1
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Daly O, Mahiny AJ, Majeski S, McClintock K, Reichert J, Boros G, Szabó GT, Reinholz J, Schreiner P, Reid S, Lam K, Lepper M, Adler M, Meffen T, Heyes J, Karikó K, Lutwyche P, Vlatkovic I. ASL mRNA-LNP Therapeutic for the Treatment of Argininosuccinic Aciduria Enables Survival Benefit in a Mouse Model. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1735. [PMID: 37371829 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11061735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Argininosuccinic aciduria (ASA) is a metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), which cleaves argininosuccinic acid to arginine and fumarate in the urea cycle. ASL deficiency (ASLD) leads to hepatocyte dysfunction, hyperammonemia, encephalopathy, and respiratory alkalosis. Here we describe a novel therapeutic approach for treating ASA, based on nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNP). To optimize ASL-encoding mRNA, we modified its cap, 5' and 3' untranslated regions, coding sequence, and the poly(A) tail. We tested multiple optimizations of the formulated mRNA in human cells and wild-type C57BL/6 mice. The ASL protein showed robust expression in vitro and in vivo and a favorable safety profile, with low cytokine and chemokine secretion even upon administration of increasing doses of ASL mRNA-LNP. In the ASLNeo/Neo mouse model of ASLD, intravenous administration of the lead therapeutic candidate LNP-ASL CDS2 drastically improved the survival of the mice. When administered twice a week lower doses partially protected and 3 mg/kg LNP-ASL CDS2 fully protected the mice. These results demonstrate the considerable potential of LNP-formulated, modified ASL-encoding mRNA as an effective alternative to AAV-based approaches for the treatment of ASA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen Daly
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | | | - Sara Majeski
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | | | | | - Gábor Boros
- BioNTech SE, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | | | - Petra Schreiner
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Steve Reid
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Kieu Lam
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Marlen Lepper
- BioNTech SE, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Melanie Adler
- BioNTech SE, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Tracy Meffen
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - James Heyes
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | | | - Pete Lutwyche
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
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2
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Cable J, Graham BS, Koup RA, Seder RA, Karikó K, Pardi N, Barouch DH, Sharma B, Rauch S, Nachbagauer R, Forsell MNE, Schotsaert M, Ellebedy AH, Loré K, Irvine DJ, Pilkington E, Tahtinen S, Thompson EA, Feraoun Y, King NP, Saunders K, Alter G, Moin SM, Sliepen K, Hedestam GBK, Wardemann H, Pulendran B, Doria-Rose NA, He WT, Juno JA, Ataca S, Wheatley AK, McLellan JS, Walker LM, Lederhofer J, Lindesmith LC, Wille H, Hotez PJ, Bekker LG. Progress in vaccine development for infectious diseases-a Keystone Symposia report. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023. [PMID: 37020354 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things, among the most important of which is that vaccines are one of the cornerstones of public health that help make modern longevity possible. While several different vaccines have been successful at stemming the morbidity and mortality associated with various infectious diseases, many pathogens/diseases remain recalcitrant to the development of effective vaccination. Recent advances in vaccine technology, immunology, structural biology, and other fields may yet yield insight that will address these diseases; they may also help improve societies' preparedness for future pandemics. On June 1-4, 2022, experts in vaccinology from academia, industry, and government convened for the Keystone symposium "Progress in Vaccine Development for Infectious Diseases" to discuss state-of-the-art technologies, recent advancements in understanding vaccine-mediated immunity, and new aspects of antigen design to aid vaccine effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Richard A Koup
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Robert A Seder
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | | | | | - Raffael Nachbagauer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Moderna, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Michael Schotsaert
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
- Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, New York, New York, USA
| | - Ali H Ellebedy
- Department of Pathology and Immunology; Center for Vaccines and Immunity to Microbial Pathogens; and The Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology & Immunotherapy Programs, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Karin Loré
- Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Darrell J Irvine
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Department of Biological Engineering; and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Consortium for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD), Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Emily Pilkington
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Elizabeth A Thompson
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Yanis Feraoun
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inserm, CEA, Center for Immunology of Viral, Auto-Immune, Hematological and Bacterial Diseases (IMVA-HB/IDMIT), Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Neil P King
- Department of Biochemistry and Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Kevin Saunders
- Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Galit Alter
- Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Syed M Moin
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Kwinten Sliepen
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Hedda Wardemann
- Division of B Cell Immunology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Bali Pulendran
- Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection; Department of Pathology; and Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Nicole A Doria-Rose
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Wan-Ting He
- Consortium for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD), Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology and IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Jennifer A Juno
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sila Ataca
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Adam K Wheatley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jason S McLellan
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Laura M Walker
- Adimab, LLC, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
- New Hampshire and Adagio Therapeutics, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Julia Lederhofer
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Lisa C Lindesmith
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Holger Wille
- Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases and Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Peter J Hotez
- Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Study and Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Linda-Gail Bekker
- Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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3
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Ramos da Silva J, Bitencourt Rodrigues K, Formoso Pelegrin G, Silva Sales N, Muramatsu H, de Oliveira Silva M, Porchia BFMM, Moreno ACR, Aps LRMM, Venceslau-Carvalho AA, Tombácz I, Fotoran WL, Karikó K, Lin PJC, Tam YK, de Oliveira Diniz M, Pardi N, de Souza Ferreira LC. Single immunizations of self-amplifying or non-replicating mRNA-LNP vaccines control HPV-associated tumors in mice. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eabn3464. [PMID: 36867683 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abn3464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
As mRNA vaccines have proved to be very successful in battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this new modality has attracted widespread interest for the development of potent vaccines against other infectious diseases and cancer. Cervical cancer caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in women, and the development of safe and effective therapeutic strategies is urgently needed. In the present study, we compared the performance of three different mRNA vaccine modalities to target tumors associated with HPV-16 infection in mice. We generated lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated self-amplifying mRNA as well as unmodified and nucleoside-modified non-replicating mRNA vaccines encoding a chimeric protein derived from the fusion of the HPV-16 E7 oncoprotein and the herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein D (gDE7). We demonstrated that single low-dose immunizations with any of the three gDE7 mRNA vaccines induced activation of E7-specific CD8+ T cells, generated memory T cell responses capable of preventing tumor relapses, and eradicated subcutaneous tumors at different growth stages. In addition, the gDE7 mRNA-LNP vaccines induced potent tumor protection in two different orthotopic mouse tumor models after administration of a single vaccine dose. Last, comparative studies demonstrated that all three gDE7 mRNA-LNP vaccines proved to be superior to gDE7 DNA and gDE7 recombinant protein vaccines. Collectively, we demonstrated the immunogenicity and therapeutic efficacy of three different mRNA vaccines in extensive comparative experiments. Our data support further evaluation of these mRNA vaccines in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamile Ramos da Silva
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.,Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Karine Bitencourt Rodrigues
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Guilherme Formoso Pelegrin
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Natiely Silva Sales
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mariângela de Oliveira Silva
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Bruna F M M Porchia
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.,Laboratory of Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.,ImunoTera Soluções Terapêuticas Ltda., São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Ana Carolina Ramos Moreno
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Luana Raposo M M Aps
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.,ImunoTera Soluções Terapêuticas Ltda., São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Aléxia Adrianne Venceslau-Carvalho
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Wesley Luzetti Fotoran
- Department of Parasitology, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | | | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z3, Canada
| | - Mariana de Oliveira Diniz
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Luís Carlos de Souza Ferreira
- Vaccine Development Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.,Scientific Platform Pasteur USP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-020, Brazil
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4
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Foster JB, Griffin C, Rokita JL, Stern A, Brimley C, Rathi K, Lane MV, Buongervino SN, Smith T, Madsen PJ, Martinez D, Delaidelli A, Sorensen PH, Wechsler-Reya RJ, Karikó K, Storm PB, Barrett DM, Resnick AC, Maris JM, Bosse KR. Development of GPC2-directed chimeric antigen receptors using mRNA for pediatric brain tumors. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:e004450. [PMID: 36167467 PMCID: PMC9516314 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-004450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in children with an urgent need for innovative therapies. Glypican 2 (GPC2) is a cell surface oncoprotein expressed in neuroblastoma for which targeted immunotherapies have been developed. This work aimed to characterize GPC2 expression in pediatric brain tumors and develop an mRNA CAR T cell approach against this target. METHODS We investigated GPC2 expression across a cohort of primary pediatric brain tumor samples and cell lines using RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry. To target GPC2 in the brain with adoptive cellular therapies and mitigate potential inflammatory neurotoxicity, we used optimized mRNA to create transient chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. We developed four mRNA CAR T cell constructs using the highly GPC2-specific fully human D3 single chain variable fragment for preclinical testing. RESULTS We identified high GPC2 expression across multiple pediatric brain tumor types including medulloblastomas, embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes, other central nervous system embryonal tumors, as well as definable subsets of highly malignant gliomas. We next validated and prioritized CAR configurations using in vitro cytotoxicity assays with GPC2-expressing neuroblastoma cells, where the light-to-heavy single chain variable fragment configurations proved to be superior. We expanded the testing of the two most potent GPC2-directed CAR constructs to GPC2-expressing medulloblastoma and high-grade glioma cell lines, showing significant GPC2-specific cell death in multiple models. Finally, biweekly locoregional delivery of 2-4 million GPC2-directed mRNA CAR T cells induced significant tumor regression in an orthotopic medulloblastoma model and significantly prolonged survival in an aggressive orthotopic thalamic diffuse midline glioma xenograft model. No GPC2-directed CAR T cell related neurologic or systemic toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION Taken together, these data show that GPC2 is a highly differentially expressed cell surface protein on multiple malignant pediatric brain tumors that can be targeted safely with local delivery of mRNA CAR T cells, laying the framework for the clinical translation of GPC2-directed immunotherapies for pediatric brain tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica B Foster
