1
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Matsuda S, Bala S, Liao JY, Datta D, Mikami A, Woods L, Harp JM, Gilbert JA, Bisbe A, Manoharan RM, Kim M, Theile CS, Guenther DC, Jiang Y, Agarwal S, Maganti R, Schlegel MK, Zlatev I, Charisse K, Rajeev KG, Castoreno A, Maier M, Janas MM, Egli M, Chaput JC, Manoharan M. Shorter Is Better: The α-(l)-Threofuranosyl Nucleic Acid Modification Improves Stability, Potency, Safety, and Ago2 Binding and Mitigates Off-Target Effects of Small Interfering RNAs. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:19691-19706. [PMID: 37638886 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c04744] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Chemical modifications are necessary to ensure the metabolic stability and efficacy of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. Here, we describe analyses of the α-(l)-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA) modification, which has a shorter 3'-2' internucleotide linkage than the natural DNA and RNA, in the context of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). The TNA modification enhanced nuclease resistance more than 2'-O-methyl or 2'-fluoro ribose modifications. TNA-containing siRNAs were prepared as triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine conjugates and were tested in cultured cells and mice. With the exceptions of position 2 of the antisense strand and position 11 of the sense strand, the TNA modification did not inhibit the activity of the RNA interference machinery. In a rat toxicology study, TNA placed at position 7 of the antisense strand of the siRNA mitigated off-target effects, likely due to the decrease in the thermodynamic binding affinity relative to the 2'-O-methyl residue. Analysis of the crystal structure of an RNA octamer with a single TNA on each strand showed that the tetrose sugar adopts a C4'-exo pucker. Computational models of siRNA antisense strands containing TNA bound to Argonaute 2 suggest that TNA is well accommodated in the region kinked by the enzyme. The combined data indicate that the TNA nucleotides are promising modifications expected to increase the potency, duration of action, and safety of siRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Saikat Bala
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3958, United States
| | - Jen-Yu Liao
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3958, United States
| | - Dhrubajyoti Datta
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Atsushi Mikami
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Lauren Woods
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Joel M Harp
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0146, United States
| | - Jason A Gilbert
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rajar M Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - MaryBeth Kim
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Christopher S Theile
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Dale C Guenther
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Yongfeng Jiang
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Saket Agarwal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rajanikanth Maganti
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Mark K Schlegel
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Adam Castoreno
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Maja M Janas
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-0146, United States
| | - John C Chaput
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3958, United States
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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2
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Anthiya S, Öztürk SC, Yanik H, Tavukcuoglu E, Sahin A, Datta D, Charisse K, Álvarez DM, Loza M, Calvo A, Sulheim E, Loevenich S, Klinkenberg G, Schmid R, Manoharan M, Esendağlı G, Alonso MJ. Targeted siRNA lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of KRAS-mutant tumors. J Control Release 2023; 357:67-83. [PMID: 36921725 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
K-RAS is a highly relevant oncogene that is mutated in approximately 90% of pancreatic cancers and 20-25% of lung adenocarcinomas. The aim of this work was to develop a new anti-KRAS siRNA therapeutic strategy through the engineering of functionalized lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). To do this, first, a potent pan anti-KRAS siRNA sequence was chosen from the literature and different chemical modifications of siRNA were tested for their transfection efficacy (KRAS knockdown) and anti-proliferative effects on various cancer cell lines. Second, a selected siRNA candidate was loaded into tLyp-1 targeted and non-targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). The biodistribution and antitumoral efficacy of selected siRNA-loaded LNP-prototypes were evaluated in vivo using a pancreatic cancer murine model (subcutaneous xenograft CFPAC-1 tumors). Our results show that tLyp-1-tagged targeted LNPs have an enhanced accumulation in the tumor compared to non-targeted LNPs. Moreover, a significant reduction in the pancreatic tumor growth was observed when the anti-KRAS siRNA treatment was combined with a classical chemotherapeutic agent, gemcitabine. In conclusion, our work demonstrates the benefits of using a targeting approach to improve tumor accumulation of siRNA-LNPs and its positive impact on tumor reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubaash Anthiya
- Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain
| | - Süleyman Can Öztürk
- Research and Application Center for Animal Experiments, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hamdullah Yanik
- Department of Basic Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Ece Tavukcuoglu
- Department of Basic Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Adem Sahin
- R&D Department of ILKO Pharmaceuticals, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Dhrubajyoti Datta
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - David Moreira Álvarez
- BioFarma Research Group, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Mabel Loza
- BioFarma Research Group, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Alfonso Calvo
- Health Research Institute of Navarra (IDISNA), Pamplona, Spain; Department of Histology and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Einar Sulheim
- Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Simon Loevenich
- Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Geir Klinkenberg
- Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ruth Schmid
- Department of Biotechnology and Nanomedicine, SINTEF Industry, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, MA 02142, United States
| | - Güneş Esendağlı
- Department of Basic Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Maria Jose Alonso
- Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain; Department of Pharmacology Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain.
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3
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Kandasamy P, Mori S, Matsuda S, Erande N, Datta D, Willoughby JLS, Taneja N, O'Shea J, Bisbe A, Manoharan RM, Yucius K, Nguyen T, Indrakanti R, Gupta S, Gilbert JA, Racie T, Chan A, Liu J, Hutabarat R, Nair JK, Charisse K, Maier MA, Rajeev KG, Egli M, Manoharan M. Metabolically Stable Anomeric Linkages Containing GalNAc-siRNA Conjugates: An Interplay among ASGPR, Glycosidase, and RISC Pathways. J Med Chem 2023; 66:2506-2523. [PMID: 36757090 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01337] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
Conjugation of synthetic triantennary N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc) to small interfering RNA (siRNA) mediates binding to the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on the surface of hepatocytes, facilitating liver-specific uptake and siRNA-mediated gene silencing. The natural β-glycosidic bond of the GalNAc ligand is rapidly cleaved by glycosidases in vivo. Novel GalNAc ligands with S-, and C-glycosides with both α- and β-anomeric linkages, N-glycosides with β-anomeric linkage, and the O-glycoside with α-anomeric linkage were synthesized and conjugated to siRNA either on-column during siRNA synthesis or through a high-throughput, post-synthetic method. Unlike natural GalNAc, modified ligands were resistant to glycosidase activity. The siRNAs conjugated to newly designed ligands had similar affinities for ASGPR and similar silencing activity in mice as the parent GalNAc-siRNA conjugate. These data suggest that other factors, such as protein-nucleic acid interactions and loading of the antisense strand into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), are more critical to the duration of action than the stereochemistry and stability of the anomeric linkage between the GalNAc moiety of the ligand conjugated to the sense strand of the siRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shohei Mori
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Namrata Erande
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Dhrubajyoti Datta
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Nate Taneja
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jonathan O'Shea
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rajar M Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Kristina Yucius
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Tuyen Nguyen
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ramesh Indrakanti
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Swati Gupta
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jason A Gilbert
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Tim Racie
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Amy Chan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ju Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Renta Hutabarat
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jayaprakash K Nair
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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4
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Engelbeen S, Pasteuning-Vuhman S, Boertje-van der Meulen J, Parmar R, Charisse K, Sepp-Lorenzino L, Manoharan M, Aartsma-Rus A, van Putten M. Efficient Downregulation of Alk4 in Skeletal Muscle After Systemic Treatment with Conjugated siRNAs in a Mouse Model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Nucleic Acid Ther 2023; 33:26-34. [PMID: 36269327 PMCID: PMC9940804 DOI: 10.1089/nat.2022.0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Downregulation of genes involved in the secondary pathology of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for example, inflammation, fibrosis, and adiposis, is an interesting approach to ameliorate degeneration of muscle and replacement by fibrotic and adiposis tissue. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are able to downregulate target genes, however, delivery of siRNAs to skeletal muscle still remains a challenge. We investigated delivery of fully chemically modified, cholesterol-conjugated siRNAs targeting Alk4, a nontherapeutic target that is expressed highly in muscle. We observed that a single intravenous or intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 10 mg/kg resulted in significant downregulation of Alk4 mRNA expression in skeletal muscles in both wild-type and mdx mice. Treatment with multiple IP injections of 10 mg/kg led to an overall reduction of Alk4 expression, reaching significance in tibialis anterior (39.7% ± 6.2%), diaphragm (32.7% ± 5.8%), and liver (41.3% ± 29.9%) in mdx mice. Doubling of the siRNA dose did not further increase mRNA silencing in muscles of mdx mice. The chemically modified conjugated siRNAs used in this study are very promising for delivery to both nondystrophic and dystrophic muscles and could have major implications for treatment of muscular dystrophy pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Engelbeen
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Rubina Parmar
- Alnalym Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | | | - Annemieke Aartsma-Rus
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Maaike van Putten
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.,Address correspondence to: Maaike van Putten, PhD, Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden 2300 RC, the Netherlands
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5
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Guenther DC, Mori S, Matsuda S, Gilbert JA, Willoughby JLS, Hyde S, Bisbe A, Jiang Y, Agarwal S, Madaoui M, Janas MM, Charisse K, Maier MA, Egli M, Manoharan M. Role of a "Magic" Methyl: 2'-Deoxy-2'-α-F-2'-β- C-methyl Pyrimidine Nucleotides Modulate RNA Interference Activity through Synergy with 5'-Phosphate Mimics and Mitigation of Off-Target Effects. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:14517-14534. [PMID: 35921401 PMCID: PMC9389587 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c01679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 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] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Although 2′-deoxy-2′-α-F-2′-β-C-methyl (2′-F/Me) uridine nucleoside derivatives
are a successful class of antiviral drugs, this modification had not
been studied in oligonucleotides. Herein, we demonstrate the facile
synthesis of 2′-F/Me-modified pyrimidine phosphoramidites and
their subsequent incorporation into oligonucleotides. Despite the
C3′-endo preorganization of the parent nucleoside,
a single incorporation into RNA or DNA resulted in significant thermal
destabilization of a duplex due to unfavorable enthalpy, likely resulting
from steric effects. When located at the terminus of an oligonucleotide,
the 2′-F/Me modification imparted more resistance to degradation
than the corresponding 2′-fluoro nucleotides. Small interfering
RNAs (siRNAs) modified at certain positions with 2′-F/Me had
similar or better silencing activity than the parent siRNAs when delivered
via a lipid nanoparticle formulation or as a triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine conjugate in cells and in mice. Modification
in the seed region of the antisense strand at position 6 or 7 resulted
in an activity equivalent to the parent in mice. Additionally, placement
of the antisense strand at position 7 mitigated seed-based off-target
