Co-Administration of an Excipient Oligonucleotide Helps Delineate Pathways of Productive and Nonproductive Uptake of Phosphorothioate Antisense Oligonucleotides in the Liver.

Phosphorothioate (PS) modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have progressed rapidly in the clinic for treating a variety of disease indications. We previously demonstrated that the activity of PS ASOs in the liver can be enhanced by co-infusion of an excipient oligonucleotide (EON). It was posited that the EON saturates a nonproductive uptake pathway(s) thereby permitting accumulation of the PS ASO in a productive tissue compartment. In this report, we measured PS ASO activity following administration by bolus, infusion or co-fusion with EON within hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells (NPCs), of the liver. This revealed that while ASOs accumulate preferentially in NPCs, they are intrinsically more active in hepatocytes. Furthermore, we show that the EON enhances ASO potency when infused up to 72 h before or after administration of the active ASO suggesting that the EON can saturate and displace the ASO from nonproductive to productive compartments. Physical presence of the EON in tissues was required for optimal potentiation suggesting that there is a dynamic distribution of the ASO and EON between the compartments. Lastly, using a candidate approach, we confirmed Stabilin-2 as a molecular pathway for ASO uptake in sinusoidal endothelial cells and the ASGR as a pathway for ASO uptake into hepatocytes in the liver.

Structural Analysis of Human Argonaute-2 Bound to a Modified siRNA Guide.

Incorporation of chemical modifications into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) increases their metabolic stability and improves their tissue distribution. However, how these modifications impact interactions with Argonaute-2 (Ago2), the molecular target of siRNAs, is not known. Herein we present the crystal structure of human Ago2 bound to a metabolically stable siRNA containing extensive backbone modifications. Comparison to the structure of an equivalent unmodified-siRNA complex indicates that the structure of Ago2 is relatively unaffected by chemical modifications in the bound siRNA. In contrast, the modified siRNA appears to be much more plastic and shifts, relative to the unmodified siRNA, to optimize contacts with Ago2. Structure-activity analysis reveals that even major conformational perturbations in the 3' half of the siRNA seed region have a relatively modest effect on knockdown potency. These findings provide an explanation for a variety of modification patterns tolerated in siRNAs and a structural basis for advancing therapeutic siRNA design.

Viable RNaseH1 knockout mice show RNaseH1 is essential for R loop processing, mitochondrial and liver function.

Viable constitutive and tamoxifen inducible liver-specific RNase H1 knockout mice that expressed no RNase H1 activity in hepatocytes showed increased R-loop levels and reduced mitochondrial encoded DNA and mRNA levels, suggesting impaired mitochondrial R-loop processing, transcription and mitochondrial DNA replication. These changes resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction with marked changes in mitochondrial fusion, fission, morphology and transcriptional changes reflective of mitochondrial damage and stress. Liver degeneration ensued, as indicated by apoptosis, fibrosis and increased transaminase levels. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) designed to serve as substrates for RNase H1 were inactive in the hepatocytes from the RNase H1 knockout mice and in vivo, demonstrating that RNase H1 is necessary for the activity of DNA-like ASOs. During liver regeneration, a clone of hepatocytes that expressed RNase H1 developed and partially restored mitochondrial and liver function.

Synergistic effect of phosphorothioate, 5'-vinylphosphonate and GalNAc modifications for enhancing activity of synthetic siRNA.

Chemical modifications are essential to improve metabolic stability and pharmacokinetic properties of siRNA to enable their systemic delivery. We investigated the effect of combing the phosphorothioate (PS) modification with metabolically stable phosphate analog (E)-5'-vinylphosphonate and GalNAc cluster conjugation on the activity of fully 2'-modified siRNA in cell culture and mice. Our data suggest that integrating multiple chemical approaches in one siRNA molecule improved potency 5-10 fold and provide a roadmap for developing more efficient siRNA drugs.

RNA cleavage products generated by antisense oligonucleotides and siRNAs are processed by the RNA surveillance machinery.

DNA-based antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) elicit cleavage of the targeted RNA by the endoribonuclease RNase H1, whereas siRNAs mediate cleavage through the RNAi pathway. To determine the fates of the cleaved RNA in cells, we lowered the levels of the factors involved in RNA surveillance prior to treating cells with ASOs or siRNA and analyzed cleavage products by RACE. The cytoplasmic 5' to 3' exoribonuclease XRN1 was responsible for the degradation of the downstream cleavage products generated by ASOs or siRNA targeting mRNAs. In contrast, downstream cleavage products generated by ASOs targeting nuclear long non-coding RNA Malat 1 and pre-mRNA were degraded by nuclear XRN2. The downstream cleavage products did not appear to be degraded in the 3' to 5' direction as the majority of these products contained intact poly(A) tails and were bound by the poly(A) binding protein. The upstream cleavage products of Malat1 were degraded in the 3' to 5' direction by the exosome complex containing the nuclear exoribonuclease Dis3. The exosome complex containing Dis3 or cytoplasmic Dis3L1 degraded mRNA upstream cleavage products, which were not bound by the 5'-cap binding complex and, consequently, were susceptible to degradation in the 5' to 3' direction by the XRN exoribonucleases.

