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Ma Z, Zheng Y, Chao Z, Chen H, Zhang Y, Yin M, Shen J, Yan S. Visualization of the process of a nanocarrier-mediated gene delivery: stabilization, endocytosis and endosomal escape of genes for intracellular spreading. J Nanobiotechnology 2022; 20:124. [PMID: 35264206 PMCID: PMC8905852 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01336-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanoparticles have been widely applied as gene carrier for improving RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency in medical and agricultural fields. However, the mechanism and delivery process of nanoparticle-mediated RNAi is not directly visualized and elucidated. Here we synthesized a star polymer (SPc) consisted of a hydrophilic shell with positively-charged tertiary amine in the side chain, which was taken as an example to investigate the mechanism in gene delivery. The SPc could assemble with dsRNA spontaneously through electrostatic force, hydrogen bond and van der Waals force. Interestingly, the SPc could protect dsRNA from degradation by RNase A and insect hemolymph, thus remarkably increasing the stability of dsRNA. Meanwhile, the SPc could efficiently promote the cellular uptake and endosomal escape for intracellular spreading of dsRNA. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the SPc could up-regulate some key genes such as Chc, AP2S1 and Arf1 for activating clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Furthermore, the suppression of endocytosis hindered the cellular uptake of SPc-delivered dsRNA in vitro, and the subsequent RNAi effect was also disappeared in vivo. To our knowledge, our study is the first direct visualization of the detailed cellular delivery process and mechanism of nanocarrier-mediated gene delivery. Above mechanism supports the application of nanocarrier-based RNAi in gene therapy and pest management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongzheng Ma
- Department of Plant Biosecurity and MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Plant Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Zheng
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225002, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Zijian Chao
- Department of Plant Biosecurity and MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongtao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Lab of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunhui Zhang
- Department of Plant Biosecurity and MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Meizhen Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Lab of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Shen
- Department of Plant Biosecurity and MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuo Yan
- Department of Plant Biosecurity and MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People's Republic of China.
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Ehexige E, Ganbold T, Yu X, Han S, Baigude H. Design of Peptidomimetic Functionalized Cholesterol Based Lipid Nanoparticles for Efficient Delivery of Therapeutic Nucleic Acids. Molecules 2019; 24:E3413. [PMID: 31546908 PMCID: PMC6767268 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24183413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) are the most potent carriers for the delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics. The first FDA approved a short interfering RNA (siRNA) drug that uses a cationic LNP system for the delivery of siRNA against human transthyretin (hTTR). However, preparation of such LNP involves tedious multi-step synthesis with relatively low yields. In the present study, we synthesized cationic peptidomimetic functionalized cholesterol (denote Chorn) in straightforward chemical approaches with high yield. When formulated with helper lipids, Chorn LNPs complexed with siRNA to form nanoparticles with an average diameter of 150 nm to 200 nm. Chorn LNP mediated transfection of a green fluorescence protein (GFP) expressing plasmid resulted in 60% GFP positive cells. Moreover, Chorn LNP delivered siRNA against polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), a disease related gene in cancer cells and efficiently suppressed the expression of the gene, resulting in significant morphological changes in the cell nuclei. Our data suggested that cholesterol based cationic LNP, prepared through a robust chemical strategy, may provide a promising siRNA delivery system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehexige Ehexige
- Institute of Mongolian Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
| | - Tsogzolmaa Ganbold
- Institute of Mongolian Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
| | - Xiang Yu
- Institute of Mongolian Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
| | - Shuqin Han
- Institute of Mongolian Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
| | - Huricha Baigude
- Institute of Mongolian Medicinal Chemistry, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010020, China.
