Oral Delivery of Lipid Nanoparticles with siRNA for the Treatment of Intestinal Diseases

Intestinal diseases affect millions of people worldwide. Recently, a number of proteins have been shown to be upregulated in the intestinal cells of patients that contribute to disease progression. Therefore, these diseases could be amenable to RNA interference technology (RNAi). Utilizing RNAi to deliver short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) to intestinal cells shows promise for the treatment of diseases by specifically suppressing the expression of disease relevant proteins. A class of lipid nanoparticles termed lipidoid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been shown previously to potently deliver siRNA to several cell types in vitro and in vivo. Here, we seek to establish the utility of lipidoid nanoparticles (LNPs) in the context of oral siRNA delivery to intestinal cells for the treatment of intestinal diseases. Initial in vitro studies demonstrated that the siRNA-loaded LNPs mediated potent, dose dependent, and durable gene silencing in Caco-2 intestinal cells without inducing significant cytotoxicity or altering intestinal barrier function. LNP stability studies revealed that LNPs in an aqueous buffer remained stable for long periods of time when stored in the refrigerator (2 °C) compared to the freezer (-20 °C) or at room temperature. In addition, LNPs remained stable upon lyophilization with the addition of trehalose or sucrose to the LNP solution before freeze-drying. To determine potential for oral LNP delivery, we studied LNP stability under gastrointestinal (GI) tract conditions. LNPs remained potent and stable following exposure to solutions of varied pH, including pH values as low as 1.2. However, efficacy decreased following exposure to increasing concentrations of pepsin and bile salts. Mouse oral biodistribution studies indicated that siRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles were retained in the GI tract for at least 8 hours. Confocal microscopy confirmed that nanoparticles entered the epithelial cells of the mouse small intestine and colon. Oral LNP therapeutic efficacy was measured in an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mouse model by targeting the upregulated genes myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and Interleukin 18 receptor (IL18R) and were found to prevent some IBD disease progression. Lastly, a formulation for the co-delivery of siRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) was developed and it was discovered that a negatively charged polymer can be used to improve LNP efficacy. Together, these studies have advanced our knowledge of lipid nanoparticle stability, and potential as an orally delivered intestinal therapeutic.