N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase controls sialylation of muscle glycoproteins essential for muscle regeneration and function.

Deleterious variants in N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase (NPL) cause skeletal myopathy and cardiac edema in humans and zebrafish, but its physiological role remains unknown. We report generation of mouse models of the disease: NplR63C, carrying the human p.Arg63Cys variant, and Npldel116 with a 116-bp exonic deletion. In both strains, NPL deficiency causes drastic increase in free sialic acid levels, reduction of skeletal muscle force and endurance, slower healing and smaller size of newly formed myofibers after cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury, increased glycolysis, partially impaired mitochondrial function, and aberrant sialylation of dystroglycan and mitochondrial LRP130 protein. NPL-catalyzed degradation of sialic acid in the muscle increases after fasting and injury and in human patient and mouse models with genetic muscle dystrophy, demonstrating that NPL is essential for muscle function and regeneration and serves as a general marker of muscle damage. Oral administration of N-acetylmannosamine rescues skeletal myopathy, as well as mitochondrial and structural abnormalities in NplR63C mice, suggesting a potential treatment for human patients.

Sequential delivery of synergistic drugs by silica nanocarriers for enhanced tumour treatment.

Herein hybrid silica nanoparticles have been engineered to direct the sequential delivery of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs in response to external stimuli such as variations in pH. The nanocarriers consist of conventional MCM-41-type nanoparticles, which have been functionalised with an organic ligand (or stalk) grafted onto the external surface. The stalk is designed to "recognise" a complementary molecule, which serves as a "cap" to block the pores of the nanoparticles. First, camptothecin is introduced into the pores by diffusion prior to capping the pore apertures via molecular recognition. The cap, which is a derivative of 5-fluorouracil, serves as a second cytotoxic drug for synergistic chemotherapy. In vitro tests revealed that negligible release of the drugs occurred at pH 7.4, thus avoiding toxic side effects in the blood stream. In contrast, the stalk/cap complex is destabilised within the endolysosomal compartment (pH 5.5) of cancer cells, where release of the drugs was demonstrated. Furthermore, this environmentally responsive system exhibited a synergistic effect of the two drugs, where the pH-triggered release of the cytotoxic cap followed by diffusion-controlled release of the drug cargo within the pores led to essentially complete elimination of breast cancer cells.

Mannose 6-phosphonate labelling: A key for processing the therapeutic enzyme in Pompe disease.

In the search of a better enzyme therapy in Pompe disease, the conjugation of mannose 6-phosphonates to the recombinant enzyme appeared as an enhancer of its efficacy. Here, we demonstrated that the increased efficacy of the conjugated enzyme is partly due to a higher intracellular maturation because of its insensitiveness to acid phosphatases during the routing to lysosomes.

Sialic acid catabolism by N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase is essential for muscle function.

Sialic acids are important components of glycoproteins and glycolipids essential for cellular communication, infection, and metastasis. The importance of sialic acid biosynthesis in human physiology is well illustrated by the severe metabolic disorders in this pathway. However, the biological role of sialic acid catabolism in humans remains unclear. Here, we present evidence that sialic acid catabolism is important for heart and skeletal muscle function and development in humans and zebrafish. In two siblings, presenting with sialuria, exercise intolerance/muscle wasting, and cardiac symptoms in the brother, compound heterozygous mutations [chr1:182775324C>T (c.187C>T; p.Arg63Cys) and chr1:182772897A>G (c.133A>G; p.Asn45Asp)] were found in the N-acetylneuraminate pyruvate lyase gene (NPL). In vitro, NPL activity and sialic acid catabolism were affected, with a cell-type-specific reduction of N-acetyl mannosamine (ManNAc). A knockdown of NPL in zebrafish resulted in severe skeletal myopathy and cardiac edema, mimicking the human phenotype. The phenotype was rescued by expression of wild-type human NPL but not by the p.Arg63Cys or p.Asn45Asp mutants. Importantly, the myopathy phenotype in zebrafish embryos was rescued by treatment with the catabolic products of NPL: N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc) and ManNAc; the latter also rescuing the cardiac phenotype. In conclusion, we provide the first report to our knowledge of a human defect in sialic acid catabolism, which implicates an important role of the sialic acid catabolic pathway in mammalian muscle physiology, and suggests opportunities for monosaccharide replacement therapy in human patients.

Biosafety of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

Careful analysis of any new nanomedicine device or disposal should be undertaken to comprehensively characterize the new product before application, so that any unintended side effect is minimized. Because of the increasing number of nanotechnology-based drugs, we can anticipate that regulatory authorities might adapt the approval process for nanomedicine products due to safety concerns, e.g., request a more rigorous testing of the potential toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs). Currently, the use of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) as drug delivery systems is challenged by a lack of data on the toxicological profile of coated or non-coated MSN. In this context, we have carried out an extensive study documenting the influence of different functionalized MSN on the cellular internalization and in vivo behaviour. In this article, a synthesis of these works is reviewed and the perspectives are drawn. The use of magnetic MSN (Fe3O4@MSN) allows an efficient separation of coated NPs from cell cultures with a simple magnet, leading to results regarding corona formation without experimental bias. Our interest is focused on the mechanism of interaction with model membranes, the adsorption of proteins in biological fluids, the quantification of uptake, and the effect of such NPs on the transcriptomic profile of hepatic cells that are known to be readily concerned by NPs' uptake in vivo, especially in the case of an intravenous injection.

Efficient therapy for refractory Pompe disease by mannose 6-phosphate analogue grafting on acid α-glucosidase.

