HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS VACCINE

BACKGROUND

Herpes simplex viruses (HSV) are double-stranded linear DNA viruses in the Herpesviridae family. Two members of the herpes simplex virus family infect humans—known as HSV-1 and HSV-2. Symptoms of HSV infection include the formation of blisters in the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, lips, and/or genitals. HSV is a neuroinvasive virus that can cause sporadic recurring episodes of viral reactivation in infected individuals. HSV is transmitted by contact with an infected area of the skin during a period of viral activation.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) vaccination is one technique used to stimulate humoral and cellular immune responses to foreign antigens, such as HSV antigens. The direct injection of genetically engineered DNA (e.g., naked plasmid DNA) into a living host results in a small number of its cells directly producing an antigen, resulting in a protective immunological response. With this technique, however, come potential problems, including the possibility of insertional mutagenesis, which could lead to the activation of oncogenes or the inhibition of tumor suppressor genes.

SUMMARY

Provided herein are ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccines that build on the knowledge that modified RNA (e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA)) can safely direct the body's cellular machinery to produce nearly any protein of interest, from native proteins to antibodies and other entirely novel protein constructs that can have therapeutic activity inside and outside of cells. The RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure may be used to induce a balanced immune response against herpes simplex virus (HSV), comprising both cellular and humoral immunity, without risking the possibility of insertional mutagenesis, for example.

The RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be utilized in various settings depending on the prevalence of the infection or the degree or level of unmet medical need. The RNA vaccines may be utilized to treat and/or prevent a HSV of various genotypes, strains, and isolates. The RNA vaccines have superior properties in that they produce much larger antibody titers and produce responses earlier than commercially available anti-viral therapeutic treatments. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the RNA vaccines, as mRNA polynucleotides, are better designed to produce the appropriate protein conformation upon translation as the RNA vaccines co-opt natural cellular machinery. Unlike traditional vaccines which are manufactured ex vivo and may trigger unwanted cellular responses, the RNA vaccines are presented to the cellular system in a more native fashion.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccines that include at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide (including immunogenic fragments thereof, e.g., immunogenic fragments capable of inducing an immune response to HSV).

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccines that include (i) at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide (including immunogenic fragments thereof, e.g., immunogenic fragments capable of inducing an immune response to HSV) and (ii) a pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier.

In some embodiments, at least one antigenic polypeptide is HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein E, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein I. In some embodiments, at least one antigenic polypeptide has at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity to HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein E, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein I or HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) ICP4 protein.

In some embodiments, at least one antigen polypeptide is a non-glycogenic polypeptide, for example, but not limited to, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) ICP4 protein, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) ICP0 protein.

In some embodiments, at least one antigenic polypeptide has at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity to HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein E, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein I or HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) ICP4 protein.

In some embodiments, at least one antigenic polypeptide is HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C, HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D, a combination of HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C and HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D.

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine includes at least one RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D, formulated with aluminum hydroxide and a 3-O-deacylated form of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL). In some embodiments, the HSV vaccine is formulated for intramuscular injection.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 90% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 95% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 96% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 97% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 98% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having greater than 99% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having 95-99% identity to an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and having membrane fusion activity.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and is codon optimized mRNA.

In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and has less than 80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and has less than 75%, 85% or 95% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and has 50-80%, 60-80%, 40-80%, 30-80%, 70-80%, 75-80% or 78-80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and has 40-85%, 50-85%, 60-85%, 30-85%, 70-85%, 75-85%, or 80-85% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-67 (e.g., in Table 2 or 3) and has 40-90%, 50-90%, 60-90%, 30-90%, 70-90%, 75-90%, 80-90%, or 85-90% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 90% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 95% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 96% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 97% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 98% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having greater than 99% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3). In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having 95-99% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3).

In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3) and has less than 80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3) and has less than 75%, 85% or 95% identity to a wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3) and has less than 50-80%, 60-80%, 40-80%, 30-80%, 70-80%, 75-80% or 78-80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3) and has less than 40-85%, 50-85%, 60-85%, 30-85%, 70-85%, 75-85%, or 80-85% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide is encoded by a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., in Table 1 or 3) and has less than 40-90%, 50-90%, 60-90%, 30-90%, 70-90%, 75-90%, 80-90%, or 85-90% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 90% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 95% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 96% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 97% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 98% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having greater than 99% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having 95-99% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124.

In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 and has less than 80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 and has less than 75%, 85% or 95% identity to a wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 and has less than 50-80%, 60-80%, 40-80%, 30-80%, 70-80%, 75-80% or 78-80% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 and has less than 40-85%, 50-85%, 60-85%, 30-85%, 70-85%, 75-85%, or 80-85% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence. In some embodiments, at least one mRNA polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid having a sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 and has less than 40-90%, 50-90%, 60-90%, 30-90%, 70-90%, 75-90%, 80-90%, or 85-90% identity to wild-type mRNA sequence.

Table 3 provides National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) accession numbers of interest. It should be understood that the phrase “an amino acid sequence of Table 3” refers to an amino acid sequence identified by one or more NCBI accession numbers listed in Table 3. Each of the nucleic acid sequences, amino acid sequences, and variants having greater than 95% identity to each of the nucleic acid sequences and amino acid sequences encompassed by the Accession Numbers of Table 3 are included within the constructs of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide that attaches to cell receptors.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide that causes fusion of viral and cellular membranes.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic polypeptide that is responsible for binding of the HSV to a cell being infected.

In some embodiments, the vaccines further comprise an adjuvant.

In some embodiments, the HSV vaccine includes at least one RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide having at least one modification.

In some embodiments, a 5′ terminal cap is 7mG(5′)ppp(5′)NlmpNp.

In some embodiments, at least one chemical modification is selected from the group consisting of pseudouridine, N1-methylpseudouridine, N1-ethylpseudouridine, 2-thiouridine, 4′-thiouridine, 5-methylcytosine, 2-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine, 2-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 2-thio-5-aza-uridine, 2-thio-dihydropseudouridine, 2-thio-dihydrouridine, 2-thio-pseudouridine, 4-methoxy-2-thio-pseudouridine, 4-methoxy-pseudouridine, 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 4-thio-pseudouridine, 5-aza-uridine, dihydropseudouridine, 5-methoxyuridine, and 2′-O-methyl uridine.

In some embodiments, a lipid nanoparticle comprises a cationic lipid, a PEG-modified lipid, a sterol, and a non-cationic lipid. In some embodiments, a cationic lipid is an ionizable cationic lipid and the non-cationic lipid is a neutral lipid, and the sterol is a cholesterol. In some embodiments, a cationic lipid is selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, (12Z,15Z)—N,N-dimethyl-2-nonylhenicosa-12,15-dien-1-amine, and N,N-dimethyl-1-[(1S,2R)-2-octylcyclopropyl]heptadecan-8-amine.

