In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation

© 2020 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Synthetic mRNA therapeutics have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, as they enable patients to produce therapeutic proteins inside their own bodies. However, convenient methods that allow external control over the timing and magnitude of p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mc Cafferty, Sean, De Temmerman, Joyca, Kitada, Tasuku, Becraft, Jacob R, Weiss, Ron, Irvine, Darrell J, Devreese, Mathias, De Baere, Siegrid, Combes, Francis, Sanders, Niek N
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier BV 2023
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147837
_version_ 1811068936619294720
author Mc Cafferty, Sean
De Temmerman, Joyca
Kitada, Tasuku
Becraft, Jacob R
Weiss, Ron
Irvine, Darrell J
Devreese, Mathias
De Baere, Siegrid
Combes, Francis
Sanders, Niek N
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering
Mc Cafferty, Sean
De Temmerman, Joyca
Kitada, Tasuku
Becraft, Jacob R
Weiss, Ron
Irvine, Darrell J
Devreese, Mathias
De Baere, Siegrid
Combes, Francis
Sanders, Niek N
author_sort Mc Cafferty, Sean
collection MIT
description © 2020 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Synthetic mRNA therapeutics have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, as they enable patients to produce therapeutic proteins inside their own bodies. However, convenient methods that allow external control over the timing and magnitude of protein production after in vivo delivery of synthetic mRNA are lacking. In this study, we validate the in vivo utility of a synthetic self-amplifying mRNA (RNA replicon) whose expression can be turned off using a genetic switch that responds to oral administration of trimethoprim (TMP), a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved small-molecule drug. After intramuscular electroporation, the engineered RNA replicon exhibited dose-dependent and reversible expression of its encoded protein upon TMP administration. The TMP serum level needed for maximal downregulation of protein translation was approximately 45-fold below that used in humans for therapeutic purposes. To demonstrate the therapeutic potential of the technology, we injected mice with a TMP-responsive RNA replicon encoding erythropoietin (EPO) and successfully controlled the timing and magnitude of EPO production as well as changes in hematocrit. This work demonstrates the feasibility of controlling mRNA kinetics in vivo, thereby broadly expanding the clinical versatility of mRNA therapeutics. Synthetic mRNAs are gaining attention as a safe alternative to viral and DNA-based gene delivery for therapeutic purposes. Recently, self-amplifying mRNAs whose translation can be controlled by the small-molecule drug trimethoprim were described but their utility had not yet been evaluated in mice. Mc Cafferty et al. demonstrate effective modulation of protein expression from intramuscularly electroporated self-amplifying mRNA by oral administration of trimethoprim.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T08:03:08Z
format Article
id mit-1721.1/147837
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language English
last_indexed 2024-09-23T08:03:08Z
publishDate 2023
publisher Elsevier BV
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/1478372023-02-02T03:51:41Z In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation Mc Cafferty, Sean De Temmerman, Joyca Kitada, Tasuku Becraft, Jacob R Weiss, Ron Irvine, Darrell J Devreese, Mathias De Baere, Siegrid Combes, Francis Sanders, Niek N Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering © 2020 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Synthetic mRNA therapeutics have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, as they enable patients to produce therapeutic proteins inside their own bodies. However, convenient methods that allow external control over the timing and magnitude of protein production after in vivo delivery of synthetic mRNA are lacking. In this study, we validate the in vivo utility of a synthetic self-amplifying mRNA (RNA replicon) whose expression can be turned off using a genetic switch that responds to oral administration of trimethoprim (TMP), a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved small-molecule drug. After intramuscular electroporation, the engineered RNA replicon exhibited dose-dependent and reversible expression of its encoded protein upon TMP administration. The TMP serum level needed for maximal downregulation of protein translation was approximately 45-fold below that used in humans for therapeutic purposes. To demonstrate the therapeutic potential of the technology, we injected mice with a TMP-responsive RNA replicon encoding erythropoietin (EPO) and successfully controlled the timing and magnitude of EPO production as well as changes in hematocrit. This work demonstrates the feasibility of controlling mRNA kinetics in vivo, thereby broadly expanding the clinical versatility of mRNA therapeutics. Synthetic mRNAs are gaining attention as a safe alternative to viral and DNA-based gene delivery for therapeutic purposes. Recently, self-amplifying mRNAs whose translation can be controlled by the small-molecule drug trimethoprim were described but their utility had not yet been evaluated in mice. Mc Cafferty et al. demonstrate effective modulation of protein expression from intramuscularly electroporated self-amplifying mRNA by oral administration of trimethoprim. 2023-02-01T17:45:50Z 2023-02-01T17:45:50Z 2021 2023-02-01T17:41:41Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147837 Mc Cafferty, Sean, De Temmerman, Joyca, Kitada, Tasuku, Becraft, Jacob R, Weiss, Ron et al. 2021. "In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation." Molecular Therapy, 29 (3). en 10.1016/J.YMTHE.2020.11.010 Molecular Therapy Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier BV Elsevier
spellingShingle Mc Cafferty, Sean
De Temmerman, Joyca
Kitada, Tasuku
Becraft, Jacob R
Weiss, Ron
Irvine, Darrell J
Devreese, Mathias
De Baere, Siegrid
Combes, Francis
Sanders, Niek N
In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title_full In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title_fullStr In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title_full_unstemmed In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title_short In Vivo Validation of a Reversible Small Molecule-Based Switch for Synthetic Self-Amplifying mRNA Regulation
title_sort in vivo validation of a reversible small molecule based switch for synthetic self amplifying mrna regulation
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/147837
work_keys_str_mv AT mccaffertysean invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT detemmermanjoyca invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT kitadatasuku invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT becraftjacobr invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT weissron invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT irvinedarrellj invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT devreesemathias invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT debaeresiegrid invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT combesfrancis invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation
AT sandersniekn invivovalidationofareversiblesmallmoleculebasedswitchforsyntheticselfamplifyingmrnaregulation