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Crystal Griffin
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jo Lynne Rokita
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics and Health Informatics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Allison Stern
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cameron Brimley
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Komal Rathi
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics and Health Informatics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Maria V Lane
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Samantha N Buongervino
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Tiffany Smith
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Peter J Madsen
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Daniel Martinez
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Alberto Delaidelli
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Poul H Sorensen
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Robert J Wechsler-Reya
- Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, NCI-Designated Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | | - Phillip B Storm
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Adam C Resnick
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - John M Maris
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Kristopher R Bosse
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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5
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Alameh MG, Tombácz I, Bettini E, Lederer K, Sittplangkoon C, Wilmore JR, Gaudette BT, Soliman OY, Pine M, Hicks P, Manzoni TB, Knox JJ, Johnson JL, Laczkó D, Muramatsu H, Davis B, Meng W, Rosenfeld AM, Strohmeier S, Lin PJC, Mui BL, Tam YK, Karikó K, Jacquet A, Krammer F, Bates P, Cancro MP, Weissman D, Luning Prak ET, Allman D, Locci M, Pardi N. Lipid nanoparticles enhance the efficacy of mRNA and protein subunit vaccines by inducing robust T follicular helper cell and humoral responses. Immunity 2022; 55:1136-1138. [PMID: 35704995 PMCID: PMC9195404 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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6
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Nir R, Hoernes TP, Muramatsu H, Faserl K, Karikó K, Erlacher MD, Sas-Chen A, Schwartz S. A systematic dissection of determinants and consequences of snoRNA-guided pseudouridylation of human mRNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:4900-4916. [PMID: 35536311 PMCID: PMC9122591 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA can be extensively modified post-transcriptionally with >170 covalent modifications, expanding its functional and structural repertoire. Pseudouridine (Ψ), the most abundant modified nucleoside in rRNA and tRNA, has recently been found within mRNA molecules. It remains unclear whether pseudouridylation of mRNA can be snoRNA-guided, bearing important implications for understanding the physiological target spectrum of snoRNAs and for their potential therapeutic exploitation in genetic diseases. Here, using a massively parallel reporter based strategy we simultaneously interrogate Ψ levels across hundreds of synthetic constructs with predesigned complementarity against endogenous snoRNAs. Our results demonstrate that snoRNA-mediated pseudouridylation can occur on mRNA targets. However, this is typically achieved at relatively low efficiencies, and is constrained by mRNA localization, snoRNA expression levels and the length of the snoRNA:mRNA complementarity stretches. We exploited these insights for the design of snoRNAs targeting pseudouridylation at premature termination codons, which was previously shown to suppress translational termination. However, in this and follow-up experiments in human cells we observe no evidence for significant levels of readthrough of pseudouridylated stop codons. Our study enhances our understanding of the scope, 'design rules', constraints and consequences of snoRNA-mediated pseudouridylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronit Nir
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Thomas Philipp Hoernes
- Institute of Genomics and RNomics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Klaus Faserl
- Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Aldema Sas-Chen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.,The Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Schraga Schwartz
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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7
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Muramatsu H, Lam K, Bajusz C, Laczkó D, Karikó K, Schreiner P, Martin A, Lutwyche P, Heyes J, Pardi N. Lyophilization provides long-term stability for a lipid nanoparticle-formulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine. Mol Ther 2022; 30:1941-1951. [PMID: 35131437 PMCID: PMC8815268 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-formulated nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines have proven to be very successful in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. They are effective, safe, and can be produced in large quantities. However, the long-term storage of mRNA-LNP vaccines without freezing is still a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNPs can be lyophilized, and the physicochemical properties of the lyophilized material do not significantly change for 12 weeks after storage at room temperature and for at least 24 weeks after storage at 4°C. Importantly, we show in comparative mouse studies that lyophilized firefly luciferase-encoding mRNA-LNPs maintain their high expression, and no decrease in the immunogenicity of a lyophilized influenza virus hemagglutinin-encoding mRNA-LNP vaccine was observed after 12 weeks of storage at room temperature or for at least 24 weeks after storage at 4°C. Our studies offer a potential solution to overcome the long-term storage-related limitations of nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Kieu Lam
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Csaba Bajusz
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Biotechnological National Laboratory, Institute of Genetics, Biological Research Centre, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Dorottya Laczkó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Petra Schreiner
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Alan Martin
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Peter Lutwyche
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - James Heyes
- Genevant Sciences Corporation, Vancouver, BC V5T 4T5, Canada
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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8
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Abstract
Messenger RNA was discovered in 1961 and it took 60 years until the first mRNA became FDA-approved product in the form of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. During those years a lot of progress has been made by hundreds of scientists. It was 1978 when the first-time isolated mRNA delivered into mammalian cells produced the encoded protein. In vitro transcription introduced in 1984 made it possible to generate any desired mRNA from the encoding plasmid using phage RNA polymerases. In the early 90s mRNA was used for therapy as well as vaccine against infectious diseases and cancer. Inflammatory nature of the mRNAs limited their in vivo use. Replacing uridine with pseudouridine made the mRNA non-immunogenic, more stable and highly translatable. Delivery of the lipid nanoparticle-formulated nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding viral antigens became a platform for effective vaccine. Labile nature of the mRNA is ideal for transient production of the viral antigen, to generate effective antibody and cellular immune response. The mRNA platform is revolutionizing the delivery of effective and safe vaccines, therapeutics and gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- BioNTech SE, Mainz, Germany
- University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
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9
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Alameh MG, Tombácz I, Bettini E, Lederer K, Sittplangkoon C, Wilmore JR, Gaudette BT, Soliman OY, Pine M, Hicks P, Manzoni TB, Knox JJ, Johnson JL, Laczkó D, Muramatsu H, Davis B, Meng W, Rosenfeld AM, Strohmeier S, Lin PJC, Mui BL, Tam YK, Karikó K, Jacquet A, Krammer F, Bates P, Cancro MP, Weissman D, Luning Prak ET, Allman D, Locci M, Pardi N. Lipid nanoparticles enhance the efficacy of mRNA and protein subunit vaccines by inducing robust T follicular helper cell and humoral responses. Immunity 2021; 54:2877-2892.e7. [PMID: 34852217 PMCID: PMC8566475 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 224] [Impact Index Per Article: 74.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Adjuvants are critical for improving the quality and magnitude of adaptive immune responses to vaccination. Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines have shown great efficacy against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but the mechanism of action of this vaccine platform is not well-characterized. Using influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 mRNA and protein subunit vaccines, we demonstrated that our LNP formulation has intrinsic adjuvant activity that promotes induction of strong T follicular helper cell, germinal center B cell, long-lived plasma cell, and memory B cell responses that are associated with durable and protective antibodies in mice. Comparative experiments demonstrated that this LNP formulation outperformed a widely used MF59-like adjuvant, AddaVax. The adjuvant activity of the LNP relies on the ionizable lipid component and on IL-6 cytokine induction but not on MyD88- or MAVS-dependent sensing of LNPs. Our study identified LNPs as a versatile adjuvant that enhances the efficacy of traditional and next-generation vaccine platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Emily Bettini
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katlyn Lederer
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Chutamath Sittplangkoon
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Joel R Wilmore
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian T Gaudette
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ousamah Y Soliman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Matthew Pine
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Philip Hicks
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Tomaz B Manzoni
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James J Knox
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - John L Johnson
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dorottya Laczkó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Benjamin Davis
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Wenzhao Meng
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Aaron M Rosenfeld
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Shirin Strohmeier
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alain Jacquet
- Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Florian Krammer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Paul Bates
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael P Cancro
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Eline T Luning Prak
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David Allman
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michela Locci
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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10
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Hegedus C, Fidrus E, Boros G, Janka E, Emri G, Karikó K, Remenyik E. 300 The time-dependency of the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer-evoked cellular damages using a CPD-specific photolyase-encoding mRNA-based model system. J Invest Dermatol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2021.08.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Dpt. Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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12
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Hotz C, Wagenaar TR, Gieseke F, Bangari DS, Callahan M, Cao H, Diekmann J, Diken M, Grunwitz C, Hebert A, Hsu K, Bernardo M, Karikó K, Kreiter S, Kuhn AN, Levit M, Malkova N, Masciari S, Pollard J, Qu H, Ryan S, Selmi A, Schlereth J, Singh K, Sun F, Tillmann B, Tolstykh T, Weber W, Wicke L, Witzel S, Yu Q, Zhang YA, Zheng G, Lager J, Nabel GJ, Sahin U, Wiederschain D. Local delivery of mRNA-encoded cytokines promotes antitumor immunity and tumor eradication across multiple preclinical tumor models. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:eabc7804. [PMID: 34516826 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abc7804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Hui Cao
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Mustafa Diken
- BioNTech, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Andy Hebert
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Karl Hsu
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Marie Bernardo
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Sebastian Kreiter
- BioNTech, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Mikhail Levit
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | | | - Jack Pollard
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Hui Qu
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sue Ryan
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Abderaouf Selmi
- Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Kuldeep Singh
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Fangxian Sun
