Tom Metz, Mick M Welling, Ernst Suidgeest, Esmée Nieuwenhuize, Thomas de Vlaam, Daniel Curtis, Tsinatkeab T Hailu, Louise van der Weerd, Willeke M C van Roon-Mom
{"title":"Biodistribution of Radioactively Labeled Splice Modulating Antisense Oligonucleotides After Intracerebroventricular and Intrathecal Injection in Mice.","authors":"Tom Metz, Mick M Welling, Ernst Suidgeest, Esmée Nieuwenhuize, Thomas de Vlaam, Daniel Curtis, Tsinatkeab T Hailu, Louise van der Weerd, Willeke M C van Roon-Mom","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0018","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0018","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) are promising therapeutic candidates, especially for neurological diseases. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection is the predominant route of administration in mouse studies, while in clinical trials, intrathecal (IT) administration is mostly used. There is little knowledge on the differences in distribution of these injection methods within the same species over time. In this study, we compared the distribution of splice-switching AONs targeting exon 15 of amyloid precursor protein pre-mRNA injected via the ICV and IT route in mice. The AON was labeled with radioactive indium-111 and mice were imaged using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 0, 4, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after injection. <i>In vivo</i> SPECT imaging showed <sup>111</sup>In-AON activity diffused throughout the central nervous system (CNS) in the first hours after injection. The <sup>111</sup>In-AON activity in the CNS persisted over the course of 4 days, while signal in the kidneys rapidly decreased. Postmortem counting in different organs and tissues showed very similar distribution of <sup>111</sup>In-AON activity throughout the body, while the signal in the different brain regions was higher with ICV injection. Overall, IT and ICV injection have very similar distribution patterns in the mouse, but ICV injection is much more effective in reaching the brain.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":"34 1","pages":"26-34"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139932298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brian J Thomas, Caitlyn Guldenpfennig, Mark A Daniels, Donald H Burke, David Porciani
{"title":"Multiplexed <i>In Vivo</i> Screening Using Barcoded Aptamer Technology to Identify Oligonucleotide-Based Targeting Reagents.","authors":"Brian J Thomas, Caitlyn Guldenpfennig, Mark A Daniels, Donald H Burke, David Porciani","doi":"10.1089/nat.2024.0010","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2024.0010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent FDA approvals of mRNA vaccines, short-interfering RNAs, and antisense oligonucleotides highlight the success of oligonucleotides as therapeutics. Aptamers are excellent affinity reagents that can selectively label protein biomarkers, but their clinical application has lagged. When formulating a given aptamer for <i>in vivo</i> use, molecular design details can determine biostability and biodistribution; therefore, extensive postselection manipulation is often required for each new design to identify clinically useful reagents harboring improved pharmacokinetic properties. Few methods are available to comprehensively screen such aptamers, especially <i>in vivo</i>, constituting a significant bottleneck in the field. In this study, we introduce barcoded aptamer technology (BApT) for multiplexed screening of predefined aptamer formulations <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. We demonstrate this technology by simultaneously investigating 20 aptamer formulations, each harboring different molecular designs, for targeting Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer cells and tumors. Screening <i>in vitro</i> identified a 45 kDa bispecific formulation as the best cancer cell targeting reagent, whereas screening <i>in vivo</i> identified a 30 kDa monomeric formulation as the best tumor-specific targeting reagent. The multiplexed analysis pipeline also identified biodistribution phenotypes shared among formulations with similar molecular architectures. The BApT approach we describe here has the potential for broad application to fields where oligonucleotide-based targeting reagents are desired.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"109-124"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11250842/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140945568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zelia Corradi, Rebekkah J Hitti-Malin, Laura A de Rooij, Alejandro Garanto, Rob W J Collin, Frans P M Cremers
{"title":"Antisense Oligonucleotide-Based Rescue of Complex Intronic Splicing Defects in <i>ABCA4</i>.","authors":"Zelia Corradi, Rebekkah J Hitti-Malin, Laura A de Rooij, Alejandro Garanto, Rob W J Collin, Frans P M Cremers","doi":"10.1089/nat.2024.0008","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2024.0008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The <i>ABCA4</i> gene, involved in Stargardt disease, has a high percentage of splice-altering pathogenic variants, some of which cause complex RNA defects. Although antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) have shown promising results in splicing modulation, they have not yet been used to target complex splicing defects. Here, we performed AON-based rescue studies on <i>ABCA4</i> complex splicing defects. Intron 13 variants c.1938-724A>G, c.1938-621G>A, c.1938-619A>G, and c.1938-514A>G all lead to the inclusion of different pseudo-exons (PEs) with and without an upstream PE (PE1). Intron 44 variant c.6148-84A>T results in multiple PE inclusions and/or exon skipping events. Five novel AONs were designed to target these defects. AON efficacy was assessed by <i>in vitro</i> splice assays using midigenes containing the variants of interest. All screened complex splicing defects were effectively rescued by the AONs. Although varying levels of efficacy were observed between AONs targeting the same PEs, for all variants at least one AON restored splicing to levels comparable or better than wildtype. In conclusion, AONs are a promising approach to target complex splicing defects in <i>ABCA4</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"125-133"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141155286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adi Idris, Surya Shrivastava, Aroon Supramaniam, Roslyn M Ray, Galina Shevchenko, Dhruba Acharya, Nigel A J McMillan, Kevin V Morris