In some embodiments, the cationic lipid is

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In some embodiments, the cationic lipid is

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In some embodiments, the cationic lipid is selected from compounds of Formula (I):

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In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which when R₄is —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, or —CQ(R)₂, then (i) Q is not —N(R)₂when n is 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, or (ii) Q is not 5, 6, or 7-membered heterocycloalkyl when n is 1 or 2.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_1-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of a C_3-6carbocycle, —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, —CQ(R)₂, and unsubstituted C_1-6alkyl, where Q is selected from a C_3-6carbocycle, a 5- to 14-membered heteroaryl having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, —OR, —O(CH₂)_nN(R)₂, —C(O)OR, —OC(O)R, —CX₃, —CX₂H, —CXH₂, —CN, —C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(S)N(R)₂, —CRN(R)₂C(O)OR, —N(R)R₈, —O(CH₂)_nOR, —N(R)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)R, —N(OR)S(O)₂R, —N(OR)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)R, —C(O)N(R)OR, and a 5- to 14-membered heterocycloalkyl having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S which is substituted with one or more substituents selected from oxo (═O), OH, amino, mono- or di-alkylamino, and C_1-3alkyl, and each n is independently selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

R₈is selected from the group consisting of C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

R₉is selected from the group consisting of H, CN, NO₂, C_1-6alkyl, —OR, —S(O)₂R, —S(O)₂N(R)₂, C_2-6alkenyl, C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_2-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,

or salts or isomers thereof.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_1-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of a C_3-6carbocycle, —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, —CQ(R)₂, and unsubstituted C_1-6alkyl, where Q is selected from a C_3-6carbocycle, a 5- to 14-membered heterocycle having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, —OR, —O(CH₂)_nN(R)₂, —C(O)OR, —OC(O)R, —CX₃, —CX₂H, —CXH₂, —CN, —C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(S)N(R)₂, —CRN(R)₂C(O)OR, —N(R)R₈, —O(CH₂)_nOR, —N(R)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)R, —N(OR)S(O)₂R, —N(OR)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)R, —C(O)N(R)OR, and —C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, and each n is independently selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; and when Q is a 5- to 14-membered heterocycle and (i) R₄is —(CH₂)_nQ in which n is 1 or 2, or (ii) R₄is —(CH₂)_nCHQR in which n is 1, or (iii) R₄is —CHQR, and —CQ(R)₂, then Q is either a 5- to 14-membered heteroaryl or 8- to 14-membered heterocycloalkyl;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

R₈is selected from the group consisting of C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

R₉is selected from the group consisting of H, CN, NO₂, C_1-6alkyl, —OR, —S(O)₂R, —S(O)₂N(R)₂, C_2-6alkenyl, C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_2-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,

or salts or isomers thereof.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_1-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of a C_3-6carbocycle, —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, —CQ(R)₂, and unsubstituted C_1-6alkyl, where Q is selected from a C_3-6carbocycle, a 5- to 14-membered heteroaryl having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, —OR, —O(CH₂)_nN(R)₂, —C(O)OR, —OC(O)R, —CX₃, —CX₂H, —CXH₂, —CN, —C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(S)N(R)₂, —CRN(R)₂C(O)OR, —N(R)R₈, —O(CH₂)_nOR, —N(R)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)R, —N(OR)S(O)₂R, —N(OR)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)R, —C(O)N(R)OR, and —C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, and each n is independently selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

R₈is selected from the group consisting of C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

R₉is selected from the group consisting of H, CN, NO₂, C_1-6alkyl, —OR, —S(O)₂R, —S(O)₂N(R)₂, C_2-6alkenyl, C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_2-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,

or salts or isomers thereof.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_2-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is —(CH₂)_nQ or —(CH₂)_nCHQR, where Q is —N(R)₂, and n is selected from 3, 4, and 5;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_1-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,

or salts or isomers thereof.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, and —CQ(R)₂, where Q is —N(R)₂, and n is selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_1-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13,

or salts or isomers thereof.

In some embodiments, a subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those of Formula (IA):

embedded image

or a salt or isomer thereof, wherein 1 is selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; M₁is a bond or M′; R₄is unsubstituted C_1-3alkyl, or —(CH₂)_nQ, in which Q is OH, —NHC(S)N(R)₂, —NHC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)R₈, —NHC(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —NHC(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, heteroaryl or heterocycloalkyl; M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group; and R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_1-14alkyl, and C_2-14alkenyl.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine that includes at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide, wherein at least 80% of the uracil in the open reading frame have a chemical modification, optionally wherein the HSV vaccine is formulated in a lipid nanoparticle.

In some embodiments, 100% of the uracil in the open reading frame have a chemical modification. In some embodiments, a chemical modification is in the 5-position of the uracil. In some embodiments, a chemical modification is a N1-methyl pseudouridine. In some embodiments, 100% of the uracil in the open reading frame have a N1-methyl pseudouridine in the 5-position of the uracil.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods of inducing an antigen specific immune response in a subject, comprising administering to the subject a HSV vaccine in an amount effective to produce an antigen specific immune response.

In some embodiments, an antigen specific immune response comprises a T cell response or a B cell response.

In some embodiments, a method of producing an antigen specific immune response involves a single administration of the HSV vaccine. In some embodiments, a method further includes administering to the subject a booster dose of the HSV vaccine. A booster vaccine according to this invention may comprise any HSV vaccine disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine is administered to the subject by intradermal or intramuscular injection.

Also provided herein are HSV vaccines for use in a method of inducing an antigen specific immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering the HSV vaccine to the subject in an amount effective to produce an antigen specific immune response in the subject.

Further provided herein are uses of HSV vaccines in the manufacture of a medicament for use in a method of inducing an antigen specific immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering the HSV vaccine to the subject in an amount effective to produce an antigen specific immune response.

In some embodiments, an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased by at least 1 log relative to a control. In some embodiments, the anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased by 1-3 log relative to a control.

In some embodiments, the anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased at least 2 times relative to a control. In some embodiments, the anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased at least 5 times relative to a control. In some embodiments, the anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased at least 10 times relative to a control. In some embodiments, the anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased 2-10 times relative to a control.

In some embodiments, the control is an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a subject who has not been administered HSV vaccine. In some embodiments, the control is an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a subject who has been administered a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine. In some embodiments, the control is an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a subject who has been administered a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine. In some embodiments, the control is an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a subject who has been administered an HSV virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to at least a 2-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to at least a 4-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to at least a 10-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to at least a 100-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to at least a 1000-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose equivalent to a 2-fold to 1000-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a total dose of 25 μg to 1000 μg, or 50 μg to 1000 μg, or 25 to 200 μg. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a total dose of 100 μg. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 25 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 100 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 400 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 500 μg administered to the subject a total of two times.

Other aspects of the present disclosure provide methods of inducing an antigen specific immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering to a subject the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine described herein in an effective amount to produce an antigen specific immune response in a subject.