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Bodo Tillmann
- Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - William Weber
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Sonja Witzel
- Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Qunyan Yu
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Yu-An Zhang
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Gang Zheng
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Joanne Lager
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Gary J Nabel
- Research and Development, Sanofi, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ugur Sahin
- BioNTech, 55131 Mainz, Germany.,Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University GmbH (TRON), 55131 Mainz, Germany
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13
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14
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Sahin U, Muik A, Vogler I, Derhovanessian E, Kranz LM, Vormehr M, Quandt J, Bidmon N, Ulges A, Baum A, Pascal KE, Maurus D, Brachtendorf S, Lörks V, Sikorski J, Koch P, Hilker R, Becker D, Eller AK, Grützner J, Tonigold M, Boesler C, Rosenbaum C, Heesen L, Kühnle MC, Poran A, Dong JZ, Luxemburger U, Kemmer-Brück A, Langer D, Bexon M, Bolte S, Palanche T, Schultz A, Baumann S, Mahiny AJ, Boros G, Reinholz J, Szabó GT, Karikó K, Shi PY, Fontes-Garfias C, Perez JL, Cutler M, Cooper D, Kyratsous CA, Dormitzer PR, Jansen KU, Türeci Ö. BNT162b2 vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies and poly-specific T cells in humans. Nature 2021; 595:572-577. [PMID: 34044428 DOI: 10.1101/2020.12.09.20245175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BNT162b2, a nucleoside-modified mRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) stabilized in its prefusion conformation, has demonstrated 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-191. Here we extend a previous phase-I/II trial report2 by presenting data on the immune response induced by BNT162b2 prime-boost vaccination from an additional phase-I/II trial in healthy adults (18-55 years old). BNT162b2 elicited strong antibody responses: at one week after the boost, SARS-CoV-2 serum geometric mean 50% neutralizing titres were up to 3.3-fold above those observed in samples from individuals who had recovered from COVID-19. Sera elicited by BNT162b2 neutralized 22 pseudoviruses bearing the S of different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Most participants had a strong response of IFNγ+ or IL-2+ CD8+ and CD4+ T helper type 1 cells, which was detectable throughout the full observation period of nine weeks following the boost. Using peptide-MHC multimer technology, we identified several BNT162b2-induced epitopes that were presented by frequent MHC alleles and conserved in mutant strains. One week after the boost, epitope-specific CD8+ T cells of the early-differentiated effector-memory phenotype comprised 0.02-2.92% of total circulating CD8+ T cells and were detectable (0.01-0.28%) eight weeks later. In summary, BNT162b2 elicits an adaptive humoral and poly-specific cellular immune response against epitopes that are conserved in a broad range of variants, at well-tolerated doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugur Sahin
- BioNTech, Mainz, Germany.
- TRON gGmbH - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alina Baum
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Martin Bexon
- Bexon Clinical Consulting LLC, Upper Montclair, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - Armin Schultz
- CRS Clinical Research Services Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Pei-Yong Shi
- University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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15
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Szőke D, Kovács G, Kemecsei É, Bálint L, Szoták-Ajtay K, Aradi P, Styevkóné Dinnyés A, Mui BL, Tam YK, Madden TD, Karikó K, Kataru RP, Hope MJ, Weissman D, Mehrara BJ, Pardi N, Jakus Z. Nucleoside-modified VEGFC mRNA induces organ-specific lymphatic growth and reverses experimental lymphedema. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3460. [PMID: 34103491 PMCID: PMC8187400 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23546-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Lack or dysfunction of the lymphatics leads to secondary lymphedema formation that seriously reduces the function of the affected organs and results in degradation of quality of life. Currently, there is no definitive treatment option for lymphedema. Here, we utilized nucleoside-modified mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) encoding murine Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor C (VEGFC) to stimulate lymphatic growth and function and reduce experimental lymphedema in mouse models. We demonstrated that administration of a single low-dose of VEGFC mRNA-LNPs induced durable, organ-specific lymphatic growth and formation of a functional lymphatic network. Importantly, VEGFC mRNA-LNP treatment reversed experimental lymphedema by restoring lymphatic function without inducing any obvious adverse events. Collectively, we present a novel application of the nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP platform, describe a model for identifying the organ-specific physiological and pathophysiological roles of the lymphatics, and propose an efficient and safe treatment option that may serve as a novel therapeutic tool to reduce lymphedema.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dániel Szőke
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Kovács
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Éva Kemecsei
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Bálint
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Kitti Szoták-Ajtay
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Petra Aradi
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea Styevkóné Dinnyés
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | | | - Raghu P Kataru
- Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Drew Weissman
- University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Babak J Mehrara
- Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Norbert Pardi
- University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Zoltán Jakus
- Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University School of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
- MTA-SE "Lendület" Lymphatic Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
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16
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Sahin U, Muik A, Vogler I, Derhovanessian E, Kranz LM, Vormehr M, Quandt J, Bidmon N, Ulges A, Baum A, Pascal KE, Maurus D, Brachtendorf S, Lörks V, Sikorski J, Koch P, Hilker R, Becker D, Eller AK, Grützner J, Tonigold M, Boesler C, Rosenbaum C, Heesen L, Kühnle MC, Poran A, Dong JZ, Luxemburger U, Kemmer-Brück A, Langer D, Bexon M, Bolte S, Palanche T, Schultz A, Baumann S, Mahiny AJ, Boros G, Reinholz J, Szabó GT, Karikó K, Shi PY, Fontes-Garfias C, Perez JL, Cutler M, Cooper D, Kyratsous CA, Dormitzer PR, Jansen KU, Türeci Ö. BNT162b2 vaccine induces neutralizing antibodies and poly-specific T cells in humans. Nature 2021; 595:572-577. [PMID: 34044428 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03653-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 456] [Impact Index Per Article: 152.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BNT162b2, a nucleoside-modified mRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles that encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) stabilized in its prefusion conformation, has demonstrated 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-191. Here we extend a previous phase-I/II trial report2 by presenting data on the immune response induced by BNT162b2 prime-boost vaccination from an additional phase-I/II trial in healthy adults (18-55 years old). BNT162b2 elicited strong antibody responses: at one week after the boost, SARS-CoV-2 serum geometric mean 50% neutralizing titres were up to 3.3-fold above those observed in samples from individuals who had recovered from COVID-19. Sera elicited by BNT162b2 neutralized 22 pseudoviruses bearing the S of different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Most participants had a strong response of IFNγ+ or IL-2+ CD8+ and CD4+ T helper type 1 cells, which was detectable throughout the full observation period of nine weeks following the boost. Using peptide-MHC multimer technology, we identified several BNT162b2-induced epitopes that were presented by frequent MHC alleles and conserved in mutant strains. One week after the boost, epitope-specific CD8+ T cells of the early-differentiated effector-memory phenotype comprised 0.02-2.92% of total circulating CD8+ T cells and were detectable (0.01-0.28%) eight weeks later. In summary, BNT162b2 elicits an adaptive humoral and poly-specific cellular immune response against epitopes that are conserved in a broad range of variants, at well-tolerated doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugur Sahin
- BioNTech, Mainz, Germany. .,TRON gGmbH - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alina Baum
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Martin Bexon
- Bexon Clinical Consulting LLC, Upper Montclair, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - Armin Schultz
- CRS Clinical Research Services Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Pei-Yong Shi
- University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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17
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Sahin U, Muik A, Derhovanessian E, Vogler I, Kranz LM, Vormehr M, Baum A, Pascal K, Quandt J, Maurus D, Brachtendorf S, Lörks V, Sikorski J, Hilker R, Becker D, Eller AK, Grützner J, Boesler C, Rosenbaum C, Kühnle MC, Luxemburger U, Kemmer-Brück A, Langer D, Bexon M, Bolte S, Karikó K, Palanche T, Fischer B, Schultz A, Shi PY, Fontes-Garfias C, Perez JL, Swanson KA, Loschko J, Scully IL, Cutler M, Kalina W, Kyratsous CA, Cooper D, Dormitzer PR, Jansen KU, Türeci Ö. Publisher Correction: COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b1 elicits human antibody and T H1 T cell responses. Nature 2021; 590:E17. [PMID: 33469214 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03102-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ugur Sahin
- BioNTech, Mainz, Germany. .,TRON gGmbH-Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg, Mainz, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Alina Baum
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Martin Bexon
- Bexon Clinical Consulting, Upper Montclair, NJ, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Armin Schultz
- CRS Clinical Research Services Mannheim GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Pei-Yong Shi
- University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
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18
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Krienke C, Kolb L, Diken E, Streuber M, Kirchhoff S, Bukur T, Akilli-Öztürk Ö, Kranz LM, Berger H, Petschenka J, Diken M, Kreiter S, Yogev N, Waisman A, Karikó K, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. A noninflammatory mRNA vaccine for treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Science 2021; 371:145-153. [PMID: 33414215 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 71.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The ability to control autoreactive T cells without inducing systemic immune suppression is the major goal for treatment of autoimmune diseases. The key challenge is the safe and efficient delivery of pharmaceutically well-defined antigens in a noninflammatory context. Here, we show that systemic delivery of nanoparticle-formulated 1 methylpseudouridine-modified messenger RNA (m1Ψ mRNA) coding for disease-related autoantigens results in antigen presentation on splenic CD11c+ antigen-presenting cells in the absence of costimulatory signals. In several mouse models of multiple sclerosis, the disease is suppressed by treatment with such m1Ψ mRNA. The treatment effect is associated with a reduction of effector T cells and the development of regulatory T cell (Treg cell) populations. Notably, these Treg cells execute strong bystander immunosuppression and thus improve disease induced by cognate and noncognate autoantigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Krienke
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstr. 1, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Laura Kolb
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Elif Diken
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Michael Streuber
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Sarah Kirchhoff
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Thomas Bukur
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Özlem Akilli-Öztürk
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Lena M Kranz
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Hendrik Berger
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Jutta Petschenka
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Cancer Immunology and Immune Modulation, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Str. 65, 88397 Biberach an der Riss, Germany
| | - Mustafa Diken
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kreiter
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Nir Yogev
- Institute for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Clinic and Polyclinic for Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital Cologne, Kerpenerstr. 62, Cologne 50937, Germany
| | - Ari Waisman
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstr. 1, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
| | - Özlem Türeci
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
- CI3 - Cluster for Individualized Immunointervention e.V., Hölderlinstraße 8, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Ugur Sahin
- TRON - Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University gGmbH, Freiligrathstr. 12, Mainz 55131, Germany.