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Sheng R, Wang Z, Luo T, Cao A, Sun J, Kinsella JM. Skeleton-Controlled pDNA Delivery of Renewable Steroid-Based Cationic Lipids, the Endocytosis Pathway Analysis and Intracellular Localization. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:ijms19020369. [PMID: 29373505 PMCID: PMC5855591 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19020369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Using renewable and biocompatible natural-based resources to construct functional biomaterials has attracted great attention in recent years. In this work, we successfully prepared a series of steroid-based cationic lipids by integrating various steroid skeletons/hydrophobes with (l-)-arginine headgroups via facile and efficient synthetic approach. The plasmid DNA (pDNA) binding affinity of the steroid-based cationic lipids, average particle sizes, surface potentials, morphologies and stability of the steroid-based cationic lipids/pDNA lipoplexes were disclosed to depend largely on the steroid skeletons. Cellular evaluation results revealed that cytotoxicity and gene transfection efficiency of the steroid-based cationic lipids in H1299 and HeLa cells strongly relied on the steroid hydrophobes. Interestingly, the steroid lipids/pDNA lipoplexes inclined to enter H1299 cells mainly through caveolae and lipid-raft mediated endocytosis pathways, and an intracellular trafficking route of “lipid-raft-mediated endocytosis→lysosome→cell nucleic localization” was accordingly proposed. The study provided possible approach for developing high-performance steroid-based lipid gene carriers, in which the cytotoxicity, gene transfection capability, endocytosis pathways, and intracellular trafficking/localization manners could be tuned/controlled by introducing proper steroid skeletons/hydrophobes. Noteworthy, among the lipids, Cho-Arg showed remarkably high gene transfection efficacy, even under high serum concentration (50% fetal bovine serum), making it an efficient gene transfection agent for practical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruilong Sheng
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lingling Road 345, Shanghai 200032, China.
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrook Street, Montréal, QC H3A0C3, Canada.
- CQM-Centro de Química da Madeira, Universidade da Madeira, Campus da Penteada, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal.
| | - Zhao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lingling Road 345, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Ting Luo
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lingling Road 345, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Amin Cao
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lingling Road 345, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Jingjing Sun
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Self-Assembly Chemistry for Organic Functional Molecules, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lingling Road 345, Shanghai 200032, China.
| | - Joseph M Kinsella
- Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrook Street, Montréal, QC H3A0C3, Canada.
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Sheng R, Luo T, Li H, Sun J, Wang Z, Cao A. Cholesterol-based cationic lipids for gene delivery: Contribution of molecular structure factors to physico-chemical and biological properties. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2014; 116:32-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2013.12.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2013] [Revised: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
The past two decades have seen an explosion in research on non-coding RNAs and their physiological and pathological functions. Several classes of small (20-30 nucleotides) and long (>200 nucleotides) non-coding RNAs have been firmly established as key regulators of gene expression in myriad processes ranging from embryonic development to innate immunity. In this review, we focus on our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the biogenesis and function of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). In addition, we briefly review the relevance of small and long non-coding RNAs to human physiology and pathology and their potential to be exploited as therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veena S Patil
- Program for RNA Biology, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute , La Jolla, CA , USA
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Sheng R, Luo T, Li H, Sun J, Wang Z, Cao A. 'Click' synthesized sterol-based cationic lipids as gene carriers, and the effect of skeletons and headgroups on gene delivery. Bioorg Med Chem 2013; 21:6366-77. [PMID: 24063908 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2013.08.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2013] [Revised: 08/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we have successfully prepared a series of new sterol-based cationic lipids (1-4) via an efficient 'Click' chemistry approach. The pDNA binding affinity of these lipids was examined by EB displacement and agarose-gel retardant assay. The average particle sizes and surface charges of the sterol-based cationic lipids/pDNA lipoplexes were analyzed by dynamic laser light scattering instrument (DLS), and the morphologies of the lipoplexes were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cytotoxicity of the lipids were examined by MTT and LDH assay, and the gene transfection efficiencies of these lipid carriers were investigated by luciferase gene transfection assay in various cell lines. In addition, the intracellular uptake and trafficking/localization behavior of the Cy3-DNA loaded lipoplexes were preliminarily studied by fluorescence microscopy. The results demonstrated that the pDNA loading capacity, lipoplex particle size, zeta potential and morphology of the sterol lipids/pDNA lipoplexes depended largely on the molecular structure factors including sterol-skeletons and headgroups. Furthermore, the sterol-based lipids showed quite different cytotoxicity and gene transfection efficacy in A549 and HeLa cells. Interestingly, it was found that the cholesterol-bearing lipids 1 and 2 showed 7-10(4) times higher transfection capability than their lithocholate-bearing counterparts 3 and 4 in A549 and HeLa cell lines, suggested that the gene transfection capacity strongly relied on the structure of sterol skeletons. Moreover, the study on the structure-activity relationships of these sterol-based cationic lipid gene carriers provided a possible approach for developing low cytotoxic and high efficient lipid gene carriers by selecting suitable sterol hydrophobes and cationic headgroups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruilong Sheng
- Laboratory for Polymer Materials, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China
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