In some embodiments, an antigen specific immune response comprises (an increase in) antigenic polypeptide antibody production. In some embodiments, an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased by at least 1 log relative to a control. In some embodiments, an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is increased by 1 log to 3 log relative to a control.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) equivalent to at least a 2-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) equivalent to at least a 4-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) equivalent to at least a 10-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, and wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) administered to a subject equivalent to at least a 100-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) equivalent to at least a 1000-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, and wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) equivalent to a 2-fold to 1000-fold reduction in the standard of care dose of a recombinant HSV protein vaccine, and wherein an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in the subject is equivalent to an anti-HSV antigenic polypeptide antibody titer produced in a control subject administered the standard of care dose of a recombinant or purified HSV protein vaccine, a live attenuated or inactivated HSV vaccine, or a HSV VLP vaccine.

In some embodiments, the effective amount administered to a subject is a total dose (of HSV RNA, e.g., mRNA, vaccine) of 50 μg to 1000 μg. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a total dose of 50 μg, 100 μg, 200 μg, 400 μg, 800 μg, or 1000 μg. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 25 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 50 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 100 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 200 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 400 μg administered to the subject a total of two times. In some embodiments, the effective amount is a dose of 500 μg administered to the subject a total of two times.

In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine against HSV is greater than 60%.

Vaccine efficacy may be assessed using standard analyses (see, e.g., Weinberg et al., J Infect Dis. 2010 Jun. 1; 201(11):1607-10). For example, vaccine efficacy may be measured by double-blind, randomized, clinical controlled trials. Vaccine efficacy may be expressed as a proportionate reduction in disease attack rate (AR) between the unvaccinated (ARU) and vaccinated (ARV) study cohorts and can be calculated from the relative risk (RR) of disease among the vaccinated group with use of the following formulas:

Efficacy=(ARU−ARV)/ARU×100; and

Efficacy=(1−RR)×100.

Likewise, vaccine effectiveness may be assessed using standard analyses (see, e.g., Weinberg et al., J Infect Dis. 2010 Jun. 1; 201(11):1607-10). Vaccine effectiveness is an assessment of how a vaccine (which may have already proven to have high vaccine efficacy) reduces disease in a population. This measure can assess the net balance of benefits and adverse effects of a vaccination program, not just the vaccine itself, under natural field conditions rather than in a controlled clinical trial. Vaccine effectiveness is proportional to vaccine efficacy (potency) but is also affected by how well target groups in the population are immunized, as well as by other non-vaccine-related factors that influence the ‘real-world’ outcomes of hospitalizations, ambulatory visits, or costs. For example, a retrospective case control analysis may be used, in which the rates of vaccination among a set of infected cases and appropriate controls are compared. Vaccine effectiveness may be expressed as a rate difference, with use of the odds ratio (OR) for developing infection despite vaccination:

Effectiveness=(1−OR)×100.

In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine against HSV is greater than 65%. In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the vaccine against HSV is greater than 70%. In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the vaccine against HSV is greater than 75%. In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the vaccine against HSV is greater than 80%. In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the vaccine against HSV is greater than 85%. In some embodiments, the efficacy (or effectiveness) of the vaccine against HSV is greater than 90%.

In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV up to 1 year (e.g. for a single HSV season). In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV for up to 2 years. In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV for more than 2 years. In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV for more than 3 years. In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV for more than 4 years. In some embodiments, the vaccine immunizes the subject against HSV for 5-10 years.

In some embodiments, the subject has been exposed to HSV, is infected with (has) HSV, or is at risk of infection by HSV.

In some embodiments, the subject is immunocompromised (has an impaired immune system, e.g., has an immune disorder or autoimmune disorder).

In some embodiments, the subject is a subject about 10 years old, about 20 years old, or older (e.g., about 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 years old).

In some embodiments, the subject is an adult between the ages of about 20 years and about 50 years (e.g., about 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 or 50 years old).

Some aspects of the present disclosure provide herpes simplex virus (HSV) RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines containing a signal peptide linked to a HSV antigenic polypeptide. Thus, in some embodiments, the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines contain at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding a signal peptide linked to a HSV antigenic peptide. Also provided herein are nucleic acids encoding the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the signal peptide is a IgE signal peptide. In some embodiments, the signal peptide is an IgE HC (Ig heavy chain epsilon-1) signal peptide. In some embodiments, the signal peptide has the sequence MDWTWILFLVAAATRVHS (SEQ ID NO: 78). In some embodiments, the signal peptide is an IgGK signal peptide. In some embodiments, the signal peptide has the sequence METPAQLLFLLLLWLPDTTG (SEQ ID NO: 79). In some embodiments, the signal peptide is selected from: a Japanese encephalitis PRM signal sequence (MLGSNSGQRVVFTILLLLVAPAYS; SEQ ID NO: 80), VSVg protein signal sequence (MKCLLYLAFLFIGVNCA; SEQ ID NO: 81), and Japanese encephalitis JEV signal sequence (MWLVSLAIVTACAGA; SEQ ID NO: 82).

In some embodiments, an effective amount of an HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine (e.g., a single dose of the HSV vaccine) results in a 2-fold to 200-fold (e.g., about 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-, 70-, 80-, 90-, 100-, 110-, 120-, 130-, 140-, 150-, 160-, 170-, 180-, 190- or 200-fold) increase in serum neutralizing antibodies against HSV, relative to a control. In some embodiments, a single dose of the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine results in an about 5-fold, 50-fold, or 150-fold increase in serum neutralizing antibodies against HSV, relative to a control. In some embodiments, a single dose of the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine results in an about 2-fold to 10 fold, or an about 40 to 60 fold increase in serum neutralizing antibodies against HSV, relative to a control.

In some embodiments, the serum neutralizing antibodies are against HSV A and/or HSV B.

In some embodiments, the HSV vaccine is formulated in a MC3 lipid nanoparticle or a L-608 lipid nanoparticle.

In some embodiments, the methods further comprise administering a booster dose of the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine. In some embodiments, the methods further comprise administering a second booster dose of the HSV vaccine.

In some embodiments, efficacy of RNA vaccines RNA (e.g., mRNA) can be significantly enhanced when combined with a flagellin adjuvant, in particular, when one or more antigen-encoding mRNAs is combined with an mRNA encoding flagellin.

RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines combined with the flagellin adjuvant (e.g., mRNA-encoded flagellin adjuvant) have superior properties in that they may produce much larger antibody titers and produce responses earlier than commercially available vaccine formulations. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the RNA vaccines, for example, as mRNA polynucleotides, are better designed to produce the appropriate protein conformation upon translation, for both the antigen and the adjuvant, as the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines co-opt natural cellular machinery. Unlike traditional vaccines, which are manufactured ex vivo and may trigger unwanted cellular responses, RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines are presented to the cellular system in a more native fashion.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines that include at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one antigenic polypeptide (including immunogenic fragments thereof, e.g., immunogenic fragments capable of inducing an immune response to HSV) and at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA polynucleotide) having an open reading frame encoding a flagellin adjuvant.

