Biology subjects

Francini, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Francini, N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Polysulfide Nanoparticles Ameliorate Ischaemia Reperfusion Injury in Renal Transplantation and Improve Kidney Function Post-Transplantation

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a significant complication in kidney transplantation, often affecting the viability and function of organs. Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is a technique used to improve the condition of organs prior to transplantation. In this study, we show that incorporating antioxidant poly(propylene sulfide) nanoparticles (PPS-NPs) during cold-storage and NMP significantly enhances its efficacy in reducing IRI upon porcine kidney transplantation. We found that by scavenging reactive oxygen species, PPS-NPs reduced oxidative stress and inflammation that occurs during ischemia-reperfusion with oxidized DNA reduced 5.3x and both TNF- and complement activation approximately halved. Our studies show that this approach led to significantly improved hemodynamics, better renal function, and tissue health compared to NMP alone. The results suggest that incorporating PPS-NPs into transplantation protocols may expand the pool of kidneys suitable for transplantation and enhance overall transplantation success rates. The broader impact of this work could extend to other organ transplants, suggesting a wider application for nanoantioxidant technologies in organ preservation.

synthetic biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Albumin-binding RNAi Conjugate for Carrier Free Treatment of Arthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are joint diseases that are associated with pain and lost quality of life. No disease modifying OA drugs are currently available. RA treatments are better established but are not always effective and can cause immune suppression. Here, an MMP13-selective siRNA conjugate was developed that, when delivered intravenously, docks onto endogenous albumin and promotes preferential accumulation in articular cartilage and synovia of OA and RA joints. MMP13 expression was diminished upon intravenous delivery of MMP13 siRNA conjugates, consequently decreasing multiple histological and molecular markers of disease severity, while also reducing clinical manifestations such as swelling (RA) and joint pressure sensitivity (RA and OA). Importantly, MMP13 silencing provided more comprehensive OA treatment efficacy than standard of care (steroids) or experimental MMP inhibitors. These data demonstrate the utility of albumin hitchhiking for drug delivery to arthritic joints, and establish the therapeutic utility of systemically delivered anti-MMP13 siRNA conjugates in OA and RA. Editorial summaryLipophilic siRNA conjugates optimized for albumin binding and "hitchhiking" can be leveraged to achieve preferential delivery to and gene silencing activity within arthritic joints. Chemical stabilization of the lipophilic siRNA enables intravenous siRNA delivery without lipid or polymer encapsulation. Using siRNA sequences targeting MMP13, a key driver of arthritis-related inflammation, albumin hitchhiking siRNA diminished MMP13, inflammation, and manifestations of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis at molecular, histological, and clinical levels, consistently outperforming clinical standards of care and small molecule MMP antagonists.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2023

Structural Optimization of siRNA Conjugates for Albumin Binding Achieves Effective MCL1-Targeted Cancer Therapy

The high potential for therapeutic application of siRNAs to silence traditionally undruggable oncogenic drivers remains largely untapped due to the challenges of tumor cell delivery. Here, siRNAs were optimized for in situ binding to albumin through C18 lipid modifications to improve pharmacokinetics and tumor delivery. Systematic variation of siRNA conjugates revealed a lead structure with divalent C18 lipids each linked through three repeats of hexaethylene glycol connected by phosphorothioate bonds. Importantly, we discovered that locating the branch site of the divalent lipid structure proximally (adjacent to the RNA) rather than at a more distal site (after the linker segment) promotes association with albumin, while minimizing self-assembly and lipoprotein association. Comparison to higher albumin affinity (diacid) lipid variants and siRNA directly conjugated to albumin underscored the importance of conjugate hydrophobicity and reversibility of albumin binding for siRNA delivery and bioactivity in tumors. The lead conjugate increased tumor siRNA accumulation 12-fold in orthotopic mouse models of triple negative breast cancer over the parent siRNA. When applied for silencing of the anti-apoptotic oncogene MCL-1, this structure achieved approximately 80% MCL1 silencing in orthotopic breast tumors. Furthermore, application of the lead conjugate structure to target MCL1 yielded better survival outcomes in three independent, orthotopic, triple negative breast cancer models than an MCL1 small molecule inhibitor. These studies provide new structure-function insights on optimally leveraging siRNA-lipid conjugate structures that associate in situ with plasma albumin for molecular-targeted cancer therapy.

bioengineering↗