- Research Center for Immunotherapy (FZI), University Medical Center at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstr. 1, Mainz 55131, Germany
- Biopharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech) Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz 55131, Germany
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19
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Laczkó D, Hogan MJ, Toulmin SA, Hicks P, Lederer K, Gaudette BT, Castaño D, Amanat F, Muramatsu H, Oguin TH, Ojha A, Zhang L, Mu Z, Parks R, Manzoni TB, Roper B, Strohmeier S, Tombácz I, Arwood L, Nachbagauer R, Karikó K, Greenhouse J, Pessaint L, Porto M, Putman-Taylor T, Strasbaugh A, Campbell TA, Lin PJC, Tam YK, Sempowski GD, Farzan M, Choe H, Saunders KO, Haynes BF, Andersen H, Eisenlohr LC, Weissman D, Krammer F, Bates P, Allman D, Locci M, Pardi N. A Single Immunization with Nucleoside-Modified mRNA Vaccines Elicits Strong Cellular and Humoral Immune Responses against SARS-CoV-2 in Mice. Immunity 2020; 53:724-732.e7. [PMID: 32783919 PMCID: PMC7392193 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 222] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection has emerged as a serious global pandemic. Because of the high transmissibility of the virus and the high rate of morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19, developing effective and safe vaccines is a top research priority. Here, we provide a detailed evaluation of the immunogenicity of lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated, nucleoside-modified mRNA (mRNA-LNP) vaccines encoding the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein or the spike receptor binding domain in mice. We demonstrate that a single dose of these vaccines induces strong type 1 CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, as well as long-lived plasma and memory B cell responses. Additionally, we detect robust and sustained neutralizing antibody responses and the antibodies elicited by nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines do not show antibody-dependent enhancement of infection in vitro. Our findings suggest that the nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine platform can induce robust immune responses and is a promising candidate to combat COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorottya Laczkó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael J Hogan
- Division of Protective Immunity, Children's Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sushila A Toulmin
- Division of Protective Immunity, Children's Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Philip Hicks
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katlyn Lederer
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian T Gaudette
- The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Diana Castaño
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Grupo de Inmunología Celular e Inmunogenética, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Fatima Amanat
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Thomas H Oguin
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Amrita Ojha
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Lizhou Zhang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Zekun Mu
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Robert Parks
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Tomaz B Manzoni
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brianne Roper
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Shirin Strohmeier
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Leslee Arwood
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Raffael Nachbagauer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Mainz, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michael Farzan
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Hyeryun Choe
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Kevin O Saunders
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Barton F Haynes
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Laurence C Eisenlohr
- Division of Protective Immunity, Children's Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Florian Krammer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Paul Bates
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David Allman
- The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michela Locci
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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20
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Hegedus C, Boros G, Janka E, Fidrus E, Juhász T, Karikó K, Emri G, Bai P, Remenyik É. 550 In vitro delivery of CPD-specific photolyase-encoding mRNA prevents UVB-induced mitochondrial changes. J Invest Dermatol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2019.07.465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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21
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Fidrus E, Boros G, Hegedus C, Janka E, Emri G, Karikó K, Remenyik É. 561 Time-dependence of UVB induced cellular mechanisms in cultured human keratinocytes. J Invest Dermatol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2019.07.476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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22
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Foster JB, Barrett DM, Karikó K. The Emerging Role of In Vitro-Transcribed mRNA in Adoptive T Cell Immunotherapy. Mol Ther 2019; 27:747-756. [PMID: 30819612 PMCID: PMC6453504 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2019.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [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: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Adoptive T cell therapy is a form of cellular therapy that utilizes human immune cells, often empowered by the expression of recombinant proteins, to attack selected targets present on tumor or infected cells. T cell-based immunotherapy has been progressing over the past several decades, and reached a milestone with the recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy for relapsed and refractory leukemia and lymphoma. Although most studies have used viral vectors, a growing number of researchers have come to appreciate in vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNA for the development, testing, and application of T cell-based immunotherapeutics. IVT mRNA offers inherent safety features, highly efficient recombinant protein translation, and the ability to control pharmacokinetic properties of the therapy. In this review, we discuss the history of IVT mRNA in adoptive T cell therapy, from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and T cell receptor-based therapies to chimeric antigen receptor therapy and gene-editing techniques, as well as prior and ongoing clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica B Foster
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - David M Barrett
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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23
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Pardi N, LaBranche CC, Ferrari G, Cain DW, Tombácz I, Parks RJ, Muramatsu H, Mui BL, Tam YK, Karikó K, Polacino P, Barbosa CJ, Madden TD, Hope MJ, Haynes BF, Montefiori DC, Hu SL, Weissman D. Characterization of HIV-1 Nucleoside-Modified mRNA Vaccines in Rabbits and Rhesus Macaques. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2019; 15:36-47. [PMID: 30974332 PMCID: PMC6454128 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite the enormous effort in the development of effective vaccines against HIV-1, no vaccine candidate has elicited broadly neutralizing antibodies in humans. Thus, generation of more effective anti-HIV vaccines is critically needed. Here we characterize the immune responses induced by nucleoside-modified and purified mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) vaccines encoding the clade C transmitted/founder HIV-1 envelope (Env) 1086C. Intradermal vaccination with nucleoside-modified 1086C Env mRNA-LNPs elicited high levels of gp120-specific antibodies in rabbits and rhesus macaques. Antibodies generated in rabbits neutralized a tier 1 virus, but no tier 2 neutralization activity could be measured. Importantly, three of six non-human primates developed antibodies that neutralized the autologous tier 2 strain. Despite stable anti-gp120 immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, tier 2 neutralization titers started to drop 4 weeks after booster immunizations. Serum from both immunized rabbits and non-human primates demonstrated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity activity. Collectively, these results are supportive of continued development of nucleoside-modified and purified mRNA-LNP vaccines for HIV. Optimization of Env immunogens and vaccination protocols are needed to increase antibody neutralization breadth and durability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Celia C LaBranche
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Guido Ferrari
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Derek W Cain
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Robert J Parks
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Katalin Karikó
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Patricia Polacino
- Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | | | | | - Barton F Haynes
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - David C Montefiori
- Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Shiu-Lok Hu
- Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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24
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25
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Baiersdörfer M, Boros G, Muramatsu H, Mahiny A, Vlatkovic I, Sahin U, Karikó K. A Facile Method for the Removal of dsRNA Contaminant from In Vitro-Transcribed mRNA. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2019; 15:26-35. [PMID: 30933724 PMCID: PMC6444222 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 231] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The increasing importance of in vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNA for synthesizing the encoded therapeutic protein in vivo demands the manufacturing of pure mRNA products. The major contaminant in the IVT mRNA is double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a transcriptional by-product that can be removed only by burdensome procedure requiring special instrumentation and generating hazardous waste. Here we present an alternative simple, fast, and cost-effective method involving only standard laboratory techniques. The purification of IVT mRNA is based on the selective binding of dsRNA to cellulose in an ethanol-containing buffer. We demonstrate that at least 90% of the dsRNA contaminants can be removed with a good, >65% recovery rate, regardless of the length, coding sequence, and nucleoside composition of the IVT mRNA. The procedure is scalable; purification of microgram or milligram amounts of IVT mRNA is achievable. Evaluating the impact of the mRNA purification in vivo in mice, increased translation could be measured for the administered transcripts, including the 1-methylpseudouridine-containing IVT mRNA, which no longer induced interferon (IFN)-α. The cellulose-based removal of dsRNA contaminants is an effective, reliable, and safe method to obtain highly pure IVT mRNA suitable for in vivo applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gábor Boros
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Azita Mahiny
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Ugur Sahin
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, 55131 Mainz, Germany
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26
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Foster JB, Choudhari N, Perazzelli J, Storm J, Hofmann TJ, Jain P, Storm PB, Pardi N, Weissman D, Waanders AJ, Grupp SA, Karikó K, Resnick AC, Barrett DM. Purification of mRNA Encoding Chimeric Antigen Receptor Is Critical for Generation of a Robust T-Cell Response. Hum Gene Ther 2019; 30:168-178. [PMID: 30024272 PMCID: PMC6383579 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2018.145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
T cells made with messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) offer a safe alternative to those transduced with viral CARs by mitigating the side effects of constitutively active T cells. Previous studies have shown that mRNA CAR T cells are transiently effective but lack persistence and potency across tumor types. It was hypothesized that the efficacy of mRNA CARs could be improved by utilizing recent advancements in RNA technology, such as incorporating a modified nucleoside, 1-methylpseudouridine, into the mRNA and applying a novel purification method using RNase III to eliminate dsRNA contaminants. T cells electroporated with nucleoside-modified and purified mRNA encoding CD19 CAR showed an initial twofold increase in CAR surface expression, as well as a twofold improvement in cytotoxic killing of leukemia cells that persisted up to 5 days. T cells generated with nucleoside-modified and purified CAR mRNA also showed reduced expression of checkpoint regulators and a differential pattern of genetic activation compared to those made with conventional mRNA. In vivo studies using a leukemia mouse model revealed that the most robust 100-fold suppression of leukemic burden was achieved using T cells electroporated with purified mRNAs, regardless of their nucleoside modification. The results provide a novel approach to generate mRNA for clinical trials, and poise mRNA CAR T cells for increased efficacy during testing as new CAR targets emerge.
