Synthesis and application of a new 2',3'-isopropylidene guanosine substituted cap analog

mRNA as a medicine in nephrology: the future is now

The successful employment of messenger RNA (mRNA) as vaccine therapy for the prevention of COVID-19 infection has spotlighted the attention of scientific community onto the potential clinical application of these molecules as innovative and alternative therapeutic approaches in different fields of medicine. As therapy, mRNAs may be advantageous due to their unique biological properties of targeting almost any genetic component within the cell, many of which may be unreachable using other pharmacological/therapeutic approaches, and encoding any proteins and peptides without the need for their transport into the nuclei of the target cells. Additionally, these molecules may be rapidly designed/produced and clinically tested. Once the chemistry of the RNA and its delivery system are optimized, the cost of developing novel variants of these medications for new selected clinical disorders is significantly reduced. However, although potentially useful as new therapeutic weapons against several kidney diseases, the complex architecture of kidney and the inability of nanoparticles that accommodate oligonucleotides to cross the integral glomerular filtration barrier have largely decreased their potential employment in nephrology. However, in the next few years, the technical improvements in mRNA that increase translational efficiency, modulate innate and adaptive immunogenicity, and increase their delivery at the site of action will overcome these limitations. Therefore, this review has the scope of summarizing the key strengths of these RNA-based therapies and illustrating potential future directions and challenges of this promising technology for widespread therapeutic use in nephrology.

Efficient chemical synthesis of N2-modified guanosine derivatives: a versatile probes for mRNA labeling

An efficient method for the synthesis of N2-modified guanosine nucleotides such as N2-[benzyl-N-(propyl)carbamate]-guanosine-5'-O-monophosphate, N2-[benzyl-N-(propyl)carbamate]-guanosine-5'-O-diphosphate, N2-[benzyl-N-(propyl)carbamate]-guanosine-5'-O-triphosphate, and N2-[benzyl-N-(propyl)carbamate]-N7-methyl-guanosine-5'-O-diphosphate, starting from the corresponding nucleotide is described. The overall reaction involves the condensation between the exocyclic amine of guanosine nucleotide with 3-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]propionaldehyde in aqueous methanol, followed by reduction using sodium cyanoborohydride to furnish the corresponding N2-modified guanosine nucleotide in moderate yield with high purity (>99.5%).

Click-iT trinucleotide cap analog: Synthesis, mRNA translation, and detection

The first example of the synthesis of a new trinucleotide cap analog containing propargyl group such as m^{7,3'-O-propargyl}G(5')PPP(5')A_mpG is reported. The effect of the propargyl group in trinucleotide analog with a standard trinucleotide cap analog (GAG), m⁷G(5')ppp(5')A_mpG was evaluated with respect to their capping efficiency, in vitro T7 RNA polymerase transcription efficiency, and translation activity using cultured A549 lung carcinoma epithelial cells. The new propargyl cap analog is a substrate for T7 RNA polymerase. Notably, the mRNA capped with the propargyl cap is translated ∼ 1.3 times more efficiently than the mRNA capped with the GAG cap. The most characteristic feature of the new propargyl cap analog is that the presence of the propargyl group allows further modification of the mRNA by chemical ligation of an azide-containing fluorescent-labeled substrate to the mRNA via click chemistry.

Recent Advances in Modified Cap Analogs: Synthesis, Biochemical Properties, and mRNA Based Vaccines

The recent FDA approval of the mRNA vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emphasizes the importance of mRNA as a powerful tool for therapeutic applications. The chemically modified mRNA cap analogs contain a unique cap structure, m7 G[5']ppp[5']N (where N=G, A, C or U), present at the 5'-end of many eukaryotic cellular and viral RNAs and several non-coding RNAs. The chemical modifications on cap analog influence orientation's nature, translational efficiency, nuclear stability, and binding affinity. The recent invention of a trinucleotide cap analog provides groundbreaking research in the area of mRNA analogs. Notably, trinucleotide cap analogs outweigh dinucleotide cap analogs in terms of capping efficiency and translational properties. This review focuses on the recent development in the synthesis of various dinucleotide cap analogs such as dinucleotide containing a triazole moiety, phosphorothiolate cap, biotinylated cap, cap analog containing N1 modification, cap analog containing N2 modification, dinucleotide containing fluorescence probe and TAT, bacterial caps, and trinucleotide cap analogs. In addition, the biological applications of these novel cap analogs are delineated.

