Virus‐Mimicking Cell Membrane‐Coated Nanoparticles for Cytosolic Delivery of mRNA

Abstract

Effective endosomal escape after cellular uptake represents a major challenge in the field of nanodelivery, as the majority of drug payloads must localize to subcellular compartments other than the endosomes in order to exert activity. In nature, viruses can readily deliver their genetic material to the cytosol of host cells by triggering membrane fusion after endocytosis. For the influenza A virus, the hemagglutinin (HA) protein found on its surface fuses the viral envelope with the surrounding membrane at endosomal pH values. Biomimetic nanoparticles capable of endosomal escape were fabricated using a membrane coating derived from cells engineered to express HA on their surface. When evaluated in vitro, these virus‐mimicking nanoparticles were able to deliver an mRNA payload to the cytosolic compartment of target cells, resulting in the successful expression of the encoded protein. When the mRNA‐loaded nanoparticles were administered in vivo, protein expression levels were significantly increased in both local and systemic delivery scenarios. We therefore conclude that utilizing genetic engineering approaches to express viral fusion proteins on the surface of cell membrane‐coated nanoparticles is a viable strategy for modulating the intracellular localization of encapsulated cargoes.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Nov 29, 2021
Source ID
10.1002/anie.202113671

Entities

People

  • Animesh Mohapatra
  • Jiarong Zhou
  • Joon Ho Park
  • Liangfang Zhang
  • Maya Holay
  • Nishta Krishnan
  • Ronnie H Fang
  • Weiwei Gao

Organizations

  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biotechnology - Cancer Biotech