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Tafech B, Rokhforouz MR, Leung J, Sung MM, Lin PJ, Sin DD, Lauster D, Block S, Quon BS, Tam Y, Cullis P, Feng JJ, Hedtrich S. Exploring Mechanisms of Lipid Nanoparticle-Mucus Interactions in Healthy and Cystic Fibrosis Conditions. Adv Healthc Mater 2024:e2304525. [PMID: 38563726 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202304525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Mucus forms the first defense line of human lungs, and as such hampers the efficient delivery of therapeutics to the underlying epithelium. This holds particularly true for genetic cargo such as CRISPR-based gene editing tools which cannot readily surmount the mucosal barrier. While lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) emerge as versatile non-viral gene delivery systems that can help overcome the delivery challenge, many knowledge gaps remain, especially for diseased states such as cystic fibrosis (CF). This study provides fundamental insights into Cas9 mRNA or ribonucleoprotein-loaded LNP-mucus interactions in healthy and diseased states by assessing the impact of the genetic cargo, mucin sialylation, mucin concentration, ionic strength, pH, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration and nature on LNP diffusivity leveraging experimental approaches and Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations. Taken together, this study identifies key mucus and LNP characteristics that are critical to enabling a rational LNP design for transmucosal delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belal Tafech
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Mohammad-Reza Rokhforouz
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jerry Leung
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Molly Mh Sung
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Paulo Jc Lin
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Don D Sin
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Daniel Lauster
- Institute of Pharmacy, Biopharmaceuticals, Freie Universität Berlin, 12169, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Block
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bradley S Quon
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Adult Cystic Fibrosis Clinic, St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1Y6, Canada
| | - Ying Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Pieter Cullis
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - James J Feng
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Sarah Hedtrich
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Center of Biological Design, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), 13125, Berlin, Germany
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Tafech B, Mohabatpour F, Hedtrich S. Surface modification of lipid nanoparticles for gene therapy. J Gene Med 2024; 26:e3642. [PMID: 38043928 DOI: 10.1002/jgm.3642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene therapies have the potential to target and effectively treat a variety of diseases including cancer as well as genetic, neurological, and autoimmune disorders. Although we have made significant advances in identifying non-viral strategies to deliver genetic cargo, certain limitations remain. In general, gene delivery is challenging for several reasons including the instabilities of nucleic acids to enzymatic and chemical degradation and the presence of restrictive biological barriers such as cell, endosomal and nuclear membranes. The emergence of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) helped overcome many of these challenges. Despite its success, further optimization is required for LNPs to yield efficient gene delivery to extrahepatic tissues, as LNPs favor accumulation in the liver after systemic administration. In this mini-review, we provide an overview of current preclinical approaches in that LNP surface modification was leveraged for cell and tissue targeting by conjugating aptamers, antibodies, and peptides among others. In addition to their cell uptake and efficiency-enhancing effects, we outline the (dis-)advantages of the different targeting moieties and commonly used conjugation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belal Tafech
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Fatemeh Mohabatpour
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Sarah Hedtrich
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Center of Biological Design, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, Germany
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Bolsoni J, Liu D, Mohabatpour F, Ebner R, Sadhnani G, Tafech B, Leung J, Shanta S, An K, Morin T, Chen Y, Arguello A, Choate K, Jan E, Ross CJ, Brambilla D, Witzigmann D, Kulkarni J, Cullis PR, Hedtrich S. Lipid Nanoparticle-Mediated Hit-and-Run Approaches Yield Efficient and Safe In Situ Gene Editing in Human Skin. ACS Nano 2023; 17:22046-22059. [PMID: 37918441 PMCID: PMC10655174 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c08644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Despite exciting advances in gene editing, the efficient delivery of genetic tools to extrahepatic tissues remains challenging. This holds particularly true for the skin, which poses a highly restrictive delivery barrier. In this study, we ran a head-to-head comparison between Cas9 mRNA or ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver gene editing tools into epidermal layers of human skin, aiming for in situ gene editing. We observed distinct LNP composition and cell-specific effects such as an extended presence of RNP in slow-cycling epithelial cells for up to 72 h. While obtaining similar gene editing rates using Cas9 RNP and mRNA with MC3-based LNPs (10-16%), mRNA-loaded LNPs proved to be more cytotoxic. Interestingly, ionizable lipids with a pKa ∼ 7.1 yielded superior gene editing rates (55%-72%) in two-dimensional (2D) epithelial cells while no single guide RNA-dependent off-target effects were detectable. Unexpectedly, these high 2D editing efficacies did not translate to actual skin tissue where overall gene editing rates between 5%-12% were achieved after a single application and irrespective of the LNP composition. Finally, we successfully base-corrected a disease-causing mutation with an efficacy of ∼5% in autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis patient cells, showcasing the potential of this strategy for the treatment of monogenic skin diseases. Taken together, this study demonstrates the feasibility of an in situ correction of disease-causing mutations in the skin that could provide effective treatment and potentially even a cure for rare, monogenic, and common skin diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Bolsoni
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Danny Liu
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Fatemeh Mohabatpour
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Ronja Ebner
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Gaurav Sadhnani
- Berlin
Institute of Health @ Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Belal Tafech
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Jerry Leung
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Selina Shanta
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Kevin An
- NanoVation
Therapeutics, 2405 Wesbrook
Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Tessa Morin
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Yihang Chen
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Alfonso Arguello
- University
of Montréal, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montréal H3T 1J4, Quebec, Canada
| | - Keith Choate
- Departments
of Dermatology, Genetics, and Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven 06510, Connecticut, United States
| | - Eric Jan
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Colin J.D. Ross
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Davide Brambilla
- University
of Montréal, Faculty of Pharmacy, Montréal H3T 1J4, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dominik Witzigmann
- NanoVation
Therapeutics, 2405 Wesbrook
Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Jayesh Kulkarni
- NanoVation
Therapeutics, 2405 Wesbrook
Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Pieter R. Cullis
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
| | - Sarah Hedtrich
- Faculty
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of
British Columbia, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z3, BC, Canada
- Berlin
Institute of Health @ Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Department
of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Charité -
Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate
member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Max-Delbrück
Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin 13125, Germany
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