1
|
Gao X, Diep JK, Norris DA, Yu RZ, Geary RS. Predicting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antisense oligonucleotides: an overview of various approaches and opportunities for PBPK/PD modelling. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol 2023; 19:979-990. [PMID: 37970635 DOI: 10.1080/17425255.2023.2283524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Advances in research and development (R&D) have enabled many approvals of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). Its administration expanded from systemic to local for treating various diseases, where predicting target tissue exposures and pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) in human can be critical. AREAS COVERED A literature search for PBPK/PD models of ASOs was conducted using PubMed and Embase (to 1 April 2023). ASO PK and PD in animals and humans and modeling approaches including physiologically based (PB) are summarized; and relevance and impacts of PBPK/PD modeling are assessed. EXPERT OPINION Allometric scaling and compartmental PK/PD modeling have been successful to predict human ASO PK/PD, addressing most R&D needs. Understanding tissue distribution of ASOs can be crucial for their efficacy and safety especially for intrathecal (IT), pulmonary, or other local routes. PBPK/PD modeling is expected to improve such understanding, for which, efforts have been sporadic. However, developing a PBPK/PD model requires careful review of known biology/pharmacology and thoughtful experimental designs. Resulting models have the potential to predict target/specified tissue exposures and responses in human adults and pediatrics. Ultimately, a PBPK/PD modeling approach can lead to more efficient and rational clinical development, resulting in well-informed decision making and a shortened timeline.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Gao
- Preclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Carlsbad, CA, USA
| | - John K Diep
- Preclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Carlsbad, CA, USA
| | - Daniel A Norris
- Preclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Carlsbad, CA, USA
| | - Rosie Z Yu
- Preclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Carlsbad, CA, USA
| | - Richard S Geary
- Preclinical Development, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Carlsbad, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pavlova N, Traykovska M, Penchovsky R. Targeting FMN, TPP, SAM-I, and glmS Riboswitches with Chimeric Antisense Oligonucleotides for Completely Rational Antibacterial Drug Development. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:1607. [PMID: 37998809 PMCID: PMC10668854 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12111607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial drug resistance has emerged as a significant challenge in contemporary medicine due to the proliferation of numerous bacterial strains resistant to all existing antibiotics. Meanwhile, riboswitches have emerged as promising targets for discovering antibacterial drugs. Riboswitches are regulatory elements in certain bacterial mRNAs that can bind to specific molecules and control gene expression via transcriptional termination, prevention of translation, or mRNA destabilization. By targeting riboswitches, we aim to develop innovative strategies to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria and enhance the efficacy of antibacterial treatments. This convergence of challenges and opportunities underscores the ongoing quest to revolutionize medical approaches against evolving bacterial threats. For the first time, this innovative review describes the rational design and applications of chimeric antisense oligonucleotides as antibacterial agents targeting four riboswitches selected based on genome-wide bioinformatic analyses. The antisense oligonucleotides are coupled with the cell-penetrating oligopeptide pVEC, which penetrates Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and specifically targets glmS, FMN, TPP, and SAM-I riboswitches in Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli. The average antibiotic dosage of antisense oligonucleotides that inhibits 80% of bacterial growth is around 700 nM (4.5 μg/mL). Antisense oligonucleotides do not exhibit toxicity in human cell lines at this concentration. The results demonstrate that these riboswitches are suitable targets for antibacterial drug development using antisense oligonucleotide technology. The approach is fully rational because selecting suitable riboswitch targets and designing ASOs that target them are based on predefined criteria. The approach can be used to develop narrow or broad-spectrum antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacterial strains for a short time. The approach is easily adaptive to new resistance using targeting NGS technology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Robert Penchovsky
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Biology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 8 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Nano drug delivery systems for antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) therapeutics. J Control Release 2022; 352:861-878. [PMID: 36397636 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.10.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cancer, infectious diseases, and metabolic and hereditary genetic disorders are a global health burden affecting millions of people, with contemporary treatments offering limited relief. Antisense technology treats diseases by targeting their causal agents using its ability to alter or inhibit endogenous or malfunctioning genes. Nine antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drugs that represent four different chemical classes have been approved for the treatment of rare diseases, including nusinersen, the first new oligonucleotide-based drug. Advances in medicinal chemistry, understanding the molecular pathways, and the availability of vast genetic data have resulted in enormous improvements in the therapeutic performance of ASO drugs; however, their susceptibility to degradation in the circulation, rapid renal clearance, and immunostimulatory adverse effects greatly limit their clinical applications. An increasing number of ASO-based therapeutics is being tested in clinical trials. Improvements to the delivery of ASO drugs could potentially change the therapeutic landscape for many conditions in the near future. This review describes the technological advances and developments in drug delivery systems pertaining to ASO therapeutics.