In some embodiments, at least one flagellin polypeptide (e.g., encoded flagellin polypeptide) is a flagellin protein. In some embodiments, at least one flagellin polypeptide (e.g., encoded flagellin polypeptide) is an immunogenic flagellin fragment. In some embodiments, at least one flagellin polypeptide and at least one antigenic polypeptide are encoded by a single RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide. In other embodiments, at least one flagellin polypeptide and at least one antigenic polypeptide are each encoded by a different RNA polynucleotide.

In some embodiments, at least one flagellin polypeptide has at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, or at least 95% identity to a flagellin polypeptide having a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 89, 125, or 126.

In some embodiments the nucleic acid vaccines described herein are chemically modified. In other embodiments the nucleic acid vaccines are unmodified.

Yet other aspects provide compositions for and methods of vaccinating a subject comprising administering to the subject a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first virus antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide does not include a stabilization element, and wherein an adjuvant is not coformulated or co-administered with the vaccine.

In other aspects the invention is a composition for or method of vaccinating a subject comprising administering to the subject a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide wherein a dosage of between 10 μg/kg and 400 μg/kg of the nucleic acid vaccine is administered to the subject. In some embodiments the dosage of the RNA polynucleotide is 1-5 μg, 5-10 μg, 10-15 μg, 15-20 μg, 10-25 μg, 20-25 μg, 20-50 μg, 30-50 μg, 40-50 μg, 40-60 μg, 60-80 μg, 60-100 μg, 50-100 μg, 80-120 μg, 40-120 μg, 40-150 μg, 50-150 μg, 50-200 μg, 80-200 μg, 100-200 μg, 120-250 μg, 150-250 μg, 180-280 μg, 200-300 μg, 50-300 μg, 80-300 μg, 100-300 μg, 40-300 μg, 50-350 μg, 100-350 μg, 200-350 μg, 300-350 μg, 320-400 μg, 40-380 μg, 40-100 μg, 100-400 μg, 200-400 μg, or 300-400 μg per dose. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid vaccine is administered to the subject by intradermal or intramuscular injection. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid vaccine is administered to the subject on day zero. In some embodiments, a second dose of the nucleic acid vaccine is administered to the subject on day twenty one.

In some embodiments, a dosage of 25 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 100 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 50 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 75 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 150 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 400 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, a dosage of 200 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide is included in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the RNA polynucleotide accumulates at a 100 fold higher level in the local lymph node in comparison with the distal lymph node. In other embodiments the nucleic acid vaccine is chemically modified and in other embodiments the nucleic acid vaccine is not chemically modified.

Aspects of the invention provide a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide does not include a stabilization element, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, wherein an adjuvant is not included in the vaccine. In some embodiments, the stabilization element is a histone stem-loop. In some embodiments, the stabilization element is a nucleic acid sequence having increased GC content relative to wild type sequence.

Aspects of the invention provide nucleic acid vaccines comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide is present in the formulation for in vivo administration to a host, which confers an antibody titer superior to the criterion for seroprotection for the first antigen for an acceptable percentage of human subjects. In some embodiments, the antibody titer produced by the mRNA vaccines of the invention is a neutralizing antibody titer. In some embodiments the neutralizing antibody titer is greater than a protein vaccine. In other embodiments the neutralizing antibody titer produced by the mRNA vaccines of the invention is greater than an adjuvanted protein vaccine. In yet other embodiments the neutralizing antibody titer produced by the mRNA vaccines of the invention is 1,000-10,000, 1,200-10,000, 1,400-10,000, 1,500-10,000, 1,000-5,000, 1,000-4,000, 1,800-10,000, 2000-10,000, 2,000-5,000, 2,000-3,000, 2,000-4,000, 3,000-5,000, 3,000-4,000, or 2,000-2,500. A neutralization titer is typically expressed as the highest serum dilution required to achieve a 50% reduction in the number of plaques.

Also provided are nucleic acid vaccines comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide is present in a formulation for in vivo administration to a host for eliciting a longer lasting high antibody titer than an antibody titer elicited by an mRNA vaccine having a stabilizing element or formulated with an adjuvant and encoding the first antigenic polypeptide. In some embodiments, the RNA polynucleotide is formulated to produce a neutralizing antibodies within one week of a single administration. In some embodiments, the adjuvant is selected from a cationic peptide and an immunostimulatory nucleic acid. In some embodiments, the cationic peptide is protamine.

Aspects provide nucleic acid vaccines comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame comprising at least one chemical modification or optionally no chemical modification, the open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide is present in the formulation for in vivo administration to a host such that the level of antigen expression in the host significantly exceeds a level of antigen expression produced by an mRNA vaccine having a stabilizing element or formulated with an adjuvant and encoding the first antigenic polypeptide.

Other aspects provide nucleic acid vaccines comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame comprising at least one chemical modification or optionally no chemical modification, the open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the vaccine has at least 10 fold less RNA polynucleotide than is required for an unmodified mRNA vaccine to produce an equivalent antibody titer. In some embodiments, the RNA polynucleotide is present in a dosage of 25-100 micrograms.

Aspects of the invention also provide a unit of use vaccine, comprising between 10 ug and 400 ug of one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame comprising at least one chemical modification or optionally no chemical modification, the open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient, formulated for delivery to a human subject. In some embodiments, the vaccine further comprises a cationic lipid nanoparticle.

Aspects of the invention provide methods of creating, maintaining or restoring antigenic memory to a virus strain in an individual or population of individuals comprising administering to said individual or population an antigenic memory booster nucleic acid vaccine comprising (a) at least one RNA polynucleotide, said polynucleotide comprising at least one chemical modification or optionally no chemical modification and two or more codon-optimized open reading frames, said open reading frames encoding a set of reference antigenic polypeptides, and (b) optionally a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. In some embodiments, the vaccine is administered to the individual via a route selected from the group consisting of intramuscular administration, intradermal administration and subcutaneous administration. In some embodiments, the administering step comprises contacting a muscle tissue of the subject with a device suitable for injection of the composition. In some embodiments, the administering step comprises contacting a muscle tissue of the subject with a device suitable for injection of the composition in combination with electroporation.

Aspects of the invention provide methods of vaccinating a subject comprising administering to the subject a single dosage of between 25 ug/kg and 400 ug/kg of a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide in an effective amount to vaccinate the subject.

Other aspects provide nucleic acid vaccines comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame comprising at least one chemical modification, the open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the vaccine has at least 10 fold less RNA polynucleotide than is required for an unmodified mRNA vaccine to produce an equivalent antibody titer. In some embodiments, the RNA polynucleotide is present in a dosage of 25-100 micrograms.

Other aspects provide nucleic acid vaccines comprising an LNP formulated RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame comprising no modified nucleotides (unmodified), the open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the vaccine has at least 10 fold less RNA polynucleotide than is required for an unmodified mRNA vaccine not formulated in a LNP to produce an equivalent antibody titer. In some embodiments, the RNA polynucleotide is present in a dosage of 25-100 micrograms.

The data presented in the Examples demonstrate significant enhanced immune responses using the formulations of the invention. Both chemically modified and unmodified RNA vaccines are useful in the invention. Surprisingly, in contrast to prior art reports that it was preferable to use chemically unmodified mRNA formulated in a carrier for the production of vaccines, it is described herein that chemically modified mRNA-LNP vaccines required a much lower effective mRNA dose than unmodified mRNA, i.e., tenfold less than unmodified mRNA when formulated in carriers other than LNP. Both the chemically modified and unmodified RNA vaccines of the invention produce better immune responses than mRNA vaccines formulated in a different lipid carrier.

In other aspects the invention encompasses a method of treating an elderly subject age 60 years or older comprising administering to the subject a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding an virus antigenic polypeptide in an effective amount to vaccinate the subject.

In other aspects the invention encompasses a method of treating a young subject age 17 years or younger comprising administering to the subject a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding an virus antigenic polypeptide in an effective amount to vaccinate the subject.

In other aspects the invention encompasses a method of treating an adult subject comprising administering to the subject a nucleic acid vaccine comprising one or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame encoding a virus antigenic polypeptide in an effective amount to vaccinate the subject.

In some aspects the invention is a method of vaccinating a subject with a combination vaccine including at least two nucleic acid sequences encoding antigens wherein the dosage for the vaccine is a combined therapeutic dosage wherein the dosage of each individual nucleic acid encoding an antigen is a sub therapeutic dosage. In some embodiments, the combined dosage is 25 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the combined dosage is 100 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments the combined dosage is 50 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the combined dosage is 75 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the combined dosage is 150 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the combined dosage is 400 micrograms of the RNA polynucleotide in the nucleic acid vaccine administered to the subject. In some embodiments, the sub therapeutic dosage of each individual nucleic acid encoding an antigen is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 micrograms. In other embodiments the nucleic acid vaccine is chemically modified and in other embodiments the nucleic acid vaccine is not chemically modified.

The RNA polynucleotide is one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23, 54-64, and 90-124 and includes at least one chemical modification. In other embodiments the RNA polynucleotide is one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23, 54-64, and 90-124 and does not include any nucleotide modifications, or is unmodified. In yet other embodiments the at least one RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic protein of any of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 and 66-67 and includes at least one chemical modification. In other embodiments the RNA polynucleotide encodes an antigenic protein of any of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 and 66-67 and does not include any nucleotide modifications, or is unmodified.

In preferred aspects, vaccines of the invention (e.g., LNP-encapsulated mRNA vaccines) produce prophylactically- and/or therapeutically-efficacious levels, concentrations and/or titers of antigen-specific antibodies in the blood or serum of a vaccinated subject. As defined herein, the term antibody titer refers to the amount of antigen-specific antibody produces in s subject, e.g., a human subject. In exemplary embodiments, antibody titer is expressed as the inverse of the greatest dilution (in a serial dilution) that still gives a positive result. In exemplary embodiments, antibody titer is determined or measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In exemplary embodiments, antibody titer is determined or measured by neutralization assay, e.g., by microneutralization assay. In certain aspects, antibody titer measurement is expressed as a ratio, such as 1:40, 1:100, etc.

In exemplary embodiments of the invention, an efficacious vaccine produces an antibody titer of greater than 1:40, greater that 1:100, greater than 1:400, greater than 1:1000, greater than 1:2000, greater than 1:3000, greater than 1:4000, greater than 1:500, greater than 1:6000, greater than 1:7500, greater than 1:10000. In exemplary embodiments, the antibody titer is produced or reached by 10 days following vaccination, by 20 days following vaccination, by 30 days following vaccination, by 40 days following vaccination, or by 50 or more days following vaccination. In exemplary embodiments, the titer is produced or reached following a single dose of vaccine administered to the subject. In other embodiments, the titer is produced or reached following multiple doses, e.g., following a first and a second dose (e.g., a booster dose).

In exemplary aspects of the invention, antigen-specific antibodies are measured in units of μg/ml or are measured in units of IU/L (International Units per liter) or mIU/ml (milli International Units per ml). In exemplary embodiments of the invention, an efficacious vaccine produces >0.5 μg/ml, >0.1 μg/ml, >0.2 μg/ml, >0.35 μg/ml, >0.5 μg/ml, >1 μg/ml, >2 μg/ml, >5 μg/ml or >10 μg/ml. In exemplary embodiments of the invention, an efficacious vaccine produces >10 mIU/ml, >20 mIU/ml, >50 mIU/ml, >100 mIU/ml, >200 mIU/ml, >500 mIU/ml or >1000 mIU/ml. In exemplary embodiments, the antibody level or concentration is produced or reached by 10 days following vaccination, by 20 days following vaccination, by 30 days following vaccination, by 40 days following vaccination, or by 50 or more days following vaccination. In exemplary embodiments, the level or concentration is produced or reached following a single dose of vaccine administered to the subject. In other embodiments, the level or concentration is produced or reached following multiple doses, e.g., following a first and a second dose (e.g., a booster dose.) In exemplary embodiments, antibody level or concentration is determined or measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In exemplary embodiments, antibody level or concentration is determined or measured by neutralization assay, e.g., by microneutralization assay.

The details of various embodiments of the invention are set forth in the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and the drawings, and from the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines that include polynucleotide encoding a herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigen. HSV is a double-stranded, linear DNA virus in the Herpesviridae. Two members of the herpes simplex virus family infect humans—known as HSV-1 and HSV-2. Symptoms of HSV infection include the formation of blisters in the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, lips and/or genitals. HSV is a neuroinvasive virus that can cause sporadic recurring episodes of viral reactivation in infected individuals. HSV is transmitted by contact with an infected area of the skin during a period of viral activation. HSV most commonly infects via the oral or genital mucosa and replicates in the stratified squamous epithelium, followed by uptake into ramifying unmyelinated sensory nerve fibers within the stratified squamous epithelium. The virus is then transported to the cell body of the neuron in the dorsal root ganglion, where it persists in a latent cellular infection (Cunningham A L et al. J Infect Dis. (2006) 194 (Supplement 1): S11-S18).

The genome of Herpes Simplex Viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) contains about 85 open reading frames, such that HSV can generate at least 85 unique proteins. These genes encode 4 major classes of proteins: (1) those associated with the outermost external lipid bilayer of HSV (the envelope), (2) the internal protein coat (the capsid), (3) an intermediate complex connecting the envelope with the capsid coat (the tegument), and (4) proteins responsible for replication and infection.

Examples of envelope proteins include UL1 (gL), UL10 (gM), UL20, UL22, UL27 (gB), UL43, UL44 (gC), UL45, UL49A, UL53 (gK), US4 (gG), US5 (gJ), US6 (gD), US7 (gI), US8 (gE), and US10. Examples of capsid proteins include UL6, UL18, UL19, UL35, and UL38. Tegument proteins include UL11, UL13, UL21, UL36, UL37, UL41, UL45, UL46, UL47, UL48, UL49, US9, and US10. Other HSV proteins include UL2, UL3, UL4, UL5, UL7, UL8, UL9, UL12, UL14, UL15, UL16, UL17, UL23, UL24, UL25, UL26, UL26.5, UL28, UL29, UL30, UL31, UL32, UL33, UL34, UL39, UL40, UL42, UL50, UL51, UL52, UL54, UL55, UL56, US1, US2, US3, US81, US11, US12, ICP0, and ICP4.