{"title":"Extracellular Vesicles Loaded with Long Antisense RNAs Repress Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection.","authors":"Adi Idris, Surya Shrivastava, Aroon Supramaniam, Roslyn M Ray, Galina Shevchenko, Dhruba Acharya, Nigel A J McMillan, Kevin V Morris","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0078","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Long antisense RNAs (asRNAs) have been observed to repress HIV and other virus expression in a manner that is refractory to viral evolution. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease, has a distinct ability to evolve resistance around antibody targeting, as was evident from the emergence of various SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody variants. Importantly, the effectiveness of current antivirals is waning due to the rapid emergence of new variants of concern, more recently the omicron variant. One means of avoiding the emergence of viral resistance is by using long asRNA to target SARS-CoV-2. Similar work has proven successful with HIV targeting by long asRNA. In this study, we describe a long asRNA targeting SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene and the ability to deliver this RNA in extracellular vesicles (EVs) to repress virus expression. The observations presented in this study suggest that EV-delivered asRNAs are one means to targeting SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is both effective and broadly applicable as a means to control viral expression in the absence of mutation. This is the first demonstration of the use of engineered EVs to deliver long asRNA payloads for antiviral therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"101-108"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11296208/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140288685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vita Dauksaite, Ali Tas, Falk Wachowius, Anouk Spruit, Martijn J van Hemert, Eric J Snijder, Eric P van der Veer, Anton Jan van Zonneveld
{"title":"Highly Potent Antisense Oligonucleotides Locked Nucleic Acid Gapmers Targeting the SARS-CoV-2 RNA Genome.","authors":"Vita Dauksaite, Ali Tas, Falk Wachowius, Anouk Spruit, Martijn J van Hemert, Eric J Snijder, Eric P van der Veer, Anton Jan van Zonneveld","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0012","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the current worldwide pandemic and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 with potentially lethal outcome. Although effective vaccines strongly contributed to reduce disease severity, establishing a toolbox to control current and newly emerging coronaviruses of epidemic concern requires the development of novel therapeutic compounds, to treat severely infected individuals and to prevent virus transmission. Here we present a therapeutic strategy targeting the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). We demonstrate that selected locked nucleic acid gapmers have the potency to reduce the <i>in vitro</i> intracellular viral load by up to 96%. Our promising results strongly support the case for further development of our preselected ASOs as therapeutic or prophylactic antiviral agents.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"381-385"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41130043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah Engelbeen, Daniel O'Reilly, Davy Van De Vijver, Ingrid Verhaart, Maaike van Putten, Vignesh Hariharan, Matthew Hassler, Anastasia Khvorova, Masad J Damha, Annemieke Aartsma-Rus
{"title":"Challenges of Assessing Exon 53 Skipping of the Human <i>DMD</i> Transcript with Locked Nucleic Acid-Modified Antisense Oligonucleotides in a Mouse Model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.","authors":"Sarah Engelbeen, Daniel O'Reilly, Davy Van De Vijver, Ingrid Verhaart, Maaike van Putten, Vignesh Hariharan, Matthew Hassler, Anastasia Khvorova, Masad J Damha, Annemieke Aartsma-Rus","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0038","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antisense oligonucleotide (AON)-mediated exon skipping is a promising therapeutic approach for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients to restore dystrophin expression by reframing the disrupted open reading frame of the <i>DMD</i> transcript. However, the treatment efficacy of the already conditionally approved AONs remains low. Aiming to optimize AON efficiency, we assessed exon 53 skipping of the <i>DMD</i> transcript with different chemically modified AONs, all with a phosphorothioate backbone: 2'-O-methyl (2'OMe), locked nucleic acid (LNA)-2'OMe, 2'-fluoro (FRNA), LNA-FRNA, αLNA-FRNA, and FANA-LNA-FRNA. Efficient exon 53 skipping was observed with the FRNA, LNA-FRNA, and LNA-2'OMe AONs in human control myoblast cultures. Weekly subcutaneous injections (50 mg/kg AON) for a duration of 6 weeks were well tolerated by hDMDdel52/<i>mdx</i> males. Treatment with the LNA-FRNA and LNA-2'OMe AONs resulted in pronounced exon 53 skip levels in skeletal muscles and heart up to 90%, but no dystrophin restoration was observed. This discrepancy was mainly ascribed to the strong binding nature of LNA modifications to RNA, thereby interfering with the amplification of the unskipped product resulting in artificial overamplification of the exon 53 skip product. Our study highlights that treatment effect on RNA and protein level should both be considered when assessing AON efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":"33 6","pages":"348-360"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10698779/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138445630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiaxin Hu, Xin Gong, Yan Fan, Selina Aguilar, Frank Rigo, Thahza P Prakash, David R Corey, V Vinod Mootha
