Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2018

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kaczmarek, James Cliff.
Other Authors: Daniel G. Anderson.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121895
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author Kaczmarek, James Cliff.
author2 Daniel G. Anderson.
author_facet Daniel G. Anderson.
Kaczmarek, James Cliff.
author_sort Kaczmarek, James Cliff.
collection MIT
description Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2018
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spelling mit-1721.1/1218952019-08-02T03:00:49Z Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung Kaczmarek, James Cliff. Daniel G. Anderson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering. Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2018 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 180-199). Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are an emerging therapeutic modality that holds great promise to specifically and completely treat genetic disease. mRNA has been used as a vaccine, as a protein replacement therapy, and even as a means of inducing permanent genomic editing via CRISPR. However, unlike traditional small molecule drugs, naked mRNA cannot readily enter the cellular cytosol, where it must localize in order to be successfully translated. The field of nucleic acid delivery, therefore, is largely concerned with the development of materials which can encapsulate mRNA and facilitate its transport into cellular cytoplasm in vivo. Many lipid nanoparticles originally designed to deliver short interfering RNA (siRNA) have been successfully repurposed to deliver mRNA, although their application is limited mainly to the liver. Thus, there is a continued need for the development of new materials for mRNA delivery in order to expand its therapeutic potential throughout the body. Another class of nucleic acid delivery materials, poly(P-amino ester)s, or PBAEs, have been successful in delivering DNA cargo in vitro and in vivo, but their capacity for mRNA delivery has been relatively understudied. In this thesis, we utilized formulation techniques developed for lipid nanoparticles to systemically deliver mRNA-loaded PBAEs. We showed that non-covalent formulation of PBAE-mRNA nanoparticles with a polyethylene glycol-lipid conjugate imparts serum stability to the nanoparticles, which in turn correlates with in vivo efficacy. Specifically, we demonstrated that these materials are mainly effective in lung tissue following intravenous administration. The lung targeting and potency of these nanoparticles was then greatly improved through statistical optimization of the polymer synthesis and nanoparticle formulation. These optimized nanoparticles transfected the majority of lung endothelial cells, as well as a variety of immune cells populations. The nanoparticles were also used as a means of quantitatively comparing mRNA and DNA delivery in vitro and in vivo. We showed a drastic decrease in DNA potency in vivo compared to mRNA, attributed to the difficulty in crossing the nucleus of slowly dividing cells. Moreover, we observed similar kinetics of protein expression between mRNA and DNA. Additionally, we demonstrated in in vitro proof-of-concept studies that PBAE nanoparticles are capable of CRISPR-mediated genome editing. We also show successful mRNA delivery in a variety of other tissues beyond the lung endothelium. Through the development of novel chemistries using both PBAEs and lipids, we were able to achieve mRNA delivery specifically to the lung endothelium as well as the spleen in vivo. Taken together, the materials developed herein greatly expand the therapeutic capabilities of mRNA. It is our hope that the work presented in this thesis translates into therapeutically relevant treatments while also providing insight into design criteria for successful mRNA delivery. by James Cliff Kaczmarek. Ph. D. Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering 2019-07-22T19:36:20Z 2019-07-22T19:36:20Z 2018 2018 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121895 1103314257 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 199 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Chemical Engineering.
Kaczmarek, James Cliff.
Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title_full Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title_fullStr Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title_full_unstemmed Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title_short Development of polymer - lipid nanoparticles for potent mRNA delivery to the lung
title_sort development of polymer lipid nanoparticles for potent mrna delivery to the lung
topic Chemical Engineering.
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121895
work_keys_str_mv AT kaczmarekjamescliff developmentofpolymerlipidnanoparticlesforpotentmrnadeliverytothelung