Maureen Buckley, Mariluz Araínga, Laura Maiorino, Ivan S Pires, B J Kim, Katarzyna Kaczmarek Michaels, Jonathan Dye, Kashif Qureshi, Yiming Zhang, Howard Mak, Jon M Steichen, William R Schief, Francois Villinger, Darrell J Irvine
{"title":"Visualizing lipid nanoparticle trafficking for mRNA vaccine delivery in non-human primates.","authors":"Maureen Buckley, Mariluz Araínga, Laura Maiorino, Ivan S Pires, B J Kim, Katarzyna Kaczmarek Michaels, Jonathan Dye, Kashif Qureshi, Yiming Zhang, Howard Mak, Jon M Steichen, William R Schief, Francois Villinger, Darrell J Irvine","doi":"10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.01.008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>mRNA delivered using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) has become an important subunit vaccine modality, but mechanisms of action for mRNA vaccines remain incompletely understood. Here, we synthesized a metal chelator-lipid conjugate enabling positron emission tomography (PET) tracer labeling of LNP/mRNA vaccines for quantitative visualization of vaccine trafficking in live mice and non-human primates (NHPs). Following i.m. injection, we observed LNPs distributing through injected muscle tissue, simultaneous with rapid trafficking to draining lymph nodes (dLNs). Deltoid injection of LNPs mimicking human vaccine administration led to stochastic LNP delivery to 3 different sets of dLNs. LNP uptake in dLNs was confirmed by histology, and cellular analysis of tissues via flow cytometry identified antigen-presenting cells as the primary cell type responsible for early LNP uptake and mRNA translation. These results provide insights into the biodistribution of mRNA vaccines administered at clinically relevant doses, injection volumes, and injection sites in an important large animal model for vaccine development.</p>","PeriodicalId":19020,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Therapy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Molecular Therapy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.01.008","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
mRNA delivered using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) has become an important subunit vaccine modality, but mechanisms of action for mRNA vaccines remain incompletely understood. Here, we synthesized a metal chelator-lipid conjugate enabling positron emission tomography (PET) tracer labeling of LNP/mRNA vaccines for quantitative visualization of vaccine trafficking in live mice and non-human primates (NHPs). Following i.m. injection, we observed LNPs distributing through injected muscle tissue, simultaneous with rapid trafficking to draining lymph nodes (dLNs). Deltoid injection of LNPs mimicking human vaccine administration led to stochastic LNP delivery to 3 different sets of dLNs. LNP uptake in dLNs was confirmed by histology, and cellular analysis of tissues via flow cytometry identified antigen-presenting cells as the primary cell type responsible for early LNP uptake and mRNA translation. These results provide insights into the biodistribution of mRNA vaccines administered at clinically relevant doses, injection volumes, and injection sites in an important large animal model for vaccine development.
期刊介绍:
Molecular Therapy is the leading journal for research in gene transfer, vector development, stem cell manipulation, and therapeutic interventions. It covers a broad spectrum of topics including genetic and acquired disease correction, vaccine development, pre-clinical validation, safety/efficacy studies, and clinical trials. With a focus on advancing genetics, medicine, and biotechnology, Molecular Therapy publishes peer-reviewed research, reviews, and commentaries to showcase the latest advancements in the field. With an impressive impact factor of 12.4 in 2022, it continues to attract top-tier contributions.