Functionalized lipid-like nanoparticles for in vivo mRNA delivery and base editing
Xinfu Zhang, Weiyu Zhao, Giang N. Nguyen, Chengxiang Zhang, Chunxi Zeng, Jinyue Yan, Shi Du, Xucheng Hou, Wenqing Li, Justin Jiang, Binbin Deng, David W. McComb, Robert Dorkin, Aalok Shah, Luis Barrera, Francine M. Gregoire, Manmohan Singh, Delai Chen, Denise E. Sabatino, Yizhou Dong
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics have been explored to treat various genetic disorders. Lipid-derived nanomaterials are currently one of the most promising biomaterials that mediate effective mRNA delivery. However, efficiency and safety of this nanomaterial-based mRNA delivery remains a challenge for clinical applications. Here, we constructed a series of lipid-like nanomaterials (LLNs), named functionalized TT derivatives (FTT), for mRNA-based therapeutic applications in vivo. After screenings on the materials, we identified FTT5 as a lead material for efficient delivery of long mRNAs, such as human factor VIII (hFVIII) mRNA (~4.5 kb) for expression of hFVIII protein in hemophilia A mice. Moreover, FTT5 LLNs demonstrated high percentage of base editing on PCSK9 in vivo at a low dose of base editor mRNA (~5.5 kb) and single guide RNA. Consequently, FTT nanomaterials merit further development for mRNA-based therapy.