RESUMO
AntimiR is an antisense oligonucleotide that has been developed to silence microRNA (miRNA) for the treatment of intractable diseases. Enhancement of its in vivo efficacy and improvement of its toxicity are highly desirable but remain challenging. We here design heteroduplex oligonucleotide (HDO)-antimiR as a new technology comprising an antimiR and its complementary RNA. HDO-antimiR binds targeted miRNA in vivo more efficiently by 12-fold than the parent single-stranded antimiR. HDO-antimiR also produced enhanced phenotypic effects in mice with upregulated expression of miRNA-targeting messenger RNAs. In addition, we demonstrated that the enhanced potency of HDO-antimiR was not explained by its bio-stability or delivery to the targeted cell, but reflected an improved intracellular potency. Our findings provide new insights into biology of miRNA silencing by double-stranded oligonucleotides and support the in vivo potential of this technology based on a new class of for the treatment of miRNA-related diseases.
Assuntos
DNA de Cadeia Simples/genética , Inativação Gênica , MicroRNAs/genética , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/genética , Oligonucleotídeos Antissenso/genética , Animais , Northern Blotting , DNA de Cadeia Simples/metabolismo , Feminino , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Rim/metabolismo , Fígado/metabolismo , Camundongos Endogâmicos ICR , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/metabolismo , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/farmacocinética , Oligonucleotídeos Antissenso/metabolismo , Oligonucleotídeos Antissenso/farmacocinética , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Baço/metabolismoRESUMO
Manipulating lymphocyte functions with gene silencing approaches is promising for treating autoimmunity, inflammation, and cancer. Although oligonucleotide therapy has been proven to be successful in treating several conditions, efficient in vivo delivery of oligonucleotide to lymphocyte populations remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that intravenous injection of a heteroduplex oligonucleotide (HDO), comprised of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and its complementary RNA conjugated to α-tocopherol, silences lymphocyte endogenous gene expression with higher potency, efficacy, and longer retention time than ASOs. Importantly, reduction of Itga4 by HDO ameliorates symptoms in both adoptive transfer and active experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis models. Our findings reveal the advantages of HDO with enhanced gene knockdown effect and different delivery mechanisms compared with ASO. Thus, regulation of lymphocyte functions by HDO is a potential therapeutic option for immune-mediated diseases.
Assuntos
Linfócitos/metabolismo , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/metabolismo , Oligonucleotídeos/metabolismo , RNA/metabolismo , Administração Intravenosa , Transferência Adotiva , Animais , Doenças Desmielinizantes/genética , Doenças Desmielinizantes/imunologia , Doenças Desmielinizantes/patologia , Encefalomielite Autoimune Experimental/genética , Encefalomielite Autoimune Experimental/imunologia , Encefalomielite Autoimune Experimental/patologia , Endocitose/efeitos dos fármacos , Feminino , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Inativação Gênica , Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/genética , Doença Enxerto-Hospedeiro/imunologia , Humanos , Integrina alfa4/genética , Integrina alfa4/metabolismo , Células Jurkat , Masculino , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/administração & dosagem , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/farmacocinética , Ácidos Nucleicos Heteroduplexes/farmacologia , Oligonucleotídeos/administração & dosagem , Oligonucleotídeos/farmacocinética , Oligonucleotídeos/farmacologia , RNA Longo não Codificante/metabolismo , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Medula Espinal/patologia , Distribuição Tecidual/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
The antisense approach is conceptually simple and elegant; to design an inhibitor of a specific mRNA, one needs only to know the sequence of the targeted mRNA and an appropriately modified complementary oligonucleotide. Of the many analogs of oligodeoxynucleotides explored as antisense agents, phosphorothioate analogs have been studied the most extensively. The use of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides as antisense agents in various studies have shown promising results. However, they have also indicated that quite often, biological effects observed could be solely or partly non-specific in nature. It is becoming clear that not all phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides of varying length and base composition are the same, and important consideration should be given to maintain antisense mechanisms while identifying effective antisense oligonucleotides. In this review, I have summarized the progress made in my laboratory in understanding the specificity and mechanism of actions of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides and the rationale for designing second-generation mixed-backbone oligonucleotides.