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MESH Headings
- Adoptive Transfer
- Animals
- Antigens, CD19/genetics
- Antigens, CD19/immunology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Electroporation
- Humans
- Leukemia/genetics
- Leukemia/immunology
- Leukemia/pathology
- Leukemia/therapy
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, Knockout
- Mice, SCID
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/immunology
- RNA, Messenger/isolation & purification
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/genetics
- Receptors, Chimeric Antigen/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/pathology
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica B. Foster
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Namrata Choudhari
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jessica Perazzelli
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Julie Storm
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ted J. Hofmann
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Payal Jain
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Phillip B. Storm
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Drew Weissman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Angela J. Waanders
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Stephan A. Grupp
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Adam C. Resnick
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Division of Neurosurgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Data-Driven Discovery in Biomedicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - David M. Barrett
- Division of Oncology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Center for Childhood Cancer Research, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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27
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Pardi N, Hogan MJ, Naradikian MS, Parkhouse K, Cain DW, Jones L, Moody MA, Verkerke HP, Myles A, Willis E, LaBranche CC, Montefiori DC, Lobby JL, Saunders KO, Liao HX, Korber BT, Sutherland LL, Scearce RM, Hraber PT, Tombácz I, Muramatsu H, Ni H, Balikov DA, Li C, Mui BL, Tam YK, Krammer F, Karikó K, Polacino P, Eisenlohr LC, Madden TD, Hope MJ, Lewis MG, Lee KK, Hu SL, Hensley SE, Cancro MP, Haynes BF, Weissman D. Nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines induce potent T follicular helper and germinal center B cell responses. J Exp Med 2018; 215:1571-1588. [PMID: 29739835 PMCID: PMC5987916 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20171450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 321] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are required to develop germinal center (GC) responses and drive immunoglobulin class switch, affinity maturation, and long-term B cell memory. In this study, we characterize a recently developed vaccine platform, nucleoside-modified, purified mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs), that induces high levels of Tfh and GC B cells. Intradermal vaccination with nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNPs encoding various viral surface antigens elicited polyfunctional, antigen-specific, CD4+ T cell responses and potent neutralizing antibody responses in mice and nonhuman primates. Importantly, the strong antigen-specific Tfh cell response and high numbers of GC B cells and plasma cells were associated with long-lived and high-affinity neutralizing antibodies and durable protection. Comparative studies demonstrated that nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccines outperformed adjuvanted protein and inactivated virus vaccines and pathogen infection. The incorporation of noninflammatory, modified nucleosides in the mRNA is required for the production of large amounts of antigen and for robust immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Michael J Hogan
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Martin S Naradikian
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Kaela Parkhouse
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Derek W Cain
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Letitia Jones
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - M Anthony Moody
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Hans P Verkerke
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Arpita Myles
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Elinor Willis
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | | | | | - Jenna L Lobby
- Department of Pathology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Kevin O Saunders
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Hua-Xin Liao
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | | | - Laura L Sutherland
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Richard M Scearce
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | | | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Houping Ni
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Daniel A Balikov
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Charles Li
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | | | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Florian Krammer
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | | | - Patricia Polacino
- Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Laurence C Eisenlohr
- Department of Pathology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
| | | | | | | | - Kelly K Lee
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Shiu-Lok Hu
- Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.,Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Scott E Hensley
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Michael P Cancro
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Barton F Haynes
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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28
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Yousefi S, Sharma SK, Stojkov D, Germic N, Aeschlimann S, Ge MQ, Flayer CH, Larson ED, Redai IG, Zhang S, Koziol-White CJ, Karikó K, Simon HU, Haczku A. Oxidative damage of SP-D abolishes control of eosinophil extracellular DNA trap formation. J Leukoc Biol 2018; 104:205-214. [PMID: 29733456 DOI: 10.1002/jlb.3ab1117-455r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2017] [Revised: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The asthmatic airways are highly susceptible to inflammatory injury by air pollutants such as ozone (O3 ), characterized by enhanced activation of eosinophilic granulocytes and a failure of immune protective mechanisms. Eosinophil activation during asthma exacerbation contributes to the proinflammatory oxidative stress by high levels of nitric oxide (NO) production and extracellular DNA release. Surfactant protein-D (SP-D), an epithelial cell product of the airways, is a critical immune regulatory molecule with a multimeric structure susceptible to oxidative modifications. Using recombinant proteins and confocal imaging, we demonstrate here that SP-D directly bound to the membrane and inhibited extracellular DNA trap formation by human and murine eosinophils in a concentration and carbohydrate-dependent manner. Combined allergic airway sensitization and O3 exposure heightened eosinophilia and nos2 mRNA (iNOS) activation in the lung tissue and S-nitrosylation related de-oligomerisation of SP-D in the airways. In vitro reproduction of the iNOS action led to similar effects on SP-D. Importantly, S-nitrosylation abolished the ability of SP-D to block extracellular DNA trap formation. Thus, the homeostatic negative regulatory feedback between SP-D and eosinophils is destroyed by the NO-rich oxidative lung tissue environment in asthma exacerbations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Moyar Q Ge
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.,University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | | | | | - Imre G Redai
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Suhong Zhang
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cynthia J Koziol-White
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.,Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Katalin Karikó
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Angela Haczku
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.,University of California, Davis, California, USA
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29
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Abstract
In vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNA encoding therapeutic protein has the potential to treat a variety of diseases by serving as template for translation in the patient. To optimize conditions for such therapy, reporter protein-encoding mRNAs are usually used. One preferred reporter is erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates erythropoiesis and leads to an increase in hematocrit. Measurement of hematocrit is a fast and reliable method to determine the potency of the in vitro-transcribed EPO mRNA. However, frequent blood draw from mice can increase hematocrit due to blood loss. Therefore, instead of using conventional hematocrit capillary tubes, we adapted glass microcapillaries for hematocrit measurement. Daily monitoring of mice can be accomplished by drawing less than 20 μL of blood, thus avoiding blood loss-related hematocrit increase. Due to the small volume of the withdrawn blood the hematocrit remains the same for mice injected with control mRNA, whereas significant hematocrit increase is measured between day 4 and 20 postinjection for those injected with pseudouridine-modified EPO mRNA. Following hematocrit measurement the microcapillaries are snapped easily to recover plasma for further analyses, including EPO measurement by ELISA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katalin Karikó
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals GmbH, An der Goldgrube 12, Mainz, D-55131, Germany. .,Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Péter M, Boros G, Hegedüs C, Fidrus E, Emri G, Karikó K, Remenyik É. 637 Time-dependent investigation of UVB-induced cellular mechanisms in human keratinocytes using mRNA encoding cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer-specific photolyase. J Invest Dermatol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2017.07.313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Hegedüs C, Boros G, Janka E, Lovászi M, Karikó K, Juhász T, Kis G, Emri G, Bai P, Remenyik É. 620 Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 activity modulates mitochondrial function following UVB irradiation. J Invest Dermatol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2017.07.296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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32
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Pardi N, Hogan MJ, Pelc RS, Muramatsu H, Andersen H, DeMaso CR, Dowd KA, Sutherland LL, Scearce RM, Parks R, Wagner W, Granados A, Greenhouse J, Walker M, Willis E, Yu JS, McGee CE, Sempowski GD, Mui BL, Tam YK, Huang YJ, Vanlandingham D, Holmes VM, Balachandran H, Sahu S, Lifton M, Higgs S, Hensley SE, Madden TD, Hope MJ, Karikó K, Santra S, Graham BS, Lewis MG, Pierson TC, Haynes BF, Weissman D. Zika virus protection by a single low-dose nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccination. Nature 2017; 543:248-251. [PMID: 28151488 PMCID: PMC5344708 DOI: 10.1038/nature21428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 595] [Impact Index Per Article: 85.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently emerged as a pandemic associated with severe neuropathology in newborns and adults. There are no ZIKV-specific treatments or preventatives. Therefore, the development of a safe and effective vaccine is a high priority. Messenger RNA (mRNA) has emerged as a versatile and highly effective platform to deliver vaccine antigens and therapeutic proteins. Here we demonstrate that a single low-dose intradermal immunization with lipid-nanoparticle-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (mRNA-LNP) encoding the pre-membrane and envelope glycoproteins of a strain from the ZIKV outbreak in 2013 elicited potent and durable neutralizing antibody responses in mice and non-human primates. Immunization with 30 μg of nucleoside-modified ZIKV mRNA-LNP protected mice against ZIKV challenges at 2 weeks or 5 months after vaccination, and a single dose of 50 μg was sufficient to protect non-human primates against a challenge at 5 weeks after vaccination. These data demonstrate that nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP elicits rapid and durable protective immunity and therefore represents a new and promising vaccine candidate for the global fight against ZIKV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Michael J Hogan
