Cited by 601RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryNanoparticle-Based Drug DeliveryAdvancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery

Naturally-occurring cholesterol analogues in lipid nanoparticles induce polymorphic shape and enhance intracellular delivery of mRNA

Open access
Patel, Siddharth, Ashwanikumar, N., Robinson, Ema, Xia, Yan, Mihai, Cosmin, Griffith, Joseph P., Hou, Shangguo, Esposito, Adam A. +5 more·2020·Nature Communications

Abstract

Endosomal sequestration of lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) remains a formidable barrier to delivery. Herein, structure-activity analysis of cholesterol analogues reveals that incorporation of C-24 alkyl phytosterols into LNPs (eLNPs) enhances gene transfection and the length of alkyl tail, flexibility of sterol ring and polarity due to -OH group is required to maintain high transfection. Cryo-TEM displays a polyhedral shape for eLNPs compared to spherical LNPs, while x-ray scattering shows little disparity in internal structure. eLNPs exhibit higher cellular uptake and retention, potentially leading to a steady release from the endosomes over time. 3D single-particle tracking shows enhanced intracellular diffusivity of eLNPs relative to LNPs, suggesting eLNP traffic to productive pathways for escape. Our findings show the importance of cholesterol in subcellular transport of LNPs carrying mRNA and emphasize the need for greater insights into surface composition and structural properties of nanoparticles, and their subcellular interactions which enable designs to improve endosomal escape.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s41467-020-14527-2

Cites

72 of 72 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In mRNA-LNP formulations, the fraction of accessible mRNA is very low and encapsulation efficiencies are typically > 90%.

    “In mRNA-LNP formulations, such as those used in mRNA vaccines, the fraction of accessible mRNA is very low (Yanez Arteta et al., 2018, Patel et al., 2020) and thus, encapsulation efficiencies, derived from RiboGreen assays, are typically > 90%.”

    From mRNA-lipid nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccines: structure and stability (2021) · cites this paper as Patel et al., 2020

  • Other researchers propose that the outer shell of mRNA-LNPs consists of one or multiple bilayers.

    “Other researchers propose that the outer shell of mRNA-LNPs consists of one or multiple bilayers, based on cryo-TEM analysis (Fig. 2) (Patel et al., 2020, Tanaka et al., 2020) or SANS (Sebastiani et al., 2021).”

    From mRNA-lipid nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccines: structure and stability (2021) · cites this paper as Patel et al., 2020

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Patel, S., Ashwanikumar, N., Robinson, E., Xia, Y., Mihai, C., Griffith, J. P., Hou, S., Esposito, A. A., Ketova, T., Welsher, K., Joyal, J. L., Almarsson, Ö., & Sahay, G.
Affiliations
  • Oregon State University (US)
  • Moderna Therapeutics (United States) (US)
  • Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Sahay, Gaurav
Venue
Nature Communications
Published
2020-02-20
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
983-983
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3006764150
Cited by
601
References
72
Citations by year
2026: 108 · 2025: 156 · 2024: 127 · 2023: 72 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 23
FWCI
16.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (1R15EB021581)
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1R01HL146736-01)
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (SAHAY18G0)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advancements in Transdermal Drug Delivery
Keywords
cholesterol analogues, lipid nanoparticles, mRNA delivery, endosomal escape, nanoparticle morphology, transfection, cellular uptake, intracellular diffusion, structure-activity relationship
MeSH terms
RAW 264.7 Cells, Animals, Biological Transport, Active, Cell Line, Cholesterol, HeLa Cells, Humans, Lipids, Endosomes, RNA, Messenger, Sitosterols, Transfection, X-Ray Diffraction, Cryoelectron Microscopy, Mice, Nanoparticles, HEK293 Cells

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review