Pompe disease is a rare disorder due to deficiency of the acid α-glucosidase (GAA) treated by enzyme replacement therapy. The present authorized treatment with rhGAA, the recombinant human enzyme, provides an important benefit in the infantile onset; however, the juvenile and adult forms of the disease corresponding to >80% of the patients are less responsive to this treatment. This resistance has been mainly attributed to an insufficiency of mannose 6-phosphate residues in rhGAA to address lysosomes through the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR). As yet, several attempts to improve the enzyme delivery by increasing the number of mannose 6-phosphate on the enzyme were poorly effective on the late onset form of the disease. Here, we show that chemical conjugation of a synthetic analogue of the mannose 6-phosphate, named AMFA, onto rhGAA improves the affinity for CI-M6PR and the uptake of the enzyme in fibroblasts and myoblasts of adult Pompe patients. More importantly, only the conjugated rhGAA-AMFA was effective in aged Pompe mice when compared to rhGAA. Weekly treatment with 5-20mg·kg-1 rhGAA-AMFA provided major improvements of the motor function and of the myofiber structure, whereas rhGAA was inactive. Finally, AMFA addition did not induce supplementary immune response to the enzyme. This modified enzyme, displaying a muscle recovery in aged Pompe mice that was never attained before, could be considered as a potential therapy for the late onset Pompe disease.

Stealth Biocompatible Si-Based Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications.

A challenge regarding the design of nanocarriers for drug delivery is to prevent their recognition by the immune system. To improve the blood residence time and prevent their capture by organs, nanoparticles can be designed with stealth properties using polymeric coating. In this study, we focused on the influence of surface modification with polyethylene glycol and/or mannose on the stealth behavior of porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNP, ~200 nm). In vivo biodistribution of pSiNPs formulations were evaluated in mice 5 h after intravenous injection. Results indicated that the distribution in the organs was surface functionalization-dependent. Pristine pSiNPs and PEGylated pSiNPs were distributed mainly in the liver and spleen, while mannose-functionalized pSiNPs escaped capture by the spleen, and had higher blood retention. The most efficient stealth behavior was observed with PEGylated pSiNPs anchored with mannose that were the most excreted in urine at 5 h. The biodegradation kinetics evaluated in vitro were in agreement with these in vivo observations. The biocompatibility of the pristine and functionalized pSiNPs was confirmed in vitro on human cell lines and in vivo by cytotoxic and systemic inflammation investigations, respectively. With their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and stealth properties, the pSiNPs functionalized with mannose and PEG show promising potential for biomedical applications.

Biocompatible Periodic Mesoporous Ionosilica Nanoparticles with Ammonium Walls: Application to Drug Delivery.

Periodic mesoporous ionosilica nanoparticles with ammonium walls were synthesized exclusively from a trisilylated ammonium precursor. The nanoparticles display a uniform particle size, together with a high specific surface area and an ordered hexagonal pore architecture. Completely biocompatible in vitro and in vivo, the nanoparticles are efficiently endocytosed by RAW 264.7 macrophages and used as carrier vehicles for anionic drugs. Diclofenac-loaded ionosilica nanoparticles are very efficient in inhibiting lipopolysaccharides-induced inflammation.

Biological Fate of Fe3O4 Core-Shell Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Depending on Particle Surface Chemistry.

The biological fate of nanoparticles (NPs) for biomedical applications is highly dependent of their size and charge, their aggregation state and their surface chemistry. The chemical composition of the NPs surface influences their stability in biological fluids, their interaction with proteins, and their attraction to the cell membranes. In this work, core-shell magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Fe3O4@MSN), that are considered as potential theranostic candidates, are coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) or 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) lipid bilayer. Their biological fate is studied in comparison to the native NPs. The physicochemical properties of these three types of NPs and their suspension behavior in different media are investigated. The attraction to a membrane model is also evaluated using a supported lipid bilayer. The surface composition of NPs strongly influences their dispersion in biological fluids mimics, protein binding and their interaction with cell membrane. While none of these types of NPs is found to be toxic on mice four days after intravenous injection of a dose of 40 mg kg-1 of NPs, their surface coating nature influences the in vivo biodistribution. Importantly, NP coated with DMPC exhibit a strong accumulation in liver and a very low accumulation in lung in comparison with nude or PEG ones.

Design of Potent Mannose 6-Phosphate Analogues for the Functionalization of Lysosomal Enzymes To Improve the Treatment of Pompe Disease.

Improving therapeutics delivery in enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for lysosomal storage disorders is a challenge. Herein, we present the synthesis of novel analogues of mannose 6-phosphate (M6P), known as AMFAs and functionalized at the anomeric position for enzyme grafting. AMFAs are non-phosphate serum-resistant derivatives that efficiently bind the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR), which is the main pathway to address enzymes to lysosomes. One of the AMFAs was used to improve the treatment of the lysosomal myopathy Pompe disease, in which acid α-glucosidase (GAA) is defective. AMFA grafting on a M6P-free recombinant GAA led to a higher uptake of the GAA in adult Pompe fibroblasts in culture as compared to Myozyme, the M6P recombinant GAA. Moreover, the treatment of Pompe adult mice with the AMFA-grafted recombinant enzyme led to a remarkable improvement, even at low doses, in muscle functionality and regeneration, whereas Myozyme had limited efficacy.

Multifunctionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles for the in vitro treatment of retinoblastoma: Drug delivery, one and two-photon photodynamic therapy.

In this work, we focused on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for one photon excitated photodynamic therapy (OPE-PDT) combined with drug delivery and carbohydrate targeting applied on retinoblastoma, a rare disease of childhood. We demonstrate that bitherapy (camptothecin delivery and photodynamic therapy) performed with MSN on retinoblastoma cancer cells was efficient in inducing cancer cell death. Alternatively MSN designed for two-photon excited photodynamic therapy (TPE-PDT) were also studied and irradiation at low fluence efficiently killed retinoblastoma cancer cells.