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Rebecca S Pelc
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | | | - Christina R DeMaso
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Kimberly A Dowd
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Laura L Sutherland
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Richard M Scearce
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Robert Parks
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Elinor Willis
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Jae-Sung Yu
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Charles E McGee
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Gregory D Sempowski
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Barbara L Mui
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Yan-Jang Huang
- Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA
| | - Dana Vanlandingham
- Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA
| | - Veronica M Holmes
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Harikrishnan Balachandran
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
| | - Sujata Sahu
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
| | - Michelle Lifton
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
| | - Stephen Higgs
- Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and the Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA
| | - Scott E Hensley
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Thomas D Madden
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Michael J Hope
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Katalin Karikó
- BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Sampa Santra
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 USA
| | - Barney S Graham
- Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Mark G Lewis
- Bioqual Inc., Rockville, Maryland 20850-3220, USA
| | - Theodore C Pierson
- Viral Pathogenesis Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Barton F Haynes
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Boros G, Miko E, Muramatsu H, Weissman D, Emri E, van der Horst GTJ, Szegedi A, Horkay I, Emri G, Karikó K, Remenyik É. Identification of Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimer-Responsive Genes Using UVB-Irradiated Human Keratinocytes Transfected with In Vitro-Synthesized Photolyase mRNA. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131141. [PMID: 26121660 PMCID: PMC4488231 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Major biological effects of UVB are attributed to cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), the most common photolesions formed on DNA. To investigate the contribution of CPDs to UVB-induced changes of gene expression, a model system was established by transfecting keratinocytes with pseudouridine-modified mRNA (Ψ-mRNA) encoding CPD-photolyase. Microarray analyses of this model system demonstrated that more than 50% of the gene expression altered by UVB was mediated by CPD photolesions. Functional classification of the gene targets revealed strong effects of CPDs on the regulation of the cell cycle and transcriptional machineries. To confirm the microarray data, cell cycle-regulatory genes, CCNE1 and CDKN2B that were induced exclusively by CPDs were selected for further investigation. Following UVB irradiation, expression of these genes increased significantly at both mRNA and protein levels, but not in cells transfected with CPD-photolyase Ψ-mRNA and exposed to photoreactivating light. Treatment of cells with inhibitors of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) blocked the UVB-dependent upregulation of both genes suggesting a role for JNK in relaying the signal of UVB-induced CPDs into transcriptional responses. Thus, photolyase mRNA-based experimental platform demonstrates CPD-dependent and -independent events of UVB-induced cellular responses, and, as such, has the potential to identify novel molecular targets for treatment of UVB-mediated skin diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Boros
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Edit Miko
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Eszter Emri
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | | | - Andrea Szegedi
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Department of Dermatological Allergology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Irén Horkay
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Emri
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- * E-mail:
| | - Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Éva Remenyik
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Abstract
In vitro transcribed (IVT) mRNA has recently come into focus as a potential new drug class to deliver genetic information. Such synthetic mRNA can be engineered to transiently express proteins by structurally resembling natural mRNA. Advances in addressing the inherent challenges of this drug class, particularly related to controlling the translational efficacy and immunogenicity of the IVTmRNA, provide the basis for a broad range of potential applications. mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies and infectious disease vaccines have entered clinical development. Meanwhile, emerging novel approaches include in vivo delivery of IVT mRNA to replace or supplement proteins, IVT mRNA-based generation of pluripotent stem cells and genome engineering using IVT mRNA-encoded designer nucleases. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of mRNA-based drug technologies and their applications, and discusses the key challenges and opportunities in developing these into a new class of drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugur Sahin
- 1] TRON Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany. [2] BioNTech Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Katalin Karikó
- 1] BioNTech Corporation, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany. [2] Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Özlem Türeci
- TRON Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany
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35
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Boros G, Miko E, Muramatsu H, Weissman D, Emri E, Rózsa D, Nagy G, Juhász A, Juhász I, van der Horst G, Horkay I, Remenyik É, Karikó K, Emri G. Transfection of pseudouridine-modified mRNA encoding CPD-photolyase leads to repair of DNA damage in human keratinocytes: a new approach with future therapeutic potential. J Photochem Photobiol B 2013; 129:93-9. [PMID: 24211294 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2013.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Revised: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 09/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
UVB irradiation induces harmful photochemical reactions, including formation of Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers (CPDs) in DNA. Accumulation of unrepaired CPD lesions causes inflammation, premature ageing and skin cancer. Photolyases are DNA repair enzymes that can rapidly restore DNA integrity in a light-dependent process called photoreactivation, but these enzymes are absent in humans. Here, we present a novel mRNA-based gene therapy method that directs synthesis of a marsupial, Potorous tridactylus, CPD-photolyase in cultured human keratinocytes. Pseudouridine was incorporated during in vitro transcription to make the mRNA non-immunogenic and highly translatable. Keratinocytes transfected with lipofectamine-complexed mRNA expressed photolyase in the nuclei for at least 2days. Exposing photolyase mRNA-transfected cells to UVB irradiation resulted in significantly less CPD in those cells that were also treated with photoreactivating light, which is required for photolyase activity. The functional photolyase also diminished other UVB-mediated effects, including induction of IL-6 and inhibition of cell proliferation. These results demonstrate that pseudouridine-containing photolyase mRNA is a powerful tool to repair UVB-induced DNA lesions. The pseudouridine-modified mRNA approach has a strong potential to discern cellular effects of CPD in UV-related cell biological studies. The mRNA-based transient expression of proteins offers a number of opportunities for future application in medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Boros
- Department of Dermatology, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei korut 98, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
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36
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Abstract
The in vitro synthesis of long RNA can be accomplished using phage RNA polymerase and template DNA. However, the in vitro synthesized RNA, unlike those transcribed in vivo in cells, lacks nucleoside modifications. Introducing modified nucleosides into in vitro transcripts is important because they reduce the potential of RNA to activate RNA sensors and translation of such nucleoside-modified RNA is increased in cell lines, primary cells, and after in vivo delivery. Here, we describe the in vitro synthesis of nucleoside-modified RNA with enhanced translational capacity and reduced ability to activate immune sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Pardi
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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37
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Karikó K, Muramatsu H, Ludwig J, Weissman D. Generating the optimal mRNA for therapy: HPLC purification eliminates immune activation and improves translation of nucleoside-modified, protein-encoding mRNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2011; 39:e142. [PMID: 21890902 PMCID: PMC3241667 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkr695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 506] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In vitro-transcribed mRNA has great therapeutic potential to transiently express the encoded protein without the adverse effects of viral and DNA-based constructs. Mammalian cells, however, contain RNA sensors of the innate immune system that must be considered in the generation of therapeutic RNA. Incorporation of modified nucleosides both reduces innate immune activation and increases translation of mRNA, but residual induction of type I interferons (IFNs) and proinflammatory cytokines remains. We identify that contaminants, including double-stranded RNA, in nucleoside-modified in vitro-transcribed RNA are responsible for innate immune activation and their removal by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results in mRNA that does not induce IFNs and inflammatory cytokines and is translated at 10- to 1000-fold greater levels in primary cells. Although unmodified mRNAs were translated significantly better following purification, they still induced high levels of cytokine secretion. HPLC purified nucleoside-modified mRNA is a powerful vector for applications ranging from ex vivo stem cell generation to in vivo gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany and Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany and Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - János Ludwig
