Messenger RNA rescues medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency in fibroblasts from patients and a murine model.

Medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is the most common inherited disorder of mitochondrial fatty acid ß-oxidation (FAO) in humans. Patients exhibit clinical episodes often associated with fasting. Symptoms include hypoketotic hypoglycemia and Reye-like episodes. With limited treatment options, we explored the use of human MCAD (hMCAD) mRNA in fibroblasts from patients with MCAD deficiency to provide functional MCAD protein and reverse the metabolic block. Transfection of hMCAD mRNA into MCAD- deficient patient cells resulted in an increased MCAD protein that localized to mitochondria, concomitant with increased enzyme activity in cell extracts. The therapeutic hMCAD mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation was also tested in vivo in Acadm-/- mice. Administration of multiple intravenous doses of the hMCAD mRNA-LNP complex (LNP-MCAD) into Acadm-/- mice produced a significant level of MCAD protein with increased enzyme activity in liver, heart and skeletal muscle homogenates. Treated Acadm-/- mice were more resistant to cold stress and had decreased plasma levels of medium-chain acylcarnitines compared to untreated animals. Furthermore, hepatic steatosis in the liver from treated Acadm-/- mice was reduced compared to untreated ones. Results from this study support the potential therapeutic value of hMCAD mRNA-LNP complex treatment for MCAD deficiency.

Novel mRNA-Based Therapy Reduces Toxic Galactose Metabolites and Overcomes Galactose Sensitivity in a Mouse Model of Classic Galactosemia.

Classic galactosemia (CG) is a potentially lethal inborn error of galactose metabolism that results from deleterious mutations in the human galactose-1 phosphate uridylyltransferase (GALT) gene. Previously, we constructed a GalT-/- (GalT-deficient) mouse model that exhibits galactose sensitivity in the newborn mutant pups, reduced fertility in adult females, impaired motor functions, and growth restriction in both sexes. In this study, we tested whether restoration of hepatic GALT activity alone could decrease galactose-1 phosphate (gal-1P) and plasma galactose in the mouse model. The administration of different doses of mouse GalT (mGalT) mRNA resulted in a dose-dependent increase in mGalT protein expression and enzyme activity in the liver of GalT-deficient mice. Single intravenous (i.v.) dose of human GALT (hGALT) mRNA decreased gal-1P in mutant mouse liver and red blood cells (RBCs) within 24 h with low levels maintained for over a week. Repeated i.v. injections increased hepatic GalT expression, nearly normalized gal-1P levels in liver, and decreased gal-1P levels in RBCs and peripheral tissues throughout all doses. Moreover, repeated dosing reduced plasma galactose by 60% or more throughout all four doses. Additionally, a single intraperitoneal dose of hGALT mRNA overcame the galactose sensitivity and promoted the growth in a GalT-/- newborn pup.

High density lipoprotein promotes nascent apolipoprotein A-V secretion from mRNA transfected cells.

Despite its exceptionally low circulating concentration, apolipoprotein (apo) A-V is a potent modulator of plasma triacylglycerol levels. The secretion efficiency of nascent apoA-V was investigated in cultured cells transfected with mRNA. Following transfection of HepG2 cells with wild type apoA-V mRNA, apoA-V protein was detectable in cell lysates by 6 h. At 24 h post transfection, evidence of apoA-V secretion into media was obtained, although most apoA-V was recovered in the cell lysate fraction. By contrast, apoA-I was efficiently secreted into the culture medium. A positive correlation between culture medium fetal bovine serum content and the percentage of apoA-V recovered in conditioned media was observed. When transfected cells were cultured in serum-free media supplemented with increasing amounts of high density lipoprotein, a positive correlation with apoA-V secretion was observed. The data indicate that, following signal sequence cleavage, the bulk of nascent apoA-V remains cell associated. Transit of nascent apoA-V out of cultured cells is enhanced by the availability of extracellular lipid particle acceptors.

Long-term efficacy and safety of mRNA therapy in two murine models of methylmalonic acidemia.

BACKGROUND: Isolated methylmalonic acidemia/aciduria (MMA) is an ultra-rare, serious, inherited metabolic disorder with significant morbidity and mortality. Exogenously delivered mRNA encoding human methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (hMUT), the enzyme most frequently mutated in MMA, is a potential therapy to produce functional MUT enzyme in liver. METHODS: Two 12-week repeat-dose studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenously-administered hMUT mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles in two murine models of MMA. FINDINGS: In MMA hypomorphic mice, hMUT mRNA treatment resulted in dose-dependent and reproducible biomarker responses after each dose. Enzymatically-active MUT protein was produced in liver in a dose-dependent manner. hMUT mRNA was well-tolerated with no adverse effects, as indicated by the lack of clinical observations, minimal changes in clinical chemistry parameters, and histopathology examination across all tissues. In severe MMA mice, hMUT mRNA led to substantially improved survival and growth and ameliorated biochemical abnormalities, all of which are cardinal clinical manifestations in severely affected patients. INTERPRETATION: These data demonstrate durable functional benefit of hMUT mRNA and support development of this new class of therapy for a devastating, pediatric disorder. FUND: This work was funded by Moderna, Inc.