FBR and inform new methods for achieving biocompatibility in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L Hernandez
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Jaehyung Park
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Shan Yao
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Hienschi V Nguyen
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA
| | - Bob H Katz
- ContraMed LLC, 900 E. Hamilton Ave, Campbell, CA, 95008, USA
| | - Jeffrey T Jensen
- Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA.
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18
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Spencer AJ, McKay PF, Belij-Rammerstorfer S, Ulaszewska M, Bissett CD, Hu K, Samnuan K, Blakney AK, Wright D, Sharpe HR, Gilbride C, Truby A, Allen ER, Gilbert SC, Shattock RJ, Lambe T. Heterologous vaccination regimens with self-amplifying RNA and adenoviral COVID vaccines induce robust immune responses in mice. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2893. [PMID: 34001897 PMCID: PMC8129084 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23173-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Several vaccines have demonstrated efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 mediated disease, yet there is limited data on the immune response induced by heterologous vaccination regimens using alternate vaccine modalities. Here, we present a detailed description of the immune response, in mice, following vaccination with a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine and an adenoviral vectored vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrate that antibody responses are higher in two-dose heterologous vaccination regimens than single-dose regimens. Neutralising titres after heterologous prime-boost were at least comparable or higher than the titres measured after homologous prime boost vaccination with viral vectors. Importantly, the cellular immune response after a heterologous regimen is dominated by cytotoxic T cells and Th1+ CD4 T cells, which is superior to the response induced in homologous vaccination regimens in mice. These results underpin the need for clinical trials to investigate the immunogenicity of heterologous regimens with alternate vaccine technologies.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antibodies, Neutralizing/immunology
- Antibodies, Viral/immunology
- COVID-19/immunology
- COVID-19/prevention & control
- COVID-19 Vaccines/administration & dosage
- COVID-19 Vaccines/genetics
- COVID-19 Vaccines/immunology
- ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
- Immunization, Secondary
- Immunogenicity, Vaccine
- Mice
- RNA, Viral/administration & dosage
- RNA, Viral/genetics
- RNA, Viral/immunology
- SARS-CoV-2/immunology
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/genetics
- Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- Th1 Cells/immunology
- Vaccination/methods
- Vaccines, Synthetic/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Synthetic/genetics
- Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra J Spencer
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Marta Ulaszewska
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Cameron D Bissett
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kai Hu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Daniel Wright
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Hannah R Sharpe
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ciaran Gilbride
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Adam Truby
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Elizabeth R Allen
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sarah C Gilbert
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Teresa Lambe
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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19
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van de Berg D, Kis Z, Behmer CF, Samnuan K, Blakney AK, Kontoravdi C, Shattock R, Shah N. Quality by design modelling to support rapid RNA vaccine production against emerging infectious diseases. NPJ Vaccines 2021; 6:65. [PMID: 33927197 PMCID: PMC8085199 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-021-00322-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid-response vaccine production platform technologies, including RNA vaccines, are being developed to combat viral epidemics and pandemics. A key enabler of rapid response is having quality-oriented disease-agnostic manufacturing protocols ready ahead of outbreaks. We are the first to apply the Quality by Design (QbD) framework to enhance rapid-response RNA vaccine manufacturing against known and future viral pathogens. This QbD framework aims to support the development and consistent production of safe and efficacious RNA vaccines, integrating a novel qualitative methodology and a quantitative bioprocess model. The qualitative methodology identifies and assesses the direction, magnitude and shape of the impact of critical process parameters (CPPs) on critical quality attributes (CQAs). The mechanistic bioprocess model quantifies and maps the effect of four CPPs on the CQA of effective yield of RNA drug substance. Consequently, the first design space of an RNA vaccine synthesis bioreactor is obtained. The cost-yield optimization together with the probabilistic design space contribute towards automation of rapid-response, high-quality RNA vaccine production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien van de Berg
- Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Zoltán Kis
- Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Carl Fredrik Behmer
- Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
- University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories and School of Biomedical Engineering, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cleo Kontoravdi
- Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Robin Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Nilay Shah
- Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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20
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Saviano F, Lovato T, Russo A, Russo G, Bouton CR, Shattock RJ, Alexander C, Quaglia F, Blakney AK, Gurnani P, Conte C. Ornithine-derived oligomers and dendrimers for in vitro delivery of DNA and ex vivo transfection of skin cells via saRNA. J Mater Chem B 2021; 8:4940-4949. [PMID: 32463058 DOI: 10.1039/d0tb00942c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Gene therapies are undergoing a renaissance, primarily due to their potential for applications in vaccination for infectious diseases and cancers. Although the biology of these technologies is rapidly evolving, delivery strategies need to be improved to overcome the poor pharmacokinetics and cellular transport of nucleic acids whilst maintaining patient safety. In this work, we describe the divergent synthesis of biodegradable cationic dendrimers based on the amino acid ornithine as non-viral gene delivery vectors and evaluate their potential as delivery vectors for DNA and RNA. The dendrimers effectively complexed model nucleic acids at lower N/P ratios than polyethyleneimine and outperformed it in DNA transfection experiments with ratios above 5. Remarkably, all dendrimer polyplexes at N/P = 2 achieved up to 7-fold higher protein content over an optimized PEI formulation when used for transfections with self-amplifying RNA (saRNA). Finally, transfection studies utilizing human skin explants revealed an increase of cells producing protein from 2% with RNA alone to 12% with dendrimer polyplexes, attributed to expression enrichment predominantly in epithelial cells, fibroblasts and leukocytes, with minor enrichment in NK cells, T cells, monocytes, and B cells. Overall, this study indicates the clear potential of ornithine dendrimers as safe and effective delivery vectors for both DNA and RNA therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Saviano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
| | - Tatiana Lovato
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Annapina Russo
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
| | - Giulia Russo
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
| | - Clément R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
| | - Cameron Alexander
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Fabiana Quaglia
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
| | - Pratik Gurnani
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Claudia Conte
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
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21
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Bouton CR, Hu K, Samnuan K, Shattock RJ. Innate Inhibiting Proteins Enhance Expression and Immunogenicity of Self-Amplifying RNA. Mol Ther 2021; 29:1174-1185. [PMID: 33352107 PMCID: PMC7935664 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) is a cutting-edge platform for both nucleic acid vaccines and therapeutics. saRNA is self-adjuvanting, as it activates types I and III interferon (IFN), which enhances the immunogenicity of RNA vaccines but can also lead to inhibition of translation. In this study, we screened a library of saRNA constructs with cis-encoded innate inhibiting proteins (IIPs) and determined the effect on protein expression and immunogenicity. We observed that the PIV-5 V and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) ORF4a proteins enhance protein expression 100- to 500-fold in vitro in IFN-competent HeLa and MRC5 cells. We found that the MERS-CoV ORF4a protein partially abates dose nonlinearity in vivo, and that ruxolitinib, a potent Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) inhibitor, but not the IIPs, enhances protein expression of saRNA in vivo. Both the PIV-5 V and MERS-CoV ORF4a proteins were found to enhance the percentage of resident cells in human skin explants expressing saRNA and completely rescued dose nonlinearity of saRNA. Finally, we observed that the MERS-CoV ORF4a increased the rabies virus (RABV)-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) titer and neutralization half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) by ∼10-fold in rabbits, but not in mice or rats. These experiments provide a proof of concept that IIPs can be directly encoded into saRNA vectors and effectively abate the nonlinear dose dependency and enhance immunogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK.