Collapse
|
4
|
Evéquoz D, Verhaart IEC, van de Vijver D, Renner W, Aartsma-Rus A, Leumann CJ. 7',5'-alpha-bicyclo-DNA: new chemistry for oligonucleotide exon splicing modulation therapy. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:12089-12105. [PMID: 34850138 PMCID: PMC8643641 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Antisense oligonucleotides are small pieces of modified DNA or RNA, which offer therapeutic potential for many diseases. We report on the synthesis of 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA phosphoramidite building blocks, bearing the A, G, T and MeC nucleobases. Solid-phase synthesis was performed to construct five oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing modified thymidine residues, as well as five fully modified oligonucleotides. Incorporations of the modification inside natural duplexes resulted in strong destabilizing effects. However, fully modified strands formed very stable duplexes with parallel RNA complements. In its own series, 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA formed duplexes with a surprising high thermal stability. CD spectroscopy and extensive molecular modeling indicated the adoption by the homo-duplex of a ladder-like structure, while hetero-duplexes with DNA or RNA still form helical structure. The biological properties of this new modification were investigated in animal models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, where exon splicing modulation can restore production of functional proteins. It was found that the 7′,5′-α-bc-DNA scaffold confers a high biostability and a good exon splicing modulation activity in vitro and in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Damien Evéquoz
- Alpha Anomeric, 140 Bis, Rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Ingrid E C Verhaart
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Davy van de Vijver
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Annemieke Aartsma-Rus
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christian J Leumann
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Kim SW, Cho YI, Jung KE. Avoiding
High‐Pressure
Problem for Modified
RNA
‐attached Polystyrene Support by
Pre‐Swelling
Using Toluene in the Oligonucleotide Synthesis. B KOREAN CHEM SOC 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/bkcs.12366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sung Won Kim
- Research Center, Oligo CDMO, ST Pharm Siheung 15086 South Korea
- Catholic University Department of Biotechnology Bucheon 14662 South Korea
| | - Yang Il Cho
- Research Center, Oligo CDMO, ST Pharm Siheung 15086 South Korea
| | - Kyeong Eun Jung
- Research Center, Oligo CDMO, ST Pharm Siheung 15086 South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Liczner C, Duke K, Juneau G, Egli M, Wilds CJ. Beyond ribose and phosphate: Selected nucleic acid modifications for structure-function investigations and therapeutic applications. Beilstein J Org Chem 2021; 17:908-931. [PMID: 33981365 PMCID: PMC8093555 DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.17.76] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past 25 years, the acceleration of achievements in the development of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics has resulted in numerous new drugs making it to the market for the treatment of various diseases. Oligonucleotides with alterations to their scaffold, prepared with modified nucleosides and solid-phase synthesis, have yielded molecules with interesting biophysical properties that bind to their targets and are tolerated by the cellular machinery to elicit a therapeutic outcome. Structural techniques, such as crystallography, have provided insights to rationalize numerous properties including binding affinity, nuclease stability, and trends observed in the gene silencing. In this review, we discuss the chemistry, biophysical, and structural properties of a number of chemically modified oligonucleotides that have been explored for gene silencing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Liczner
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Kieran Duke
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Gabrielle Juneau
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, and Center for Structural Biology, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Christopher J Wilds
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Kilanowska A, Nuckowski Ł, Studzińska S. Studying in vitro metabolism of the first and second generation of antisense oligonucleotides with the use of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 2020; 412:7453-7467. [PMID: 32856108 PMCID: PMC7533254 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02878-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the present investigation was the analysis and identification of antisense oligonucleotide metabolism products after incubation with human liver microsomes regarding four different oligonucleotide modifications. Separation and detection methods based on the use of liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry were developed for this purpose. Firstly, the optimization of mass spectrometer parameters was done to select those which ensure the highest possible sensitivity of oligonucleotide analysis. This step was conducted for two chromatographic modes-ion pair chromatography and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-due to their common application in oligonucleotide analysis. Based on sensitivity results, ion pair chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was selected for the separation of model oligonucleotide mixtures in order to verify its selectivity for N-deleted metabolite separation. Next, the developed method was applied in the examination of oligonucleotides in vitro metabolism. First, wide optimization of incubation parameters was conducted including the concentration of the reaction buffer components. Obtained results indicated that both 3'-exonucleases and 5'-exonucleases contributed to the biotransformation of oligonucleotides. Moreover, it may be concluded that the number of metabolites depends on oligonucleotide modification and consequently its resistance to enzymatic attack. Thus, the number of the oligonucleotide metabolites decreased with the decrease of the resultant polarity of oligonucleotide caused by chemical modification. Graphical abstract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kilanowska