{"title":"Modulation of Gene Expression in the Eye with Antisense Oligonucleotides.","authors":"Jiaxin Hu, Xin Gong, Yan Fan, Selina Aguilar, Frank Rigo, Thahza P Prakash, David R Corey, V Vinod Mootha","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0044","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One advantage of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) for drug development is their long-lasting gene knockdown after administration <i>in vivo</i>. In this study, we examine the effect on gene expression after intraocular injection in target tissues in the eye. We examined expression levels of the <i>Malat1</i> gene after intracameral or intravitreal (IV) injection of an anti-<i>Malat1</i> ASO in corneal epithelium/stroma, corneal endothelium, lens capsule epithelium, neurosensory retina, and retinal pigment epithelium/choroid of the mouse eye. We assessed potency of the compound at 7 days as well as duration of the gene knockdown at 14, 28, 60, 90, and 120 days. The ASO was more potent when delivered by IV injection relative to intracameral injection, regardless of whether the tissues analyzed were at the front or back of the eye. For corneal endothelium, inhibition was >50% after 120 days for ASO at 50 μg. At IV dosages of 6 μg, we observed >75% inhibition of gene expression in the retina and lens epithelium for up to 120 days. ASOs have potential as long-lasting gene knockdown agents in the mouse eye, but efficacy varies depending on the specific ocular target tissue and injection protocol.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"339-347"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10698777/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71425545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ivan V Chernikov, Ul'yana A Ponomareva, Mariya I Meschaninova, Irina K Bachkova, Anna A Teterina, Daniil V Gladkikh, Innokenty A Savin, Valentin V Vlassov, Marina A Zenkova, Elena L Chernolovskaya
{"title":"Cholesterol-Conjugated Supramolecular Multimeric siRNAs: Effect of siRNA Length on Accumulation and Silencing <i>In Vitro</i> and <i>In Vivo</i>.","authors":"Ivan V Chernikov, Ul'yana A Ponomareva, Mariya I Meschaninova, Irina K Bachkova, Anna A Teterina, Daniil V Gladkikh, Innokenty A Savin, Valentin V Vlassov, Marina A Zenkova, Elena L Chernolovskaya","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0051","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conjugation of small interfering RNA (siRNA) with lipophilic molecules is one of the most promising approaches for delivering siRNA <i>in vivo</i>. The rate of molecular weight-dependent siRNA renal clearance is critical for the efficiency of this process. In this study, we prepared cholesterol-containing supramolecular complexes containing from three to eight antisense strands and examined their accumulation and silencing activity <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. We have shown for the first time that such complexes with 2'F, 2'OMe, and LNA modifications exhibit interfering activity both in carrier-mediated and carrier-free modes. Silencing data from a xenograft tumor model show that 4 days after intravenous injection of cholesterol-containing monomers and supramolecular trimers, the levels of <i>MDR1</i> mRNA in the tumor decreased by 85% and 68%, respectively. The <i>in vivo</i> accumulation data demonstrated that the formation of supramolecular structures with three or four antisense strands enhanced their accumulation in the liver. After addition of two PS modifications at the ends of antisense strands, 47% and 67% reductions of <i>Ttr</i> mRNA levels in the liver tissue were detected 7 days after administration of monomers and supramolecular trimers, respectively. Thus, we have obtained a new type of RNAi inducer that is convenient for synthesis and provides opportunities for modifications.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"361-373"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72014971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Flavien Bizot, Thomas Tensorer, Luis Garcia, Aurélie Goyenvalle
{"title":"Impact of the Inhibition of Organic Anion Transporter on Tricyclo-DNA-Mediated Exon Skipping in the <i>mdx</i> Mouse Model.","authors":"Flavien Bizot, Thomas Tensorer, Luis Garcia, Aurélie Goyenvalle","doi":"10.1089/nat.2023.0046","DOIUrl":"10.1089/nat.2023.0046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antisense-mediated exon skipping is one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and some antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drugs have already been approved by the U.S. FDA for DMD. The potential of this therapy is still limited by several challenges including the poor distribution of ASOs to target tissues. Indeed, most of them accumulate in the kidney and tend to be rapidly eliminated after systemic delivery. We hypothesized here that preventing renal clearance of ASO using organic anion transporter (OAT) inhibitor could increase the bioavailability of ASOs and thus their distribution to target tissues and ultimately their efficacy in muscles. <i>Mdx</i> mice were, therefore, treated with ASO with or without the OAT inhibitor named probenecid. Our findings indicate that OAT inhibition, or at least using probenecid, does not improve the therapeutic potential of ASO-mediated exon-skipping approaches for the treatment of DMD.</p>","PeriodicalId":19412,"journal":{"name":"Nucleic acid therapeutics","volume":" ","pages":"374-380"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134649391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}