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK
| | - Clément R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK
| | - Kai Hu
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London W21PG, UK.
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22
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- University of British Columbia, Michael Smith Laboratories, Vancouver, BC V6S 0K3, Canada.
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UK
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23
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Abstract
This review will explore the four major pillars required for design and development of an saRNA vaccine: Antigen design, vector design, non-viral delivery systems, and manufacturing (both saRNA and lipid nanoparticles (LNP)). We report on the major innovations, preclinical and clinical data reported in the last five years and will discuss future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Shell Ip
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P 6T7, Canada; (S.I.); (A.J.G.)
| | - Andrew J. Geall
- Precision NanoSystems Inc., Vancouver, BC V6P 6T7, Canada; (S.I.); (A.J.G.)
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24
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Che J, Najer A, Blakney AK, McKay PF, Bellahcene M, Winter CW, Sintou A, Tang J, Keane TJ, Schneider MD, Shattock RJ, Sattler S, Stevens MM. Neutrophils Enable Local and Non-Invasive Liposome Delivery to Inflamed Skeletal Muscle and Ischemic Heart. Adv Mater 2020; 32:e2003598. [PMID: 33103807 PMCID: PMC7613371 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202003598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Uncontrolled inflammation is a major pathological factor underlying a range of diseases including autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Improving localized delivery of immunosuppressive drugs to inflamed tissue in a non-invasive manner offers significant promise to reduce severe side effects caused by systemic administration. Here, a neutrophil-mediated delivery system able to transport drug-loaded nanocarriers to inflamed tissue by exploiting the inherent ability of neutrophils to migrate to inflammatory tissue is reported. This hybrid system (neutrophils loaded with liposomes ex vivo) efficiently migrates in vitro following an inflammatory chemokine gradient. Furthermore, the triggered release of loaded liposomes and reuptake by target macrophages is studied. The migratory behavior of liposome-loaded neutrophils is confirmed in vivo by demonstrating the delivery of drug-loaded liposomes to an inflamed skeletal muscle in mice. A single low-dose injection of the hybrid system locally reduces inflammatory cytokine levels. Biodistribution of liposome-loaded neutrophils in a human-disease-relevant myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury mouse model after i.v. injection confirms the ability of injected neutrophils to carry loaded liposomes to inflammation sites. This strategy shows the potential of nanocarrier-loaded neutrophils as a universal platform to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs to promote tissue regeneration in inflammatory diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyi Che
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Adrian Najer
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Mohamed Bellahcene
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Charles W Winter
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Amalia Sintou
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Jiaqing Tang
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Timothy J Keane
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Michael D Schneider
- British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Susanne Sattler
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Molly M Stevens
- Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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25
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Blakney AK, Deletic P, McKay PF, Bouton CR, Ashford M, Shattock RJ, Sabirsh A. Effect of complexing lipids on cellular uptake and expression of messenger RNA in human skin explants. J Control Release 2020; 330:1250-1261. [PMID: 33250305 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.11.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [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: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) represents a promising next-generation approach for both treatment and vaccination. Lipid based particles are one of the most investigated delivery systems for mRNA formulations. Here we explore how the complexing lipid affects uptake and translation of lipoplex-delivered RNA in resident cells in human skin explants and, we explore a more modular delivery system that utilizes mRNA added to pre-formed nanoparticles prior to dosing. We prepared formulations of lipoplexes with ionizable, cationic or zwitterionic lipids, externally complexed these with mRNA, and observed which cells internalized and/or expressed the mRNA over 72 h after intradermal injections into primary, human, skin explants. Using a flow cytometry panel to assess cellular phenotypes, mRNA uptake and mRNA expression, we found that, unlike other cell types, adipocytes expressed mRNA efficiently at 4 and 24 h after mRNA-lipoplex injection and contributed the greatest proportion of total RNA-encoded protein expression, despite being the lowest frequency cell type. Other cell types (epithelial cells, fibroblasts, T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, monocytes, NK cells, Langerhans cells, and leukocytes) had increasing mRNA expression over the course of 72 h, irrespective of lipoplex formulation. We observed that overall charge of the particle, but not the complexing lipid classification, was predictive for the pattern of mRNA uptake and expression among resident cell types in this model. This study provides insight into maximizing protein expression, using modular mRNA lipoplexes that are more compatible with product development, in a clinically relevant, human skin explant model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London W21PG, United Kingdom.