effects in cell-based assays. When the 2′-F/Me modification
was combined with 5′-vinyl phosphonate, both E and Z isomers had silencing activity comparable
to the parent. In combination with other 2′-modifications such
as 2′-O-methyl, the Z isomer
is detrimental to silencing activity. Presumably, the equivalence
of 5′-vinyl phosphonate isomers in the context of 2′-F/Me
is driven by the steric and conformational features of the C-methyl-containing sugar ring. These data indicate that
2′-F/Me nucleotides are promising tools for nucleic acid-based
therapeutic applications to increase potency, duration, and safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dale C Guenther
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Shohei Mori
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jason A Gilbert
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Sarah Hyde
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Yongfeng Jiang
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Saket Agarwal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Mimouna Madaoui
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Maja M Janas
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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6
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Brown KM, Nair JK, Janas MM, Anglero-Rodriguez YI, Dang LTH, Peng H, Theile CS, Castellanos-Rizaldos E, Brown C, Foster D, Kurz J, Allen J, Maganti R, Li J, Matsuda S, Stricos M, Chickering T, Jung M, Wassarman K, Rollins J, Woods L, Kelin A, Guenther DC, Mobley MW, Petrulis J, McDougall R, Racie T, Bombardier J, Cha D, Agarwal S, Johnson L, Jiang Y, Lentini S, Gilbert J, Nguyen T, Chigas S, LeBlanc S, Poreci U, Kasper A, Rogers AB, Chong S, Davis W, Sutherland JE, Castoreno A, Milstein S, Schlegel MK, Zlatev I, Charisse K, Keating M, Manoharan M, Fitzgerald K, Wu JT, Maier MA, Jadhav V. Expanding RNAi therapeutics to extrahepatic tissues with lipophilic conjugates. Nat Biotechnol 2022; 40:1500-1508. [PMID: 35654979 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01334-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutics based on short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) delivered to hepatocytes have been approved, but new delivery solutions are needed to target additional organs. Here we show that conjugation of 2'-O-hexadecyl (C16) to siRNAs enables safe, potent and durable silencing in the central nervous system (CNS), eye and lung in rodents and non-human primates with broad cell type specificity. We show that intrathecally or intracerebroventricularly delivered C16-siRNAs were active across CNS regions and cell types, with sustained RNA interference (RNAi) activity for at least 3 months. Similarly, intravitreal administration to the eye or intranasal administration to the lung resulted in a potent and durable knockdown. The preclinical efficacy of an siRNA targeting the amyloid precursor protein was evaluated through intracerebroventricular dosing in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, resulting in amelioration of physiological and behavioral deficits. Altogether, C16 conjugation of siRNAs has the potential for safe therapeutic silencing of target genes outside the liver with infrequent dosing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jing Li
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alex Kelin
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Diana Cha
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
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7
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Jahns H, Taneja N, Willoughby JLS, Akabane-Nakata M, Brown CR, Nguyen T, Bisbe A, Matsuda S, Hettinger M, Manoharan RM, Rajeev KG, Maier MA, Zlatev I, Charisse K, Egli M, Manoharan M. Chirality matters: stereo-defined phosphorothioate linkages at the termini of small interfering RNAs improve pharmacology in vivo. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 50:1221-1240. [PMID: 34268578 PMCID: PMC8860597 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
A critical challenge for the successful development of RNA interference-based therapeutics therapeutics has been the enhancement of their in vivo metabolic stability. In therapeutically relevant, fully chemically modified small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), modification of the two terminal phosphodiester linkages in each strand of the siRNA duplex with phosphorothioate (PS) is generally sufficient to protect against exonuclease degradation in vivo. Since PS linkages are chiral, we systematically studied the properties of siRNAs containing single chiral PS linkages at each strand terminus. We report an efficient and simple method to introduce chiral PS linkages and demonstrate that Rp diastereomers at the 5′ end and Sp diastereomers at the 3′ end of the antisense siRNA strand improved pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties in a mouse model. In silico modeling studies provide mechanistic insights into how the Rp isomer at the 5′ end and Sp isomer at the 3′ end of the antisense siRNA enhance Argonaute 2 (Ago2) loading and metabolic stability of siRNAs in a concerted manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hartmut Jahns
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Nate Taneja
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | - Tuyen Nguyen
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Matt Hettinger
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Rajar M Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 675 W. Kendall St, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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8
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Chong S, Agarwal S, Agarwal S, Aluri KC, Arciprete M, Brown C, Charisse K, Cichocki J, Fitzgerald K, Goel V, Gu Y, Guenther D, Habtemariam B, Jadhav V, Janas M, Jayaraman M, Kurz J, Li J, Liou S, Liu J, Liu X, Maclauchlin C, Maier M, Manoharan M, McDougall R, Nair J, Ramsden D, Robbie G, Schmidt K, Smith P, Theile C, Vaishnaw A, Waldron S, Wu JT, Xu Y, Zhang X, Zlatev I, Castellanos-Rizaldos E. The Nonclinical Disposition and PK/PD Properties of GalNAc-conjugated siRNA Are Highly Predictable and Build Confidence in Translation to Man. Drug Metab Dispos 2021; 50:781-797. [PMID: 34154993 DOI: 10.1124/dmd.121.000428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [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: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Conjugation of oligonucleotide therapeutics, including small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) or antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) ligands has become the primary strategy for hepatocyte-targeted delivery, and with the recent approvals of GIVLAARI® (givosiran) for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyria, OXLUMOTM (lumasiran) for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, and Leqvio® (inclisiran) for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, the technology has been well-validated clinically. While much knowledge has been gained over decades of development there is a paucity of published literature on the DMPK properties of GalNAc-siRNA. With this in mind the goals of this mini-review are to provide an aggregate analysis of these nonclinical ADME data to build confidence on the translation of these properties to human. Upon subcutaneous administration, GalNAc-conjugated siRNAs are quickly distributed to the liver, resulting in plasma pharmacokinetic (PK) properties that reflect rapid elimination through ASGPR-mediated uptake from circulation into hepatocytes. These studies confirm that liver PK, including half-life and, most importantly, siRNA levels in RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) in hepatocytes are better predictors of pharmacodynamics (PD) than plasma PK. Several in vitro and in vivo nonclinical studies were conducted to characterize the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties of GalNAc-conjugated siRNAs. These studies demonstrate that the PK/PD and ADME properties of GalNAc-conjugated siRNAs are highly conserved across species, largely predictable, and can be accurately scaled to human, allowing us to identify efficacious and safe clinical dosing regimens in the absence of human liver PK profiles. Significance Statement Several nonclinical ADME studies have been conducted in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the disposition and elimination of GalNAc-conjugated siRNAs and the PK/PD translation between species. These studies demonstrate that the ADME properties of GalNAc-conjugated siRNAs are well correlated and predictable across species building confidence in the ability to extrapolate to human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeho Chong
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., United States
| | - Sagar Agarwal
- Clinical Pharmacology, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | - Saket Agarwal
- Investigative Toxicology, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Varun Goel
- Clinical Pharmacology, Avidity Bioscience, United States
| | - Yongli Gu
- Bioanalytical Science, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | - Dale Guenther
- RNAi Discovery, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | | | - Maja Janas
- Investigative Toxicology, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | - Jeff Kurz
- DMPK, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | - Jing Li
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., United States
| | - Steven Liou
- DMPK, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | - Ju Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., United States
| | - Xiumin Liu
- DMPK, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | | | | | - Robin McDougall
- Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., United States
| | - Jay Nair
- Chemistry, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | - Gabriel Robbie
- Clinical Pharmacology, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Yuanxin Xu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., United States
| | | | - Ivan Zlatev
- Chemistry, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, United States
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9
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Janas MM, Zlatev I, Liu J, Jiang Y, Barros SA, Sutherland JE, Davis WP, Liu J, Brown CR, Liu X, Schlegel MK, Blair L, Zhang X, Das B, Tran C, Aluri K, Li J, Agarwal S, Indrakanti R, Charisse K, Nair J, Matsuda S, Rajeev KG, Zimmermann T, Sepp-Lorenzino L, Xu Y, Akinc A, Fitzgerald K, Vaishnaw AK, Smith PF, Manoharan M, Jadhav V, Wu JT, Maier MA. Safety evaluation of 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro nucleotides in GalNAc-siRNA conjugates. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:3306-3320. [PMID: 30820542 PMCID: PMC6468299 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2018] [Revised: 02/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
For oligonucleotide therapeutics, chemical modifications of the sugar-phosphate backbone are frequently used to confer drug-like properties. Because 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro (2′-F) nucleotides are not known to occur naturally, their safety profile was assessed when used in revusiran and ALN-TTRSC02, two short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), of the same sequence but different chemical modification pattern and metabolic stability, conjugated to an N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) ligand for targeted delivery to hepatocytes. Exposure to 2′-F-monomer metabolites was low and transient in rats and humans. In vitro, 2′-F-nucleoside 5′-triphosphates were neither inhibitors nor preferred substrates for human polymerases, and no obligate or non-obligate chain termination was observed. Modest effects on cell viability and mitochondrial DNA were observed in vitro in a subset of cell types at high concentrations of 2′-F-nucleosides, typically not attained in vivo. No apparent functional impact on mitochondria and no significant accumulation of 2′-F-monomers were observed after weekly administration of two GalNAc–siRNA conjugates in rats for ∼2 years. Taken together, the results support the conclusion that 2′-F nucleotides can be safely applied for the design of metabolically stabilized therapeutic GalNAc–siRNAs with favorable potency and prolonged duration of activity allowing for low dose and infrequent dosing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja M Janas
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ju Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Jingxuan Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Xiumin Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Lauren Blair
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Xuemei Zhang
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Biplab Das
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Chris Tran
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Krishna Aluri
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Jing Li
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Saket Agarwal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Yuanxin Xu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | - Peter F Smith
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Vasant Jadhav
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Jing-Tao Wu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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10
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Harp JM, Guenther DC, Bisbe A, Perkins L, Matsuda S, Bommineni GR, Zlatev I, Foster DJ, Taneja N, Charisse K, Maier MA, Rajeev KG, Manoharan M, Egli M. Structural basis for the synergy of 4'- and 2'-modifications on siRNA nuclease resistance, thermal stability and RNAi activity. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:8090-8104. [PMID: 30107495 PMCID: PMC6144868 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [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: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemical modification is a prerequisite of oligonucleotide therapeutics for improved metabolic stability, uptake and activity, irrespective of their mode of action, i.e. antisense, RNAi or aptamer. Phosphate moiety and ribose C2′/O2′ atoms are the most common sites for modification. Compared to 2′-O-substituents, ribose 4′-C-substituents lie in proximity of both the 3′- and 5′-adjacent phosphates. To investigate potentially beneficial effects on nuclease resistance we combined 2′-F and 2′-OMe with 4′-Cα- and 4′-Cβ-OMe, and 2′-F with 4′-Cα-methyl modification. The α- and β-epimers of 4′-C-OMe-uridine and the α-epimer of 4′-C-Me-uridine monomers were synthesized and incorporated into siRNAs. The 4′α-epimers affect thermal stability only minimally and show increased nuclease stability irrespective of the 2′-substituent (H, F, OMe). The 4′β-epimers are strongly destabilizing, but afford complete resistance against an exonuclease with the phosphate or phosphorothioate backbones. Crystal structures of RNA octamers containing 2′-F,4′-Cα-OMe-U, 2′-F,4′-Cβ-OMe-U, 2′-OMe,4′-Cα-OMe-U, 2′-OMe,4′-Cβ-OMe-U or 2′-F,4′-Cα-Me-U help rationalize these observations and point to steric and electrostatic origins of the unprecedented nuclease resistance seen with the chain-inverted 4′β-U epimer. We used structural models of human Argonaute 2 in complex with guide siRNA featuring 2′-F,4′-Cα-OMe-U or 2′-F,4′-Cβ-OMe-U at various sites in the seed region to interpret in vitro activities of siRNAs with the corresponding 2′-/4′-C-modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel M Harp
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Dale C Guenther
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Lydia Perkins
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Donald J Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Nate Taneja
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 615 343 8070; Fax: +1 615 343 0704; . Correspondence may also be addressed to Muthiah Manoharan. Tel: +1 617 551 8319; Fax: +1 617 551 8101;
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 615 343 8070; Fax: +1 615 343 0704; . Correspondence may also be addressed to Muthiah Manoharan. Tel: +1 617 551 8319; Fax: +1 617 551 8101;
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11
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Kumar P, Parmar RG, Brown CR, Willoughby JLS, Foster DJ, Babu IR, Schofield S, Jadhav V, Charisse K, Nair JK, Rajeev KG, Maier MA, Egli M, Manoharan M. 5'-Morpholino modification of the sense strand of an siRNA makes it a more effective passenger. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:5139-5142. [PMID: 30977478 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc00977a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The 5'-monophosphate group plays an important role in strand selection during gene silencing mediated by small-interfering RNA. We show that blocking of 5' phosphorylation of the sense strand by introducing a 5'-morpholino modification improves antisense strand selection and RNAi activity. The 5'-morpholino modification of the antisense strand triggers complete loss of activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawan Kumar
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
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12
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Kusner LL, Yucius K, Sengupta M, Sprague AG, Desai D, Nguyen T, Charisse K, Kuchimanchi S, Kallanthottathil R, Fitzgerald K, Kaminski HJ, Borodovsky A. Investigational RNAi Therapeutic Targeting C5 Is Efficacious in Pre-clinical Models of Myasthenia Gravis. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2019; 13:484-492. [PMID: 31193726 PMCID: PMC6539425 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2019.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [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: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Complement-mediated damage to the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a key mechanism of pathology in myasthenia gravis (MG), and therapeutics inhibiting complement have shown evidence of efficacy in the treatment of MG. In this study, we describe the development of a subcutaneously administered N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-conjugated small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting the C5 component of complement that silences C5 expression in the liver (ALN-CC5). Treatment of wild-type rodents with ALN-CC5 resulted in robust and durable suppression of liver C5 expression. Dose-dependent serum C5 suppression was observed in non-human primates, with a lowering of serum C5 of up to 97.5% and the concomitant inhibition of serum complement activity. C5 silencing was efficacious in ameliorating disease symptoms in two standard rat models of MG, demonstrating the key role of circulating C5 in pathology at the NMJ. Improvement in disease activity scores and NMJ pathology was observed at intermediate levels of complement activity inhibition, suggesting that complete ablation of complement activity may not be required for efficacy in MG. The pre-clinical studies of ALN-CC5 and efficacy of C5 silencing in rat models of MG support further clinical development of ALN-CC5 as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of MG and other complement-mediated disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda L Kusner
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | | | - Manjistha Sengupta
- Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
| | | | - Dhruv Desai
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Tuyen Nguyen
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Henry J Kaminski
- Department of Neurology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA
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13
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O'Shea J, Theile CS, Das R, Babu IR, Charisse K, Manoharan M, Maier MA, Zlatev I. An efficient deprotection method for 5′-[O,O-bis(pivaloyloxymethyl)]-(E)-vinylphosphonate containing oligonucleotides. Tetrahedron 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2018.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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14
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Nair JK, Attarwala H, Sehgal A, Wang Q, Aluri K, Zhang X, Gao M, Liu J, Indrakanti R, Schofield S, Kretschmer P, Brown CR, Gupta S, Willoughby JLS, Boshar JA, Jadhav V, Charisse K, Zimmermann T, Fitzgerald K, Manoharan M, Rajeev KG, Akinc A, Hutabarat R, Maier MA. Impact of enhanced metabolic stability on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:10969-10977. [PMID: 28981809 PMCID: PMC5737438 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [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: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Covalent attachment of a synthetic triantennary N-acetylagalactosamine (GalNAc) ligand to chemically modified siRNA has enabled asialoglycoprotein (ASGPR)-mediated targeted delivery of therapeutically active siRNAs to hepatocytes in vivo. This approach has become transformative for the delivery of RNAi therapeutics as well as other classes of investigational oligonucleotide therapeutics to the liver. For efficient functional delivery of intact drug into the desired subcellular compartment, however, it is critical that the nucleic acids are stabilized against nucleolytic degradation. Here, we compared two siRNAs of the same sequence but with different modification pattern resulting in different degrees of protection against nuclease activity. In vitro stability studies in different biological matrices show that 5'-exonuclease is the most prevalent nuclease activity in endo-lysosomal compartments and that additional stabilization in the 5'-regions of both siRNA strands significantly enhances the overall metabolic stability of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates. In good agreement with in vitro findings, the enhanced stability translated into substantially improved liver exposure, gene silencing efficacy and duration of effect in mice. Follow-up studies with a second set of conjugates targeting a different transcript confirmed the previous results, provided additional insights into kinetics of RISC loading and demonstrated excellent translation to non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Qianfan Wang
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Xuemei Zhang
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Minggeng Gao
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ju Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Swati Gupta
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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15
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Malek-Adamian E, Guenther DC, Matsuda S, Martínez-Montero S, Zlatev I, Harp J, Burai Patrascu M, Foster DJ, Fakhoury J, Perkins L, Moitessier N, Manoharan RM, Taneja N, Bisbe A, Charisse K, Maier M, Rajeev KG, Egli M, Manoharan M, Damha MJ. 4'-C-Methoxy-2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro Modified Ribonucleotides Improve Metabolic Stability and Elicit Efficient RNAi-Mediated Gene Silencing. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:14542-14555. [PMID: 28937776 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b07582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We designed novel 4'-modified 2'-deoxy-2'-fluorouridine (2'-F U) analogues with the aim to improve nuclease resistance and potency of therapeutic siRNAs by introducing 4'-C-methoxy (4'-OMe) as the alpha (C4'α) or beta (C4'β) epimers. The C4'α epimer was synthesized by a stereoselective route in six steps; however, both α and β epimers could be obtained by a nonstereoselective approach starting from 2'-F U. 1H NMR analysis and computational investigation of the α-epimer revealed that the 4'-OMe imparts a conformational bias toward the North-East sugar pucker, due to intramolecular hydrogen bonding and hyperconjugation effects. The α-epimer generally conceded similar thermal stability as unmodified nucleotides, whereas the β-epimer led to significant destabilization. Both 4'-OMe epimers conferred increased nuclease resistance, which can be explained by the close proximity between 4'-OMe substituent and the vicinal 5'- and 3'-phosphate group, as seen in the X-ray crystal structure of modified RNA. siRNAs containing several C4'α-epimer monomers in the sense or antisense strands triggered RNAi-mediated gene silencing with efficiencies comparable to that of 2'-F U.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Malek-Adamian
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Dale C Guenther
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Saúl Martínez-Montero
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Joel Harp
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Mihai Burai Patrascu
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Donald J Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Johans Fakhoury
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Lydia Perkins
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Nicolas Moitessier
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Rajar M Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Nate Taneja
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Masad J Damha
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University , 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0B8, Canada
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16
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Willoughby JLS, Chan A, Sehgal A, Butler JS, Nair JK, Racie T, Shulga-Morskaya S, Nguyen T, Qian K, Yucius K, Charisse K, van Berkel TJC, Manoharan M, Rajeev KG, Maier MA, Jadhav V, Zimmermann TS. Evaluation of GalNAc-siRNA Conjugate Activity in Pre-clinical Animal Models with Reduced Asialoglycoprotein Receptor Expression. Mol Ther 2017; 26:105-114. [PMID: 28988716 PMCID: PMC5762979 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [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: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The hepatocyte-specific asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is an ideal candidate for targeted drug delivery to the liver due to its high capacity for substrate clearance from circulation together with its well-conserved expression and function across species. The development of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates, in which a synthetic triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine-based ligand is conjugated to chemically modified siRNA, has enabled efficient, ASGPR-mediated delivery to hepatocytes. To investigate the potential impact of variations in receptor expression on the efficiency of GalNAc-siRNA conjugate delivery, we evaluated the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates in multiple pre-clinical models with reduced receptor expression. Despite greater than 50% reduction in ASGPR levels, GalNAc conjugate activity was retained, suggesting that the remaining receptor capacity was sufficient to mediate efficient uptake of potent GalNAc-siRNAs at pharmacologically relevant dose levels. Collectively, our data support a broad application of the GalNAc-siRNA technology for hepatic targeting, including disease states where ASGPR expression may be reduced.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amy Chan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Alfica Sehgal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | - Tim Racie
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Tuyen Nguyen
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kun Qian
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | | | - Theo J C van Berkel
- Division of Biopharmaceutics, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | | | | | - Vasant Jadhav
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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17