- Chair of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 7 Gagarin Str., PL-87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Łukasz Nuckowski
- Chair of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 7 Gagarin Str., PL-87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Sylwia Studzińska
- Chair of Environmental Chemistry and Bioanalytics, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 7 Gagarin Str., PL-87-100, Toruń, Poland.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Debacker AJ, Voutila J, Catley M, Blakey D, Habib N. Delivery of Oligonucleotides to the Liver with GalNAc: From Research to Registered Therapeutic Drug. Mol Ther 2020; 28:1759-1771. [PMID: 32592692 PMCID: PMC7403466 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2020.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeted delivery of oligonucleotides to liver hepatocytes using N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugates that bind to the asialoglycoprotein receptor has become a breakthrough approach in the therapeutic oligonucleotide field. This technology has led to the approval of givosiran for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyria, and there are another seven conjugates in registrational review or phase 3 trials and at least another 21 conjugates at earlier stages of clinical development. This review highlights some of the recent chemical and preclinical advances in this space, leading to a large number of clinical candidates against a diverse range of targets in liver hepatocytes. The review focuses on the use of this delivery system for small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and antisense molecules that cause downregulation of target mRNA and protein. A number of other approaches such as anti-microRNAs and small activating RNAs are starting to exploit the technology, broadening the potential of this approach for therapeutic oligonucleotide intervention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre J Debacker
- MiNA Therapeutics, Translation & Innovation Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Jon Voutila
- MiNA Therapeutics, Translation & Innovation Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Matthew Catley
- MiNA Therapeutics, Translation & Innovation Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - David Blakey
- MiNA Therapeutics, Translation & Innovation Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK.
| | - Nagy Habib
- MiNA Therapeutics, Translation & Innovation Hub, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, UK; Department of Surgery & Cancer, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Nikan M, Tanowitz M, Dwyer CA, Jackson M, Gaus HJ, Swayze EE, Rigo F, Seth PP, Prakash TP. Targeted Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides Using Neurotensin Peptides. J Med Chem 2020; 63:8471-8484. [PMID: 32677436 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c00840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Despite recent advances, targeted delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotide to extra-hepatic tissues continues to be a challenging endeavor and efficient ligand-receptor systems need to be identified. To determine the feasibility of using neurotensin to improve the productive uptake of antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), we synthesized neurotensin-ASO conjugates and evaluated their cellular uptake and activity in cells and in mice. We performed a comprehensive structure-activity relationship study of the conjugates and determined the influence of ASO charge, ASO length, peptide charge, linker chemistry and ligand identity on receptor binding and internalization. We identified a modified neurotensin peptide capable of improving the cellular uptake and activity of gapmer ASOs in sortilin expressing cells (sixfold) and in spinal cord in mice (twofold). Neurotensin conjugation also improved the potency of morpholino ASO designed to correct splicing of survival motor neuron pre-mRNA in the cortex and striatum after intracerebroventricular injection. Neurotensin-mediated targeted delivery represents a possible approach for enhancing the potency of ASOs with diverse nucleic acid modifications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mehran Nikan
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Michael Tanowitz
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Chrissa A Dwyer
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Michaela Jackson
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Hans J Gaus
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Eric E Swayze
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Frank Rigo
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Punit P Seth
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| | - Thazha P Prakash
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2855 Gazelle Court, Carlsbad, California 92010, United States
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Doxakis E. Therapeutic antisense oligonucleotides for movement disorders. Med Res Rev 2020; 41:2656-2688. [PMID: 32656818 DOI: 10.1002/med.21706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Movement disorders are a group of neurological conditions characterized by abnormalities of movement and posture. They are broadly divided into akinetic and hyperkinetic syndromes. Until now, no effective symptomatic or disease-modifying therapies have been available. However, since many of these disorders are monogenic or have some well-defined genetic component, they represent strong candidates for antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies. ASO therapies are based on the use of short synthetic single-stranded ASOs that bind to disease-related target RNAs via Watson-Crick base-pairing and pleiotropically modulate their function. With information arising from the RNA sequence