| | - Polina Deletic
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Clément R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Marianne Ashford
- Advanced Drug Delivery Pharmaceutical Sciences, R & D, AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, United Kingdom
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Sabirsh
- Advanced Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R & D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
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26
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Gurnani P, Blakney AK, Terracciano R, Petch JE, Blok AJ, Bouton CR, McKay PF, Shattock RJ, Alexander C. The In Vitro, Ex Vivo, and In Vivo Effect of Polymer Hydrophobicity on Charge-Reversible Vectors for Self-Amplifying RNA. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:3242-3253. [PMID: 32644777 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c00698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
RNA technology has the potential to revolutionize vaccination. However, the lack of clear structure-property relationships in relevant biological models mean there is no clear consensus on the chemical motifs necessary to improve RNA delivery. In this work, we describe the synthesis of a series of copolymers based on the self-hydrolyzing charge-reversible polycation poly(dimethylaminoethyl acrylate) (pDMAEA), varying the lipophilicity of the additional co-monomers. All copolymers formed stable polyplexes, showing efficient complexation with model nucleic acids from nitrogen/phosphate (N/P) ratios of N/P = 5, with more hydrophobic complexes exhibiting slower charge reversal and disassembly compared to hydrophilic analogues. The more hydrophobic copolymers outperformed hydrophilic versions, homopolymer controls and the reference standard polymer (polyethylenimine), in transfection assays on 2D cell monolayers, albeit with significantly higher toxicities. Similarly, hydrophobic derivatives displayed up to a 4-fold higher efficacy in terms of the numbers of cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP+) cells in ex vivo human skin (10%) compared to free RNA (2%), attributed to transfection enrichment in epithelial cells. In contrast, in a mouse model, we observed the reverse trend in terms of RNA transfection, with no observable protein production in more hydrophobic analogues, whereas hydrophilic copolymers induced the highest transfection in vivo. Overall, our results suggest an important relationship between the vector lipophilicity and RNA transfection in vaccine settings, with polymer biocompatibility potentially a key parameter in effective in vivo protein production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratik Gurnani
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kindom
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, United Kindom
| | - Roberto Terracciano
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kindom.,Drug Delivery Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Joshua E Petch
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kindom
| | - Andrew J Blok
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kindom
| | - Clément R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, United Kindom
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, United Kindom
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, School of Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, United Kindom
| | - Cameron Alexander
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kindom
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27
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Blakney AK, Zhu Y, McKay PF, Bouton C, Yeow J, Tang J, Hu K, Samnuan K, Grigsby CL, Shattock RJ, Stevens MM. Big Is Beautiful: Enhanced saRNA Delivery and Immunogenicity by a Higher Molecular Weight, Bioreducible, Cationic Polymer. ACS Nano 2020; 14:5711-5727. [PMID: 32267667 PMCID: PMC7304921 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c00326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines are highly advantageous, as they result in enhanced protein expression compared to mRNA (mRNA), thus minimizing the required dose. However, previous delivery strategies were optimized for siRNA or mRNA and do not necessarily deliver saRNA efficiently due to structural differences of these RNAs, thus motivating the development of saRNA delivery platforms. Here, we engineer a bioreducible, linear, cationic polymer called "pABOL" for saRNA delivery and show that increasing its molecular weight enhances delivery both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that pABOL enhances protein expression and cellular uptake via both intramuscular and intradermal injection compared to commercially available polymers in vivo and that intramuscular injection confers complete protection against influenza challenge. Due to the scalability of polymer synthesis and ease of formulation preparation, we anticipate that this polymer is highly clinically translatable as a delivery vehicle for saRNA for both vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Yunqing Zhu
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, U.K.
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji
University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Clément
R. Bouton
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Jonathan Yeow
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Jiaqing Tang
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, U.K.
| | - Kai Hu
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Karnyart Samnuan
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Christopher L. Grigsby
- Department
of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department
of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College
London, Norfolk Place, London, W2 1PG, U.K.
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Department
of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical
Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, U.K.
- Department
of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 65, Sweden
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28
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Blakney AK, Abdouni Y, Yilmaz G, Liu R, McKay PF, Bouton CR, Shattock RJ, Becer CR. Mannosylated Poly(ethylene imine) Copolymers Enhance saRNA Uptake and Expression in Human Skin Explants. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:2482-2492. [PMID: 32250603 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c00445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a promising platform for both vaccines and therapeutics, and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) is particularly advantageous, as it enables higher protein expression and dose minimization. Here, we present a delivery platform for targeted delivery of saRNA using mannosylated poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) enabled by the host-guest interaction between cyclodextrin and adamantane. We show that the host-guest complexation does not interfere with the electrostatic interaction with saRNA and observed that increasing the degree of mannosylation inhibited transfection efficiency in vitro, but enhanced the number of cells expressing GFP by 8-fold in human skin explants. Besides, increasing the ratio of glycopolymer to saRNA also enhanced the percentage of transfected cells ex vivo. We identified that these mannosylated PEIs specifically increased protein expression in the epithelial cells resident in human skin in a mannose-dependent manner. This platform is promising for further study of glycosylation of PEI and targeted saRNA delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Yamin Abdouni
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Gokhan Yilmaz
- School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Renjie Liu
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Clément R Bouton
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - C Remzi Becer
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom.,Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
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29
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Gurnani P, Blakney AK, Yeow J, Bouton CR, Shattock RJ, Stevens MM, Alexander C. An improved synthesis of poly(amidoamine)s for complexation with self-amplifying RNA and effective transfection. Polym Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0py00912a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Aza-Michael addition to synthesise poly(amidoamines) was optimised to minimise appearance of bimodal molecular weight distributions caused by a radical-branching side-reaction. This significantly improved cellular delivery of a model self-amplifying RNA vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratik Gurnani
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation
- School of Pharmacy
- University of Nottingham
- UK
| | - Anna K. Blakney
- Department of Infectious Disease
- Imperial College London
- School of Medicine
- St Mary's Hospital
- London W2 1NY
| | - Jonathan Yeow
- Department of Materials and the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London
- SW7 2AZ London
- UK
| | - Clément R. Bouton
- Department of Infectious Disease
- Imperial College London
