Targeting the lower regions of the lung; a novel platform for pulmonary mRNA delivery

Introduction: Current strategies for lung immunotherapies are primarily targeted to the upper portions of the airways(1). Targeted delivery to the lower regions of the lung is necessary for treatment of parenchymal lung injury, however, delivery is challenging, which limits current clinical usage(2). Recently, lipid delivery of mRNA has proven essential in the success of the COVID-19 vaccine(3). But, strict delivery of mRNA to the lung has been less effective. Here, we explore the use of one-component multifunctional sequence-defined ionizable amphiphilic Janus dendrimers (IAJD) to deliver mRNA to the lung.

Nathan Ona – Research Associate, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Jaclynn Meshanni – Postdoc, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Wook-Jin Park – Postdoc, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Dapeng Zhang – Faculty, East China University of Science and Technology; Elena Abramova – Research Associate, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University; Changjiang Guo – Research Associate, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University; Sydni Berkihiser – Research Associate, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Jessica Vasserman – Undergraduate Student, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Ishanna Baboo – Undergraduate Student, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Sepideh Toshtzar – Undergraduate Student, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Nathanael Moore – Undergraduate Student, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Blair Williams – Undergraduate Student, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Andrew Gow – Faculty, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University; Drew Weissman – Faculty, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Elena Atochina-Vasserman – Faculty, Institute for RNA Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine