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Unti MJ, Jaffrey SR. Highly efficient cellular expression of circular mRNA enables prolonged protein expression. Cell Chem Biol 2024; 31:163-176.e5. [PMID: 37883972 PMCID: PMC10841545 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
A major problem with mRNA therapeutics is that mRNA is usually degraded within a few hours after entering the cytosol. New approaches for in vitro synthesis of circular mRNA have allowed increased levels and duration of protein synthesis from mRNA therapeutics due to the long half-life of circular mRNA. However, it remains difficult to genetically encode circular mRNAs in mammalian cells. Here, we describe the adaptation of the Tornado (Twister-optimized RNA for durable overexpression) system to achieve in-cell synthesis of circular mRNAs. We screen different promoters and internal ribosomal entry sites (IRESs) and identify combinations that result in high levels of circular mRNA and protein expression. We show that these circular mRNAs can be packaged into virus-like particles (VLPs), thus enabling prolonged protein expression. Overall, these data describe a platform for synthesis of circular mRNAs and how these circular mRNAs can improve VLP therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mildred J Unti
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Samie R Jaffrey
- Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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2
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Unti MJ, Jaffrey SR. Highly efficient cellular expression of circular mRNA enables prolonged protein expression. bioRxiv 2023:2023.07.11.548538. [PMID: 37503010 PMCID: PMC10369907 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.11.548538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
A major problem with mRNA therapeutics is the limited duration of protein expression due to the short half-life of mRNA. New approaches for generating highly stable circular mRNA in vitro have allowed increased duration of protein expression. However, it remains difficult to genetically encode circular mRNAs in mammalian cells, which limits the use of circular mRNA in cell-derived therapeutics. Here we describe the adaptation of the Tornado (Twister-optimized RNA for durable overexpression) system to achieve in-cell synthesis of circular mRNAs. We identify the promoter and internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) that result in high levels of protein expression in cells. We then show that these circular mRNAs can be packaged into virus-like particles (VLPs) thus enabling prolonged protein expression. Overall, these data describe a platform for synthesis of circular mRNAs and how these circular mRNAs can markedly enhance the ability of VLPs to function as a mRNA delivery tool.
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Gardner TJ, Bourne CM, Dacek MM, Kurtz K, Malviya M, Peraro L, Silberman PC, Vogt KC, Unti MJ, Brentjens R, Scheinberg D. Targeted Cellular Micropharmacies: Cells Engineered for Localized Drug Delivery. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2175. [PMID: 32764348 PMCID: PMC7465970 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent emergence of engineered cellular therapies, such as Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) CAR T and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells, has shown great promise in the treatment of various cancers. These agents aggregate and expand exponentially at the tumor site, resulting in potent immune activation and tumor clearance. Moreover, the ability to elaborate these cells with therapeutic agents, such as antibodies, enzymes, and immunostimulatory molecules, presents an unprecedented opportunity to specifically modulate the tumor microenvironment through cell-mediated drug delivery. This unique pharmacology, combined with significant advances in synthetic biology and cell engineering, has established a new paradigm for cells as vectors for drug delivery. Targeted cellular micropharmacies (TCMs) are a revolutionary new class of living drugs, which we envision will play an important role in cancer medicine and beyond. Here, we review important advances and considerations underway in developing this promising advancement in biological therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. Gardner
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
| | - Christopher M. Bourne
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Immunology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Megan M. Dacek
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - Keifer Kurtz
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - Manish Malviya
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
| | - Leila Peraro
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
| | - Pedro C. Silberman
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - Kristen C. Vogt
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Mildred J. Unti
- Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - Renier Brentjens
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA;
| | - David Scheinberg
- Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA; (T.J.G.); (C.M.B.); (M.M.D.); (K.K.); (M.M.); (L.P.); (P.C.S.); (K.C.V.)