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany and Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany and Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 215 573 8491; Fax: +215 349 5111;
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Anderson BR, Muramatsu H, Jha BK, Silverman RH, Weissman D, Karikó K. Nucleoside modifications in RNA limit activation of 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase and increase resistance to cleavage by RNase L. Nucleic Acids Res 2011; 39:9329-38. [PMID: 21813458 PMCID: PMC3241635 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkr586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The interferon-induced enzymes 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) and RNase L are key components of innate immunity involved in sensory and effector functions following viral infections. Upon binding target RNA, OAS is activated to produce 2′-5′-linked oligoadenylates (2-5A) that activate RNase L, which then cleaves single-stranded self and non-self RNA. Modified nucleosides that are present in cellular transcripts have been shown to suppress activation of several RNA sensors. Here, we demonstrate that in vitro transcribed, unmodified RNA activates OAS, induces RNase L-mediated ribosomal RNA (rRNA) cleavage and is rapidly cleaved by RNase L. In contrast, RNA containing modified nucleosides activates OAS less efficiently and induces limited rRNA cleavage. Nucleoside modifications also make RNA resistant to cleavage by RNase L. Examining translation in RNase L−/− cells and mice confirmed that RNase L activity reduces translation of unmodified mRNA, which is not observed with modified mRNA. Additionally, mRNA containing the nucleoside modification pseudouridine is translated longer and has an extended half-life. The observation that modified nucleosides in RNA reduce 2-5A pathway activation joins OAS and RNase L to the list of RNA sensors and effectors whose functions are limited when RNA is modified, confirming the role of nucleoside modifications in suppressing immune recognition of RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart R Anderson
- Department of Medicine, 3610 Hamilton Walk, 522B Johnson Pavilion, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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39
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Kaneko H, Dridi S, Tarallo V, Gelfand BD, Fowler BJ, Cho WG, Kleinman ME, Ponicsan SL, Hauswirth WW, Chiodo VA, Karikó K, Yoo JW, Lee DK, Hadziahmetovic M, Song Y, Misra S, Chaudhuri G, Buaas FW, Braun RE, Hinton DR, Zhang Q, Grossniklaus HE, Provis JM, Madigan MC, Milam AH, Justice NL, Albuquerque RJC, Blandford AD, Bogdanovich S, Hirano Y, Witta J, Fuchs E, Littman DR, Ambati BK, Rudin CM, Chong MMW, Provost P, Kugel JF, Goodrich JA, Dunaief JL, Baffi JZ, Ambati J. DICER1 deficit induces Alu RNA toxicity in age-related macular degeneration. Nature 2011; 471:325-30. [PMID: 21297615 PMCID: PMC3077055 DOI: 10.1038/nature09830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 453] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2010] [Accepted: 01/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Geographic atrophy (GA), an untreatable advanced form of age-related macular degeneration, results from retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cell degeneration. Here we show that the microRNA (miRNA)-processing enzyme DICER1 is reduced in the RPE of humans with GA, and that conditional ablation of Dicer1, but not seven other miRNA-processing enzymes, induces RPE degeneration in mice. DICER1 knockdown induces accumulation of Alu RNA in human RPE cells and Alu-like B1 and B2 RNAs in mouse RPE. Alu RNA is increased in the RPE of humans with GA, and this pathogenic RNA induces human RPE cytotoxicity and RPE degeneration in mice. Antisense oligonucleotides targeting Alu/B1/B2 RNAs prevent DICER1 depletion-induced RPE degeneration despite global miRNA downregulation. DICER1 degrades Alu RNA, and this digested Alu RNA cannot induce RPE degeneration in mice. These findings reveal a miRNA-independent cell survival function for DICER1 involving retrotransposon transcript degradation, show that Alu RNA can directly cause human pathology, and identify new targets for a major cause of blindness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Kaneko
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA
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Anderson BR, Muramatsu H, Nallagatla SR, Bevilacqua PC, Sansing LH, Weissman D, Karikó K. Incorporation of pseudouridine into mRNA enhances translation by diminishing PKR activation. Nucleic Acids Res 2010; 38:5884-92. [PMID: 20457754 PMCID: PMC2943593 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkq347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 330] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that the translation level of in vitro transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) is enhanced when its uridines are replaced with pseudouridines; however, the reason for this enhancement has not been identified. Here, we demonstrate that in vitro transcripts containing uridine activate RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), which then phosphorylates translation initiation factor 2-alpha (eIF-2α), and inhibits translation. In contrast, in vitro transcribed mRNAs containing pseudouridine activate PKR to a lesser degree, and translation of pseudouridine-containing mRNAs is not repressed. RNA pull-down assays demonstrate that mRNA containing uridine is bound by PKR more efficiently than mRNA with pseudouridine. Finally, the role of PKR is validated by showing that pseudouridine- and uridine-containing RNAs were translated equally in PKR knockout cells. These results indicate that the enhanced translation of mRNAs containing pseudouridine, compared to those containing uridine, is mediated by decreased activation of PKR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart R Anderson
- Department of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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41
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Karikó K, Weissman D. Naturally occurring nucleoside modifications suppress the immunostimulatory activity of RNA: implication for therapeutic RNA development. Curr Opin Drug Discov Devel 2007; 10:523-32. [PMID: 17786850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
DNA and RNA stimulate the mammalian innate immune system by triggering a variety of sensors, including Toll-like receptors (TLRs). TLR9 signals upon exposure to DNA, while TLR3, TLR7 and TLR8 respond to RNA. Most DNA and RNA from natural sources contain modified nucleosides. Methylation of CpG motifs in DNA blocks TLR9 signaling. The question of whether an analogous effect can be attributed to nucleoside modifications in RNA has only recently been addressed. This review characterizes a few naturally occurring nucleoside modifications of RNA and their influence on the capacity of RNA to activate immune cells and TLRs. RNAs containing modified nucleosides, and thus lacking immune-activating properties, have potential importance in clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Rm 371 Stemmler Hall, 36th & Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Stoddard E, Cannon G, Ni H, Karikó K, Capodici J, Malamud D, Weissman D. gp340 Expressed on Human Genital Epithelia Binds HIV-1 Envelope Protein and Facilitates Viral Transmission. J Immunol 2007; 179:3126-32. [PMID: 17709527 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.179.5.3126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
During sexual transmission of HIV in women, the first cells likely to be infected are submucosal CD4(+) T cells and dendritic cells of the lower genital tract. HIV is segregated from these target cells by an epithelial cell layer that can be bypassed even when healthy and intact. To understand how HIV penetrates this barrier, we identified a host protein, gp340, that is expressed on genital epithelium and binds the HIV envelope via a specific protein-protein interaction. This binding allows otherwise subinfectious amounts of HIV to efficiently infect target cells and allows this infection to occur over a longer period of time after binding. Our findings suggest a mechanism of viral entry during heterosexual transmission where HIV is bound to intact genital epithelia, which then promotes the initial events of infection. Understanding this step in the initiation of infection will allow for the development of tools and methods for blocking HIV transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Earl Stoddard
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Muramatsu H, Welsh FA, Karikó K. Cerebral preconditioning using cortical application of hypertonic salt solutions: upregulation of mRNAs encoding inhibitors of inflammation. Brain Res 2006; 1097:31-8. [PMID: 16725117 PMCID: PMC3619415 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.04.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2006] [Revised: 04/14/2006] [Accepted: 04/18/2006] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that local application of hypertonic KCl or NaCl to the cerebral cortex induces tolerance to a subsequent episode of ischemia. The objective of the present study was to determine whether application of these salts increases the levels of mRNAs encoding inhibitors of inflammation. Hypertonic KCl or NaCl was applied for 2 h to the frontal cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats. After recovery periods up to 24 h, levels of selected mRNAs were measured in samples from frontal and parietal cortex using Northern blots. Application of hypertonic KCl caused a rapid and widespread increase in the levels of mRNA coding for tumor necrosis factor (TNF), tristetraprolin (TTP), suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and a 24-h delayed induction of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) mRNA. Application of hypertonic NaCl caused alterations in mRNA levels that were restricted to the frontal cortex. In this region, application of NaCl rapidly increased levels of mRNA encoding TNF, TTP, and SOCS3, but not BDNF, and caused a delayed induction of CNTF mRNA. These results raise the possibility that upregulation of inhibitors of inflammation after preconditioning may contribute to the induction of tolerance to ischemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 371 Stemmler Hall, Box 44, 36th and Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Karikó K, Buckstein M, Ni H, Weissman D. Suppression of RNA recognition by Toll-like receptors: the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA. Immunity 2005; 23:165-75. [PMID: 16111635 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2005.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1390] [Impact Index Per Article: 73.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2005] [Revised: 05/26/2005] [Accepted: 06/15/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
DNA and RNA stimulate the mammalian innate immune system through activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). DNA containing methylated CpG motifs, however, is not stimulatory. Selected nucleosides in naturally occurring RNA are also methylated or otherwise modified, but the immunomodulatory effects of these alterations remain untested. We show that RNA signals through human TLR3, TLR7, and TLR8, but incorporation of modified nucleosides m5C, m6A, m5U, s2U, or pseudouridine ablates activity. Dendritic cells (DCs) exposed to such modified RNA express significantly less cytokines and activation markers than those treated with unmodified RNA. DCs and TLR-expressing cells are potently activated by bacterial and mitochondrial RNA, but not by mammalian total RNA, which is abundant in modified nucleosides. We conclude that nucleoside modifications suppress the potential of RNA to activate DCs. The innate immune system may therefore detect RNA lacking nucleoside modification as a means of selectively responding to bacteria or necrotic tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, 19104, USA.
