As the world continues to battle various infectious diseases, the development of new vaccine technologies remains at the forefront of scientific research. mRNA-based vaccines and the use of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for their delivery have recently shown encouraging results in diseases such as COVID-19.
However, the biggest concern is the wide biodistribution of LNPs in the body, which in some cases can lead to unintended side effects. A recent publication in the journal Molecular therapy Unveils the promise of HDT Bio Corp’s AMPLIFY vaccine platform. which combines a self-replicating RNA (repRNA) with a positive-sense nanocarrier (LION) formulation. Preclinical data showed a more favorable safety profile and increased efficacy of rep RNA vaccine administration using LION technology compared to rep RNA vaccines administered by LNPs.
The study, performed in a mouse model, revealed that intramuscular delivery of repRNA using LION (repRNA/LION) technology induced localized expression of RNA primarily in muscle. In contrast, repRNA delivered by LNPs (repRNA/LNP) showed a wider distribution throughout the body. Localization of RNA expression in muscle demonstrates the potential of LION technology to improve vaccine targeting and delivery.
In addition, research results indicated that repRNA/LNP elicits local and systemic innate immune/inflammatory responses, while repRNA/LION restricts innate immune activity at the local injection site without eliciting a systemic inflammatory response. This important distinction highlights the safety benefits of the LION formulation, as it reduces the risk of spreading inflammation while generating strong immune responses.
Interestingly, despite the lack of systemic interaction, repRNA/LION induced a similar antibody and T cell response to repRNA/LNP. This finding demonstrates that the repRNA vaccine formulated with LION is able to elicit strong immune responses, even without the need for systemic delivery, confirming its safety and efficacy as a vaccine platform.
In a polyvalent vaccine design, repRNA/LION has been shown to be highly effective, eliciting strong neutralizing antibody responses to each antigen. This ability holds great promise for the development of vaccines that simultaneously target multiple pathogens or antigens, thereby improving protection against different diseases.
Dr. Steve Reed, CEO of HDT Bio and co-author of the study, noted that the results demonstrate the transformative potential of the AMPLIFY platform to contribute to global vaccine efforts while overcoming safety issues associated with many LNP-delivered RNA vaccines. The unique properties of the LION delivery system significantly improve the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of RNA vaccines, making AMPLIFY a promising next-generation vaccine technology.
More information:
Taishi Kimura et al, topical nanocarrier formulation enables multi-target immune responses to versatile repeat RNA with limited systemic inflammation, Molecular therapy (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.06.017
Journal information:
Molecular therapy
