1. Evaluation of GalNAc-siRNA Conjugate Activity in Pre-clinical Animal Models with Reduced Asialoglycoprotein Receptor Expression
- Author
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Theo J.C. Van Berkel, Kun Qian, Muthiah Manoharan, Kallanthottathil G. Rajeev, Vasant Jadhav, Klaus Charisse, Jayaprakash K. Nair, James Butler, Tracy Zimmermann, Amy Chan, Jennifer L. S. Willoughby, Alfica Sehgal, Kristina Yucius, Tim Racie, Tuyen Nguyen, Svetlana Shulga-Morskaya, and Martin Maier
- Subjects
Liver Cirrhosis ,0301 basic medicine ,Acetylgalactosamine ,Receptor expression ,Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ,Asialoglycoprotein Receptor ,GalNAc-siRNA ,Mice ,03 medical and health sciences ,Drug Delivery Systems ,RNA interference ,Pharmacokinetics ,Drug Discovery ,Genetics ,Animals ,Humans ,Gene Silencing ,RNA, Small Interfering ,Receptor ,Molecular Biology ,Mice, Knockout ,Pharmacology ,Drug Carriers ,Chemistry ,Ligand (biochemistry) ,Cell biology ,carbohydrates (lipids) ,Disease Models, Animal ,Protein Subunits ,030104 developmental biology ,Gene Expression Regulation ,Targeted drug delivery ,Biochemistry ,Hepatocytes ,Molecular Medicine ,Female ,Original Article ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,Asialoglycoprotein receptor ,Function (biology) ,Conjugate - Abstract
The hepatocyte-specific asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is an ideal candidate for targeted drug delivery to the liver due to its high capacity for substrate clearance from circulation together with its well-conserved expression and function across species. The development of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates, in which a synthetic triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine-based ligand is conjugated to chemically modified siRNA, has enabled efficient, ASGPR-mediated delivery to hepatocytes. To investigate the potential impact of variations in receptor expression on the efficiency of GalNAc-siRNA conjugate delivery, we evaluated the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of GalNAc-siRNA conjugates in multiple pre-clinical models with reduced receptor expression. Despite greater than 50% reduction in ASGPR levels, GalNAc conjugate activity was retained, suggesting that the remaining receptor capacity was sufficient to mediate efficient uptake of potent GalNAc-siRNAs at pharmacologically relevant dose levels. Collectively, our data support a broad application of the GalNAc-siRNA technology for hepatic targeting, including disease states where ASGPR expression may be reduced., Willoughby and colleagues show that GalNAc-siRNA conjugate uptake is specifically mediated through the hepatic expressed asialoglycoprotein receptor and that potent conjugates are capable of robust gene silencing in reduced receptor settings. These data combined support the therapeutic potential in disease(s) where receptor levels may be reduced due to liver injury.
- Published
- 2018
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