mRNA-based therapeutics: powerful and versatile tools to combat diseases

The therapeutic use of messenger RNA (mRNA) has fueled great hope to combat a wide range of incurable diseases. Recent rapid advances in biotechnology and molecular medicine have enabled the production of almost any functional protein/peptide in the human body by introducing mRNA as a vaccine or therapeutic agent. This represents a rising precision medicine field with great promise for preventing and treating many intractable or genetic diseases. In addition, in vitro transcribed mRNA has achieved programmed production, which is more effective, faster in design and production, as well as more flexible and cost-effective than conventional approaches that may offer. Based on these extraordinary advantages, mRNA vaccines have the characteristics of the swiftest response to large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as the currently devastating pandemic COVID-19. It has always been the scientists’ desire to improve the stability, immunogenicity, translation efficiency, and delivery system to achieve efficient and safe delivery of mRNA. Excitingly, these scientific dreams have gradually been realized with the rapid, amazing achievements of molecular biology, RNA technology, vaccinology, and nanotechnology. In this review, we comprehensively describe mRNA-based therapeutics, including their principles, manufacture, application, effects, and shortcomings. We also highlight the importance of mRNA optimization and delivery systems in successful mRNA therapeutics and discuss the key challenges and opportunities in developing these tools into powerful and versatile tools to combat many genetic, infectious, cancer, and other refractory diseases.

An improved protection-free one-pot chemical synthesis of purine locked nucleic acid nucleoside-5'-triphosphates

A simple, reliable, straightforward, and efficient method for the gram-scale chemical synthesis of purine locked nucleic acid (LNA) nucleotides such as LNA-guanosine-5'-triphosphate (LNA-GTP) and LNA-adenosine-5'-triphosphate (LNA-ATP) starting from the corresponding nucleoside is described. The overall reaction utilizes an improved "one-pot, three-step" Ludwig synthetic strategy that involves the monophosphorylation of LNA nucleoside, followed by the reaction with tributylammonium pyrophosphate and subsequent hydrolysis of the resulting cyclic intermediate using water to furnish the corresponding purine LNA nucleotide in good yield with high purity (>99.5%).

Trinucleotide Cap Analogue Bearing a Locked Nucleic Acid Moiety: Synthesis, mRNA Modification, and Translation for Therapeutic Applications

The synthesis of a new trinucleotide cap analogue containing a locked nucleic acid (LNA) moiety such as m^7(LNA)G(5')ppp(5')A_mpG and its molecular biology applications are described. The most appealing feature is that this new cap analogue outperforms the standard trinucleotide cap m⁷G(5')ppp(5')A_mpG and the anti-reverse cap analogue m₂^7,3'-OG(5')ppp(5')G by a factor of 5 in terms of translational efficiency.

Highly regioselective methylation of inosine nucleotide: an efficient synthesis of 7-methylinosine nucleotide

A facile, straightforward, reliable, and an efficient chemical synthesis of inosine nucleotides such as 7-methylinosine 5'-O-monophosphate, 7-methylinosine 5'-O-diphosphate, and 7-methylinosine 5'-O-triphosphate, starting from the corresponding inosine nucleotide is delineated. The present methylation reaction of inosine nucleotide utilizes dimethyl sulfate as a methylating agent and water as a solvent at room temperature. It is noteworthy that the present methylation reaction proceeds smoothly under aqueous conditions that is highly regioselective to afford exclusive 7-methylinosine nucleotide in good yields with high purity (>99.5%).