Since the envelope (most external portion of an HSV particle) is the first to encounter target cells, the present disclosure encompasses antigenic polypeptides associated with the envelope as immunogenic agents. In brief, surface and membrane proteins—glycoprotein D (gD), glycoprotein B (gB), glycoprotein H (gH), glycoprotein L (gL)—as single antigens or in combination with or without adjuvants may be used as HSV vaccine antigens.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D and glycoprotein C.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D and glycoprotein E (or glycoprotein I).

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B and glycoprotein C.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B and glycoprotein E (or glycoprotein I).

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding a HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) antigenic polypeptide having at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity with HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D and has HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein D activity.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding a HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) antigenic polypeptide having at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity with HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C and has HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein C activity.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding a HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) antigenic polypeptide having at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity with HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B and has HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein B activity.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding a HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) antigenic polypeptide having at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98% or at least 99% identity with HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein E and has HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein E activity.

In some embodiments, HSV vaccines comprise RNA (e.g., mRNA) encoding a HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) antigenic polypeptide having at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity with HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein I and has HSV (HSV-1 or HSV-2) glycoprotein I activity.

Glycoprotein “activity” of the present disclosure is described below.

Glycoprotein C (gC) is a glycoprotein involved in viral attachment to host cells; e.g., it acts as an attachment protein that mediates binding of the HSV-2 virus to host adhesion receptors, namely cell surface heparan sulfate and/or chondroitin sulfate. gC plays a role in host immune evasion (aka viral immunoevasion) by inhibiting the host complement cascade activation. In particular, gC binds to and/or interacts with host complement component C3b; this interaction then inhibits the host immune response by disregulating the complement cascade (e.g., binds host complement C3b to block neutralization of virus).

Glycoprotein D (gD) is an envelope glycoprotein that binds to cell surface receptors and/or is involved in cell attachment via poliovirus receptor-related protein and/or herpesvirus entry mediator, facilitating virus entry. gD binds to the potential host cell entry receptors (tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 14(TNFRSF14)/herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM), poliovirus receptor-related protein 1 (PVRL1) and or poliovirus receptor-related protein 2 (PVRL2), and is proposed to trigger fusion with host membrane by recruiting the fusion machinery composed of, for example, gB and gH/gL. gD interacts with host cell receptors TNFRSF14 and/or PVRL1 and/or PVRL2 and (1) interacts (via profusion domain) with gB; an interaction which can occur in the absence of related HSV glycoproteins, e.g., gH and/or gL; and (2) gD interacts (via profusion domain) with gH/gL heterodimer, an interaction which can occur in the absence of gB. As such, gD associates with the gB-gH/gL-gD complex. gD also interacts (via C-terminus) with UL11 tegument protein.

Glycoprotein B (gB) is a viral glycoprotein involved in the viral cell activity of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and is required for the fusion of the HSV's envelope with the cellular membrane. It is the most highly conserved of all surface glycoproteins and primarily acts as a fusion protein, constituting the core fusion machinery. gB, a class III membrane fusion glycoprotein, is a type-1 transmembrane protein trimer of five structural domains. Domain I includes two internal fusion loops and is thought to insert into the cellular membrane during virus-cell fusion. Domain II appears to interact with gH/gL during the fusion process, domain III contains an elongated alpha helix, and domain IV interacts with cellular receptors.

In epithelial cells, the heterodimer glycoprotein E/glycoproteinI (gE/gI) is required for the cell-to-cell spread of the virus, by sorting nascent virions to cell junctions. Once the virus reaches the cell junctions, virus particles can spread to adjacent cells extremely rapidly through interactions with cellular receptors that accumulate at these junctions. By similarity, it is implicated in basolateral spread in polarized cells. In neuronal cells, gE/gI is essential for the anterograde spread of the infection throughout the host nervous system. Together with US9, the heterodimer gE/gI is involved in the sorting and transport of viral structural components toward axon tips. The heterodimer gE/gI serves as a receptor for the Fc part of host IgG. Dissociation of gE/gI from IgG occurs at acidic pH, thus may be involved in anti-HSV antibodies bipolar bridging, followed by intracellular endocytosis and degradation, thereby interfering with host IgG-mediated immune responses. gE/gI interacts (via C-terminus) with VP22 tegument protein; this interaction is necessary for the recruitment of VP22 to the Golgi and its packaging into virions.

In any of the embodiments described herein, the RNA may have at least one modification, including at least one chemical modification.

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines, as provided herein may be used to induce a balanced immune response, comprising both cellular and humoral immunity, without many of the risks associated with DNA vaccination.

The entire contents of International Application No. PCT/US2015/002740 are incorporated herein by reference.

It has been discovered that the mRNA vaccines described herein are superior to current vaccines in several ways. First, the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery is superior to other formulations including a protamine base approach described in the literature and no additional adjuvants are to be necessary. The use of LNPs enables the effective delivery of chemically modified or unmodified mRNA vaccines. Additionally it has been demonstrated herein that both modified and unmodified LNP formulated mRNA vaccines were superior to conventional vaccines by a significant degree. In some embodiments the mRNA vaccines of the invention are superior to conventional vaccines by a factor of at least 10 fold, 20 fold, 40 fold, 50 fold, 100 fold, 500 fold or 1,000 fold.

Although attempts have been made to produce functional RNA vaccines, including mRNA vaccines and self-replicating RNA vaccines, the therapeutic efficacy of these RNA vaccines have not yet been fully established. Quite surprisingly, the inventors have discovered, according to aspects of the invention a class of formulations for delivering mRNA vaccines in vivo that results in significantly enhanced, and in many respects synergistic, immune responses including enhanced antigen generation and functional antibody production with neutralization capability. These results can be achieved even when significantly lower doses of the mRNA are administered in comparison with mRNA doses used in other classes of lipid based formulations. The formulations of the invention have demonstrated significant unexpected in vivo immune responses sufficient to establish the efficacy of functional mRNA vaccines as prophylactic and therapeutic agents. Additionally, self-replicating RNA vaccines rely on viral replication pathways to deliver enough RNA to a cell to produce an immunogenic response. The formulations of the invention do not require viral replication to produce enough protein to result in a strong immune response. Thus, the mRNA of the invention are not self-replicating RNA and do not include components necessary for viral replication.

The invention involves, in some aspects, the surprising finding that lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations significantly enhance the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines, including chemically modified and unmodified mRNA vaccines. The efficacy of mRNA vaccines formulated in LNP was examined in vivo using several distinct antigens. The results presented herein demonstrate the unexpected superior efficacy of the mRNA vaccines formulated in LNP over other commercially available vaccines.

In addition to providing an enhanced immune response, the formulations of the invention generate a more rapid immune response with fewer doses of antigen than other vaccines tested. The mRNA-LNP formulations of the invention also produce quantitatively and qualitatively better immune responses than vaccines formulated in a different carriers.

