siRNA Conjugates Carrying Sequentially Assembled Trivalent N-Acetylgalactosamine Linked Through Nucleosides Elicit Robust Gene Silencing In Vivo in …

S Matsuda, K Keiser, JK Nair, K Charisse… - ACS chemical …, 2015 - ACS Publications
S Matsuda, K Keiser, JK Nair, K Charisse, RM Manoharan, P Kretschmer, CG Peng…
ACS chemical biology, 2015ACS Publications
Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) mediated delivery of triantennary N-
acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugated short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to hepatocytes is
a promising paradigm for RNAi therapeutics. Robust and durable gene silencing upon
subcutaneous administration at therapeutically acceptable dose levels resulted in the
advancement of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotide-based drugs into preclinical and
clinical developments. To systematically evaluate the effect of display and positioning of the …
Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) mediated delivery of triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugated short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to hepatocytes is a promising paradigm for RNAi therapeutics. Robust and durable gene silencing upon subcutaneous administration at therapeutically acceptable dose levels resulted in the advancement of GalNAc-conjugated oligonucleotide-based drugs into preclinical and clinical developments. To systematically evaluate the effect of display and positioning of the GalNAc moiety within the siRNA duplex on ASGPR binding and RNAi activity, nucleotides carrying monovalent GalNAc were designed. Evaluation of clustered and dispersed incorporation of GalNAc units to the sense (S) strand indicated that sugar proximity is critical for ASGPR recognition, and location of the clustered ligand impacts the intrinsic potency of the siRNA. An array of nucleosidic GalNAc monomers resembling a trivalent ligand at or near the 3′ end of the S strand retained in vitro and in vivo siRNA activity, similar to the parent conjugate design. This work demonstrates the utility of simple, nucleotide-based, cost-effective siRNA–GalNAc conjugation strategies.
ACS Publications