- School of Medicine
- St Mary's Hospital
- London W2 1NY
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department of Infectious Disease
- Imperial College London
- School of Medicine
- St Mary's Hospital
- London W2 1NY
| | - Molly M. Stevens
- Department of Materials and the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London
- SW7 2AZ London
- UK
| | - Cameron Alexander
- Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Formulation
- School of Pharmacy
- University of Nottingham
- UK
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30
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Blakney AK, Liu R, Yilmaz G, Abdouni Y, McKay PF, Bouton CR, Shattock RJ, Becer CR. Precisely targeted gene delivery in human skin using supramolecular cationic glycopolymers. Polym Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0py00449a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Gene delivery has become the focus of clinical treatments, thus motivating delivery strategies that are capable of targeting certain cell types in the context of both vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Department of Medicine
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Section of Immunology of infection
- Imperial College London
- London W21PG
| | - Renjie Liu
- School of Engineering and Materials Science
- Queen Mary University of London
- London
- UK
- J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering
| | - Gokhan Yilmaz
- School of Pharmacy
- University of Nottingham
- Nottingham
- UK
- Department of Chemistry
| | - Yamin Abdouni
- School of Engineering and Materials Science
- Queen Mary University of London
- London
- UK
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Department of Medicine
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Section of Immunology of infection
- Imperial College London
- London W21PG
| | - Clément R. Bouton
- Department of Medicine
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Section of Immunology of infection
- Imperial College London
- London W21PG
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department of Medicine
- Division of Infectious Diseases
- Section of Immunology of infection
- Imperial College London
- London W21PG
| | - C. Remzi Becer
- School of Engineering and Materials Science
- Queen Mary University of London
- London
- UK
- Department of Chemistry
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31
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Yus BI, Aldon Y, Shattock RJ. Inside out: optimization of lipid nanoparticle formulations for exterior complexation and in vivo delivery of saRNA. Gene Ther 2019; 26:363-372. [PMID: 31300730 PMCID: PMC6760535 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-019-0095-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Revised: 05/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) is a promising biotherapeutic tool that has been used as a vaccine against both infectious diseases and cancer. saRNA has been shown to induce protein expression for up to 60 days and elicit immune responses with lower dosing than messenger RNA (mRNA). Because saRNA is a large (~9500 nt), negatively charged molecule, it requires a delivery vehicle for efficient cellular uptake and degradation protection. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been widely used for RNA formulations, where the prevailing paradigm is to encapsulate RNA within the particle, including the first FDA-approved small-interfering siRNA therapy. Here, we compared LNP formulations with cationic and ionizable lipids with saRNA either on the interior or exterior of the particle. We show that LNPs formulated with cationic lipids protect saRNA from RNAse degradation, even when it is adsorbed to the surface. Furthermore, cationic LNPs deliver saRNA equivalently to particles formulated with saRNA encapsulated in an ionizable lipid particle, both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we show that cationic and ionizable LNP formulations induce equivalent antibodies against HIV-1 Env gp140 as a model antigen. These studies establish formulating saRNA on the surface of cationic LNPs as an alternative to the paradigm of encapsulating RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Yoann Aldon
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
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32
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Ibarzo Yus B, Hunter JE, Dex EA, Shattock RJ. The Skin You Are In: Design-of-Experiments Optimization of Lipid Nanoparticle Self-Amplifying RNA Formulations in Human Skin Explants. ACS Nano 2019; 13:5920-5930. [PMID: 31046232 PMCID: PMC7007275 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b01774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a promising tool for biotherapeutics, and self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) is particularly advantageous, because it results in abundant protein expression and production is easily scalable. While mRNA therapeutics have been shown to be highly effective in small animals, the outcomes do not scale linearly when these formulations are translated to dose-escalation studies in humans. Here, we utilize a design of experiments (DoE) approach to optimize the formulation of saRNA lipid nanoparticles in human skin explants. We first observed that luciferase expression from saRNA peaked after 11 days in human skin. Using DoE inputs of complexing lipid identity, lipid nanoparticle dose, lipid concentration, particle concentration, and ratio of zwitterionic to cationic lipids, we optimized the saRNA-induced luciferase expression in skin explants. Lipid identity and lipid concentration were found to be significant parameters in the DoE model, and the optimized formulation resulted in ∼7-fold increase in luciferase expression, relative to initial 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) formulation. Using flow cytometry, we observed that optimized formulations delivered the saRNA to ∼2% of the resident cells in the human skin explants. Although immune cells comprise only 7% of the total population of cells in skin, immune cells were found to express ∼50% of the RNA. This study demonstrates the powerful combination of using a DoE approach paired with clinically relevant human skin explants to optimize nucleic acid formulations. We expect that this system will be useful for optimizing both formulation and molecular designs of clinically translational nucleic acid vaccines and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Department
of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F. McKay
- Department
of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Bárbara Ibarzo Yus
- Department
of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W21PG, United Kingdom
| | - Judith E. Hunter
- Department
of Plastic Surgery, Imperial NHS Trust, London, W68RF, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth A. Dex
- Department
of Plastic Surgery, Imperial NHS Trust, London, W68RF, United Kingdom
| | - Robin J. Shattock
- Department
of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W21PG, United Kingdom
- E-mail:
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33
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Christensen D, Yus BI, Aldon Y, Follmann F, Shattock RJ. Effects of cationic adjuvant formulation particle type, fluidity and immunomodulators on delivery and immunogenicity of saRNA. J Control Release 2019; 304:65-74. [PMID: 31071377 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.04.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [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: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 04/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) is well suited as a vaccine platform against chlamydia, as it is relatively affordable and scalable, has been shown to induce immunity against multivalent antigens, and can result in protein expression for up to 60 days. Cationic adjuvant formulations (CAFs) have been previously investigated as an adjuvant for protein subunit vaccines; here we optimize the CAFs for delivery of saRNA in vivo and observe the immunogenicity profile in the context of both cellular and humoral immunity against the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Chlamydia trachomatis. We tested both liposomal and emulsion based CAFs with solid and fluid phase lipids, with or without the TLR agonists R848 and 3M-052, for in vitro transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity. We then optimized the RNA/delivery system ratio for in vivo delivery using saRNA coding for firefly luciferase (fLuc) as a reporter protein in vivo. We observed that while the fluid phase liposome formulations showed the highest in vitro transfection efficiency, the fluid and solid phase liposomes had equivalent luciferase expression in vivo. Incorporation of R848 or 3M-052 into the formulation was not observed to affect the delivery efficiency of saRNA either in vitro or in vivo. MOMP-encoding saRNA complexed with CAFs resulted in both MOMP-specific cellular and humoral immunity, and while there was a slight enhancement of IFN-γ+ T-cell responses when R848 was incorporated into the formulation, the self-adjuvanting effects of RNA appeared to dominate the immune response. These studies establish that CAFs are efficient delivery vehicles for saRNA both for in vitro transfections and in vivo immunogenicity and generate cellular and humoral responses that are proportionate to protein expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Dennis Christensen
- Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Yoann Aldon
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Frank Follmann
- Department of Infectious Disease Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
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34
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Blakney AK, McKay PF, Shattock RJ. Structural Components for Amplification of Positive and Negative Strand VEEV Splitzicons. Front Mol Biosci 2018; 5:71. [PMID: 30094239 PMCID: PMC6070733 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2018.00071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA is a promising nucleic acid technology for both vaccines and therapeutics, and replicon RNA has gained traction as a next-generation RNA modality. Replicon RNA self-amplifies using a replicase complex derived from alphaviral non-structural proteins and yields higher protein expression than a similar dose of messenger RNA. Here, we debut RNA splitzicons; a split replicon system wherein the non-structural proteins (NSPs) and the gene of interest are encoded on separate RNA molecules, but still exhibit the self-amplification properties of replicon RNA. We designed both positive and negative strand splitzicons encoding firefly luciferase as a reporter protein to determine which structural components, including the 5' untranslated region (UTR), a 51-nucleotide conserved sequence element (CSE) from the first nonstructural protein, the subgenomic promoter (SGP) and corresponding untranslated region, and an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) affect amplification. When paired with a NSP construct derived from the whole, wild type replicon, both the positive and negative strand splitzicons were amplified. The combination of the 51nt CSE, subgenomic promoter and untranslated region were imperative for the positive strand splitzicon, while the negative strand was amplified simply with inclusion of the subgenomic promoter. The splitzicons were amplified by NSPs in multiple cell types and show increasing protein expression with increasing doses of NSP. Furthermore, both the positive and negative strand splitzicons continued to amplify over the course of 72 h, up to >100,000-fold. This work demonstrates a system for screening the components required for amplification from the positive and negative strand intermediates of RNA replicons and presents a new approach to RNA replicon technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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35
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Abstract
Here, we present the current challenges in women's reproductive health and the current state-of-the-art treatment and prevention options for STI prevention, contraception, and treatment of infections. We discuss how the versatile platform of electrospun fibers can be applied to each challenge, and postulate at how these technologies could be improved. The void of approved electrospun fiber-based products yields the potential to apply this useful technology to a number of medical applications, many of which are relevant to women's reproductive health. Given the ability to tune drug delivery characteristics and three-dimensional geometry, there are many opportunities to pursue new product designs and routes of administration for electrospun fibers. For each application, we provide an overview of the versatility of electrospun fibers as a novel dosage form and summarize their advantages in clinical applications. We also provide a perspective on why electrospun fibers are well-suited for a variety of applications within women's reproductive health and identify areas that could greatly benefit from innovations with electrospun fiber-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yonghou Jiang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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36
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Blakney AK, Yilmaz G, McKay PF, Becer CR, Shattock RJ. One Size Does Not Fit All: The Effect of Chain Length and Charge Density of Poly(ethylene imine) Based Copolymers on Delivery of pDNA, mRNA, and RepRNA Polyplexes. Biomacromolecules 2018; 19:2870-2879. [PMID: 29698602 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic acid delivery systems are commonly translated between different modalities, such as DNA and RNA of varying length and structure, despite physical differences in these molecules that yield disparate delivery efficiency with the same system. Here, we synthesized a library of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)/poly(ethylene imine) copolymers with varying molar mass and charge densities in order to probe how pDNA, mRNA, and RepRNA polyplex characteristics affect transfection efficiency. The library was utilized in a full factorial design of experiment (DoE) screening, with outputs of luciferase expression, particle size, surface charge, and particle concentration. The optimal copolymer molar mass and charge density was found as 83 kDa/100%, 72 kDa/100%, and 45 kDa/80% for pDNA, RepRNA, and mRNA, respectively. While 10 of the synthesized copolymers enhanced the transfection efficiency of pDNA and mRNA, only 2 copolymers enhanced RepRNA transfection efficiency, indicating a narrow and more stringent design space for RepRNA. These findings suggest that there is not a "one size fits all" polymer for different nucleic acid species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Section of Virology , Imperial College London , Norfolk Place, London W21PG , U.K
| | - Gokhan Yilmaz
- Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, School of Engineering and Materials Science , Queen Mary University of London , London E1 4NS , U.K
| | - Paul F McKay
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Section of Virology , Imperial College London , Norfolk Place, London W21PG , U.K
| | - C Remzi Becer
- Polymer Chemistry Laboratory, School of Engineering and Materials Science , Queen Mary University of London , London E1 4NS , U.K
| | - Robin J Shattock
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Section of Virology , Imperial College London , Norfolk Place, London W21PG , U.K
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Krogstad EA, Ramanathan R, Nhan C, Kraft JC, Blakney AK, Cao S, Ho RJY, Woodrow KA. Nanoparticle-releasing nanofiber composites for enhanced in vivo vaginal retention. Biomaterials 2017; 144:1-16. [PMID: 28802690 PMCID: PMC5599218 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.07.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [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: 05/15/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Current approaches for topical vaginal administration of nanoparticles result in poor retention and extensive leakage. To overcome these challenges, we developed a nanoparticle-releasing nanofiber delivery platform and evaluated its ability to improve nanoparticle retention in a murine model. We individually tailored two components of this drug delivery system for optimal interaction with mucus, designing (1) mucoadhesive fibers for better retention in the vaginal tract, and (2) PEGylated nanoparticles that diffuse quickly through mucus. We hypothesized that this novel dual-functioning (mucoadhesive/mucus-penetrating) composite material would provide enhanced retention of nanoparticles in the vaginal mucosa. Equivalent doses of fluorescent nanoparticles were vaginally administered to mice in either water (aqueous suspension) or fiber composites, and fluorescent content was quantified in cervicovaginal mucus and vaginal tissue at time points from 24 h to 7d. We also fabricated composite fibers containing etravirine-loaded nanoparticles and evaluated the pharmacokinetics over 7d. We found that our composite materials provided approximately 30-fold greater retention of nanoparticles in the reproductive tract at 24 h compared to aqueous suspensions. Compared to nanoparticles in aqueous suspension, the nanoparticles in fiber composites exhibited sustained and higher etravirine concentrations after 24 h and up to 7d, demonstrating the capabilities of this new delivery platform to sustain nanoparticle release out to 3d and drug retention out to one week after a single administration. This is the first report of nanoparticle-releasing fibers for vaginal drug delivery, as well as the first study of a single delivery system that combines two components uniquely engineered for complementary interactions with mucus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Krogstad
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Renuka Ramanathan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Christina Nhan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - John C Kraft
- Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Shijie Cao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Rodney J Y Ho
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States; Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States.