The LNP used in the studies described herein has been used previously to deliver siRNA in various animal models as well as in humans. In view of the observations made in association with the siRNA delivery of LNP formulations, the fact that LNP is useful in vaccines is quite surprising. It has been observed that therapeutic delivery of siRNA formulated in LNP causes an undesirable inflammatory response associated with a transient IgM response, typically leading to a reduction in antigen production and a compromised immune response. In contrast to the findings observed with siRNA, the LNP-mRNA formulations of the invention are demonstrated herein to generate enhanced IgG levels, sufficient for prophylactic and therapeutic methods rather than transient IgM responses.

Nucleic Acids/Polynucleotides

HSV vaccines, as provided herein, comprise at least one (one or more) ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide. The term “nucleic acid,” in its broadest sense, includes any compound and/or substance that comprises a polymer of nucleotides. These polymers are referred to as polynucleotides.

In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by at least one nucleic acid sequence selected from any of SEQ ID NO: 1-23, 54-64, or homologs having at least 80% identity with a nucleic acid sequence selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by at least one nucleic acid sequence selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23, 54-64 or homologs having at least 90% (e.g. 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.8%, or 99.9%) identity with a nucleic acid sequence selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64. In some embodiments, at least one RNA polynucleotide is encoded by at least one fragment of a nucleic acid sequence selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64. In some embodiments, the at least one RNA polynucleotide has at least one chemical modification.

Nucleic acids (also referred to as polynucleotides) may be or may include, for example, ribonucleic acids (RNAs), deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs), threose nucleic acids (TNAs), glycol nucleic acids (GNAs), peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), locked nucleic acids (LNAs, including LNA having a β-D-ribo configuration, α-LNA having an α-L-ribo configuration (a diastereomer of LNA), 2′-amino-LNA having a 2′-amino functionalization, and 2′-amino-α-LNA having a 2′-amino functionalization), ethylene nucleic acids (ENA), cyclohexenyl nucleic acids (CeNA), or chimeras or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, polynucleotides of the present disclosure function as messenger RNA (mRNA). “Messenger RNA” (mRNA) refers to any polynucleotide that encodes a (at least one) polypeptide (a naturally-occurring, non-naturally-occurring, or modified polymer of amino acids) and can be translated to produce the encoded polypeptide in vitro, in vivo, in situ, or ex vivo. The skilled artisan will appreciate that, except where otherwise noted, polynucleotide sequences set forth in the instant application will recite “T”s in a representative DNA sequence but where the sequence represents RNA (e.g., mRNA), the “T”s would be substituted for “U”s. Thus, any of the RNA polynucleotides encoded by a DNA identified by a particular sequence identification number may also comprise the corresponding RNA (e.g., mRNA) sequence encoded by the DNA, where each “T” of the DNA sequence is substituted with “U.”

It should be understood that the mRNA polynucleotides of the vaccines as provided herein are synthetic molecules, i.e., they are not naturally-occurring molecules. That is, the mRNA polynucleotides of the present disclosure are isolated mRNA polynucleotides. As is known in the art, “isolated polynucleotides” refer to polynucleotides that are substantially physically separated from other cellular material (e.g., separated from cells and/or systems that produce the polynucleotides) or from other material that hinders their use in the vaccines of the present disclosure. Isolated polynucleotides are substantially pure in that they have been substantially separated from the substances with which they may be associated in living or viral systems. Thus, mRNA polynucleotide vaccines are not associated with living or viral systems, such as cells or viruses. The mRNA polynucleotide vaccines do not include viral components (e.g., viral capsids, viral enzymes, or other viral proteins, for example, those needed for viral-based replication), and the mRNA polynucleotide vaccines are not packaged within, encapsulated within, linked to, or otherwise associated with a virus or viral particle. In some embodiments, the mRNA vaccines comprise a lipid nanoparticle that consists of, or consists essentially of, one or more mRNA polynucleotides (e.g., mRNA polynucleotides encoding one or more HSV antigen(s)). The basic components of an mRNA molecule typically include at least one coding region, a 5′ untranslated region (UTR), a 3′ UTR, a 5′ cap, and a poly-A tail. Polynucleotides of the present disclosure may function as mRNA but can be distinguished from wild-type mRNA in their functional and/or structural design features which serve to overcome existing problems of effective polypeptide expression using nucleic-acid based therapeutics. In some embodiments, the RNA is a messenger RNA (mRNA) having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigen. In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) further comprises a (at least one) 5′ UTR, 3′ UTR, a polyA tail and/or a 5′ cap.

In some embodiments, a RNA polynucleotide of a HSV vaccine encodes 2-10, 2-9, 2-8, 2-7, 2-6, 2-5, 2-4, 2-3, 3-10, 3-9, 3-8, 3-7, 3-6, 3-5, 3-4, 4-10, 4-9, 4-8, 4-7, 4-6, 4-5, 5-10, 5-9, 5-8, 5-7, 5-6, 6-10, 6-9, 6-8, 6-7, 7-10, 7-9, 7-8, 8-10, 8-9 or 9-10 antigenic polypeptides. In some embodiments, a RNA polynucleotide of a HSV vaccine encodes at least 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 antigenic polypeptides. In some embodiments, a RNA polynucleotide of a HSV vaccine encodes at least 100 or at least 200 antigenic polypeptides. In some embodiments, a RNA polynucleotide of a HSV vaccine encodes 1-10, 5-15, 10-20, 15-25, 20-30, 25-35, 30-40, 35-45, 40-50, 1-50, 1-100, 2-50, or 2-100 antigenic polypeptides.

Polynucleotides of the present disclosure, in some embodiments, are codon optimized. Codon optimization methods are known in the art and may be used as provided herein. Codon optimization, in some embodiments, may be used to match codon frequencies in target and host organisms to ensure proper folding; bias GC content to increase mRNA stability or reduce secondary structures; minimize tandem repeat codons or base runs that may impair gene construction or expression; customize transcriptional and translational control regions; insert or remove protein trafficking sequences; remove/add post translation modification sites in encoded protein (e.g. glycosylation sites); add, remove, or shuffle protein domains; insert or delete restriction sites; modify ribosome binding sites and mRNA degradation sites; adjust translational rates to allow the various domains of the protein to fold properly; or to reduce or eliminate problem secondary structures within the polynucleotide. Codon optimization tools, algorithms and services are known in the art—non-limiting examples include services from GeneArt (Life Technologies), DNA2.0 (Menlo Park Calif.), and/or proprietary methods. In some embodiments, the open reading frame (ORF) sequence is optimized using optimization algorithms.

In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares less than 95% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)). In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares less than 90% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)). In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares less than 85% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)). In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares less than 80% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)). In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares less than 75% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)).

In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares between 65% and 85% (e.g., between about 67% and about 85% or between about 67% and about 80%) sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)). In some embodiments, a codon optimized sequence shares between 65% and 75% or about 80% sequence identity to a naturally-occurring or wild-type sequence (e.g., a naturally-occurring or wild-type mRNA sequence encoding a polypeptide or protein of interest (e.g., an antigenic protein or polypeptide)).

