Cited by 365RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryRNA Research and SplicingRNA and protein synthesis mechanisms

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 61 of the 61 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 11 of the 29 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Improving mRNA-Based Therapeutic Gene Delivery by Expression-Augmenting 3′ UTRs Identified by Cellular Library Screening

Open access

Abstract

Synthetic mRNA has emerged as a powerful tool for the transfer of genetic information, and it is being explored for a variety of therapeutic applications. Many of these applications require prolonged intracellular persistence of mRNA to improve bioavailability of the encoded protein. mRNA molecules are intrinsically unstable and their intracellular kinetics depend on the UTRs embracing the coding sequence, in particular the 3' UTR elements. We describe here a novel and generally applicable cell-based selection process for the identification of 3' UTRs that augment the expression of proteins encoded by synthetic mRNA. Moreover, we show, for two applications of mRNA therapeutics, namely, (1) the delivery of vaccine antigens in order to mount T cell immune responses and (2) the introduction of reprogramming factors into differentiated cells in order to induce pluripotency, that mRNAs tagged with the 3' UTR elements discovered in this study outperform those with commonly used 3' UTRs. This approach further leverages the utility of mRNA as a gene therapy drug format.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The authors adapted SELEX into a cell-culture-based selection process in human dendritic cells to discover naturally occurring 3′ UTR elements that stabilize synthetic mRNA, identifying mtRNR1 and AES motives as top performers. mRNAs tagged with AES-mtRNR1 or mtRNR1-AES 3′ UTRs outperformed the standard double β-globin (2hBg) UTR in antigen-encoding mRNA vaccination in mice and in mRNA-based reprogramming of human fibroblasts to iPSCs.

Key findings

  • Six selection rounds in Actinomycin D–treated immature hDCs enriched stabilizing sequences, with the round-five library showing an approximately 6-fold increase in half-life versus the starting library; >50% (n = 216) of 402 sequenced clones derived from only 15 endogenous transcripts, including FCGRT, LSP1, CCL22, HLA-DRB4, CCL3, AES, PLD3, and mtRNR1.
  • All tested 3′ UTRs outperformed the commonly used human β-globin (hBg) UTR; dUTRs containing mtRNR1, particularly with AES or hBg, were moderately superior to 2hBg. Functional half-lives correlated negatively with predicted miRNA-binding site number and positively with total hybridization energy.
  • In murine C2C12 myoblasts all tested 3′ UTRs outperformed hBg by 2.3- to 3.6-fold; in human foreskin fibroblasts mtRNR1/AES combinations were superior to hBg by 2.4- to 3.5-fold.
  • In BALB/c mice (n = 8) given i.v. liposome-formulated luciferase mRNA, AES-mtRNR1 tagging gave higher and more prolonged splenic expression than 2hBg; mice (n = 5) immunized three times with gp70 mRNA carrying AES-mtRNR1 generated significantly higher frequencies of gp70-specific CD8+ T cells. In reprogramming, AES-mtRNR1 yielded up to 60-fold higher colony-forming units versus 6.5-fold for 2hBg, and two transfection rounds sufficed for iPSC colony formation.

Methods

  • Cell-based selection: mRNA purified from ActD-treated immature hDCs was fragmented to 100–750 nt, reverse transcribed, and cloned as 3′ UTRs between destabilized EGFP (d2eGFP) and a 60-adenosine poly(A) tail; six rounds of electroporation into hDCs, incubation, recovery, and amplification, with decay curves by qRT-PCR.
  • Functional characterization: 15 core motives cloned as 3′ UTRs upstream of Luc2CP (PEST-domain luciferase) or Luc reporters, transfected into hDCs, C2C12, and HFFs; protein expression kinetics, functional half-life, and area under the protein decay curve measured; miRNA-binding sites predicted with IntaRNA.
  • Applications: in vivo vaccination in BALB/c mice with liposome-formulated mRNA (10 μg Luc mRNA for imaging; 5 μg gp70/AH1-A5 mRNA on days 0, 7, 14 for tetramer-based CD8+ T cell quantification); iPSC reprogramming of HFFs by daily lipofection of OSKMNL plus EKB mRNAs with miRNAs 302a-d/367, assessed by alkaline phosphatase staining, TRA-1-81, and qRT-PCR of endogenous markers.