Highly Regioselective Methylation of Guanosine Nucleotides: An Efficient Synthesis of 7-Methylguanosine Nucleotides

This article describes a simple, reliable, efficient, and general method for the synthesis of 7-methylguanosine nucleotides such as 7-methylguanosine 5'-O-monophosphate (m⁷ GMP), 7-methylguanosine 5'-O-diphosphate (m⁷ GDP), 7-methyl-2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-O-triphosphate (m⁷ 2'dGTP), and 7-methylguanosine 5'-O-triphosphate (m⁷ GTP) starting from the corresponding guanosine nucleotide is described. The present protocol involves methylation reaction of guanosine nucleotide using dimethyl sulfate as a methylating agent and water as a solvent at room temperature to provide the corresponding 7-methylguanosine nucleotide in good yields with high purity (>99.5%). It is noteworthy that the present methylation reaction proceeds smoothly under aqueous conditions that is highly regioselective to afford exclusive 7-methylguanosine nucleotide. © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Basic Protocol: Synthesis of 7-methylguanosine nucleotides.

An efficient protection-free chemical synthesis of inosine 5'-nucleotides

A facile, straightforward, reliable, and efficient chemical synthesis of inosine nucleotides such as inosine-5'-monophosphate, inosine-5'-diphosphate, and inosine-5'-triphosphate, starting from inosine is delineated. The inosine-5'-monophosphate is achieved by the highly regioselective monophosphorylation of inosine using the Yoshikawa procedure. The inosine-5'-diphosphate is obtained by the coupling reaction of tributylammonium phosphate with an activated inosine-5'-monophosphate using zinc chloride as a catalyst. The inosine-5'-triphosphate is efficiently achieved by the improved "one-pot, three-step" Ludwig synthetic strategy. In all the cases, the resulting final product is isolated in good yields with high purity (>99.5%).

Emergence of synthetic mRNA: In vitro synthesis of mRNA and its applications in regenerative medicine

The field of gene therapy has evolved over the past two decades after the first introduction of nucleic acid drugs, such as plasmid DNA (pDNA). With the development of in vitro transcription (IVT) methods, synthetic mRNA has become an emerging class of gene therapy. IVT mRNA has several advantages over conventional pDNA for the expression of target proteins. mRNA does not require nuclear localization to mediate protein translation. The intracellular process for protein expression is much simpler and there is no potential risk of insertion mutagenesis. Having these advantages, the level of protein expression is far enhanced as comparable to that of viral expression systems. This makes IVT mRNA a powerful alternative gene expression system for various applications in regenerative medicine. In this review, we highlight the synthesis and preparation of IVT mRNA and its therapeutic applications. The article includes the design and preparation of IVT mRNA, chemical modification of IVT mRNA, and therapeutic applications of IVT mRNA in cellular reprogramming, stem cell engineering, and protein replacement therapy. Finally, future perspectives and challenges of IVT mRNA are discussed.

An Efficient Protection-Free One-Pot Chemical Synthesis of Modified Nucleoside-5'-Triphosphates

A simple, reliable, and an efficient "one-pot, three step" chemical method for the synthesis of modified nucleoside triphosphates such as 5-methylcytidine-5'-triphosphate (5-MeCTP), pseudouridine-5'-triphosphate (pseudoUTP) and N(1)-methylpseudouridine-5'-triphosphate (N(1)-methylpseudoUTP) starting from the corresponding nucleoside is described. The overall reaction involves the monophosphorylation of nucleoside, followed by the reaction with pyrophosphate and subsequent hydrolysis of the cyclic intermediate to furnish the corresponding NTP in moderate yields with high purity (>99.5%).