Identification of metabolically stable 5'-phosphate analogs that support single-stranded siRNA activity.

The ss-siRNA activity in vivo requires a metabolically stable 5'-phosphate analog. In this report we used crystal structure of the 5'-phosphate binding pocket of Ago-2 bound with guide strand to design and synthesize ss-siRNAs containing various 5'-phosphate analogs. Our results indicate that the electronic and spatial orientation of the 5'-phosphate analog was critical for ss-siRNA activity. Chemically modified ss-siRNA targeting human apoC III mRNA demonstrated good potency for inhibiting ApoC III mRNA and protein in transgenic mice. Moreover, ApoC III ss-siRNAs were able to reduce the triglyceride and LDL cholesterol in transgenic mice demonstrating pharmacological effect of ss-siRNA. Our study provides guidance to develop surrogate phosphate analog for ss-siRNA and demonstrates that ss-siRNA provides an alternative strategy for therapeutic gene silencing.

Synthesis, biophysical properties and biological activity of second generation antisense oligonucleotides containing chiral phosphorothioate linkages.

Bicyclic oxazaphospholidine monomers were used to prepare a series of phosphorothioate (PS)-modified gapmer antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) with control of the chirality of each of the PS linkages within the 10-base gap. The stereoselectivity was determined to be 98% for each coupling. The objective of this work was to study how PS chirality influences biophysical and biological properties of the ASO including binding affinity (Tm), nuclease stability, activity in vitro and in vivo, RNase H activation and cleavage patterns (both human and E. coli) in a gapmer context. Compounds that had nine or more Sp-linkages in the gap were found to be poorly active in vitro, while compounds with uniform Rp-gaps exhibited activity very similar to that of the stereo-random parent ASOs. Conversely, when tested in vivo, the full Rp-gap compound was found to be quickly metabolized resulting in low activity. A total of 31 ASOs were prepared with control of the PS chirally of each linkage within the gap in an attempt to identify favorable Rp/Sp positions. We conclude that a mix of Rp and Sp is required to achieve a balance between good activity and nuclease stability.

Targeted delivery of antisense oligonucleotides to hepatocytes using triantennary N-acetyl galactosamine improves potency 10-fold in mice.

Triantennary N-acetyl galactosamine (GalNAc, GN3: ), a high-affinity ligand for the hepatocyte-specific asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR), enhances the potency of second-generation gapmer antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) 6-10-fold in mouse liver. When combined with next-generation ASO designs comprised of short S-cEt (S-2'-O-Et-2',4'-bridged nucleic acid) gapmer ASOs, ∼ 60-fold enhancement in potency relative to the parent MOE (2'-O-methoxyethyl RNA) ASO was observed. GN3: -conjugated ASOs showed high affinity for mouse ASGPR, which results in enhanced ASO delivery to hepatocytes versus non-parenchymal cells. After internalization into cells, the GN3: -ASO conjugate is metabolized to liberate the parent ASO in the liver. No metabolism of the GN3: -ASO conjugate was detected in plasma suggesting that GN3: acts as a hepatocyte targeting prodrug that is detached from the ASO by metabolism after internalization into the liver. GalNAc conjugation also enhanced potency and duration of the effect of two ASOs targeting human apolipoprotein C-III and human transthyretin (TTR) in transgenic mice. The unconjugated ASOs are currently in late stage clinical trials for the treatment of familial chylomicronemia and TTR-mediated polyneuropathy. The ability to translate these observations in humans offers the potential to improve therapeutic index, reduce cost of therapy and support a monthly dosing schedule for therapeutic suppression of gene expression in the liver using ASOs.

Allele-selective inhibition of mutant atrophin-1 expression by duplex and single-stranded RNAs.

Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that currently has no curative treatments. DRPLA is caused by an expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat region within the protein-encoding sequence of the atrophin-1 (ATN-1) gene. Inhibition of mutant ATN-1 protein expression is one strategy for treating DRPLA, and allele-selective gene silencing agents that block mutant expression over wild-type expression would be lead compounds for therapeutic development. Here we develop an assay for distinguishing mutant from wild-type ATN-1 protein by gel electrophoresis. We use this assay to evaluate duplex RNAs and single-stranded silencing RNAs (ss-siRNAs) for allele-selective inhibition of ATN-1 protein expression. We observed potent and allele-selective inhibition by RNA duplexes that contain mismatched bases relative to the CAG target and have the potential to form miRNA-like complexes. ss-siRNAs that contained mismatches were as selective as mismatch-containing duplexes. We also report allele-selective inhibition by duplex RNAs containing unlocked nucleic acids or abasic substitutions, although selectivities are not as high. Five compounds that showed >8-fold allele selectivity for mutant ATN-1 were also selective for inhibiting the expression of two other trinucleotide repeat disease genes, ataxin-3 (ATXN-3) and huntingtin (HTT). These data demonstrate that the expanded trinucleotide repeat within ATN-1 mRNA is a potential target for compounds designed to achieve allele-selective inhibition of ATN-1 protein, and one agent may allow the targeting of multiple disease genes.

Defining the factors that contribute to on-target specificity of antisense oligonucleotides.

To better understand the factors that influence the activity and specificity of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), we designed a minigene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD-1) and cloned the minigene into vectors for T7 transcription of pre-mRNA and splicing in a nuclear extract or for stable integration in cells. We designed a series of ASOs that covered the entire mRNA and determined the binding affinities and activities of the ASOs in a cell-free system and in cells. The mRNA bound known RNA-binding proteins on predicted binding sites in the mRNA. The higher order structure of the mRNA had a significantly greater effect than the RNA-binding proteins on ASO binding affinities as the ASO activities in cells and in the cell-free systems were consistent. We identified several ASOs that exhibited off-target hybridization to the SOD-1 minigene mRNA in the cell-free system. Off-target hybridization occurred only at highly accessible unstructured sites in the mRNA and these interactions were inhibited by both the higher order structure of the mRNA and by RNA-binding proteins. The same off-target hybridization interactions were identified in cells that overexpress E. coli RNase H1. No off-target activity was observed for cells expressing only endogenous human RNase H1. Neither were these off-target heteroduplexes substrates for recombinant human RNase H1 under multiple-turnover kinetics suggesting that the endogenous enzyme functions under similar kinetic parameters in cells and in the cell-free system. These results provide a blueprint for design of more potent and more specific ASOs.

Exploring the effect of sequence length and composition on allele-selective inhibition of human huntingtin expression by single-stranded silencing RNAs.

Mutant huntingtin (HTT) protein is the cause of Huntington's disease (HD), an incurable neurological disorder. Almost all patients are heterozygous for mutant HTT and approaches that reduce levels of mutant HTT while leaving expression of wild-type HTT intact might be ideal options for therapeutic development. We have developed several allele-selective strategies for silencing HTT, including single-stranded silencing RNAs (ss-siRNAs). ss-siRNAs are oligonucleotides containing chemical modifications that permit action through the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Modified ss-siRNAs chosen to test the effects of varying oligomer length, lipid modification, the introduction of mismatched bases, and variation of chemical modification. We find that several modified ss-siRNA are potent and allele-selective inhibitors of HTT expression. An ss-siRNA with three mismatched bases relative to the CAG repeat was an allele-selective inhibitor of HTT expression in the HdhQ175 mouse model. Multiple allele-selective ss-siRNAs provide a wide platform of modifications to draw on for further optimization and therapeutic development. Our data provide insights into how ss-siRNAs can be modified to improve their properties and facilitate the discovery of the lead compounds necessary for further development.

ss-siRNAs allele selectively inhibit ataxin-3 expression: multiple mechanisms for an alternative gene silencing strategy.

Single-stranded silencing RNAs (ss-siRNAs) provide an alternative approach to gene silencing. ss-siRNAs combine the simplicity and favorable biodistribution of antisense oligonucleotides with robust silencing through RNA interference (RNAi). Previous studies reported potent and allele-selective inhibition of human huntingtin expression by ss-siRNAs that target the expanded CAG repeats within the mutant allele. Mutant ataxin-3, the genetic cause of Machado-Joseph Disease, also contains an expanded CAG repeat. We demonstrate here that ss-siRNAs are allele-selective inhibitors of ataxin-3 expression and then redesign ss-siRNAs to optimize their selectivity. We find that both RNAi-related and non-RNAi-related mechanisms affect gene expression by either blocking translation or affecting alternative splicing. These results have four broad implications: (i) ss-siRNAs will not always behave similarly to analogous RNA duplexes; (ii) the sequences surrounding CAG repeats affect allele-selectivity of anti-CAG oligonucleotides; (iii) ss-siRNAs can function through multiple mechanisms and; and (iv) it is possible to use chemical modification to optimize ss-siRNA properties and improve their potential for drug discovery.

