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Systemic Messenger RNA Therapy as a Treatment for Methylmalonic Acidemia. Cell Rep 2017; 21:3548-3558. [PMID: 29262333 PMCID: PMC9667413 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.11.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Revised: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Isolated methylmalonic acidemia/aciduria (MMA) is a devastating metabolic disorder with poor outcomes despite current medical treatments. Like other mitochondrial enzymopathies, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is not available, and although promising, AAV gene therapy can be limited by pre-existing immunity and has been associated with genotoxicity in mice. To develop a new class of therapy for MMA, we generated a 5-methoxyU-modified codon-optimized mRNA encoding human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (hMUT), the enzyme most frequently mutated in MMA, and encapsulated it into biodegradable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Intravenous (i.v.) administration of hMUT mRNA in two different mouse models of MMA resulted in a 75%–85% reduction in plasma methylmalonic acid and was associated with increased hMUT protein expression and activity in liver. Repeat dosing of hMUT mRNA reduced circulating metabolites and dramatically improved survival and weight gain. Additionally, repeat i.v. dosing did not increase markers of liver toxicity or inflammation in heterozygote MMA mice. An et al. find that systemically delivered LNP-encapsulated mRNA results in hepatic protein expression. hMUT mRNA expresses functional mitochondrial MUT enzyme, and MMA mouse models show a metabolic and clinical response after mRNA therapy.
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Kauffman KJ, Oberli MA, Dorkin JR, Hurtado JE, Kaczmarek JC, Bhadani S, Wyckoff J, Langer R, Jaklenec A, Anderson DG. Rapid, Single-Cell Analysis and Discovery of Vectored mRNA Transfection In Vivo with a loxP-Flanked tdTomato Reporter Mouse. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2017; 10:55-63. [PMID: 29499956 PMCID: PMC5734870 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2017.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
mRNA therapeutics hold promise for the treatment of diseases requiring intracellular protein expression and for use in genome editing systems, but mRNA must transfect the desired tissue and cell type to be efficacious. Nanoparticle vectors that deliver the mRNA are often evaluated using mRNA encoding for reporter genes such as firefly luciferase (FLuc); however, single-cell resolution of mRNA expression cannot generally be achieved with FLuc, and, thus, the transfected cell populations cannot be determined without additional steps or experiments. To more rapidly identify which types of cells an mRNA formulation transfects in vivo, we describe a Cre recombinase (Cre)-based system that permanently expresses fluorescent tdTomato protein in transfected cells of genetically modified mice. Following in vivo application of vectored Cre mRNA, it is possible to visualize successfully transfected cells via Cre-mediated tdTomato expression in bulk tissues and with single-cell resolution. Using this system, we identify previously unknown transfected cell types of an existing mRNA delivery vehicle in vivo and also develop a new mRNA formulation capable of transfecting lung endothelial cells. Importantly, the same formulations with mRNA encoding for fluorescent protein delivered to wild-type mice did not produce sufficient signal for any visualization in vivo, demonstrating the significantly improved sensitivity of our Cre-based system. We believe that the system described here may facilitate the identification and characterization of mRNA delivery vectors to new tissues and cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Kauffman
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Matthias A Oberli
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - J Robert Dorkin
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Juan E Hurtado
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - James C Kaczmarek
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shivani Bhadani
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jeff Wyckoff
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Robert Langer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Harvard MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Ana Jaklenec
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Daniel G Anderson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Harvard MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
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