Recombinant messenger RNA technology and its application in cancer immunotherapy, transcript replacement therapies, pluripotent stem cell induction, and beyond.

In recent years, the interest in using messenger RNA (mRNA) as a therapeutic means to tackle different diseases has enormously increased. This holds true not only for numerous preclinical studies, but mRNA has also entered the clinic to fight cancer. The advantages of using mRNA compared to DNA were recognized very early on, e.g., the lack of risk for genomic integration, or the expression of the encoded protein in the cytoplasm without the need to cross the nuclear membrane. However, it was generally assumed that mRNA is just not stable enough to give rise to sufficient expression of the encoded protein. Yet, an initially small group of mRNA aficionados could demonstrate that the stability of mRNA and the efficiency, by which the encoded protein is translated, can be significantly increased by selecting the right set of cis-acting structural elements (including the 5'-cap, 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions, poly(A)-tail, and modified building blocks). In parallel, significant advances in RNA packaging and delivery have been made, extending the potential for this molecule. This paved the way for further work to prove mRNA as a promising therapeutic for multiple diseases. Here, we review the developments to optimize mRNA regarding stability, translational efficiency, and immune-modulating properties to enhance its functionality and efficacy as a therapeutic. Furthermore, we summarize the current status of preclinical and clinical studies that use mRNA for cancer immunotherapy, for the expression of functional proteins as so-called transcript (or protein) replacement therapy, as well as for induction of pluripotent stem cells.

siRNA design principles and off-target effects.

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are a major research tool that allows for knock-down of target genes via selective mRNA destruction in almost all eukaryotic organisms. siRNAs typically consist of a synthetic ∼21 nucleotide (nt) RNA-duplex where one strand is designed with perfect complementarity to the target mRNA. Although siRNAs were initially thought to be very target-specific because of their design, it turned out during the last years that all siRNAs have a more or less pronounced intrinsic off-target activity which can make the interpretation of data from siRNA experiments difficult. Here we describe essential rules for siRNA design that should be taken into account in order to obtain potent siRNAs with minimal off-target activity. In addition, we describe how to control for off-target activity in siRNA experiments.

Increased siRNA duplex stability correlates with reduced off-target and elevated on-target effects.

Argonaute (Ago) proteins form the core of RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs) and mediate small RNA-guided gene silencing. In RNAi, short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) guide RISCs to complementary target RNAs, leading to cleavage by the endonuclease Ago2. Noncatalytic Ago proteins, however, contribute to RNAi as well but cannot cleave target RNA and often generate off-target effects. Here we show that synthetic siRNA duplexes interact with all Ago proteins, but a functional RISC rapidly assembles only around Ago2. By stabilizing the siRNA duplex, we show that the noncatalytic Ago proteins Ago1, -3, and -4 can be selectively blocked and do not form functional RISCs. In addition, stabilized siRNAs form an Ago2-RISC more efficiently, leading to increased silencing activity. Our data suggest novel parameters for the design of siRNAs with selective activation of the endonuclease Ago2.

Dephosphorylation of survival motor neurons (SMN) by PPM1G/PP2Cgamma governs Cajal body localization and stability of the SMN complex.

The survival motor neuron (SMN) complex functions in maturation of uridine-rich small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles. SMN mediates the cytoplasmic assembly of Sm proteins onto uridine-rich small RNAs, and then participates in targeting RNPs to nuclear Cajal bodies (CBs). Recent studies have suggested that phosphorylation might control localization and function of the SMN complex. Here, we show that the nuclear phosphatase PPM1G/PP2Cgamma interacts with and dephosphorylates the SMN complex. Small interfering RNA knockdown of PPM1G leads to an altered phosphorylation pattern of SMN and Gemin3, loss of SMN from CBs, and reduced stability of SMN. Accumulation in CBs is restored upon overexpression of catalytically active, but not that of inactive, PPM1G. This demonstrates that PPM1G's phosphatase activity is necessary to maintain SMN subcellular distribution. Concomitant knockdown of unr interacting protein (unrip), a component implicated in cytoplasmic retention of the SMN complex, also rescues the localization defects. Our data suggest that an interplay between PPM1G and unrip determine compartment-specific phosphorylation patterns, localization, and function of the SMN complex.

Role of the V-ATPase in regulation of the vacuolar fission-fusion equilibrium.

Like numerous other eukaryotic organelles, the vacuole of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae undergoes coordinated cycles of membrane fission and fusion in the course of the cell cycle and in adaptation to environmental conditions. Organelle fission and fusion processes must be balanced to ensure organelle integrity. Coordination of vacuole fission and fusion depends on the interactions of vacuolar SNARE proteins and the dynamin-like GTPase Vps1p. Here, we identify a novel factor that impinges on the fusion-fission equilibrium: the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) performs two distinct roles in vacuole fission and fusion. Fusion requires the physical presence of the membrane sector of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase sector, but not its pump activity. Vacuole fission, in contrast, depends on proton translocation by the V-ATPase. Eliminating proton pumping by the V-ATPase either pharmacologically or by conditional or constitutive V-ATPase mutations blocked salt-induced vacuole fragmentation in vivo. In living cells, fission defects are epistatic to fusion defects. Therefore, mutants lacking the V-ATPase display large single vacuoles instead of multiple smaller vacuoles, the phenotype that is generally seen in mutants having defects only in vacuolar fusion. Its dual involvement in vacuole fission and fusion suggests the V-ATPase as a potential regulator of vacuolar morphology and membrane dynamics.

A centriole- and RanGTP-independent spindle assembly pathway in meiosis I of vertebrate oocytes.

Spindle formation is essential for stable inheritance of genetic material. Experiments in various systems indicate that Ran GTPase is crucial for meiotic and mitotic spindle assembly. Such an important role for Ran in chromatin-induced spindle assembly was initially demonstrated in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. However, the requirement of RanGTP in living meiotic cells has not been shown. In this study, we used a fluorescence resonance energy transfer probe to measure RanGTP-regulated release of importin beta. A RanGTP-regulated gradient was established during meiosis I and was centered on chromosomes throughout mouse meiotic maturation. Manipulating levels of RanGTP in mice and X. laevis oocytes did not inhibit assembly of functional meiosis I spindles. However, meiosis II spindle assembly did not tolerate changes in the level of RanGTP in both species. These findings suggest that a mechanism common to vertebrates promotes meiosis I spindle formation in the absence of chromatin-induced microtubule production and centriole-based microtubule organizing centers.