Design and Facile Synthesis of New Dinucleotide Cap Analog Containing Both 2' and 3'-OH Modification on M⁷Guanosine Moiety

The first example of the synthesis of new dinucleotide cap analog containing 2('),3(')-diacetyl group on m(7)guanosine moiety is described. The desired modified cap analog, m(7,2)(')(,3)(')(-diacetyl)G[5(')]ppp[5(')]G has been obtained by the coupling reaction of triethylamine salt of m(7,2)(')(,3)(')(-diacetyl)GDP with ImGMP in presence of ZnCl2 as a catalyst in 62% yield with high purity. The structure of new cap analog has been confirmed by (1)H and (31)P NMR and mass data.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of dinucleotide mRNA cap analog containing propargyl moiety

The first example of the synthesis of new dinucleotide cap analog containing propargyl group such as m(7,3'-O-propargyl)G[5']ppp[5']G is reported. The effect of propargyl cap analog with standard cap was evaluated with respect to their capping efficiency, in vitro T7 RNA polymerase transcription efficiency, and translation activity using cultured HeLa cells. It is noteworthy that propargyl cap analog outperforms standard cap by 3.1 fold in terms of translational properties. The propargyl cap analog forms a more stable complex with translation initiation factor eIF4E based on the molecular modeling studies.

Synthetic mRNA: Production, Introduction into Cells, and Physiological Consequences

Recent advances have made it possible to synthesize mRNA in vitro that is relatively stable when introduced into mammalian cells, has a diminished ability to activate the innate immune response against exogenous (virus-like) RNA, and can be efficiently translated into protein. Synthetic methods have also been developed to produce mRNA with unique investigational properties such as photo-cross-linking, fluorescence emission, and attachment of ligands through click chemistry. Synthetic mRNA has been proven effective in numerous applications beneficial for human health such as immunizing patients against cancer and infections diseases, alleviating diseases by restoring deficient proteins, converting somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells to use in regenerative medicine therapies, and engineering the genome by making specific alterations in DNA. This introductory chapter provides background information relevant to the following 20 chapters of this volume that present protocols for these applications of synthetic mRNA.

A new efficient stereoselective method for the synthesis of (E)-5-aminoallyl-pyrimidine-5'-triphosphates using palladium-catalyzed Heck reaction

An efficient overall two-step strategy for the synthesis of (E)-5-aminoallyl-pyrimidine-5'-triphoshate, starting from commercially available pyrimidine-5'-triphosphate is described. The method involves regioselective iodination of pyrimidine-5'-triphosphate, followed by the palladium-catalyzed Heck coupling with allylamine. The catalytic reaction is highly stereoselective and compatible with many functional groups present in the reactants.

Highly regioselective C-5 iodination of pyrimidine nucleotides and subsequent chemoselective Sonogashira coupling with propargylamine

An efficient C-5 iodination of pyrimidine-5'-triphosphates and subsequent palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction with propargylamine is described. The iodination reaction is highly regioselective and the coupling reaction is highly chemoselective that furnishes exclusive 5-(3-aminopropargyl)-pyrimidine-5'-triphosphate in good yield with high purity (>99%).

Facile protection-free one-pot chemical synthesis of nucleoside-5'-tetraphosphates

A new, straightforward, reliable, and convenient protection-free one-pot method for the synthesis of 2'-deoxynucleoside-5'-tetraphosphate and ribonucleoside-5'-tetraphosphate is reported. The present synthetic strategy involves the monophosphorylation of a nucleoside followed by reaction with tris-(tri-n-butylammonium) triphosphate and subsequent hydrolysis of the putative cyclic tetrametaphosphate intermediate to provide nucleoside-5'-tetraphosphate in moderate yield with high purity. A plausible mechanism is proposed to account for the formation of product.