Human RNase H1 is associated with protein P32 and is involved in mitochondrial pre-rRNA processing.

Mammalian RNase H1 has been implicated in mitochondrial DNA replication and RNA processing and is required for embryonic development. We identified the mitochondrial protein P32 that binds specifically to human RNase H1, but not human RNase H2. P32 binds human RNase H1 via the hybrid-binding domain of the enzyme at an approximately 1∶1 ratio. P32 enhanced the cleavage activity of RNase H1 by reducing the affinity of the enzyme for the heteroduplex substrate and enhancing turnover, but had no effect on the cleavage pattern. RNase H1 and P32 were partially co-localized in mitochondria and reduction of P32 or RNase H1 levels resulted in accumulation of mitochondrial pre ribosomal RNA [12S/16S] in HeLa cells. P32 also co-immunoprecipitated with MRPP1, a mitochondrial RNase P protein required for mitochondrial pre-rRNA processing. The P32-RNase H1 complex was shown to physically interact with mitochondrial DNA and pre-rRNA. These results expand the potential roles for RNase H1 to include assuring proper transcription and processing of guanosine-cytosine rich pre-ribosomal RNA in mitochondria. Further, the results identify P32 as a member of the 'RNase H1 degradosome' and the key P32 enhances the enzymatic efficiency of human RNase H1.

Lipid nanoparticles improve activity of single-stranded siRNA and gapmer antisense oligonucleotides in animals.

We evaluated the abilities of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), a small interfering RNA (siRNA), and a single-stranded siRNA (ss-siRNA) to inhibit expression from the PTEN gene in mice when formulated identically with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Significantly greater reductions in levels of PTEN mRNA were observed for LNP-formulated agents compared to unformulated drugs when gene silencing was evaluated after a single dose in the livers of mice. An unformulated ss-siRNA modified with a metabolically stable phosphate mimic 5'-(E)-vinylphosphonate showed dose-dependent reduction of PTEN mRNA in mice, albeit at doses significantly higher than those observed for formulated ss-siRNA. These results demonstrate that LNPs can be used to deliver functional antisense and ss-siRNA therapeutics to the liver, indicating that progress in the field of siRNA delivery is transferable to other classes of nucleic acid-based drugs.

Single-stranded siRNAs activate RNAi in animals.

The therapeutic utility of siRNAs is limited by the requirement for complex formulations to deliver them to tissues. If potent single-stranded RNAs could be identified, they would provide a simpler path to pharmacological agents. Here, we describe single-stranded siRNAs (ss-siRNAs) that silence gene expression in animals absent lipid formulation. Effective ss-siRNAs were identified by iterative design by determining structure-activity relationships correlating chemically modified single strands and Argonaute 2 (AGO2) activities, potency in cells, nuclease stability, and pharmacokinetics. We find that the passenger strand is not necessary for potent gene silencing. The guide-strand activity requires AGO2, demonstrating action through the RNAi pathway. ss-siRNA action requires a 5' phosphate to achieve activity in vivo, and we developed a metabolically stable 5'-(E)-vinylphosphonate (5'-VP) with conformation and sterioelectronic properties similar to the natural phosphate. Identification of potent ss-siRNAs offers an additional option for RNAi therapeutics and an alternate perspective on RNAi mechanism.

Single-stranded RNAs use RNAi to potently and allele-selectively inhibit mutant huntingtin expression.

Mutant huntingtin (HTT) protein causes Huntington disease (HD), an incurable neurological disorder. Silencing mutant HTT using nucleic acids would eliminate the root cause of HD. Developing nucleic acid drugs is challenging, and an ideal clinical approach to gene silencing would combine the simplicity of single-stranded antisense oligonucleotides with the efficiency of RNAi. Here, we describe RNAi by single-stranded siRNAs (ss-siRNAs). ss-siRNAs are potent (>100-fold more than unmodified RNA) and allele-selective (>30-fold) inhibitors of mutant HTT expression in cells derived from HD patients. Strategic placement of mismatched bases mimics micro-RNA recognition and optimizes discrimination between mutant and wild-type alleles. ss-siRNAs require Argonaute protein and function through the RNAi pathway. Intraventricular infusion of ss-siRNA produced selective silencing of the mutant HTT allele throughout the brain in a mouse HD model. These data demonstrate that chemically modified ss-siRNAs function through the RNAi pathway and provide allele-selective compounds for clinical development.

