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Dhorne-Pollet S, Fitzpatrick C, Da Costa B, Bourgon C, Eléouët JF, Meunier N, Burzio VA, Delmas B, Barrey E. Antisense oligonucleotides targeting ORF1b block replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Front Microbiol 2022; 13:915202. [PMID: 36386681 PMCID: PMC9644129 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.915202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a need for new and efficient therapeutic strategies. We explored antisense therapy using oligonucleotides targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) genome. We predicted in silico four antisense oligonucleotides (ASO gapmers with 100% PTO linkages and LNA modifications at their 5' and 3'ends) targeting viral regions ORF1a, ORF1b, N and the 5'UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Efficiency of ASOs was tested by transfection in human ACE2-expressing HEK-293T cells and monkey VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. The ORF1b-targeting ASO was the most efficient, with a 71% reduction in the number of viral genome copies. N- and 5'UTR-targeting ASOs also significantly reduced viral replication by 55 and 63%, respectively, compared to non-related control ASO (ASO-C). Viral titration revealed a significant decrease in SARS-CoV-2 multiplication both in culture media and in cells. These results show that anti-ORF1b ASO can specifically reduce SARS-CoV-2 genome replication in vitro in two different cell infection models. The present study presents proof-of concept of antisense oligonucleotide technology as a promising therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher Fitzpatrick
- INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
| | - Bruno Da Costa
- INRAE, UMR VIM, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Clara Bourgon
- INRAE, UMR VIM, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | | | - Nicolas Meunier
- INRAE, UMR VIM, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Verónica A. Burzio
- Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile
- Centro Científico y Tecnológico de Excelencia Ciencia, Vida/Andes Biotechnologies SpA, Santiago, Chile
| | - Bernard Delmas
- INRAE, UMR VIM, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Eric Barrey
- INRAE, AgroParisTech, GABI, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France
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2
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Zhu C, Lee JY, Woo JZ, Xu L, Nguyenla X, Yamashiro LH, Ji F, Biering SB, Van Dis E, Gonzalez F, Fox D, Wehri E, Rustagi A, Pinsky BA, Schaletzky J, Blish CA, Chiu C, Harris E, Sadreyev RI, Stanley S, Kauppinen S, Rouskin S, Näär AM. An intranasal ASO therapeutic targeting SARS-CoV-2. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4503. [PMID: 35922434 PMCID: PMC9349213 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32216-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is exacting an increasing toll worldwide, with new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerging that exhibit higher infectivity rates and that may partially evade vaccine and antibody immunity. Rapid deployment of non-invasive therapeutic avenues capable of preventing infection by all SARS-CoV-2 variants could complement current vaccination efforts and help turn the tide on the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we describe a novel therapeutic strategy targeting the SARS-CoV-2 RNA using locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides (LNA ASOs). We identify an LNA ASO binding to the 5′ leader sequence of SARS-CoV-2 that disrupts a highly conserved stem-loop structure with nanomolar efficacy in preventing viral replication in human cells. Daily intranasal administration of this LNA ASO in the COVID-19 mouse model potently suppresses viral replication (>80-fold) in the lungs of infected mice. We find that the LNA ASO is efficacious in countering all SARS-CoV-2 “variants of concern” tested both in vitro and in vivo. Hence, inhaled LNA ASOs targeting SARS-CoV-2 represents a promising therapeutic approach to reduce or prevent transmission and decrease severity of COVID-19 in infected individuals. LNA ASOs are chemically stable and can be flexibly modified to target different viral RNA sequences and could be stockpiled for future coronavirus pandemics. Despite approved vaccines and anti-virals to prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is a need for further development of efficient antiviral therapeutic strategy. Here, Zhu et al. develop locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides (LNA ASOs) targeting the 5’ leader sequence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA to interfere with replication of wildtype virus and variants of concern. Daily intranasal administration in K18-hACE2 humanized mice suppresses viral infection in lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi Zhu
- Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Justin Y Lee
- Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jia Z Woo
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lei Xu
- Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Xammy Nguyenla
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Livia H Yamashiro
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Immunology and Pathogenesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Fei Ji
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Scott B Biering
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Erik Van Dis
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Immunology and Pathogenesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Federico Gonzalez
- Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Douglas Fox
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Eddie Wehri
- The Henry Wheeler Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Arjun Rustagi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Benjamin A Pinsky
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Julia Schaletzky
- The Henry Wheeler Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Catherine A Blish
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Charles Chiu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Eva Harris
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ruslan I Sadreyev
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Stanley
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Immunology and Pathogenesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sakari Kauppinen
- Center for RNA Medicine, Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Silvi Rouskin
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anders M Näär
- Department of Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. .,Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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3
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Czechtizky W, Su W, Ripa L, Schiesser S, Höijer A, Cox RJ. Advances in the design of new types of inhaled medicines. PROGRESS IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY 2022; 61:93-162. [PMID: 35753716 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmch.2022.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Inhalation of small molecule drugs has proven very efficacious for the treatment of respiratory diseases due to enhanced efficacy and a favourable therapeutic index compared with other dosing routes. It enables targeted delivery to the lung with rapid onset of therapeutic action, low systemic drug exposure, and thereby reduced systemic side effects. An increasing number of pharmaceutical companies and biotechs are investing in new modalities-for this review defined as therapeutic molecules with a molecular weight >800Da and therefore beyond usual inhaled small molecule drug-like space. However, our experience with inhaled administration of PROTACs, peptides, oligonucleotides (antisense oligonucleotides, siRNAs, miRs and antagomirs), diverse protein scaffolds, antibodies and antibody fragments is still limited. Investigating the retention and metabolism of these types of molecules in lung tissue and fluid will contribute to understanding which are best suited for inhalation. Nonetheless, the first such therapeutic molecules have already reached the clinic. This review will provide information on the physiology of healthy and diseased lungs and their capacity for drug metabolism. It will outline the stability, aggregation and immunogenicity aspects of new modalities, as well as recap on formulation and delivery aspects. It concludes by summarising clinical trial outcomes with inhaled new modalities based on information available at the end of 2021.