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Mobin MB, Gerstberger S, Teupser D, Campana B, Charisse K, Heim MH, Manoharan M, Tuschl T, Stoffel M. The RNA-binding protein vigilin regulates VLDL secretion through modulation of Apob mRNA translation. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12848. [PMID: 27665711 PMCID: PMC5052685 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [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: 02/26/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The liver is essential for the synthesis of plasma proteins and integration of lipid metabolism. While the role of transcriptional networks in these processes is increasingly understood, less is known about post-transcriptional control of gene expression by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Here, we show that the RBP vigilin is upregulated in livers of obese mice and in patients with fatty liver disease. By using in vivo, biochemical and genomic approaches, we demonstrate that vigilin controls very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion through the modulation of apolipoproteinB/Apob mRNA translation. Crosslinking studies reveal that vigilin binds to CU-rich regions in the mRNA coding sequence of Apob and other proatherogenic secreted proteins, including apolipoproteinC-III/Apoc3 and fibronectin/Fn1. Consequently, hepatic vigilin knockdown decreases VLDL/low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and formation of atherosclerotic plaques in Ldlr−/− mice. These studies uncover a role for vigilin as a key regulator of hepatic Apob translation and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of inhibiting vigilin for cardiovascular diseases. RNA-binding proteins (RBP) are an emerging group of post-translational regulators. Here the authors show that the RBP vigilin regulates translation of mRNA encoding for proatherogenic proteins—apoB, apoC-III and fibronectin—representing a potential therapeutic target in cardiovascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehrpouya B Mobin
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Gerstberger
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Daniel Teupser
- Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Benedetta Campana
- Department of Biomedicine and Clinic for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Markus H Heim
- Department of Biomedicine and Clinic for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Thomas Tuschl
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Markus Stoffel
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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18
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Kanasty RL, Vegas AJ, Ceo LM, Maier M, Charisse K, Nair JK, Langer R, Anderson DG. Sequence-Defined Oligomers from Hydroxyproline Building Blocks for Parallel Synthesis Applications. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016; 55:9529-33. [PMID: 27365192 PMCID: PMC5245870 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201602748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The functionality of natural biopolymers has inspired significant effort to develop sequence-defined synthetic polymers for applications including molecular recognition, self-assembly, and catalysis. Conjugation of synthetic materials to biomacromolecules has played an increasingly important role in drug delivery and biomaterials. We developed a controlled synthesis of novel oligomers from hydroxyproline-based building blocks and conjugated these materials to siRNA. Hydroxyproline-based monomers enable the incorporation of broad structural diversity into defined polymer chains. Using a perfluorocarbon purification handle, we were able to purify diverse oligomers through a single solid-phase extraction method. The efficiency of synthesis was demonstrated by building 14 unique trimers and 4 hexamers from 6 diverse building blocks. We then adapted this method to the parallel synthesis of hundreds of materials in 96-well plates. This strategy provides a platform for the screening of libraries of modified biomolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary L Kanasty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main St., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Arturo J Vegas
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main St., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Luke M Ceo
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main St., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Martin Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | | | - Robert Langer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main St., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Division of Health Science Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Daniel G Anderson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main St., Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Division of Health Science Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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19
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Kanasty RL, Vegas AJ, Ceo LM, Maier M, Charisse K, Nair JK, Langer R, Anderson DG. Sequence-Defined Oligomers from Hydroxyproline Building Blocks for Parallel Synthesis Applications. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201602748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rosemary L. Kanasty
- Department of Chemical Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 500 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Arturo J. Vegas
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 500 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology; Boston Children's Hospital; 300 Longwood Ave Boston MA 02115 USA
- Department of Chemistry; Boston University; 590 Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA 02215 USA
| | - Luke M. Ceo
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 500 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology; Boston Children's Hospital; 300 Longwood Ave Boston MA 02115 USA
- Department of Chemistry; Boston University; 590 Commonwealth Avenue Boston MA 02215 USA
| | - Martin Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | | | - Robert Langer
- Department of Chemical Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 500 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology; Boston Children's Hospital; 300 Longwood Ave Boston MA 02115 USA
- Division of Health Science Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Daniel G. Anderson
- Department of Chemical Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 500 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142 USA
- Department of Anesthesiology; Boston Children's Hospital; 300 Longwood Ave Boston MA 02115 USA
- Division of Health Science Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 USA
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20
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Parmar R, Willoughby JLS, Liu J, Foster DJ, Brigham B, Theile CS, Charisse K, Akinc A, Guidry E, Pei Y, Strapps W, Cancilla M, Stanton MG, Rajeev KG, Sepp-Lorenzino L, Manoharan M, Meyers R, Maier MA, Jadhav V. Inside Cover: 5′-( E)-Vinylphosphonate: A Stable Phosphate Mimic Can Improve the RNAi Activity of siRNA-GalNAc Conjugates (ChemBioChem 11/2016). Chembiochem 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201600278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rubina Parmar
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | | | - Jingxuan Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Donald J. Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Benjamin Brigham
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | | | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Erin Guidry
- Merck and Co., Inc; 770 Sumneytown Pike West Point PA 19486 USA
| | - Yi Pei
- Merck and Co., Inc; 770 Sumneytown Pike West Point PA 19486 USA
| | - Walter Strapps
- Merck and Co., Inc; 770 Sumneytown Pike West Point PA 19486 USA
| | - Mark Cancilla
- Merck and Co., Inc; 770 Sumneytown Pike West Point PA 19486 USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Rachel Meyers
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Martin A. Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
| | - Vasant Jadhav
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; 300 Third Street Cambridge MA 02142 USA
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21
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Parmar R, Willoughby JLS, Liu J, Foster DJ, Brigham B, Theile CS, Charisse K, Akinc A, Guidry E, Pei Y, Strapps W, Cancilla M, Stanton MG, Rajeev KG, Sepp-Lorenzino L, Manoharan M, Meyers R, Maier MA, Jadhav V. 5'-(E)-Vinylphosphonate: A Stable Phosphate Mimic Can Improve the RNAi Activity of siRNA-GalNAc Conjugates. Chembiochem 2016; 17:985-9. [PMID: 27121751 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201600130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [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: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing requires siRNA loading into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Presence of 5'-phosphate (5'-P) is reported to be critical for efficient RISC loading of the antisense strand (AS) by anchoring it to the mid-domain of the Argonaute2 (Ago2) protein. Phosphorylation of exogenous duplex siRNAs is thought to be accomplished by cytosolic Clp1 kinase. However, although extensive chemical modifications are essential for siRNA-GalNAc conjugate activity, they can significantly impair Clp1 kinase activity. Here, we further elucidated the effect of 5'-P on the activity of siRNA-GalNAc conjugates. Our results demonstrate that a subset of sequences benefit from the presence of exogenous 5'-P. For those that do, incorporation of 5'-(E)-vinylphosphonate (5'-VP), a metabolically stable phosphate mimic, results in up to 20-fold improved in vitro potency and up to a threefold benefit in in vivo activity by promoting Ago2 loading and enhancing metabolic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubina Parmar
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | | | - Jingxuan Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Donald J Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Benjamin Brigham
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | | | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Erin Guidry
- Merck and Co., Inc, 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA, 19486, USA
| | - Yi Pei
- Merck and Co., Inc, 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA, 19486, USA
| | - Walter Strapps
- Merck and Co., Inc, 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA, 19486, USA
| | - Mark Cancilla
- Merck and Co., Inc, 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA, 19486, USA
| | | | | | | | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Rachel Meyers
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Vasant Jadhav
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
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22
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Zlatev I, Foster DJ, Liu J, Charisse K, Brigham B, Parmar RG, Jadhav V, Maier MA, Rajeev KG, Egli M, Manoharan M. 5'-C-Malonyl RNA: Small Interfering RNAs Modified with 5'-Monophosphate Bioisostere Demonstrate Gene Silencing Activity. ACS Chem Biol 2016; 11:953-60. [PMID: 26675211 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.5b00654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
5'-Phosphorylation is a critical step in the cascade of events that leads to loading of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to elicit gene silencing. 5'-Phosphorylation of exogenous siRNAs is generally accomplished by a cytosolic Clp1 kinase, and in most cases, the presence of a 5'-monophosphate on synthetic siRNAs is not a prerequisite for activity. Chemically introduced, metabolically stable 5'-phosphate mimics can lead to higher metabolic stability, increased RISC loading, and higher gene silencing activities of chemically modified siRNAs. In this study, we report the synthesis of 5'-C-malonyl RNA, a 5'-monophosphate bioisostere. A 5'-C-malonyl-modified nucleotide was incorporated at the 5'-terminus of chemically modified RNA oligonucleotides using solid-phase synthesis. In vitro silencing activity, in vitro metabolic stability, and in vitro RISC loading of 5'-C-malonyl siRNA was compared to corresponding 5'-phosphorylated and 5'-nonphosphorylated siRNAs. The 5'-C-malonyl siRNAs showed sustained or improved in vitro gene silencing and high levels of Ago2 loading and conferred dramatically improved metabolic stability to the antisense strand of the siRNA duplexes. In silico modeling studies indicate a favorable fit of the 5'-C-malonyl group within the 5'-phosphate binding pocket of human Ago2MID domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Donald J. Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jingxuan Liu
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Benjamin Brigham
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rubina G. Parmar
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Vasant Jadhav
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin A. Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Martin Egli
- Department
of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300
Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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23
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Kel'in AV, Zlatev I, Harp J, Jayaraman M, Bisbe A, O'Shea J, Taneja N, Manoharan RM, Khan S, Charisse K, Maier MA, Egli M, Rajeev KG, Manoharan M. Structural Basis of Duplex Thermodynamic Stability and Enhanced Nuclease Resistance of 5'-C-Methyl Pyrimidine-Modified Oligonucleotides. J Org Chem 2016; 81:2261-79. [PMID: 26940174 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.5b02375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Although judicious use of chemical modifications has contributed to the success of nucleic acid therapeutics, poor systemic stability remains a major hurdle. The introduction of functional groups around the phosphate backbone can enhance the nuclease resistance of oligonucleotides (ONs). Here, we report the synthesis of enantiomerically pure (R)- and (S)-5'-C-methyl (C5'-Me) substituted nucleosides and their incorporation into ONs. These modifications generally resulted in a decrease in thermal stability of oligonucleotide (ON) duplexes in a manner dependent on the stereoconfiguration at C5' with greater destabilization characteristic of (R)-epimers. Enhanced stability against snake venom phosphodiesterase resulted from modification of the 3'-end of an ON with either (R)- or (S)-C5'-Me nucleotides. The (S)-isomers with different 2'-substituents provided greater resistance against 3'-exonucleases than the corresponding (R)-isomers. Crystal structure analyses of RNA octamers with (R)- or (S)-5'-C-methyl-2'-deoxy-2'-fluorouridine [(R)- or (S)-C5'-Me-2'-FU, respectively] revealed that the stereochemical orientation of the C5'-Me and the steric effects that emanate from the alkyl substitution are the dominant determinants of thermal stability and are likely molecular origins of resistance against nucleases. X-ray and NMR structural analyses showed that the (S)-C5'-Me epimers are spatially and structurally more similar to their natural 5' nonmethylated counterparts than the corresponding (R)-epimers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander V Kel'in
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Ivan Zlatev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Joel Harp
- Department of Biochemistry and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine , Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | - Muthusamy Jayaraman
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Anna Bisbe
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jonathan O'Shea
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Nate Taneja
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rajar M Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Saeed Khan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin A Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry and Center for Structural Biology, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine , Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States
| | | | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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24
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Chan A, Liebow A, Yasuda M, Gan L, Racie T, Maier M, Kuchimanchi S, Foster D, Milstein S, Charisse K, Sehgal A, Manoharan M, Meyers R, Fitzgerald K, Simon A, Desnick RJ, Querbes W. Preclinical Development of a Subcutaneous ALAS1 RNAi Therapeutic for Treatment of Hepatic Porphyrias Using Circulating RNA Quantification. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids 2015; 4:e263. [PMID: 26528940 PMCID: PMC4877445 DOI: 10.1038/mtna.2015.36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The acute hepatic porphyrias are caused by inherited enzymatic deficiencies in the heme biosynthesis pathway. Induction of the first enzyme 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase 1 (ALAS1) by triggers such as fasting or drug exposure can lead to accumulation of neurotoxic heme intermediates that cause disease symptoms. We have demonstrated that hepatic ALAS1 silencing using siRNA in a lipid nanoparticle effectively prevents and treats induced attacks in a mouse model of acute intermittent porphyria. Herein, we report the development of ALN-AS1, an investigational GalNAc-conjugated RNAi therapeutic targeting ALAS1. One challenge in advancing ALN-AS1 to patients is the inability to detect liver ALAS1 mRNA in the absence of liver biopsies. We here describe a less invasive circulating extracellular RNA detection assay to monitor RNAi drug activity in serum and urine. A striking correlation in ALAS1 mRNA was observed across liver, serum, and urine in both rodents and nonhuman primates (NHPs) following treatment with ALN-AS1. Moreover, in donor-matched human urine and serum, we demonstrate a notable correspondence in ALAS1 levels, minimal interday assay variability, low interpatient variability from serial sample collections, and the ability to distinguish between healthy volunteers and porphyria patients with induced ALAS1 levels. The collective data highlight the potential utility of this assay in the clinical development of ALN-AS1, and in broadening our understanding of acute hepatic porphyrias disease pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Chan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Makiko Yasuda
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lin Gan
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Tim Racie
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Martin Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Don Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Alfica Sehgal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Rachel Meyers
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Amy Simon
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Robert J Desnick
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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25
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Wittrup A, Ai A, Liu X, Hamar P, Trifonova R, Charisse K, Manoharan M, Kirchhausen T, Lieberman J. Visualizing lipid-formulated siRNA release from endosomes and target gene knockdown. Nat Biotechnol 2015; 33:870-6. [PMID: 26192320 DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 376] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2014] [Accepted: 06/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A central hurdle in developing small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as therapeutics is the inefficiency of their delivery across the plasma and endosomal membranes to the cytosol, where they interact with the RNA interference machinery. With the aim of improving endosomal release, a poorly understood and inefficient process, we studied the uptake and cytosolic release of siRNAs, formulated in lipoplexes or lipid nanoparticles, by live-cell imaging and correlated it with knockdown of a target GFP reporter. siRNA release occurred invariably from maturing endosomes within ~5-15 min of endocytosis. Cytosolic galectins immediately recognized the damaged endosome and targeted it for autophagy. However, inhibiting autophagy did not enhance cytosolic siRNA release. Gene knockdown occurred within a few hours of release and required <2,000 copies of cytosolic siRNAs. The ability to detect cytosolic release of siRNAs and understand how it is regulated will facilitate the development of rational strategies for improving the cytosolic delivery of candidate drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Wittrup
- 1] Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [2] Department of Clinical Sciences, Section for Oncology and Pathology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Angela Ai
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Xing Liu
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Peter Hamar
- 1] Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [2] Institute of Pathophysiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Radiana Trifonova
- Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Tomas Kirchhausen
- 1] Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [2] Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [3] Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Judy Lieberman
- 1] Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [2] Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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26
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Matsuda S, Keiser K, Nair JK, Charisse K, Manoharan RM, Kretschmer P, Peng CG, V. Kel’in A, Kandasamy P, Willoughby JL, Liebow A, Querbes W, Yucius K, Nguyen T, Milstein S, Maier MA, Rajeev KG, Manoharan M. siRNA conjugates carrying sequentially assembled trivalent N-acetylgalactosamine linked through nucleosides elicit robust gene silencing in vivo in hepatocytes. ACS Chem Biol 2015; 10:1181-7. [PMID: 25730476 DOI: 10.1021/cb501028c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) mediated delivery of triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugated short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to hepatocytes is a promising paradigm for RNAi therapeutics. Robust and durable gene silencing upon subcutaneous administration at therapeutically acceptable dose levels resulted in the advancement of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotide-based drugs into preclinical and clinical developments. To systematically evaluate the effect of display and positioning of the GalNAc moiety within the siRNA duplex on ASGPR binding and RNAi activity, nucleotides carrying monovalent GalNAc were designed. Evaluation of clustered and dispersed incorporation of GalNAc units to the sense (S) strand indicated that sugar proximity is critical for ASGPR recognition, and location of the clustered ligand impacts the intrinsic potency of the siRNA. An array of nucleosidic GalNAc monomers resembling a trivalent ligand at or near the 3' end of the S strand retained in vitro and in vivo siRNA activity, similar to the parent conjugate design. This work demonstrates the utility of simple, nucleotide-based, cost-effective siRNA-GalNAc conjugation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeo Matsuda
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Kristofer Keiser
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Jayaprakash K. Nair
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Rajar M. Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Philip Kretschmer
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Chang G. Peng
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Alexander V. Kel’in
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Pachamuthu Kandasamy
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Abigail Liebow
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - William Querbes
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Kristina Yucius
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Tuyen Nguyen
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Stuart Milstein
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Martin A. Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | | | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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27
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Rajeev KG, Nair JK, Jayaraman M, Charisse K, Taneja N, O'Shea J, Willoughby JLS, Yucius K, Nguyen T, Shulga-Morskaya S, Milstein S, Liebow A, Querbes W, Borodovsky A, Fitzgerald K, Maier MA, Manoharan M. Cover Picture: Hepatocyte-Specific Delivery of siRNAs Conjugated to Novel Non-nucleosidic Trivalent N-Acetylgalactosamine Elicits Robust Gene Silencing in Vivo (ChemBioChem 6/2015). Chembiochem 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201590012] [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: 11/07/2022]
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28
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Sehgal A, Barros S, Ivanciu L, Cooley B, Qin J, Racie T, Hettinger J, Carioto M, Jiang Y, Brodsky J, Prabhala H, Zhang X, Attarwala H, Hutabarat R, Foster D, Milstein S, Charisse K, Kuchimanchi S, Maier MA, Nechev L, Kandasamy P, Kel'in AV, Nair JK, Rajeev KG, Manoharan M, Meyers R, Sorensen B, Simon AR, Dargaud Y, Negrier C, Camire RM, Akinc A. An RNAi therapeutic targeting antithrombin to rebalance the coagulation system and promote hemostasis in hemophilia. Nat Med 2015; 21:492-7. [DOI: 10.1038/nm.3847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2014] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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29
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Rajeev KG, Nair JK, Jayaraman M, Charisse K, Taneja N, O'Shea J, Willoughby JLS, Yucius K, Nguyen T, Shulga-Morskaya S, Milstein S, Liebow A, Querbes W, Borodovsky A, Fitzgerald K, Maier MA, Manoharan M. Hepatocyte-Specific Delivery of siRNAs Conjugated to Novel Non-nucleosidic TrivalentN-Acetylgalactosamine Elicits Robust Gene Silencing in Vivo. Chembiochem 2015; 16:903-8. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201500023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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30
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Nair JK, Willoughby JLS, Chan A, Charisse K, Alam MR, Wang Q, Hoekstra M, Kandasamy P, Kel'in AV, Milstein S, Taneja N, O'Shea J, Shaikh S, Zhang L, van der Sluis RJ, Jung ME, Akinc A, Hutabarat R, Kuchimanchi S, Fitzgerald K, Zimmermann T, van Berkel TJC, Maier MA, Rajeev KG, Manoharan M. Multivalent N-acetylgalactosamine-conjugated siRNA localizes in hepatocytes and elicits robust RNAi-mediated gene silencing. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:16958-61. [PMID: 25434769 DOI: 10.1021/ja505986a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 716] [Impact Index Per Article: 71.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Conjugation of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to an asialoglycoprotein receptor ligand derived from N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) facilitates targeted delivery of the siRNA to hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. The ligands derived from GalNAc are compatible with solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesis and deprotection conditions, with synthesis yields comparable to those of standard oligonucleotides. Subcutaneous (SC) administration of siRNA-GalNAc conjugates resulted in robust RNAi-mediated gene silencing in liver. Refinement of the siRNA chemistry achieved a 5-fold improvement in efficacy over the parent design in vivo with a median effective dose (ED50) of 1 mg/kg following a single dose. This enabled the SC administration of siRNA-GalNAc conjugates at therapeutically relevant doses and, importantly, at dose volumes of ≤1 mL. Chronic weekly dosing resulted in sustained dose-dependent gene silencing for over 9 months with no adverse effects in rodents. The optimally chemically modified siRNA-GalNAc conjugates are hepatotropic and long-acting and have the potential to treat a wide range of diseases involving liver-expressed genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayaprakash K Nair
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals , 300 Third Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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31
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Haase N, Foster D, Bercher J, Milstein S, Golic M, Charisse K, Rugor J, Kuchimanchi S, Przybyl L, Bettencourt B, Müller DN, Hinkle G, Dechend R. Abstract 666: RNAi Therapeutics Targeting Human Angiotensinogen (hAGT) Ameliorate Preeclamptic Sequelae in an Established Transgenic Rodent Model for Preeclampsia. Hypertension 2014. [DOI: 10.1161/hyp.64.suppl_1.666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Preeclampsia, a disorder with the hallmark features of new-onset hypertension and proteinuria beginning after 20 weeks of gestation, affects 5% of pregnancies in industrialized nations. It is a major cause of fetal and maternal morbidity/mortality. Several studies have demonstrated that angiotensinogen is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease; however, treatment with ACE Inhibitor or AT1 Receptor blocker is contraindicated due to fetal toxicity.