Off-target and a portion of target-specific siRNA mediated mRNA degradation is Ago2 'Slicer' independent and can be mediated by Ago1.

It is known that siRNAs are capable of reducing expression of non-target genes due to the interaction of the siRNA guide strand with a partially complementary site on the 'off-target' mRNA. In the current study, we show that reduction of cellular Ago2 levels has no effect on off-target reduction of endogenous genes and that off-target degradation of mRNA can occur even in an Ago2 knockout cell line. Using antisense mediated reduction of Ago proteins and chemically modified cleavage- and binding-deficient siRNAs, we demonstrate that siRNA mediated off-target reduction is Ago2 cleavage independent, but does require siRNA interaction with either Ago1 or Ago2 and the RISC-loading complex. We also show that depletion of P-body associated proteins results in a reduction of off-target siRNA-mediated degradation of mRNA. Finally, we present data suggesting that a significant portion of on-target siRNA activity is also Ago2 cleavage independent, however, this activity does not appear to be P-body associated.

Binding and cleavage specificities of human Argonaute2.

The endonuclease Argonaute2 (Ago2) mediates the degradation of the target mRNA within the RNA-induced silencing complex. We determined the binding and cleavage properties of recombinant human Ago2. Human Ago2 was unable to cleave preformed RNA duplexes and exhibited weaker binding affinity for RNA duplexes compared with the single strand RNA. The enzyme exhibited greater RNase H activity in the presence of Mn2+ compared with Mg2+. Human Ago2 exhibited weaker binding affinities and reduced cleavage activities for antisense RNAs with either a 5'-terminal hydroxyl or abasic nucleotide. Binding kinetics suggest that the 5'-terminal heterocycle base nucleates the interaction between the enzyme and the antisense RNA, and the 5'-phosphate stabilizes the interaction. Mn2+ ameliorated the effects of the 5'-terminal hydroxyl or abasic nucleotide on Ago2 cleavage activity and binding affinity. Nucleotide substitutions at the 3' terminus of the antisense RNA had no effect on human Ago2 cleavage activity, whereas 2'-methoxyethyl substitutions at position 2 reduced binding and cleavage activity and 12-14 reduced the cleavage activity. RNase protection assays indicated that human Ago2 interacts with the first 14 nucleotides at the 5'-pole of the antisense RNA. Human Ago2 preloaded with the antisense RNA exhibited greater binding affinities for longer sense RNAs suggesting that the enzyme interacts with regions in the sense RNA outside the site for antisense hybridization. Finally, transiently expressed human Ago2 immunoprecipitated from HeLa cells contained the double strand RNA-binding protein human immunodeficiency virus, type 1, trans-activating response RNA-binding protein, and deletion mutants of Ago2 showed that trans-activating response RNA-binding protein interacts with the PIWI domain of the enzyme.

Human Dicer binds short single-strand and double-strand RNA with high affinity and interacts with different regions of the nucleic acids.

Human Dicer is an integral component of the RNA interference pathway. Dicer processes premicro-RNA and double-strand RNA to, respectively, mature micro-RNA and short interfering RNA (siRNA) and transfers the processed products to the RNA-induced silencing complex. To better understand the factors that are important for the binding, translocation, and selective recognition of the siRNA strands, we determined the binding affinities of human Dicer for processed products (siRNA) and short single-strand RNAs (ssRNA). siRNAs and ssRNAs competitively inhibited human Dicer activity, suggesting that they are interacting with the active site of the enzyme. The dissociation constants (Kd) for unmodified siRNAs were 5-11-fold weaker compared with a 27-nucleotide double-strand RNA substrate. Chemically modified siRNAs exhibited binding affinities for Dicer comparable with the substrate. 3'-dinucleotide overhangs in the siRNA affected the binding affinity of human Dicer for the siRNA and biased strand loading into RNA-induced silencing complex. The Kd values for the ssRNAs ranged from 3- to 40-fold weaker than the Kd for the substrate. Sequence composition of the 3'-terminal nucleotides of the ssRNAs exhibited the greatest effect on Dicer binding. Dicer cleaved substrates containing short siRNA-like double-strand regions and extended 3' or 5' ssRNA overhangs in the adjacent ssRNA regions. Remarkably, cleavage sites were observed consistent with the enzyme entering the substrate from the extended 3' ssRNA terminus. These data suggest that the siRNAs and ssRNAs interact predominantly with the PAZ domain of the enzyme. Finally, the tightest binding siRNAs were also more potent inhibitors of gene expression.