alone, it is possible to design ASOs that not only alter the expression levels but also the splicing defects of any protein, far exceeding the intervention repertoire of traditional small molecule approaches. Following the regulatory approval of ASO therapies for spinal muscular atrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 2016, there has been tremendous momentum in testing such therapies for other neurological disorders. This review article initially focuses on the chemical modifications aimed at improving ASO effectiveness, the mechanisms by which ASOs can interfere with RNA function, delivery systems and pharmacokinetics, and the common set of toxicities associated with their application. It, then, describes the pathophysiology and the latest information on preclinical and clinical trials utilizing ASOs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and ataxias 1, 2, 3, and 7. It concludes with issues that require special attention to realize the full potential of ASO-based therapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Epaminondas Doxakis
- Center of Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Sheng L, Rigo F, Bennett CF, Krainer AR, Hua Y. Comparison of the efficacy of MOE and PMO modifications of systemic antisense oligonucleotides in a severe SMA mouse model. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:2853-2865. [PMID: 32103257 PMCID: PMC7102994 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a motor neuron disease. Nusinersen, a splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), was the first approved drug to treat SMA. Based on prior preclinical studies, both 2′-O-methoxyethyl (MOE) with a phosphorothioate backbone and morpholino with a phosphorodiamidate backbone—with the same or extended target sequence as nusinersen—displayed efficient rescue of SMA mouse models. Here, we compared the therapeutic efficacy of these two modification chemistries in rescue of a severe mouse model using ASO10-29—a 2-nt longer version of nusinersen—via subcutaneous injection. Although both chemistries efficiently corrected SMN2 splicing in various tissues, restored motor function and improved the integrity of neuromuscular junctions, MOE-modified ASO10-29 (MOE10-29) was more efficacious than morpholino-modified ASO10-29 (PMO10-29) at the same molar dose, as seen by longer survival, greater body-weight gain and better preservation of motor neurons. Time-course analysis revealed that MOE10-29 had more persistent effects than PMO10-29. On the other hand, PMO10-29 appears to more readily cross an immature blood-brain barrier following systemic administration, showing more robust initial effects on SMN2 exon 7 inclusion, but less persistence in the central nervous system. We conclude that both modifications can be effective as splice-switching ASOs in the context of SMA and potentially other diseases, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lei Sheng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.,Department of Orthopedics, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215004, China.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, PO Box 100, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY 11724, USA
| | - Frank Rigo
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | | | - Adrian R Krainer
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, PO Box 100, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY 11724, USA
| | - Yimin Hua
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, PO Box 100, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY 11724, USA.,Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Prakash TP, Mullick AE, Lee RG, Yu J, Yeh ST, Low A, Chappell AE, Østergaard ME, Murray S, Gaus HJ, Swayze EE, Seth PP. Fatty acid conjugation enhances potency of antisense oligonucleotides in muscle. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 47:6029-6044. [PMID: 31127296 PMCID: PMC6614804 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhancing the functional uptake of antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) in the muscle will be beneficial for developing ASO therapeutics targeting genes expressed in the muscle. We hypothesized that improving albumin binding will facilitate traversal of ASO from the blood compartment to the interstitium of the muscle tissues to enhance ASO functional uptake. We synthesized structurally diverse saturated and unsaturated fatty acid conjugated ASOs with a range of hydrophobicity. The binding affinity of ASO fatty acid conjugates to plasma proteins improved with fatty acid chain length and highest binding affinity was observed with ASO conjugates containing fatty acid chain length from 16 to 22 carbons. The degree of unsaturation or conformation of double bond appears to have no influence on protein binding or activity of ASO fatty acid conjugates. Activity of fatty acid ASO conjugates correlated with the affinity to albumin and the tightest albumin binder exhibited the highest activity improvement in muscle. Palmitic acid conjugation increases ASO plasma Cmax and improved delivery of ASO to interstitial space of mouse muscle. Conjugation of palmitic acid improved potency of DMPK, Cav3, CD36 and Malat-1 ASOs (3- to 7-fold) in mouse muscle. Our approach provides a foundation for developing more effective therapeutic ASOs for muscle disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam E Mullick
- Antisense Drug Discovery, 2855 Gazelle Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | - Richard G Lee
- Antisense Drug Discovery, 2855 Gazelle Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | - Jinghua Yu
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemistry, USA
| | - Steve T Yeh
- Antisense Drug Discovery, 2855 Gazelle Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | - Audrey Low
- Antisense Drug Discovery, 2855 Gazelle Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | | | | | - Sue Murray
- Antisense Drug Discovery, 2855 Gazelle Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92010, USA
| | - Hans J Gaus
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemistry, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|