RNAi therapeutics are highly potent mediators of gene-specific silencing. We tested a human angiotensinogen (hAGT)-specifc siRNA, conjugated to triantennary GalNAc, for the ability to ameliorate symptoms of preeclampsia in an established rat model, without affecting the fetus. Transgenic rats expressing hAGT and human renin (hREN) were crossed to produce a model of preeclampsia (PE rat) in the dams. Beginning on day 3 of gestation, transgenic hAGT dams were dosed subcutaneously with 10 mg/kg siRNA every third day through gestation day 15. Mean blood pressure was continuously recorded by radiotelemetry and 24 hour urine samples were collected in metabolic cages at day 18 of gestation. Rats were euthanized at day 21 of gestation.
Treatment with the GalNAc-conjugated siRNA reduced the spike in blood pressure seen on gestation day 13 and lasted through study termination (MAP on day 16 of gestation: 155.1 ± 1.4 mmHg untreated vs. 138.4 ± 1.8 mmHg treated). Proteinuria was ameliorated (21.7 ± 3.1 mg/d untreated vs. 2.7 ± 0.6 mg/d treated) and levels of agonistic autoantibodies against the angiotensin receptor AT1 were reduced below the limit of detection. Fetal and uteroplacental unit weights increased with RNAi therapy, demonstrating a reduction in intra-uterine growth restriction (brain to liver ratio (0.95 ± 0.04 untreated vs. 0.73 ± 0.02 treated). mRNA levels of hAGT were reduced to background levels in the liver, but were not affected in the placenta, which is of fetal origin.
Our data show that an RNAi therapeutic targeting hAGT ameliorates the clinical sequelae of preeclampsia in a transgenic rat model and improves the outcome of the fetus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Haase
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Don Foster
- employee of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA
| | - Julia Bercher
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michaela Golic
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Julianna Rugor
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Lukasz Przybyl
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Dominik N Müller
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Ralf Dechend
- Experimental and Clinical Res Ctr, Max-Delbrueck Ctr for Molecular Med and Charité; HELIOS-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany
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Dahlman JE, Barnes C, Khan O, Thiriot A, Jhunjunwala S, Shaw TE, Xing Y, Sager HB, Sahay G, Speciner L, Bader A, Bogorad RL, Yin H, Racie T, Dong Y, Jiang S, Seedorf D, Dave A, Sandu KS, Webber MJ, Novobrantseva T, Ruda VM, Lytton-Jean AKR, Levins CG, Kalish B, Mudge DK, Perez M, Abezgauz L, Dutta P, Smith L, Charisse K, Kieran MW, Fitzgerald K, Nahrendorf M, Danino D, Tuder RM, von Andrian UH, Akinc A, Schroeder A, Panigrahy D, Kotelianski V, Langer R, Anderson DG. In vivo endothelial siRNA delivery using polymeric nanoparticles with low molecular weight. Nat Nanotechnol 2014; 9:648-655. [PMID: 24813696 PMCID: PMC4207430 DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2014.84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 417] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Accepted: 03/25/2014] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Dysfunctional endothelium contributes to more diseases than any other tissue in the body. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can help in the study and treatment of endothelial cells in vivo by durably silencing multiple genes simultaneously, but efficient siRNA delivery has so far remained challenging. Here, we show that polymeric nanoparticles made of low-molecular-weight polyamines and lipids can deliver siRNA to endothelial cells with high efficiency, thereby facilitating the simultaneous silencing of multiple endothelial genes in vivo. Unlike lipid or lipid-like nanoparticles, this formulation does not significantly reduce gene expression in hepatocytes or immune cells even at the dosage necessary for endothelial gene silencing. These nanoparticles mediate the most durable non-liver silencing reported so far and facilitate the delivery of siRNAs that modify endothelial function in mouse models of vascular permeability, emphysema, primary tumour growth and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- James E Dahlman
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Carmen Barnes
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Omar Khan
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Aude Thiriot
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Siddharth Jhunjunwala
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Taylor E Shaw
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Yiping Xing
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Hendrik B Sager
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA
| | - Gaurav Sahay
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Lauren Speciner
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Andrew Bader
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Roman L Bogorad
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Hao Yin
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Tim Racie
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Yizhou Dong
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Shan Jiang
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Danielle Seedorf
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Apeksha Dave
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Kamaljeet S Sandu
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Matthew J Webber
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | | | - Vera M Ruda
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Abigail K R Lytton-Jean
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Christopher G Levins
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Brian Kalish
- Vascular Biology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, and Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Dayna K Mudge
- Vascular Biology Program, Children's Hospital Boston, and Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Mario Perez
- Program in Translational Lung Research, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Program, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA
| | - Ludmila Abezgauz
- Deparment of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, and The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200, Israel
| | - Partha Dutta
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA
| | - Lynelle Smith
- Program in Translational Lung Research, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Program, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Mark W Kieran
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | | | - Matthias Nahrendorf
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA
| | - Dganit Danino
- Deparment of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, and The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200, Israel
| | - Rubin M Tuder
- Program in Translational Lung Research, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Program, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA
| | - Ulrich H von Andrian
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Avi Schroeder
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Dipak Panigrahy
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, USA
| | - Victor Kotelianski
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Robert Langer
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Daniel G Anderson
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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33
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Ruda VM, Chandwani R, Sehgal A, Bogorad RL, Akinc A, Charisse K, Tarakhovsky A, Novobrantseva TI, Koteliansky V. The roles of individual mammalian argonautes in RNA interference in vivo. PLoS One 2014; 9:e101749. [PMID: 24992693 PMCID: PMC4081796 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2013] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Argonaute 2 (Ago2) is the only mammalian Ago protein capable of mRNA cleavage. It has been reported that the activity of the short interfering RNA targeting coding sequence (CDS), but not 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of an mRNA, is solely dependent on Ago2 in vitro. These studies utilized extremely high doses of siRNAs and overexpressed Ago proteins, as well as were directed at various highly expressed reporter transgenes. Here we report the effect of Ago2 in vivo on targeted knockdown of several endogenous genes by siRNAs, targeting both CDS and 3′UTR. We show that siRNAs targeting CDS lose their activity in the absence of Ago2, whereas both Ago1 and Ago3 proteins contribute to residual 3′UTR-targeted siRNA-mediated knockdown observed in the absence of Ago2 in mouse liver. Our results provide mechanistic insight into two components mediating RNAi under physiological conditions: mRNA cleavage dependent and independent. In addition our results contribute a novel consideration for designing most efficacious siRNA molecules with the preference given to 3′UTR targeting as to harness the activity of several Ago proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera M. Ruda
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (VMR); (VK)
| | - Rohit Chandwani
- Laboratory of Immune Cell Epigenetics and Signaling, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alfica Sehgal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Roman L. Bogorad
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Alexander Tarakhovsky
- Laboratory of Immune Cell Epigenetics and Signaling, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Victor Koteliansky
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (VMR); (VK)
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Fitzgerald K, Borodovsky A, Querbes W, Sutherland J, Hutabarat R, Milstein S, Kuchimanchi S, Kallanthottathil R, Charisse K, Yucias K, Liebow A, Sprague A, Maier M, Kallend D, Horton J, Simon A. Abstract 7: A Subcutaneous, Potent and Durable RNAi Platform Targeting Metabolic Diseases, Genes PCSK9, ApoC3 and ANGPLT3. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2014. [DOI: 10.1161/atvb.34.suppl_1.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Aim:
There remains high unmet medical need for therapies to treat cardio/metabolic diseases. We validated in human trials, a platform for reducing the synthesis of genes expressed in the liver. The platform utilizes a GalNAc ligand attached to the 3’ end of the sense strand of an RNAi molecule to enable delivery specifically to the liver. Here we extend the platform to targets of interest in cardiovascular disease, including PCSK9, ANGPLT3 and ApoC3.
METHODS:
Chemically modified siRNAs were designed and were screened for potency
in vitro
. pM active siRNA molecules were developed targeting PCSK9, ANGPLT3 and ApoC3. The siRNAs were tested in either rodents or in non-human primates (NHPs) for activity.
RESULTS:
In NHPs a single dose of ALN-PCSsc at 6 mg/kg reduced PCSK9 levels up to 97% and LDL-C up to 67%. Moreover the nadir effect (without any rebound of LDL-C) lasted >30 days indicating that once a month or longer dosing frequency in clinic should be supported. Multidose studies in NHP at 2mg/kg reduced circulating PCSK9 levels up to 94% with a subsequent lowering of LDL-C up to 67%. The effects on both PCSK9 and LDL-C was also very durable with levels of LDL-C returning to baseline > 140 days post the last dose. Safety studies in rat at doses up to 225mg/kg (multi-dose) indicate that ALN-PCSsc is safe demonstrating a very wide therapeutic index. ALN-PCSsc was selected as a development candidate and is being advanced towards an IND
ALN-ANGsc (an siRNA targeting ANGPTL3) was tested in two models of hyperlipidemia, the OB/OB mouse and the hCETP-ApoB mouse. In the Ob/Ob model, treatment with ALN-ANGsc at 3mg/kg resulted in a significant lowering ANGPLT3 protein (>95%), total cholesterol(>60%), and triglycerides (>85%). Finally, we have developed a prototype molecule targeting Apoc3 with an ED90 for ApoC3 protein of <2.5mg/kg showing 50% lowering of triglycerides in and db/db mouse model of hypertriglyceridemia.