Potential therapeutic applications of RNA cap analogs

Cap analogs are chemically modified derivatives of the unique cap structure present at the 5´ end of all eukaryotic mRNAs and several non-coding RNAs. Until recently, cap analogs have served primarily as tools in the study of RNA metabolism. Continuing advances in our understanding of cap biological functions (including RNA stabilization, pre-mRNA splicing, initiation of mRNA translation, as well as cellular transport of mRNAs and snRNAs) and the consequences of the disruption of these processes - resulting in serious medical disorders - have opened new possibilities for pharmaceutical applications of these compounds. In this review, the medicinal potential of cap analogs in areas, such as cancer treatment (including eIF4E targeting and mRNA-based immunotherapy), spinal muscular atrophy treatment, antiviral therapy and the improvement of the localization of nucleus-targeting drugs, are highlighted. Advances achieved to date, challenges, plausible solutions and prospects for the future development of cap analog-based drug design are described.

Facile protection-free one-pot synthesis of 7-deaza-2′-deoxyguanosine-5′-triphosphate — A versatile molecular biology probe

A simple, straightforward, reliable, and efficient protection-free “one-pot, three-step” chemical synthesis of 7-deaza-2′-deoxyguanosine-5′-triphosphate (7-deaza-dGTP) is described. The reaction involves monophosphorylation of 7-deaza-2′-deoxyguanosine using phosphorous oxychloride as the phosphorylating agent, followed by reaction with tributylammonium pyrophosphate, and subsequent hydrolysis affords 7-deaza-2′-deoxyguanosine-5′-triphosphate in a 52% yield with high purity (>99.9%).

Synthetic mRNAs with superior translation and stability properties

The translational efficiency and stability of synthetic mRNA in both cultured cells and whole animals can be improved by incorporation of modified cap structures at the 5'-end. mRNAs are synthesized in vitro by a phage RNA polymerase transcribing a plasmid containing the mRNA sequence in the presence of all four NTPs plus a cap dinucleotide. Modifications in the cap dinucleotide at the 2'- or 3'-positions of m(7)Guo, or modifications in the polyphosphate chain, can improve both translational efficiency and stability of the mRNA, thereby increasing the amount and duration of protein expression. In the context of RNA-based immunotherapy, the latter is especially important for antigen production and presentation by dendritic cells. Protocols are presented for synthesis of modified mRNAs, their introduction into cells and whole animals, and measurement of their translational efficiency and stability.

The synthesis of isopropylidene mRNA cap analogs modified with phosphorothioate moiety and their evaluation as promoters of mRNA translation

Synthetic mRNA cap analogs are valuable tools in the preparation of modified mRNA transcripts with improved translational activity and increased cellular stability, and have recently attracted more attention because of their great potential in therapeutic applications. We have synthesized and tested isopropylidene dinucleotide cap analogs bearing a phosphorothioate group at the β position of the 5',5'-triphosphate bridge (two diastereomers of 2',3'-iPr-m(7)GppSpG), as synthetically simpler alternatives to previously obtained phosphorothioate cap analogs. To evaluate the utility of the new compounds in biological systems we determined their affinity to translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), and tested their translational properties in rabbit reticulocyte lysates (RRL) and in human immature dendritic cells (hiDCs). In order to explain the properties of isopropylidene analogs we performed (1)H NMR conformational analysis and correlated the absolute configuration at the β-phosphorous atom with previously synthesized m(7)GppSpG.

Synthesis and substrate validation of cap analogs containing 7-deazaguanosine moiety by RNA polymerase

An efficient synthesis of new cap analogs containing 7-deazaguanosine moiety such as m(7)G[5']ppp[5'](7-deaza)G and m₂(7,3'O)G[5']ppp[5'](7-deaza)G is described. The biological substrate validation of these new cap analogs is evaluated with respect to its capping efficiency and in vitro T7 RNA polymerase transcription using standard cap m⁷G[5']ppp[5']G as a control. The capping efficiency and HPLC data reveal that these new analogs are not the substrate for T7 RNA polymerase or SP6 RNA polymerase. The present study highlights the importance of the presence of nitrogen atom at N7-position of the guanosine moiety for the polymerase recognition.