- Pharmacology Program, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY 10065, USA;
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Hospital, New York, NY 10065, USA;
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Morgan RA, Ma F, Unti MJ, Brown D, Ayoub PG, Tam C, Lathrop L, Aleshe B, Kurita R, Nakamura Y, Senadheera S, Wong RL, Hollis RP, Pellegrini M, Kohn DB. Creating New β-Globin-Expressing Lentiviral Vectors by High-Resolution Mapping of Locus Control Region Enhancer Sequences. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev 2020; 17:999-1013. [PMID: 32426415 PMCID: PMC7225380 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtm.2020.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy is a promising approach for treating disorders of the hematopoietic system. Identifying combinations of cis-regulatory elements that do not impede packaging or transduction efficiency when included in lentiviral vectors has proven challenging. In this study, we deploy LV-MPRA (lentiviral vector-based, massively parallel reporter assay), an approach that simultaneously analyzes thousands of synthetic DNA fragments in parallel to identify sequence-intrinsic and lineage-specific enhancer function at near-base-pair resolution. We demonstrate the power of LV-MPRA in elucidating the boundaries of previously unknown intrinsic enhancer sequences of the human β-globin locus control region. Our approach facilitated the rapid assembly of novel therapeutic βAS3-globin lentiviral vectors harboring strong lineage-specific recombinant control elements capable of correcting a mouse model of sickle cell disease. LV-MPRA can be used to map any genomic locus for enhancer activity and facilitates the rapid development of therapeutic vectors for treating disorders of the hematopoietic system or other specific tissues and cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A. Morgan
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Feiyang Ma
- Molecular Biology Institute Interdepartmental Doctoral Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mildred J. Unti
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Devin Brown
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Paul George Ayoub
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Curtis Tam
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Lindsay Lathrop
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Bamidele Aleshe
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ryo Kurita
- Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yukio Nakamura
- Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shantha Senadheera
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ryan L. Wong
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Roger P. Hollis
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Matteo Pellegrini
- Molecular Biology Institute Interdepartmental Doctoral Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Donald B. Kohn
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- The Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Morgan RA, Unti MJ, Aleshe B, Brown D, Osborne KS, Koziol C, Ayoub PG, Smith OB, O'Brien R, Tam C, Miyahira E, Ruiz M, Quintos JP, Senadheera S, Hollis RP, Kohn DB. Improved Titer and Gene Transfer by Lentiviral Vectors Using Novel, Small β-Globin Locus Control Region Elements. Mol Ther 2019; 28:328-340. [PMID: 31628051 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2019.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [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: 05/27/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
β-globin lentiviral vectors (β-LV) have faced challenges in clinical translation for gene therapy of sickle cell disease (SCD) due to low titer and sub-optimal gene transfer to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). To overcome the challenge of preserving efficacious expression while increasing vector performance, we used published genomic and epigenomic data available through ENCODE to redefine enhancer element boundaries of the β-globin locus control region (LCR) to construct novel ENCODE core sequences. These novel LCR elements were used to design a β-LV of reduced proviral length, termed CoreGA-AS3-FB, produced at higher titers and possessing superior gene transfer to HSPCs when compared to the full-length parental β-LV at equal MOI. At low vector copy number, vectors containing the ENCODE core sequences were capable of reversing the sickle phenotype in a mouse model of SCD. These studies provide a β-LV that will be beneficial for gene therapy of SCD by significantly reducing the cost of vector production and extending the vector supply.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Morgan
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA; Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mildred J Unti
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Bamidele Aleshe
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Devin Brown
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Kyle S Osborne
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Colin Koziol
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Paul G Ayoub
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Oliver B Smith
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Rachel O'Brien
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Curtis Tam
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Eric Miyahira
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Marlene Ruiz
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jason P Quintos
- CSUN-UCLA Stem Cell Scientist Training Program, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330, USA
| | - Shantha Senadheera
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Roger P Hollis
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Donald B Kohn
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; The Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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