CONCLUSION:
We have developed a modular, robust and durable platform for the delivery of RNAi therapeutics to the liver. This platform is administered as a small volume subcutaneous dose and has a remarkable duration of effect in rodent NHP models. We have extended this platform to several targets of high interest includingPCSK9,ANGPLT3 and ApoC3.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jay Horton
- Internal Medicine, Univ of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
| | - Amy Simon
- Rsch, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA
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35
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Chen PY, Qin L, Barnes C, Charisse K, Yi T, Zhang X, Ali R, Medina PP, Yu J, Slack FJ, Anderson DG, Kotelianski V, Wang F, Tellides G, Simons M. FGF regulates TGF-β signaling and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition via control of let-7 miRNA expression. Cell Rep 2012. [PMID: 23200853 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2012.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 237] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Maintenance of normal endothelial function is critical to various aspects of blood vessel function, but its regulation is poorly understood. In this study, we show that disruption of baseline fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling to the endothelium leads to a dramatic reduction in let-7 miRNA levels that, in turn, increases expression of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β ligands and receptors and activation of TGF-β signaling, leading to endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (Endo-MT). We also find that Endo-MT is an important driver of neointima formation in a murine transplant arteriopathy model and in rejection of human transplant lesions. The decline in endothelial FGF signaling input is due to the appearance of an FGF resistance state that is characterized by inflammation-dependent reduction in expression and activation of key components of the FGF signaling cascade. These results establish FGF signaling as a critical factor in maintenance of endothelial homeostasis and point to an unexpected role of Endo-MT in vascular pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Yu Chen
- Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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36
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Tummala S, Titus M, Wilson L, Wang C, Ciatto C, Thill G, Foster D, Li C, Szabo Z, Guttman A, Bettencourt B, Jayaraman M, Deroot J, Kocisko D, Pollard S, Charisse K, Kuchimanchi S, Hinkle G, Milstein S, Meyers R, Wu SL, Karger BL, Rossomando A. Evaluation of exogenous siRNA addition as a metabolic engineering tool for modifying biopharmaceuticals. Biotechnol Prog 2012; 29:415-24. [PMID: 23172735 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.1667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [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: 08/04/2012] [Revised: 11/08/2012] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Traditional metabolic engineering approaches, including homologous recombination, zinc-finger nucleases, and short hairpin RNA, have previously been used to generate biologics with specific characteristics that improve efficacy, potency, and safety. An alternative approach is to exogenously add soluble small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes, formulated with a cationic lipid, directly to cells grown in shake flasks or bioreactors. This approach has the following potential advantages: no cell line development required, ability to tailor mRNA silencing by adjusting siRNA concentration, simultaneous silencing of multiple target genes, and potential temporal control of down regulation of target gene expression. In this study, we demonstrate proof of concept of the siRNA feeding approach as a metabolic engineering tool in the context of increasing monoclonal antibody (MAb) afucosylation. First, potent siRNA duplexes targeting fut8 and gmds were dosed into shake flasks with cells that express an anti-CD20 MAb. Dose response studies demonstrated the ability to titrate the silencing effect. Furthermore, siRNA addition resulted in no deleterious effects on cell growth, final protein titer, or specific productivity. In bioreactors, antibodies produced by cells following siRNA treatment exhibited improved functional characteristics compared to antibodies from untreated cells, including increased levels of afucosylation (63%), a 17-fold improvement in FCgRIIIa binding, and an increase in specific cell lysis by up to 30%, as determined in an Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytoxicity (ADCC) assay. In addition, standard purification procedures effectively cleared the exogenously added siRNA and transfection agent. Moreover, no differences were observed when other key product quality structural attributes were compared to untreated controls. These results establish that exogenous addition of siRNA represents a potentially novel metabolic engineering tool to improve biopharmaceutical function and quality that can complement existing metabolic engineering methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seshu Tummala
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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Patra A, Paolillo M, Charisse K, Manoharan M, Rozners E, Egli M. 2'-Fluoro RNA shows increased Watson-Crick H-bonding strength and stacking relative to RNA: evidence from NMR and thermodynamic data. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2012; 51:11863-6. [PMID: 23055396 PMCID: PMC3757553 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201204946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2012] [Revised: 08/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amritraj Patra
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146 (USA)
| | - Michael Paolillo
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902 (USA)
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Eriks Rozners
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902 (USA)
| | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146 (USA)
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38
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Patra A, Paolillo M, Charisse K, Manoharan M, Rozners E, Egli M. 2′-Fluoro RNA Shows Increased Watson-Crick H-Bonding Strength and Stacking Relative to RNA: Evidence from NMR and Thermodynamic Data. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201204946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Kang MR, Yang G, Place RF, Charisse K, Epstein-Barash H, Manoharan M, Li LC. Intravesical delivery of small activating RNA formulated into lipid nanoparticles inhibits orthotopic bladder tumor growth. Cancer Res 2012; 72:5069-79. [PMID: 22869584 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-12-1871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Practical methods for enhancing protein production in vivo remain a challenge. RNA activation (RNAa) is emerging as one potential solution by using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to increase endogenous gene expression. This approach, although related to RNA interference (RNAi), facilitates a response opposite to gene silencing. Duplex dsP21-322 and its chemically modified variants are examples of RNAa-based drugs that inhibit cancer cell growth by inducing expression of tumor suppressor p21(WAF1/CIP1) (p21). In this study, we investigate the therapeutic potential of dsP21-322 in an orthotopic model of bladder cancer by formulating a 2'-fluoro-modified derivative (dsP21-322-2'F) into lipid nanoparticles (LNP) for intravesical delivery. LNP composition is based upon clinically relevant formulations used in RNAi-based therapies consisting of PEG-stabilized unilamellar liposomes built with lipid DLin-KC2-DMA. We confirm p21 induction, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis in vitro following treatment with LNP-formulated dsP21-322-2'F (LNP-dsP21-322-2'F) or one of its nonformulated variants. Both 2'-fluoro modification and LNP formulation also improve duplex stability in urine. Intravesical delivery of LNP-dsP21-322-2'F into mouse bladder results in urothelium uptake and extends survival of mice with established orthotopic human bladder cancer. LNP-dsP21-322-2'F treatment also facilitates p21 activation in vivo leading to regression/disappearance of tumors in 40% of the treated mice. Our results provide preclinical proof-of-concept for a novel method to treat bladder cancer by intravesical administration of LNP-formulated RNA duplexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moo Rim Kang
- Department of Urology and Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
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Kang MR, Yang G, Charisse K, Epstein-Barash H, Manoharan M, Li LC. An orthotopic bladder tumor model and the evaluation of intravesical saRNA treatment. J Vis Exp 2012:4207. [PMID: 22872227 DOI: 10.3791/4207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a novel method for treating bladder cancer with intravesically delivered small activating RNA (saRNA) in an orthotopic xenograft mouse bladder tumor model. The mouse model is established by urethral catheterization under inhaled general anesthetic. Chemical burn is then introduced to the bladder mucosa using intravesical silver nitrate solution to disrupt the bladder glycosaminoglycan layer and allows cells to attach. Following several washes with sterile water, human bladder cancer KU-7-luc2-GFP cells are instilled through the catheter into the bladder to dwell for 2 hours. Subsequent growth of bladder tumors is confirmed and monitored by in vivo bladder ultrasound and bioluminescent imaging. The tumors are then treated intravesically with saRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Tumor growth is monitored with ultrasound and bioluminescence. All steps of this procedure are demonstrated in the accompanying video.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moo Rim Kang
- Department of Urology and Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California-San Francisco
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41
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Lee H, Lytton-Jean AKR, Chen Y, Love KT, Park AI, Karagiannis ED, Sehgal A, Querbes W, Zurenko CS, Jayaraman M, Peng CG, Charisse K, Borodovsky A, Manoharan M, Donahoe JS, Truelove J, Nahrendorf M, Langer R, Anderson DG. Molecularly self-assembled nucleic acid nanoparticles for targeted in vivo siRNA delivery. Nat Nanotechnol 2012; 7:389-93. [PMID: 22659608 PMCID: PMC3898745 DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.73] [Citation(s) in RCA: 835] [Impact Index Per Article: 69.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2011] [Accepted: 04/17/2012] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Nanoparticles are used for delivering therapeutics into cells. However, size, shape, surface chemistry and the presentation of targeting ligands on the surface of nanoparticles can affect circulation half-life and biodistribution, cell-specific internalization, excretion, toxicity and efficacy. A variety of materials have been explored for delivering small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)--a therapeutic agent that suppresses the expression of targeted genes. However, conventional delivery nanoparticles such as liposomes and polymeric systems are heterogeneous in size, composition and surface chemistry, and this can lead to suboptimal performance, a lack of tissue specificity and potential toxicity. Here, we show that self-assembled DNA tetrahedral nanoparticles with a well-defined size can deliver siRNAs into cells and silence target genes in tumours. Monodisperse nanoparticles are prepared through the self-assembly of complementary DNA strands. Because the DNA strands are easily programmable, the size of the nanoparticles and the spatial orientation and density of cancer-targeting ligands (such as peptides and folate) on the nanoparticle surface can be controlled precisely. We show that at least three folate molecules per nanoparticle are required for optimal delivery of the siRNAs into cells and, gene silencing occurs only when the ligands are in the appropriate spatial orientation. In vivo, these nanoparticles showed a longer blood circulation time (t(1/2) ≈ 24.2 min) than the parent siRNA (t(1/2) ≈ 6 min).