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Blakney AK, Little AB, Jiang Y, Woodrow KA. In vitro-ex vivo correlations between a cell-laden hydrogel and mucosal tissue for screening composite delivery systems. Drug Deliv 2017; 24:582-590. [PMID: 28222612 PMCID: PMC5594105 DOI: 10.1080/10717544.2016.1242178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [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] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Composite delivery systems where drugs are electrospun in different layers and vary the drug stacking-order are posited to affect bioavailability. We evaluated how the formulation characteristics of both burst- and sustained-release electrospun fibers containing three physicochemically diverse drugs: dapivirine (DPV), maraviroc (MVC) and tenofovir (TFV) affect in vitro and ex vivo release. We developed a poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogel release platform for the rapid, inexpensive in vitro evaluation of burst- and sustained-release topical or dermal drug delivery systems with varying microarchitecture. We investigated properties of the hydrogel that could recapitulate ex vivo release into nonhuman primate vaginal tissue. Using a dimethyl sulfoxide extraction protocol and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, we achieved >93% recovery from the hydrogels and >88% recovery from tissue explants for all three drugs. We found that DPV loading, but not stacking order (layers of fiber containing a single drug) or microarchitecture (layers with isolated drug compared to all drugs in the same layer) impacted the burst release in vitro and ex vivo. Our burst-release formulations showed a correlation for DPV accumulation between the hydrogel and tissue (R2= 0.80), but the correlation was not significant for MVC or TFV. For the sustained-release formulations, the PLGA/PCL content did not affect TFV release in vitro or ex vivo. Incorporation of cells into the hydrogel matrix improved the correlation between hydrogel and tissue explant release for TFV. We expect that this hydrogel-tissue mimic may be a promising preclinical model to evaluate topical or transdermal drug delivery systems with complex microarchitectures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- a Department of Bioengineering , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - Adam B Little
- a Department of Bioengineering , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - Yonghou Jiang
- a Department of Bioengineering , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- a Department of Bioengineering , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
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Blakney AK, Jiang Y, Whittington D, Woodrow KA. Corrigendum to “Simultaneous measurement of etravirine, maraviroc and raltegravir in pigtail macaque plasma, vaginal secretions and vaginal tissue using a LC–MS/MS assay” [J. Chromatogr. B 1025 (2016) 110–118]. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2016; 1039:88. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2016.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Blakney AK, Simonovsky FI, Suydam IT, Ratner BD, Woodrow KA. Rapidly Biodegrading PLGA-Polyurethane Fibers for Sustained Release of Physicochemically Diverse Drugs. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2016; 2:1595-1607. [PMID: 28989956 PMCID: PMC5630182 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Sustained release of physicochemically diverse drugs from electrospun fibers remains a challenge and precludes the use of fibers in many medical applications. Here, we synthesize a new class of polyurethanes with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) moieties that degrade faster than polyurethanes based on polycaprolactone. The new polymers, with varying hard to soft segment ratios and fluorobenzene pendant group content, were electrospun into nanofibers and loaded with four physicochemically diverse small molecule drugs. Polymers were characterized using GPC, XPS, and 19F NMR. The size and morphology of electrospun fibers were visualized using SEM, and drug/polymer compatibility and drug crystallinity were evaluated using DSC. We measured in vitro drug release, polymer degradation and cell-culture cytotoxicity of biodegradation products. We show that these newly synthesized PLGA-based polyurethanes degrade up to 65-80% within 4 weeks and are cytocompatible in vitro. The drug-loaded electrospun fibers were amorphous solid dispersions. We found that increasing the hard to soft segment ratio of the polymer enhances the sustained release of positively charged drugs, whereas increasing the fluorobenzene pendant content caused more rapid release of some drugs. In summary, increasing the hard segment or fluorobenzene pendant content of segmented polyurethanes containing PLGA moieties allows for modulation of physicochemically diverse drug release from electrospun fibers while maintaining a biologically relevant biodegradation rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K. Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Felix I. Simonovsky
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Ian T. Suydam
- Department of Chemistry, Seattle University, 901 12th Ave., Seattle, Washington 98122, United States
| | - Buddy D. Ratner
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Kim A. Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, 3720 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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Stoddard RJ, Steger AL, Blakney AK, Woodrow KA. In pursuit of functional electrospun materials for clinical applications in humans. Ther Deliv 2016; 7:387-409. [PMID: 27250537 PMCID: PMC6077760 DOI: 10.4155/tde-2016-0017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [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: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrospinning is a simple, low-cost and versatile approach to fabricate multifunctional materials useful in drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Despite its emergence into other manufacturing sectors, electrospinning has not yet made a transformative impact in the clinic with a pharmaceutical product for use in humans. Why is this the current state of electrospun materials in biomedicine? Is it because electrospun materials are not yet capable of overcoming the biological safety and efficacy challenges needed in pharmaceutical products? Or, is it that technological advances in the electrospinning process are needed? This review investigates the current state of electrospun materials in medicine to identify both scientific and technological gaps that may limit clinical translation.
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Blakney AK, Jiang Y, Whittington D, Woodrow KA. Simultaneous measurement of etravirine, maraviroc and raltegravir in pigtail macaque plasma, vaginal secretions and vaginal tissue using a LC-MS/MS assay. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci 2016; 1025:110-8. [PMID: 27236000 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2016.04.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [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: 02/19/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Etravirine (ETR), maraviroc (MVC) and raltegravir (RAL) are promising antiretroviral drugs being used in HIV treatment and may be interesting for prevention applications such as oral or topical pre-exposure prophylaxis. Here we describe a sensitive and accurate method for the simultaneous detection of ETR, MVC and RAL from pigtail macaque plasma, vaginal secretions, and vaginal tissue. This method is characterized by a straightforward precipitation extraction method, a limit of quantification <0.5ngmL(-1) for all three antiretrovirals bolstered by a corresponding internal standard for each drug analyte, and short run time. Quantification is performed using positive ion electrospray triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. This method was validated over clinically relevant ranges for the three ARV drugs in all three matrices: 0.1-100ngmL(-1) for ETR, 0.05-100ngmL(-1) for MVC and 1-100ngmL(-1) for RAL. Our method is accurate and precise, with measured mean inter-assay precision (%CV) and accuracy (% bias) of 5.08% and 1.96%, respectively, while the mean intra-assay precision and accuracy were 3.44% and 1.08%. The overall post-extraction recovery for ETR, MVC and RAL was >94% in all cases. We also show that extracted biological samples are stable after storage at room temperature or 4°C and after three freeze/thaw cycles. This is the first analytical method capable of quantifying ETR, MVC and RAL in biological matrices relevant for pre-clinical testing of oral or topical HIV prevention methods in pigtailed macaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yonghou Jiang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Dale Whittington
