School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, PR China.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, PR China.
J Control Release. 2024 Apr;368:663-675. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.03.016. Epub 2024 Mar 18.
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) exhibits the unique capacity to modulate immune functions, potentially exerting antitumor effects by stimulating immune responses, making it highly promising for immunotherapy. However, the clinical use of recombinant IL-2 protein faces significant limitations due to its short half-life and systemic toxicity. To overcome these challenges and fully exploit IL-2's potential in tumor immunotherapy, this study reports the development of a tumor-activated IL-2 mRNA, delivered via lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Initially, ionizable lipid U-101 derived nanoparticles (U-101-LNP) were prepared using microfluidic technology. Subsequent in vitro and in vivo delivery tests demonstrated that U-101-LNP achieved more effective transfection than the approved ALC-0315-LNP. Following this, IL-2F mRNAs, encoding fusion proteins comprising IL-2, a linker, and CD25 (IL-2Rα), were designed and synthesized through in vitro transcription. A cleavable linker, consisting of the peptide sequence SGRSEN↓IRTA, was selected for cleavage by matrix metalloproteinase-14 (MMP-14). IL-2F mRNA was then encapsulated in U-101-LNP to create U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA complexes. After optimization, assessments of expression efficiency, masking, and release characteristics revealed that IL-2F with linker C4 demonstrated superior performance. Finally, the antitumor activity of IL-2F mRNA was evaluated. The results indicated that U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA achieved the strongest antitumor effect, with an inhibition rate of 70.3%. Immunohistochemistry observations revealed significant expressions of IL-2, IFN-γ, and CD8, suggesting an up-regulation of immunomodulation in tumor tissues. This effect could be ascribed to the expression of IL-2F, followed by the cleavage of the linker under the action of MMP-14 in tumor tissue, which sustainably releases IL-2. H&E staining of tissues treated with U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA showed no abnormalities. Further evaluations indicated that the U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA group maintained proper levels of inflammatory factors without obvious alterations in liver and renal functions. Taken together, the U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA formulation demonstrated effective antitumor activity and safety, which suggests potential applicability in clinical immunotherapy.
白细胞介素 2(IL-2)具有独特的调节免疫功能的能力,通过刺激免疫反应,有可能发挥抗肿瘤作用,因此在免疫治疗方面具有很大的应用前景。然而,由于其半衰期短和全身毒性,重组 IL-2 蛋白的临床应用受到了很大的限制。为了克服这些挑战并充分发挥 IL-2 在肿瘤免疫治疗中的潜力,本研究报告了一种通过脂质纳米粒(LNPs)传递的肿瘤激活的 IL-2 mRNA 的开发。最初,使用微流控技术制备了可离子化脂质 U-101 衍生的纳米粒(U-101-LNP)。随后的体外和体内递送试验表明,U-101-LNP 的转染效果比已批准的 ALC-0315-LNP 更有效。在此之后,设计并合成了编码包含 IL-2、连接子和 CD25(IL-2Rα)的融合蛋白的 IL-2F mRNAs,通过体外转录获得。选择由肽序列 SGRSEN↓IRTA 组成的可切割连接子,使其通过基质金属蛋白酶-14(MMP-14)切割。然后将 IL-2F mRNA 包裹在 U-101-LNP 中,制成 U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA 复合物。经过优化后,对表达效率、掩蔽和释放特性进行评估,结果表明带有连接子 C4 的 IL-2F 表现最佳。最后,评估了 IL-2F mRNA 的抗肿瘤活性。结果表明,U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA 具有最强的抗肿瘤作用,抑制率达到 70.3%。免疫组织化学观察显示 IL-2、IFN-γ 和 CD8 的表达显著增加,提示肿瘤组织中免疫调节上调。这种作用可能归因于 IL-2F 的表达,然后在肿瘤组织中 MMP-14 的作用下,连接子被切割,IL-2 持续释放。用 U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA 处理的组织的 H&E 染色未见异常。进一步的评估表明,U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA 组保持了适当的炎症因子水平,肝肾功能无明显改变。综上所述,U-101-LNP/IL-2F mRNA 制剂具有有效的抗肿瘤活性和安全性,有望在临床免疫治疗中得到应用。
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