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- DNA/chemistry
- DNA/genetics
- DNA/pharmacology
- Drug Delivery Systems/methods
- Female
- Folic Acid/chemistry
- Folic Acid/pharmacology
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics
- Gene Silencing/drug effects
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Nude
- Nanoparticles
- Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy
- Neoplasms, Experimental/genetics
- Neoplasms, Experimental/metabolism
- RNA, Small Interfering/chemistry
- RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
- RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyukjin Lee
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- College of Pharmacy, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Abigail K. R. Lytton-Jean
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yi Chen
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kevin T. Love
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Angela I. Park
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Emmanouil D. Karagiannis
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Alfica Sehgal
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | | | - Chang G. Peng
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | | | - Jessica S. Donahoe
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jessica Truelove
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthias Nahrendorf
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Robert Langer
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel G. Anderson
- David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to D.G.A. ()
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42
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Frank-Kamenetsky M, Shulga-Morskaya S, Liebow A, Racie T, Milstein S, Kuchimanchi S, Charisse K, Epstein-Barash H, Fitzgerald K. Abstract 165: RNAi Therapeutics Targeting PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 for Mixed Hyperlipidemia. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2012. [DOI: 10.1161/atvb.32.suppl_1.a165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is a member of the proprotein convertase (PC) family of subtilisin-like serine endoproteases that regulates low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) levels and function. Loss of PCSK9 protein (in murine models, as well as, in human individuals) increases LDLR levels while excess PCSK9 decreases LDLR levels. These changes in LDLR protein levels coincide with reciprocal changes in circulating levels of plasma LDL cholesterol. Angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) is a member of the angiopoietin-like family of secreted proteins. Similar to PCSK9, it is predominantly expressed in the liver. ANGPTL3 acts as dual inhibitor of both lipoprotein and endothelial lipases. Animal studies as well as human genetic studies suggest that siRNA silencing of PCSK9 should result in substantial decrease in LDLc. Similar studies have suggested that liver silencing of ANGPTL3 should result in profound lowering of LDLc, Triglycerides and HDLc, while maintaining the HDLc/LDLc ratio. We have developed highly potent RNAi therapeutics targeting both PCSK9 and ANGPTL3. Pre-clinical data utilizing intravenous infusion of siRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles, and subcutaneous delivery of siRNA-GalNAc conjugates will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tim Racie
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA
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43
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Foster DJ, Barros S, Duncan R, Shaikh S, Cantley W, Dell A, Bulgakova E, O'Shea J, Taneja N, Kuchimanchi S, Sherrill CB, Akinc A, Hinkle G, Seila White AC, Pang B, Charisse K, Meyers R, Manoharan M, Elbashir SM. Comprehensive evaluation of canonical versus Dicer-substrate siRNA in vitro and in vivo. RNA 2012; 18:557-68. [PMID: 22294662 PMCID: PMC3285942 DOI: 10.1261/rna.031120.111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2011] [Accepted: 12/19/2011] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), researchers have identified a variety of small interfering RNA (siRNA) structures that demonstrate the ability to silence gene expression through the classical RISC-mediated mechanism. One such structure, termed "Dicer-substrate siRNA" (dsiRNA), was proposed to have enhanced potency via RISC-mediated gene silencing, although a comprehensive comparison of canonical siRNAs and dsiRNAs remains to be described. The present study evaluates the in vitro and in vivo activities of siRNAs and dsiRNAs targeting Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog (PTEN) and Factor VII (FVII). More than 250 compounds representing both siRNA and dsiRNA structures were evaluated for silencing efficacy. Lead compounds were assessed for duration of silencing and other key parameters such as cytokine induction. We identified highly active compounds from both canonical siRNAs and 25/27 dsiRNAs. Lead compounds were comparable in potency both in vitro and in vivo as well as duration of silencing in vivo. Duplexes from both structural classes tolerated 2'-OMe chemical modifications well with respect to target silencing, although some modified dsiRNAs demonstrated reduced activity. On the other hand, dsiRNAs were more immunostimulatory as compared with the shorter siRNAs, both in vitro and in vivo. Because the dsiRNA structure does not confer any appreciable benefits in vitro or in vivo while demonstrating specific liabilities, further studies are required to support their applications in RNAi therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald J Foster
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
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44
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Manoharan M, Akinc A, Pandey RK, Qin J, Hadwiger P, John M, Mills K, Charisse K, Maier MA, Nechev L, Greene EM, Pallan PS, Rozners E, Rajeev KG, Egli M. Unique gene-silencing and structural properties of 2'-fluoro-modified siRNAs. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2011; 50:2284-8. [PMID: 21351337 PMCID: PMC3516925 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201006519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Muthiah Manoharan
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA),
| | - Akin Akinc
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | | | - June Qin
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Philipp Hadwiger
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Matthias John
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Kathy Mills
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Klaus Charisse
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Martin A. Maier
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Lubomir Nechev
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, 300 Third Street, Cambridge, MA 02142 (USA)
| | - Emily M. Greene
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902 (USA)
| | - Pradeep S. Pallan
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146 (USA)
| | - Eriks Rozners
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902 (USA)
| | | | - Martin Egli
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146 (USA), Fax: (+1) (615) 322-7122, , Homepage: http://structbio.vanderbilt.edu/~eglim/
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45
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Yamada T, Peng CG, Matsuda S, Addepalli H, Jayaprakash KN, Alam MR, Mills K, Maier MA, Charisse K, Sekine M, Manoharan M, Rajeev KG. Versatile site-specific conjugation of small molecules to siRNA using click chemistry. J Org Chem 2011; 76:1198-211. [PMID: 21299239 DOI: 10.1021/jo101761g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
We have previously demonstrated that conjugation of small molecule ligands to small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and anti-microRNAs results in functional siRNAs and antagomirs in vivo. Here we report on the development of an efficient chemical strategy to make oligoribonucleotide-ligand conjugates using the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) or click reaction. Three click reaction approaches were evaluated for their feasibility and suitability for high-throughput synthesis: the CuAAC reaction at the monomer level prior to oligonucleotide synthesis, the solution-phase postsynthetic "click conjugation", and the "click conjugation" on an immobilized and completely protected alkyne-oligonucleotide scaffold. Nucleosides bearing 5'-alkyne moieties were used for conjugation to the 5'-end of the oligonucleotide. Previously described 2'- and 3'-O-propargylated nucleosides were prepared to introduce the alkyne moiety to the 3' and 5' termini and to the internal positions of the scaffold. Azido-functionalized ligands bearing lipophilic long chain alkyls, cholesterol, oligoamine, and carbohydrate were utilized to study the effect of physicochemical characteristics of the incoming azide on click conjugation to the alkyne-oligonucleotide scaffold in solution and on immobilized solid support. We found that microwave-assisted click conjugation of azido-functionalized ligands to a fully protected solid-support bound alkyne-oligonucleotide prior to deprotection was the most efficient "click conjugation" strategy for site-specific, high-throughput oligonucleotide conjugate synthesis tested. The siRNA conjugates synthesized using this approach effectively silenced expression of a luciferase gene in a stably transformed HeLa cell line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Yamada
- Drug Discovery, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
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46
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Manoharan M, Akinc A, Pandey RK, Qin J, Hadwiger P, John M, Mills K, Charisse K, Maier MA, Nechev L, Greene EM, Pallan PS, Rozners E, Rajeev KG, Egli M. Unique Gene-Silencing and Structural Properties of 2′-Fluoro-Modified siRNAs. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2011. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201006519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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47
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Querbes W, Ge P, Zhang W, Fan Y, Costigan J, Charisse K, Maier M, Nechev L, Manoharan M, Kotelianski V, Sah DWY. Direct CNS delivery of siRNA mediates robust silencing in oligodendrocytes. Oligonucleotides 2010; 19:23-29. [PMID: 19093781 DOI: 10.1089/oli.2008.0165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The most significant challenge remaining in the development of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as a new class of therapeutic drugs is successful delivery in vivo. The majority of reported studies describing delivery of siRNA or short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to the central nervous system (CNS) have focused on RNA interference (RNAi) in neurons. Here we show direct CNS delivery of siRNA to a different cell type-oligodendrocytes-using convection-enhanced delivery, and demonstrate robust silencing of an endogenous oligodendrocyte-specific gene, 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) with siRNA formulated in saline. The silencing is not sequence-dependent as several different siRNAs are effective in inhibiting target gene expression. Furthermore, we show that CNPase mRNA reduction is dose-dependent, durable for up to 1 week, and mediated by an RNAi mechanism. Increasing the flow rate of siRNA infusion increased the distribution of mRNA suppression to encompass white matter regions distant from the infusion site. Finally, we demonstrate suppression of CNPase mRNA in the nonhuman primate CNS. Taken together, these results show for the first time robust RNAi within oligodendrocytes in vivo and demonstrate the important potential of siRNAs in the treatment of CNS disorders involving oligodendrocyte pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Querbes
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
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48
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Murugaiah V, Zedalis W, Lavine G, Charisse K, Manoharan M. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous analysis of two liposome-formulated short interfering RNA duplexes. Anal Biochem 2010; 401:61-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2010.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2009] [Revised: 02/05/2010] [Accepted: 02/09/2010] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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49
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Watts JK, Yu D, Charisse K, Montaillier C, Potier P, Manoharan M, Corey DR. Effect of chemical modifications on modulation of gene expression by duplex antigene RNAs that are complementary to non-coding transcripts at gene promoters. Nucleic Acids Res 2010; 38:5242-59. [PMID: 20403811 PMCID: PMC2926613 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkq258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [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] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Antigene RNAs (agRNAs) are small RNA duplexes that target non-coding transcripts rather than mRNA and specifically suppress or activate gene expression in a sequence-dependent manner. For many applications in vivo, it is likely that agRNAs will require chemical modification. We have synthesized agRNAs that contain different classes of chemical modification and have tested their ability to modulate expression of the human progesterone receptor gene. We find that both silencing and activating agRNAs can retain activity after modification. Both guide and passenger strands can be modified and functional agRNAs can contain 2'F-RNA, 2'OMe-RNA, and locked nucleic acid substitutions, or combinations of multiple modifications. The mechanism of agRNA activity appears to be maintained after chemical modification: both native and modified agRNAs modulate recruitment of RNA polymerase II, have the same effect on promoter-derived antisense transcripts, and must be double-stranded. These data demonstrate that agRNA activity is compatible with a wide range of chemical modifications and may facilitate in vivo applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan K Watts
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
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50
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Lewis J, Melrose H, Bumcrot D, Hope A, Zehr C, Lincoln S, Braithwaite A, He Z, Ogholikhan S, Hinkle K, Kent C, Toudjarska I, Charisse K, Braich R, Pandey RK, Heckman M, Maraganore DM, Crook J, Farrer MJ. In vivo silencing of alpha-synuclein using naked siRNA. Mol Neurodegener 2008; 3:19. [PMID: 18976489 PMCID: PMC2612658 DOI: 10.1186/1750-1326-3-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [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: 08/13/2008] [Accepted: 11/01/2008] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Overexpression of alpha-synuclein (SNCA) in families with multiplication mutations causes parkinsonism and subsequent dementia, characterized by diffuse Lewy Body disease post-mortem. Genetic variability in SNCA contributes to risk of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), possibly as a result of overexpression. SNCA downregulation is therefore a valid therapeutic target for PD. RESULTS We have identified human and murine-specific siRNA molecules which reduce SNCA in vitro. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that direct infusion of chemically modified (naked), murine-specific siRNA into the hippocampus significantly reduces SNCA levels. Reduction of SNCA in the hippocampus and cortex persists for a minimum of 1 week post-infusion with recovery nearing control levels by 3 weeks post-infusion. CONCLUSION We have developed naked gene-specific siRNAs that silence expression of SNCA in vivo. This approach may prove beneficial toward our understanding of the endogenous functional equilibrium of SNCA, its role in disease, and eventually as a therapeutic strategy for alpha-synucleinopathies resulting from SNCA overexpression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jada Lewis
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA.
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