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Zhong R, Talebian S, Mendes BB, Wallace G, Langer R, Conde J, Shi J. Hydrogels for RNA delivery. NATURE MATERIALS 2023; 22:818-831. [PMID: 36941391 PMCID: PMC10330049 DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01472-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 62.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
RNA-based therapeutics have shown tremendous promise in disease intervention at the genetic level, and some have been approved for clinical use, including the recent COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccines. The clinical success of RNA therapy is largely dependent on the use of chemical modification, ligand conjugation or non-viral nanoparticles to improve RNA stability and facilitate intracellular delivery. Unlike molecular-level or nanoscale approaches, macroscopic hydrogels are soft, water-swollen three-dimensional structures that possess remarkable features such as biodegradability, tunable physiochemical properties and injectability, and recently they have attracted enormous attention for use in RNA therapy. Specifically, hydrogels can be engineered to exert precise spatiotemporal control over the release of RNA therapeutics, potentially minimizing systemic toxicity and enhancing in vivo efficacy. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of hydrogel loading of RNAs and hydrogel design for controlled release, highlights their biomedical applications and offers our perspectives on the opportunities and challenges in this exciting field of RNA delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibo Zhong
- Center for Nanomedicine and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sepehr Talebian
- Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Nano Institute (Sydney Nano), The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Bárbara B Mendes
- ToxOmics, NOVA Medical School Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS FCM, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Gordon Wallace
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, Intelligent Polymer Research Institute, AIIM, Innovation Campus, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Robert Langer
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - João Conde
- ToxOmics, NOVA Medical School Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS FCM, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Jinjun Shi
- Center for Nanomedicine and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Ishihara Y, Tsuno S, Kuwamoto S, Yamashita T, Endo Y, Miura K, Miura Y, Sato T, Hasegawa J, Miura N. Tumor-suppressive effects of atelocollagen-conjugated hsa-miR-520d-5p on un-differentiated cancer cells in a mouse xenograft model. BMC Cancer 2016; 16:415. [PMID: 27388711 PMCID: PMC4936056 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2467-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We previously demonstrated that hsa-miR-520d-5p can convert cancer cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) via a demethylation process and p53 upregulation in vivo. Additionally, we have reported the non-tumorigenic effect of miR-520d-5p on normal human cells, including fibroblasts. Methods We used atelocollagen-conjugated miR-520d-5p (520d/atelocollagen) to confirm the possibility of a therapeutic effect on cancer cells. We traced the size and signal intensity of GFP-expressing tumors in mice each week, beginning 4 weeks after subcutaneous inoculation. Results 520d/atelocollagen treatment suppressed tumor growth by greater than 80 % each week relative to controls and resulted in an approximately 30 % disappearance of tumors. In mice whose tumors disappeared, the existence of human genomic material at the injection site was examined by quantitative Alu-PCR, and we confirmed the co-existence of both species-derived cells. In every site where a tumor disappeared in immunodeficient mice, GFP protein was expressed in the connective tissues, and approximately 0.1 % of the extracted DNA contained human genomic material. We could not identify any adverse effects in vivo. Conclusions This is the first report to confirm an inhibitory effect of 520d/atelocollagen on cancer cells in vivo. The development of optimized modifications of this carrier is expected to enhance the efficiency of entry into tumor cells and the induction of its inhibitory effect. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2467-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka Ishihara
- Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Department of Pathophysiological & Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Satoshi Tsuno
- Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Department of Pathophysiological & Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kuwamoto
- Division of Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Taro Yamashita
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tottori University Hospital, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8504, Japan
| | - Yusuke Endo
- Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Department of Pathophysiological & Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Keigo Miura
- PEZY-Pharma, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Yugo Miura
- Orthopedic Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan
| | - Takemasa Sato
- Division of Neurobiology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Junichi Hasegawa
- Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Department of Pathophysiological & Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan
| | - Norimasa Miura
- Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Department of Pathophysiological & Therapeutic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 86 Nishicho, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8503, Japan.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND We have previously shown that hsa-miR-520d-5p can convert cancer cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) via a dedifferentiation by a demethylation mechanism. METHODS We tested the effect of miR-520d-5p on human fibroblasts to determine whether it could be safely used in normal cells for future clinical therapeutic applications. After we transfected the microRNA into fibroblasts, we analyzed the phenotypic changes, gene expression levels, and stemness induction in vitro, and we evaluated tumor formation in an in vivo xenograft model. RESULTS The transfected fibroblasts turned into CD105+ cell populations, survived approximately 24 weeks, and exhibited increases in both the collagen-producing ability and in differentiation. Combinatorial transfection of small interfering RNAs for miR-520d-5p target genes (ELAVL2, GATAD2B, and TEAD1) produced similar results to miR-520d-5p transfection. These molecules converted normal cells into MSCs and not iPSCs. CONCLUSIONS In vitro data indicate the potent usefulness of this small molecule as a therapeutic biomaterial in normal cells and cancer cells because CD105+ cells never converted to iPSCs despite repeated transfections and all types of transfectants lost their tumorigenicity. This maintenance of a benign state following miR-520d-5p transfection appears to be caused by p53 upregulation. We conclude that miR-520d-5p may be a useful biomaterial at an in vitro level.
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Abstract
The efficient delivery of short interfering RNA (siRNA) is an enormous challenge in the field of gene therapy. Herein, we report a delivery nanosystem based on programmed DNA self-assembly mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) siRNA-loaded DNA nanotubes (DNA-NTs). We demonstrate that these siRNA-DNA-NTs can be effectively transfected into pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) via endocytosis; and that the loaded mTOR siRNA can induce obvious autophagy and inhibit cell growth under both normal and hypoxic conditions. Moreover, we found that mTOR siRNA can control the autophagy and proliferation of PASMCs under hypoxic condition, suggesting a potential therapeutic application for mTOR siRNA in diseases involving abnormal autophagy in PASMCs.
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Nakamura Y, Fujimoto M, Fukushima S, Nakamura A, Hayashida N, Takii R, Takaki E, Nakai A, Muto M. Heat shock factor 1 is required for migration and invasion of human melanoma in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Lett 2014; 354:329-35. [PMID: 25194503 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.08.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2014] [Revised: 08/20/2014] [Accepted: 08/20/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a major transactivator of the heat shock response. Recent studies have demonstrated that HSF1 is involved in tumor initiation, maintenance, and progression by regulating the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and other molecular targets. Furthermore, HSF1 was identified as a potent proinvasion oncogene in human melanomas. However, the biological functions of HSF1 in human melanoma remain poorly understood. To determine the functional role of HSF1 in melanoma, we used short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to silence HSF1 in human melanoma cell lines and investigated its effect on cell migration and invasive ability in vitro. We found that HSF1 knockdown led to a marked reduction in migration and invasive ability, and these functions were restored by overexpression of wild-type HSF1. To confirm the in vitro results, we performed subcutaneous xenograft experiments in athymic nude mice. We found that HSF1 was required for melanoma invasion and metastasis, as well as tumorigenic potential in vivo. Overall, these results show that HSF1 is indispensable for melanoma progression and metastasis, and suggests that HSF1 could be a promising therapeutic target for melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka Nakamura
- Department of Dermatology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
| | - Mitsuaki Fujimoto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Sonoko Fukushima
- Department of Dermatology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Akiko Nakamura
- Department of Dermatology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Naoki Hayashida
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Takii
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Eiichi Takaki
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Akira Nakai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
| | - Masahiko Muto
- Department of Dermatology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan
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