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Affiliation(s)
- Werngard Czechtizky
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden.
| | - Wu Su
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Lena Ripa
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Stefan Schiesser
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Respiratory & Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Andreas Höijer
- Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism CMC Projects, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Rhona J Cox
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Research and Early Development, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Mölndal, Sweden
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5
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Uemura Y, Kobayashi K. Targeting murine alveolar macrophages by the intratracheal administration of locked nucleic acid containing antisense oligonucleotides. Drug Deliv 2020; 26:803-811. [PMID: 31385541 PMCID: PMC6713109 DOI: 10.1080/10717544.2019.1648589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The pulmonary delivery of locked nucleic acid containing antisense oligonucleotides (LNA-ASOs) is expected to be a novel therapeutic approach for lung diseases. However, there are two concerns to be considered: immune responses, as the lung has a distinct immune mechanism to protect it from inhaled pathogens; and leakage into blood, since the lung is permeable to small molecules. As phagocytic alveolar macrophages reside in the alveolar space, it is hypothesized that inhaled LNA-ASOs effectively accumulate and exert a knockdown (KD) effect on these cells at low doses. Thus, targeting alveolar macrophages by inhaled LNA-ASOs may reduce these risks. To test this hypothesis, LNA-ASOs targeting Scarb1 or Hprt1 were intratracheally administered to mice. We confirmed the remarkable accumulation of intratracheally administered LNA-ASOs in murine alveolar macrophages and found that they exerted a significant and sequence-dependent KD effect. The dose required for KD in alveolar macrophages was lower than that required to induce KD in the whole lung. Furthermore, when a KD effect was observed in alveolar macrophages, no KD effect was observed in the liver or kidney; however, several inflammatory cytokines were increased in the lung. These results suggest the potential application of LNA-ASOs as an inhaled drug specific to alveolar macrophages. However, further studies on the immuno-stimulatory effects of LNA-ASOs will be necessary for the development of novel inhaled therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasunori Uemura
- a Immunology & Allergy Research Laboratories, Immunology & Allergy R&D Unit, R&D Division, Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd , Nagaizumi-cho , Japan
| | - Katsuya Kobayashi
- a Immunology & Allergy Research Laboratories, Immunology & Allergy R&D Unit, R&D Division, Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd , Nagaizumi-cho , Japan
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Kim BS, Osawa S, Naito M, Ogura S, Kamegawa R, Ishida H, Kim HJ, Uchida S, Miyata K. A 50‐nm‐Sized Micellar Assembly of Thermoresponsive Polymer‐Antisense Oligonucleotide Conjugates for Enhanced Gene Knockdown in Lung Cancer by Intratracheal Administration. ADVANCED THERAPEUTICS 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/adtp.201900123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Beob Soo Kim
- Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
| | - Shigehito Osawa
- Department of Applied Chemistry Faculty of Science Tokyo University of Science 1‐3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku‐ku Tokyo 162‐8601 Japan
| | - Mitsuru Naito
- Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
| | - Satomi Ogura
- Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
| | - Rimpei Kamegawa
- Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
| | - Hiroki Ishida
- Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
| | - Hyun Jin Kim
- Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine Graduate School of Medicine The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
| | - Satoshi Uchida
- Department of Bioengineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
| | - Kanjiro Miyata
- Department of Materials Engineering Graduate School of Engineering The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐8656 Japan
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