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Hesseling AC, Blakney AK, Jones CE, Esser MM, de Beer C, Kuhn L, Cotton MF, Jaspan HB. Delayed BCG immunization does not alter antibody responses to EPI vaccines in HIV-exposed and -unexposed South African infants. Vaccine 2016; 34:3702-9. [PMID: 27055019 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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: 08/19/2015] [Revised: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is routinely given at birth in tuberculosis-endemic settings due to its protective effect against disseminated tuberculosis in infants. BCG is however contraindicated in HIV-infected infants. We investigated whether delaying BCG vaccination to 14 weeks of age affected vaccine-induced antibody responses to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)-conjugate, pertussis, tetanus and Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccines, in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) and -unexposed uninfected (HUU) infants. METHODS Infants were randomized to receive BCG at birth or at 14 weeks of age. Blood was taken at 14, 24, and 52 weeks of age and analyzed for Hib, pertussis, tetanus and HBV specific antibodies. RESULTS BCG was given either at birth (106 infants, 51 HEU) or at 14 weeks of age (74 infants, 50 HEU). The timing of BCG vaccination did not influence the antibody response to any antigen studied. However, in a non-randomized comparison, HEU infants had higher Hib antibody concentrations at weeks 14 and 24 (p=0.001 and <0.001, respectively) and pertussis at week 24 (p=0.003). Conversely, HEU infants had lower antibody concentrations to HBV at 14 and 52 weeks (p=0.032 and p=0.031) with no differences in tetanus titres. CONCLUSIONS HIV exposure, but not the timing of BCG vaccination, was associated with antibody concentrations to Hib, pertussis, HBV and tetanus primary immunization. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION DOH-27-1106-1520.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke C Hesseling
- Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Christine E Jones
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, Institute for Infection and Immunity, St. George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Academic Paediatrics, Imperial College London, Norfolk Place, London W2 1NY, UK
| | - Monika M Esser
- Immunology Unit, Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Corena de Beer
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
| | - Louise Kuhn
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mark F Cotton
- Children's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa
| | - Heather B Jaspan
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Seattle Children's Research Institute and Departments of Pediatrics and Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Jiang Y, Cao S, Bright DK, Bever AM, Blakney AK, Suydam IT, Woodrow KA. Nanoparticle-Based ARV Drug Combinations for Synergistic Inhibition of Cell-Free and Cell-Cell HIV Transmission. Mol Pharm 2015; 12:4363-74. [PMID: 26529558 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5b00544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems are playing an emerging role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) chemoprophylaxis and treatment due to their ability to alter the pharmacokinetics and improve the therapeutic index of various antiretroviral (ARV) drug compounds used alone and in combination. Although several nanocarriers have been described for combination delivery of ARV drugs, measurement of drug-drug activities facilitated by the use of these nanotechnology platforms has not been fully investigated for topical prevention. Here, we show that physicochemically diverse ARV drugs can be encapsulated within polymeric nanoparticles to deliver multidrug combinations that provide potent HIV chemoprophylaxis in relevant models of cell-free, cell-cell, and mucosal tissue infection. In contrast to existing approaches that coformulate ARV drug combinations together in a single nanocarrier, we prepared single-drug-loaded nanoparticles that were subsequently combined upon administration. ARV drug-nanoparticles were prepared using emulsion-solvent evaporation techniques to incorporate maraviroc (MVC), etravirine (ETR), and raltegravir (RAL) into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles. We compared the antiviral potency of the free and formulated drug combinations for all pairwise and triple drug combinations against both cell-free and cell-associated HIV-1 infection in vitro. The efficacy of ARV-drug nanoparticle combinations was also assessed in a macaque cervicovaginal explant model using a chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) containing the reverse transcriptase (RT) of HIV-1. We observed that our ARV-NPs maintained potent HIV inhibition and were more effective when used in combinations. In particular, ARV-NP combinations involving ETR-NP exhibited significantly higher antiviral potency and dose-reduction against both cell-free and cell-associated HIV-1 BaL infection in vitro. Furthermore, ARV-NP combinations that showed large dose-reduction were identified to be synergistic, whereas the equivalent free-drug combinations were observed to be strictly additive. Higher intracellular drug concentration was measured for cells dosed with the triple ARV-NP combination compared to the equivalent unformulated drugs. Finally, as a first step toward evaluating challenge studies in animal models, we also show that our ARV-NP combinations inhibit RT-SHIV virus propagation in macaque cervicovaginal tissue and block virus transmission by migratory cells emigrating from the tissue. Our results demonstrate that ARV-NP combinations control HIV-1 transmission more efficiently than free-drug combinations. These studies provide a rationale to better understand the role of nanocarrier systems in facilitating multidrug effects in relevant cells and tissues associated with HIV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonghou Jiang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Shijie Cao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Danielle K Bright
- Department of Chemistry, Seattle University , Seattle, Washington 98122, United States
| | - Alaina M Bever
- Department of Chemistry, Seattle University , Seattle, Washington 98122, United States
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Ian T Suydam
- Department of Chemistry, Seattle University , Seattle, Washington 98122, United States
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
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Blakney AK, Tchakoute CT, Hesseling AC, Kidzeru EB, Jones CE, Passmore JAS, Sodora DL, Gray CM, Jaspan HB. Delayed BCG vaccination results in minimal alterations in T cell immunogenicity of acellular pertussis and tetanus immunizations in HIV-exposed infants. Vaccine 2015; 33:4782-9. [PMID: 26259542 PMCID: PMC4562895 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.07.096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Revised: 06/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is effective in preventing disseminated tuberculosis (TB) in children but may also have non-specific benefits, and is thought to improve immunity to unrelated antigens through trained innate immunity. In HIV-infected infants, there is a risk of BCG-associated adverse events. We aimed to explore whether delaying BCG vaccination by 8 weeks, in utero or perinatal HIV infection is excluded, affected T-cell responses to B. pertussis (BP) and tetanus toxoid (TT), in HIV-exposed, uninfected infants. METHODS Infants were randomized to receive BCG vaccination at birth or 8 weeks of age. At 8 and 14 weeks, T cell proliferation and intracellular cytokine (IL-2, IL-13, IL-17, and IFN-γ) expression was analyzed in response to BP, TT and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) antigens. RESULTS Delaying BCG vaccination did not alter T-cell proliferation to BP or TT antigens. Infants immunized with BCG at birth had higher CD4+ T cell proliferation to SEB at 14 weeks of age (p=0.018). Birth-vaccinated infants had increased CD8+ IL-2 expression in response to BP, but not TT or SEB, at 8 weeks. Infants vaccinated with BCG at 8 weeks had significantly lower IL-13 expression by BP-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at 14 weeks (p=0.032 and p=0.0035, respectively). There were no observed differences in multifunctional cytokine response to TT, BP or SEB between infants vaccinated with BCG at birth versus 8 weeks of age. CONCLUSION Delaying BCG vaccination until 8 weeks of age results in robust T-cellular responses to BP and TT in HIV-exposed infants. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NCT02062580.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, United States; Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Christophe Toukam Tchakoute
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anneke C Hesseling
- Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Elvis B Kidzeru
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Christine E Jones
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Paediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St George's, University of London, UK
| | - Jo-Ann S Passmore
- Division of Medical Virology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town and National Health Laboratory Services, South Africa
| | - Donald L Sodora
- Center for Infectious Disease Research (Formerly Seattle Biomed), Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Clive M Gray
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; National Health Laboratory Services, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Heather B Jaspan
- Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Seattle Children's Research Institute and Departments of Pediatrics and Global Health, University of WA, Seattle, WA, United States.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Toukam Tchakoute
- Division of Immunology Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town
| | - Anneke C Hesseling
- Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Division of Immunology Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town Department of Bioengineering
| | - Heather B Jaspan
- Division of Immunology Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town Seattle Children's Research Institute Department of Pediatrics Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle
