Enhanced antisense effect of modified PNAs delivered through functional PMMA microspheres.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) are very promising antisense agents, but their in vivo application is often hampered by their low bioavailability, mainly due to their limited uptake through cellular and nuclear membranes. However, PNA chemical synthesis easily allows modification with functional structures able to improve the intrinsically low permeability and great interest is arising in finding specific and efficient delivery protocols. Polymeric core-shell microspheres with anionic functional groups on the surface were tested for their ability to reversibly bind lysine modified PNA sequences, whose antisense activity against COX-2 mRNA was already demonstrated in murine macrophages.

Erythrocyte-based drug delivery.

The use of a physiological carrier to deliver therapeutics throughout the body to both improve their efficacy while minimising inevitable adverse side effects, is an extremely fascinating perspective. The behaviour of erythrocytes as a delivery system for several classes of molecules (i.e., proteins, including enzymes and peptides, therapeutic agents in the form of nucleotide analogues, glucocorticoid analogues) has been studied extensively as they possess several properties, which make them unique and useful carriers. Furthermore, the possibility of using carrier erythrocytes for selective drug targeting to differentiated macrophages increases the opportunities to treat intracellular pathogens and to develop new drugs. Finally, the availability of an apparatus that permits the encapsulation of drugs into autologous erythrocytes has made this technology available in many clinical settings and competitive with other drug delivery systems.

Comparison of novel delivery systems for antisense peptide nucleic acids.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) provide a powerful tool to study the mechanism of transcription and translation, an innovative strategy to regulate target gene expression. They have been successfully used in antisense technology, for their ability to specifically bind to messenger RNA (mRNA) targets and to inhibit translation of the target genes. However, unlike most of the DNA and RNA oligonucleotides, PNAs are poorly penetrated through the cell membrane, partially due to their uncharged property. To enhance the efficiency in PNA delivery, many strategies have been explored. We here compare the efficacy of three different delivery strategies for antisense PNA: 1) conjugation to hydrophobic peptides, 2) adsorption onto polymeric microspheres and 3) encapsulation in autologous erythrocytes. To this purpose, we designed and prepared PNA sequences able to inhibit the expression of macrophage enzymes involved in inflammatory process, i.e. nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and tested their antisense activity in a murine macrophage cellular model. Both delivery through polymeric microspheres and encapsulation into erythrocytes allowed the antisense activity of unmodified PNAs at nanomolar concentration.

Novel biocompatible anionic polymeric microspheres for the delivery of the HIV-1 Tat protein for vaccine application.

Two novel classes of biocompatible core-shell anionic microspheres, composed of an inner hard insoluble core, either made of poly(styrene) (PS) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and a soft outer tentacular shell made of long soluble negatively charged arms derived from the steric stabilizer, hemisuccinated poly(vinyl alcohol) or Eudragit L100/55, respectively, were prepared by dispersion polymerization and characterized. Five types of these novel microspheres, two made of poly(styrene) and hemisuccinated poly(vinyl alcohol) (A4 and A7), and three made of poly(methyl methacrylate) and Eudragit L100/55 (1D, 1E, H1D), differing for chemical composition, size, and surface charge density were analyzed for the delivery of the HIV-1 Tat protein for vaccine applications. All microspheres reversibly adsorbed the native biologically active HIV-1 Tat protein preventing Tat from oxidation and maintaining its biological activity, therefore increasing the shelf-life of the Tat protein vaccine. The microspheres efficiently delivered Tat intracellularly, and were not toxic in vitro nor in mice, even after multiple administrations. These results indicate that these novel microparticles are safe and represent a promising delivery system for vaccination with Tat, as well as for other subunit vaccines, particularly when a native protein conformation is required.

Dinuclear copper(II) complex as nitric oxide scavenger in a stimulated murine macrophage model.

Nitric oxide is a gaseous, short-living free radical which behaves as an important signaling molecule with pleiotropic capacities including vasodilatation, neurotransmission, and microbial and tumor cell killing, as well as in tissue damage and organ-specific autoimmune disorders. Here, a synthesized, dinuclear copper complex system in vitro obtained by the simple aza-phenolic ligand 2,6-bis[[bis-(2-aminoethyl)amino]methyl]phenol (L) and Cu(II) ion has been used. The stability constants of ligand L with Cu(II) ion were determined through potentiometric measurements in aqueous solution (37.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C, I = 0.15 M of NaCl) to mimic the biological medium. The measurements demonstrated that [Cu(2)H(-1)L(OH)](2+) (DCu) is the predominant species present in solution at pH 7.4. The molecular structure of the ligand in this species permits the cooperation of the two copper ions in assembling the substrate, thus the complex can be used as a receptor for small molecules such as NO. As a biological model, we chose the production of NO catalyzed by inducible nitric oxide synthase obtained from RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line stimulated with LPS, which enabled us to prove that NO is coordinated by the DCu complex, modifying its EPR spectra. The coordination of NO with DCu reduces the level of nitrite in the culture medium of stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages without any inhibition in the expression of iNOS.

Core-shell nanospheres for oligonucleotide delivery. V: adsorption/release behavior of 'stealth' nanospheres.

The adsorption/release behavior of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) on new PEGylated core-shell polymethylmethacrylate nanospheres is described. The outer shell consists of alkyl chains containing quaternary ammonium groups and of poly(ethylene glycol) chains, both covalently bound to the inner core. Ion pair formation between negatively charged ODN phosphate groups and positively charged groups on the nanosphere surface is the main interaction mechanism. No cellular toxicity in HL60 cells is observed at nanosphere concentrations required for biologically active ODN delivery. These results indicate that these novel cationic polymeric nanoparticles are safe and represent promising vectors for oligonucleotide delivery.

Pharmacokinetic and antiretroviral activity in mice of oral [P(1),P(2)-bis[2-(adenin-9-yl)ethoxymethyl]phosphonate], a prodrug of 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine.

9-(2-Phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA) is an antiviral drug with activity against herpes viruses, Epstein-Barr virus and retroviruses, including the human immunodeficiency virus. Unfortunately, oral PMEA administration, as required for long-term therapy, is hindered by its low bioavailability. In the present study, the synthesis, oral bioavailability and antiretroviral activity of a new prodrug of PMEA, consisting of two molecules of PMEA bound together by a P-O-P bond (Bis-PMEA), are reported. Pharmacokinetic experiments in mice showed that the oral bioavailabilities of PMEA following oral gavage of Bis-PMEA or PMEA (at a dose equivalent to 28 mg of PMEA/kg) were 50.8 and 13.5%, respectively. These results correlate with the antiviral efficacy of Bis-PMEA administered orally at a dose equivalent to 50 mg/kg of PMEA in C57 BL/6 mice infected with the retroviral complex LP-BM5. Oral treatment with Bis-PMEA proved to be more effective than oral treatment with PMEA given at equimolar doses. Moreover, oral Bis-PMEA was more effective than intraperitoneal PMEA (50 mg/kg) in reducing lymphoadenopathy, hypergammaglobulinaemia and lymph node proviral DNA content, overall in the first weeks post virus inoculation. Bis-PMEA thus appears to be an efficient oral prodrug of PMEA without significant toxicity, at least in this mouse model.

Inhibition of macrophage iNOS by selective targeting of antisense PNA.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic polynucleobases that bind to DNA and RNA with high affinity and specificity and with poor membrane permeability. Although PNAs have an enormous potential as antisense agents, the success of antisense PNA applications will require efficient cellular uptake. In this study, a unique antisense 14-mer anti-inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was encapsulated into erythrocytes (RBC) by hypotonic dialysis. RBC loaded with PNA (10.5 +/- 3.5 micromol/mL RBC) were targeted specifically to murine macrophages, taking advantage of an in vitro opsonization induced by ZnCl(2) and bis-sulfosuccynimidil-suberate (BS(3)). This in vitro opsonization enhanced the phagocytosis of loaded RBC and the delivery of PNA into macrophages (0.72 pmol/10(6) macrophages). The efficacy of this delivery system is demonstrated by decreases in NO production and iNOS protein expression inside the macrophage. Therefore, we can suggest this novel approach for biomedical application.