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Karikó K, Bhuyan P, Capodici J, Ni H, Lubinski J, Friedman H, Weissman D. Exogenous siRNA mediates sequence-independent gene suppression by signaling through toll-like receptor 3. Cells Tissues Organs 2005; 177:132-8. [PMID: 15388987 DOI: 10.1159/000079987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful method that specifically suppresses gene expression in a sequence-dependent manner whose machinery is found in organisms from fungi to mammals. Mammalian cells have developed a sequence-independent system of gene suppression often induced by viral replication that includes the recognition of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) through Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and induction of type I interferon synthesis. Interferon activates the transcription of a set of genes including dsRNA-activated protein kinase that suppresses protein synthesis and 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase, which generates a product that activates RNase L to cleave RNA in a sequence-independent manner. We observed that 21-bp dsRNA, a key mediator of RNAi, not only induces sequence-specific gene suppression, but also signals TLR3 to induce type I interferon and activates sequence-independent suppression of protein synthesis and enhancement of mRNA degradation. This sequence-independent suppression was demonstrated for both an exogenously administered reporter gene as well as during the targeting of viral genes in the course of acute herpes simplex virus type I infection of keratinocytes. As TLR3 is expressed by many primary cell types and cell lines, this sequence-independent suppression should be considered in the design of experiments using small interfering RNA-mediated gene suppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Division of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Abstract
Cerebral ischemia triggers acute inflammation, which exacerbates primary brain damage. Activation of the innate immune system is an important component of this inflammatory response. Inflammation occurs through the action of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF, IL-1 beta and IL-6, that alter blood flow and increase vascular permeability, thus leading to secondary ischemia and accumulation of immune cells in the brain. Production of these cytokines is initiated by signaling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that recognize host-derived molecules released from injured tissues and cells. Recently, great strides have been made in understanding the regulation of the innate immune system, particularly the signaling mechanisms of TLRs. Negative feedback inhibitors of TLRs and inflammatory cytokines have now been identified and characterized. It is also evident that lipid rafts exist in membranes and play a role in receptor-mediated inflammatory signaling events. In the present review, using this newly available large body of knowledge, we take a fresh look at studies of ischemic tolerance. Based on this analysis, we recognize a striking similarity between ischemic tolerance and endotoxin tolerance, an immune suppressive state characterized by hyporesponsiveness to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In view of this analogy, and considering recent discoveries related to molecular mechanisms of endotoxin tolerance, we postulate that inhibition of TLR and proinflammatory cytokine signaling contributes critically to ischemic tolerance in the brain and other organs. Ischemic tolerance is a protective mechanism induced by a variety of preconditioning stimuli. Tolerance can be established with two temporal profiles: (i) a rapid form in which the trigger induces tolerance to ischemia within minutes and (ii) a delayed form in which development of protection takes several hours or days and requires de-novo protein synthesis. The rapid form of tolerance is achieved by direct interference with membrane fluidity, causing disruption of lipid rafts leading to inhibition of TLR/cytokine signaling pathways. In the delayed form of tolerance, the preconditioning stimulus first triggers the TLR/cytokine inflammatory pathways, leading not only to inflammation but also to simultaneous upregulation of feedback inhibitors of inflammation. These inhibitors, which include signaling inhibitors, decoy receptors, and anti-inflammatory cytokines, reduce the inflammatory response to a subsequent episode of ischemia. This novel interpretation of the molecular mechanism of ischemic tolerance highlights new avenues for future investigation into the prevention and treatment of stroke and related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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Abstract
Cortical application of KCl has previously been shown to induce tolerance to a subsequent episode of cerebral ischemia. KCl triggers recurrent episodes of cortical spreading depression and produces a small lesion at the cortical application site. To determine whether a cortical lesion alone is sufficient to induce tolerance to ischemia, the authors used 5-mol/L NaCl to precondition rat brain 3 days before permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. NaCl produced a small lesion at the application site without evoking cortical spreading depression. Preconditioning with 5-mol/L NaCl significantly attenuated the decrease in CBF after middle cerebral artery occlusion and reduced the volume of cortical infarction by 35%. The results show that a small cortical lesion, by itself, is sufficient to induce tolerance to ischemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA
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Karikó K, Bhuyan P, Capodici J, Weissman D. Small interfering RNAs mediate sequence-independent gene suppression and induce immune activation by signaling through toll-like receptor 3. J Immunol 2004; 172:6545-9. [PMID: 15153468 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.172.11.6545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 350] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Small interfering (si) and short hairpin (sh) RNAs induce robust degradation of homologous mRNAs, making them a potent tool to achieve gene silencing in mammalian cells. Silencing by siRNAs is used widely because it is considered highly specific for the targeted gene, although a recent report suggests that siRNA also induce signaling through the type I IFN system. When human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) or keratinocyte (HaCaT) cell lines or human primary dendritic cells or macrophages were transfected with siRNA or shRNAs, suppression of nontargeted mRNA expression was detected. Additionally, siRNA and shRNA, independent of their sequences, initiated immune activation, including IFN-alpha and TNF-alpha production and increased HLA-DR expression, in transfected macrophages and dendritic cells. The siRNAs induced low, but significant, levels of IFN-beta in HEK293 and HaCaT cells. Secretion of these cytokines increased tremendously when HEK293 cells overexpressed Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), and the increased secretion of IFN-beta was inhibited by coexpression of an inhibitor of TIR domain-containing adapter-inducing IFN-beta, the TLR3 adaptor protein linked to IFN regulatory factor 3 signaling. Although siRNA and shRNA knockdown of genes represents a new and powerful tool, it is not without nonspecific effects, which we demonstrate are mediated in part by signaling through TLR3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Division of Neurosurgery and Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Koski GK, Karikó K, Xu S, Weissman D, Cohen PA, Czerniecki BJ. Cutting Edge: Innate Immune System Discriminates between RNA Containing Bacterial versus Eukaryotic Structural Features That Prime for High-Level IL-12 Secretion by Dendritic Cells. J Immunol 2004; 172:3989-93. [PMID: 15034009 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.172.7.3989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
RNA derived from bacterial but not eukaryotic sources, when transfected into human monocyte-derived dendritic cell precursors, induces high-level IL-12 secretion in conjunction with dendritic cell maturation stimuli. In vitro-transcribed mRNA that mimics the structure of bacterial mRNA in the lack of a long 3'-poly(A) tail likewise induces IL-12 secretion, but this property is lost upon efficient enzymatic 3'-polyadenylation. Among other tested RNAs, only polyuridylic acid induced IL-12 p70. This RNA response phenomenon appears biologically distinct from the classically defined response to dsRNA. RNA-transfected APC also polarize T cells in an IL-12-dependent manner toward the IFN-gamma(high)IL-5 (low) Th1 phenotype, suggesting a link between the detection of appropriately structured RNA and the skewing of immune responses toward those best suited for controlling intracellular microbes. RNA structured to emulate bacterial patterns constitutes a novel vaccine strategy to engender polarized Th1-type immune responses.
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MESH Headings
- 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics
- Adult
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cells, Cultured
- Dendritic Cells/immunology
- Dendritic Cells/metabolism
- Dendritic Cells/microbiology
- Dendritic Cells/parasitology
- Humans
- Immunity, Innate/genetics
- Immunization/methods
- Interleukin-12/antagonists & inhibitors
- Interleukin-12/metabolism
- Intracellular Fluid/immunology
- Intracellular Fluid/metabolism
- Intracellular Fluid/microbiology
- Intracellular Fluid/parasitology
- Poly A/metabolism
- RNA, Bacterial/chemistry
- RNA, Bacterial/immunology
- RNA, Double-Stranded/immunology
- RNA, Double-Stranded/physiology
- RNA, Messenger/chemistry
- RNA, Messenger/immunology
- RNA, Protozoan/chemistry
- RNA, Protozoan/immunology
- Transcription, Genetic/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary K Koski
- Harrison Department of Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the basic signaling receptors of the innate immune system. They are activated by molecules associated with pathogens or injured host cells and tissue. TLR3 has been shown to respond to double stranded (ds) RNA, a replication intermediary for many viruses. Here we present evidence that heterologous RNA released from or associated with necrotic cells or generated by in vitro transcription also stimulates TLR3 and induces immune activation. To assess RNA-mediated TLR3 activation, human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably expressing TLR3 and containing a nuclear factor-kappaB-dependent luciferase reporter were generated. Exposing these cells to in vitro transcribed RNA resulted in a TLR3-dependent induction of luciferase activity and interleukin-8 secretion. Treatment with in vitro transcribed mRNA activated nuclear factor-kappaB via TLR3 through a process that was dose-dependent and involved tyrosine phosphorylation. Furthermore, in vitro transcribed natural or 2'-fluoro-substituted mRNA induced the expression of TLR3, interferon regulatory factor-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-M mRNA in human dendritic cells (DCs). DCs responded to mRNA treatment by expressing activation markers, and this maturation was inhibited by antagonistic TLR3-specific antibody. Endogenous RNA released from or associated with necrotic cells also stimulated DCs, leading to interferon-alpha secretion, which could be abolished by pretreatment of necrotic cells with RNase. These results demonstrate that RNA, likely through secondary structure, is a potent host-derived activator of TLR3. This finding has potential physiologic relevance because RNA escaping from damaged tissue or contained within endocytosed cells could serve as an endogenous ligand for TLR3 that induces or otherwise modulates immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katalin Karikó
- Division of Neurosurgery and Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania, 3610 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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