Limitations

  • Stated: it was not the scope of the study to test the discovered elements across a broader range of cell types, and because mRNA-stability regulators are cell type specific, there may be cell types in which AES-mtRNR1-based elements are not superior to conventional 3′ UTRs; future studies must explore whether the elements improve expression and immune responses for mRNA delivered by other routes.
  • Stated: homologous dUTRs were not analyzed because they are prone to recombination, which is noted as a drawback of the 2hBg 3′ UTR.
  • Evident from the text: animal experiments used small groups (n = 8 for imaging, n = 5 for immunogenicity) with no statistical pre-determination of sample size, and several authors are employees of or consultants for BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals and inventors on related patent applications.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.12.011

Cites

61 of 61 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

29 Own result · 10 Not checked yet · 10 Own interpretation · 7 Own method · 3 Supported · 3 Partly supported · 3 No basis given · 2 No full text of the sources · 1 Supported so far · 1 Couldn’t confirm · accuracy not yet measured

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Show all 31 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 23
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 22
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
38 of 38
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    mRNA molecules are intrinsically unstable.

    “mRNA molecules are intrinsically unstable and their intracellular kinetics depend on the UTRs embracing the coding sequence, in particular the 3′ UTR elements.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    hDCs survive in cell culture for an extended period of time without cell division.

    “hDCs were chosen as the environment for evolution, as they survive in cell culture for an extended period of time without cell division, which would counteract the enrichment of mRNA species.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    hDCs are the host cells for vaccine antigen delivery.

    “Moreover, hDCs are the host cells for one of the mRNA applications in which we are interested, namely, vaccine antigen delivery.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Non-integrating, non-self-replicating iPSC generation requires several cycles of transfection with exogenous reprogramming factors until endogenous transcription factors reach sufficiently high protein levels and take over; this interferes with cell viability, increases complexity, and is a hurdle for clinical translation.

    “Generation of iPSCs with gene delivery systems that do not integrate and are not self-replicating requires several cycles of transfection with exogenous reprogramming factors until endogenous transcription factors reach sufficiently high protein levels and take over. This interferes with cell viability, increases complexity, and is a hurdle for clinical translation.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Factors regulating mRNA stability are cell type specific.

    “as factors regulating mRNA stability are cell type specific”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    mtRNR1- and AES-derived motives were previously not known to stabilize mRNA.

    “mtRNR1- and AES-derived motives were previously not known to stabilize mRNA.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Alphaviral self-replicating RNA comes with the disadvantage that clinical grade iPSCs have to be free of residual contaminations of self-replicating vectors.

    “It, however, comes with the disadvantage that clinical grade iPSCs have to be free of residual contaminations of self-replicating vectors.”
7 of 7

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Metadata

Authors
Orlandini von Niessen, A. G., Poleganov, M. A., Rechner, C., Plaschke, A., Kranz, L. M., Fesser, S., Diken, M., Löwer, M., Vallazza, B., Beissert, T., Bukur, V., Kuhn, A. N., Türeci, Ö., & Sahin, U.
Affiliations
  • BioNTech (Germany) (DE)
  • University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
Venue
Molecular Therapy
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-04
Volume
27
Issue
4
Pages
824-836
ISSN
1525-0016 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2903777694
Cited by
365
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 51 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 68 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 7
FWCI
6.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Therapy (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Research and Splicing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Keywords
synthetic mRNA, mRNA therapeutics, 3' untranslated region, mRNA stability, T cell response, reprogramming factors, induced pluripotency, gene therapy
MeSH terms
Animals, Blood Donors, Cells, Cultured, Female, Fibroblasts, Half-Life, Humans, Mice, Inbred BALB C, RNA, Messenger, Vaccination, Genetic Therapy, Gene Library, Gene Transfer Techniques, Cancer Vaccines, 3' Untranslated Regions, RNA Stability, Mice, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cellular Reprogramming

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