Department of Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
Infectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2024 Jun;13(14):e2303857. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202303857. Epub 2024 Feb 21.
Recently, mRNA-based therapeutics, including vaccines, have gained significant attention in the field of gene therapy for treating various diseases. Among the various mRNA delivery vehicles, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as promising vehicles for packaging and delivering mRNA with low immunogenicity. However, while mRNA delivery has several advantages, the delivery efficiency and stability of LNPs remain challenging for mRNA therapy. In this study, an ionizable helper cholesterol analog, 3β[L-histidinamide-carbamoyl] cholesterol (Hchol) lipid is developed and incorporated into LNPs instead of cholesterol to enhance the LNP potency. The pK values of the Hchol-LNPs are ≈6.03 and 6.61 in MC3- and SM102-based lipid formulations. Notably, the Hchol-LNPs significantly improve the delivery efficiency by enhancing the endosomal escape of mRNA. Additionally, the Hchol-LNPs are more effective in a red blood cell hemolysis at pH 5.5, indicating a synergistic effect of the protonated imidazole groups of Hchol and cholesterol on endosomal membrane destabilization. Furthermore, mRNA delivery is substantially enhanced in mice treated with Hchol-LNPs. Importantly, LNP-encapsulated SARS-CoV-2 spike mRNA vaccinations induce potent antigen-specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Overall, incorporating Hchol into LNP formulations enables efficient endosomal escape and stability, leading to an mRNA delivery vehicle with a higher delivery efficiency.
最近,基于 mRNA 的疗法,包括疫苗,在基因治疗领域受到了广泛关注,用于治疗各种疾病。在各种 mRNA 传递载体中,脂质纳米颗粒(LNPs)已成为封装和传递 mRNA 的有前途的载体,具有低免疫原性。然而,尽管 mRNA 传递具有多种优势,但 LNPs 的传递效率和稳定性仍然是 mRNA 治疗的挑战。在这项研究中,开发了一种可离子化的辅助胆固醇类似物,3β[L-组氨酸酰胺-氨基甲酰基]胆固醇(Hchol)脂质,并将其掺入 LNPs 中代替胆固醇,以增强 LNP 的效力。基于 MC3-和 SM102 的脂质配方中,Hchol-LNPs 的 pK 值约为 6.03 和 6.61。值得注意的是,Hchol-LNPs 通过增强 mRNA 的内体逃逸,显著提高了传递效率。此外,在 pH 值为 5.5 的红细胞溶血实验中,Hchol-LNPs 的效果更明显,这表明 Hchol 和胆固醇的质子化咪唑基团对内体膜的破坏具有协同作用。此外,用 Hchol-LNPs 处理的小鼠中,mRNA 的传递得到了极大的增强。重要的是,包裹在 LNP 中的 SARS-CoV-2 刺突 mRNA 疫苗能够诱导针对 SARS-CoV-2 的强烈抗原特异性抗体。总的来说,将 Hchol 掺入 LNP 制剂中可以实现有效的内体逃逸和稳定性,从而产生具有更高传递效率的 mRNA 传递载体。