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Swartzlander MD, Barnes CA, Blakney AK, Kaar JL, Kyriakides TR, Bryant SJ. Linking the foreign body response and protein adsorption to PEG-based hydrogels using proteomics. Biomaterials 2015; 41:26-36. [PMID: 25522962 PMCID: PMC4629245 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [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: 08/28/2014] [Revised: 10/27/2014] [Accepted: 11/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels with their highly tunable properties are promising implantable materials, but as with all non-biological materials, they elicit a foreign body response (FBR). Recent studies, however, have shown that incorporating the oligopeptide RGD into PEG hydrogels reduces the FBR. To better understand the mechanisms involved and the role of RGD in mediating the FBR, PEG, PEG-RGD and PEG-RDG hydrogels were investigated. After a 28-day subcutaneous implantation in mice, a thinner and less dense fibrous capsule formed around PEG-RGD hydrogels, while PEG and PEG-RDG hydrogels exhibited stronger, but similar FBRs. Protein adsorption to the hydrogels, which is considered the first step in the FBR, was also characterized. In vitro experiments confirmed that serum proteins adsorbed to PEG-based hydrogels and were necessary to promote macrophage adhesion to PEG and PEG-RDG, but not PEG-RGD hydrogels. Proteins adsorbed to the hydrogels in vivo were identified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The majority (245) of the total proteins (≥300) that were identified was present on all hydrogels with many proteins being associated with wounding and acute inflammation. These findings suggest that the FBR to PEG hydrogels may be mediated by the presence of inflammatory-related proteins adsorbed to the surface, but that macrophages appear to sense the underlying chemistry, which for RGD improves the FBR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D Swartzlander
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | | | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Joel L Kaar
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Themis R Kyriakides
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
| | - Stephanie J Bryant
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Material Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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Swartzlander MD, Blakney AK, Amer LD, Hankenson KD, Kyriakides TR, Bryant SJ. Immunomodulation by mesenchymal stem cells combats the foreign body response to cell-laden synthetic hydrogels. Biomaterials 2014; 41:79-88. [PMID: 25522967 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [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: 08/18/2014] [Revised: 10/31/2014] [Accepted: 11/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The implantation of non-biological materials, including scaffolds for tissue engineering, ubiquitously leads to a foreign body response (FBR). We recently reported that this response negatively impacts fibroblasts encapsulated within a synthetic hydrogel and in turn leads to a more severe FBR, suggesting a cross-talk between encapsulated cells and inflammatory cells. Given the promise of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in tissue engineering and recent evidence of their immunomodulatory properties, we hypothesized that MSCs encapsulated within poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels will attenuate the FBR. In vitro, murine MSCs encapsulated within PEG hydrogels attenuated classically activated primary murine macrophages by reducing gene expression and protein secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, most notably tumor necrosis factor-α. Using a COX2 inhibitor, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was identified as a mediator of MSC immunomodulation of macrophages. In vivo, hydrogels laden with MSCs, osteogenically differentiating MSCs, or no cells were implanted subcutaneously into C57BL/6 mice for 28 days to assess the impact of MSCs on the fibrotic response of the FBR. The presence of encapsulated MSCs reduced fibrous capsule thickness compared to acellular hydrogels, but this effect diminished with osteogenic differentiation. The use of MSCs prior to differentiation in tissue engineering may therefore serve as a dynamic approach, through continuous cross-talk between MSCs and the inflammatory cells, to modulate macrophage activation and attenuate the FBR to implanted synthetic scaffolds thus improving the long-term tissue engineering outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark D Swartzlander
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Anna K Blakney
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Luke D Amer
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
| | - Kurt D Hankenson
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Physiology, Colleges of Natural Sciences and Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| | - Themis R Kyriakides
- Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06509, USA.
| | - Stephanie J Bryant
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA; Material Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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Blakney AK, Krogstad EA, Jiang YH, Woodrow KA. Delivery of multipurpose prevention drug combinations from electrospun nanofibers using composite microarchitectures. Int J Nanomedicine 2014; 9:2967-78. [PMID: 24971008 PMCID: PMC4069153 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s61664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [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] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Electrospun drug-eluting fabrics have enormous potential for the delivery of physicochemically diverse drugs in combination by controlling the underlying material chemistry and fabric microarchitecture. However, the rationale for formulating drugs at high drug loading in the same or separate fibers is unknown but has important implications for product development and clinical applications. Methods Using a production-scale free-surface electrospinning instrument, we produced electrospun nanofibers with different microscale geometries for the co-delivery of tenofovir (TFV) and levonorgestrel (LNG) – two lead drug candidates for multipurpose prevention of HIV acquisition and unintended pregnancy. We investigated the in vitro drug release of TFV and LNG combinations from composites that deliver the two drugs from the same fiber (combined fibers) or from separate fibers in a stacked or interwoven architecture. For stacked composites, we also examined the role that fabric thickness has on drug-release kinetics. We also measured the cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of the drugs delivered alone and in combination. Results Herein, we report on the solution and processing parameters for the free-surface electrospinning of medical fabrics with controlled microarchitecture and high drug loading (up to 20 wt%). We observed that in vitro release of the highly water-soluble TFV, but not the water-insoluble LNG, was affected by composite microarchitecture, fabric thickness, and drug content. Finally, we showed that the drug-loaded nanofibers are noncytotoxic and that the antiviral activity of TFV is preserved through the electrospinning process and when combined with LNG. Conclusion Electrospun fabrics with high drug loading create multicomponent systems that benefit from the independent control of the nanofibrous microarchitecture. Our findings are significant because they will inform the design and production of composite electrospun fabrics for the co-delivery of physicochemically diverse drugs that may be useful for multipurpose prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Blakney
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Emily A Krogstad
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Yonghou H Jiang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Kim A Woodrow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Nelson DM, Hashizume R, Yoshizumi T, Blakney AK, Ma Z, Wagner WR. Intramyocardial injection of a synthetic hydrogel with delivery of bFGF and IGF1 in a rat model of ischemic cardiomyopathy. Biomacromolecules 2014; 15:1-11. [PMID: 24345287 DOI: 10.1021/bm4010639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
It is increasingly appreciated that the properties of a biomaterial used in intramyocardial injection therapy influence the outcomes of infarcted hearts that are treated. In this report the extended in vivo efficacy of a thermally responsive material that can deliver dual growth factors while providing a slow degradation time and high mechanical stiffness is examined. Copolymers consisting of N-isopropylacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and degradable methacrylate polylactide were synthesized. The release of bioactive basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) from the gel and loaded poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microparticles was assessed. Hydrogel with or without loaded growth factors was injected into 2 week-old infarcts in Lewis rats and animals were followed for 16 weeks. The hydrogel released bioactive bFGF and IGF1 as shown by mitogenic effects on rat smooth muscle cells in vitro. Cardiac function and geometry were improved for 16 weeks after hydrogel injection compared to saline injection. Despite demonstrating that left ventricular levels of bFGF and IGF1 were elevated for two weeks after injection of growth factor loaded gels, both functional and histological assessment showed no added benefit to inclusion of these proteins. This result points to the complexity of designing appropriate materials for this application and suggests that the nature of the material alone, without exogenous growth factors, has a direct ability to influence cardiac remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin M Nelson
- Department of Bioengineering and ‡McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, United States
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