Synthesis and biological activity of artificial mRNA prepared with novel phosphorylating reagents

Though medicines that target mRNA are under active investigation, there has been little or no effort to develop mRNA itself as a medicine. Here, we report the synthesis of a 130-nt mRNA sequence encoding a 33-amino-acid peptide that includes the sequence of glucagon-like peptide-1, a peptide that stimulates glucose-dependent insulin secretion from the pancreas. The synthesis method used, which had previously been developed in our laboratory, was based on the use of 2-cyanoethoxymethyl as the 2′-hydroxy protecting group. We also developed novel, highly reactive phosphotriester pyrophosphorylating reagents to pyrophosphorylate the 5′-end of the 130-mer RNA in preparation for capping. We completed the synthesis of the artificial mRNA by the enzymatic addition of a 5′-cap and a 3′-poly(A) tail to the pyrophosphorylated 130-mer and showed that the resulting mRNA supported protein synthesis in a cell-free system and in whole cells. As far as we know, this is the first time that mRNA has been prepared from a chemically synthesized RNA sequence. As well as providing a research tool for the intracellular expression of peptides, the technology described here may be used for the production of mRNA for medical applications.

Synthesis and activity of modified cytidine 5'-monophosphate probes for T4 RNA ligase 1

We describe the synthesis of a series of unique base modified ligation probes such as p(5')C-4-ethylenediamino 3, p(5')C-4-biotin 4, and pre-adenylated form A(5')pp(5')C-4-biotin 6 and tested their biological activity with T4 RNA ligase 1 using a standard pCp probe 1 as a control. The intermolecular ligation assay was developed using a 5'-FAM labeled 24 mer single-stranded (ss) RNA and the average ligation efficiencies for pCp 1, p(5')C-4-ethylenediamino 3, p(5')C-4-biotin 4, and pre-adenylated form A(5')pp(5')C-4-biotin 6 were found to be 44%, 81%, 39% and 16% respectively, as determined using a denaturing gel analysis. Furthermore, confirmation of the ligation activity of the biotinylated probes to the RNA substrate was confirmed by streptavidin conjugation and analysis by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis. These results strongly suggest that the new probes are valid substrates for T4 RNA ligase 1 and therefore could be useful for developing a miRNA detection system that includes rapid isolation, efficient labeling and detection of miRNAs on sensitivity-enhanced microarrays.

Locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified dinucleotide mRNA cap analogue: synthesis, enzymatic incorporation, and utilization

There has been considerable therapeutic interest in the development of human vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases such as HIV and biowarfare agents by using transfected mRNAs for antigenic proteins of interest. The highest expression levels of these proteins are obtained when the transfected mRNA contains 5'-capped ends. In the present study, the locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified cap analogue 3, m(7(LNA))G[5']ppp[5']G, has been synthesized and its biological properties were examined. The LNA-modified cap analogue was an efficient substrate for T7 RNA polymerase, and the mRNA transcribed, with a poly(A) tail, was efficiently utilized in an in vitro translation process. The RNA with the 5'-LNA-modified cap was found to be approximately 1.61- and 1.28-fold more stable than the RNA with the 5'-standard 4 and ARCA cap, respectively, and approximately 4.23-fold more stable than the uncapped control RNA. The RNA capped with the m(7(LNA))G[5']ppp[5']G 3 cap analogue was translated the most efficiently, with approximately 3.2-fold more activity than the standard cap, m(7)G[5']ppp[5']G 4. Furthermore, we have developed a nonradioactive analytical HPLC assay to determine that the LNA-modified 3 cap analogue was incorporated solely into the forward orientation. Molecular modeling of the m(7(LNA))G[5']ppp[5']G 3 cap analogue with the cap binding protein elF4E complex indicates that the LNA-modified cap-protein complex is more stable by 47.28 kcal/mol as compared to the standard mCAP-protein complex. These findings suggest that the new antireverse cap analogue m(7(LNA))G[5']ppp[5']G 3 is a potential candidate for RNA-based therapeutic vaccine production as well as studying biochemical processes.