In some embodiments, the HSV vaccine includes at least one RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide having at least one modification, at least one 5′ terminal cap, and is formulated within a lipid nanoparticle. 5′-capping of polynucleotides may be completed concomitantly during the in vitro-transcription reaction using the following chemical RNA cap analogs to generate the 5′-guanosine cap structure according to manufacturer protocols: 3′-O-Me-m7G(5′)ppp(5′) G [the ARCA cap]; G(5′)ppp(5′)A; G(5′)ppp(5′)G; m7G(5′)ppp(5′)A; m7G(5′)ppp(5′)G (New England BioLabs, Ipswich, Mass.). 5′-capping of modified RNA may be completed post-transcriptionally using a Vaccinia Virus Capping Enzyme to generate the “Cap 0” structure: m7G(5′)ppp(5′)G (New England BioLabs, Ipswich, Mass.). Cap 1 structure may be generated using both Vaccinia Virus Capping Enzyme and a 2′-O methyl-transferase to generate m7G(5′)ppp(5′)G-2′-O-methyl. Cap 2 structure may be generated from the Cap 1 structure followed by the 2′-O-methylation of the 5′-antepenultimate nucleotide using a 2′-O methyl-transferase. Cap 3 structure may be generated from the Cap 2 structure followed by the 2′-O-methylation of the 5′-preantepenultimate nucleotide using a 2′-O methyl-transferase. Enzymes are preferably derived from a recombinant source.

When transfected into mammalian cells, the modified mRNAs have a stability of between 12-18 hours or more than 18 hours, e.g., 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, or greater than 72 hours.

In some embodiments, a codon optimized RNA may, for instance, be one in which the levels of G/C are enhanced. The G/C-content of nucleic acid molecules may influence the stability of the RNA. RNA having an increased amount of guanine (G) and/or cytosine (C) residues may be functionally more stable than nucleic acids containing a large amount of adenine (A) and thymine (T) or uracil (U) nucleotides. WO2002/098443 discloses a pharmaceutical composition containing an mRNA stabilized by sequence modifications in the translated region. Due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, the modifications work by substituting existing codons for those that promote greater RNA stability without changing the resulting amino acid. The approach is limited to coding regions of the RNA.

Antigens/Antigenic Polypeptides

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 glycoprotein B (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1, 6, 12, 18, 66, or 71).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 glycoprotein C (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 2, 7, 13, 19, 67, or 72).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 glycoprotein D (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 3, 11, 14, 20, 68, or 75).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 glycoprotein E (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 4, 8, 15, 21, 69, or 73).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 glycoprotein I (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 5, 10, 13, 16, 22, 70, or 74).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 ICP4 protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 9, 23, or 77).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding HSV-2 ICP0 protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 17 or 76).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g. mRNA) polynucleotide encoded by a nucleic acid selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 1-23 or 54-64 (e.g., from Tables 1 or 3). In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g. mRNA) polynucleotide that comprises a nucleic acid selected from any one of SEQ ID NO: 90-124 (e.g., from Tables 1 or 3).

In some embodiments, a HSV vaccine comprises at least one RNA (e.g., mRNA) having at least one modification, including at least one chemical modification.

In some embodiments, a HSV antigenic polypeptide is longer than 25 amino acids and shorter than 50 amino acids. The term “antigenic polypeptide” includes full length polypeptides/proteins as well as immunogenic fragments thereof (immunogenic fragments capable of inducing an immune response to HSV). Thus, polypeptides include gene products, naturally occurring polypeptides, synthetic polypeptides, homologs, orthologs, paralogs, fragments and other equivalents, variants, and analogs of the foregoing. A polypeptide may be a single molecule or may be a multi-molecular complex such as a dimer, trimer, or tetramer. Polypeptides may also comprise single chain or multichain polypeptides such as antibodies or insulin and may be associated or linked. Most commonly, disulfide linkages are found in multichain polypeptides. The term polypeptide may also apply to amino acid polymers in which at least one amino acid residue is an artificial chemical analogue of a corresponding naturally-occurring amino acid.

The term “polypeptide variant” refers to molecules which differ in their amino acid sequence from a native or reference sequence. The amino acid sequence variants may possess substitutions, deletions, and/or insertions at certain positions within the amino acid sequence, as compared to a native or reference sequence. Ordinarily, variants possess at least 50% identity to a native or reference sequence. In some embodiments, variants share at least 80%, or at least 90% identity with a native or reference sequence.

In some embodiments “variant mimics” are provided. As used herein, the term “variant mimic” is one which contains at least one amino acid that would mimic an activated sequence. For example, glutamate may serve as a mimic for phosphoro-threonine and/or phosphoro-serine. Alternatively, variant mimics may result in deactivation or in an inactivated product containing the mimic, for example, phenylalanine may act as an inactivating substitution for tyrosine; or alanine may act as an inactivating substitution for serine.

“Orthologs” refers to genes in different species that evolved from a common ancestral gene by speciation. Normally, orthologs retain the same function in the course of evolution. Identification of orthologs is critical for reliable prediction of gene function in newly sequenced genomes.

“Analogs” is meant to include polypeptide variants which differ by one or more amino acid alterations, for example, substitutions, additions or deletions of amino acid residues that still maintain one or more of the properties of the parent or starting polypeptide.

“Paralogs” are genes (or proteins) related by duplication within a genome. Orthologs retain the same function in the course of evolution, whereas paralogs evolve new functions, even if these are related to the original one.

The present disclosure provides several types of compositions that are polynucleotide or polypeptide based, including variants and derivatives. These include, for example, substitutional, insertional, deletion and covalent variants and derivatives. The term “derivative” is used synonymously with the term “variant” but generally refers to a molecule that has been modified and/or changed in any way relative to a reference molecule or starting molecule.

As such, polynucleotides encoding peptides or polypeptides containing substitutions, insertions and/or additions, deletions and covalent modifications with respect to reference sequences, in particular the polypeptide sequences disclosed herein, are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, sequence tags or amino acids, such as one or more lysines, can be added to peptide sequences (e.g., at the N-terminal or C-terminal ends). Sequence tags can be used for peptide detection, purification or localization. Lysines can be used to increase peptide solubility or to allow for biotinylation. Alternatively, amino acid residues located at the carboxy and amino terminal regions of the amino acid sequence of a peptide or protein may optionally be deleted providing for truncated sequences. Certain amino acids (e.g., C-terminal or N-terminal residues) may alternatively be deleted depending on the use of the sequence, as for example, expression of the sequence as part of a larger sequence which is soluble, or linked to a solid support. In alternative embodiments, sequences for (or encoding) signal sequences, termination sequences, transmembrane domains, linkers, multimerization domains (such as, e.g., foldon regions) and the like may be substituted with alternative sequences which achieve the same or a similar function. Such sequences are readily identifiable to one of skill in the art. It should also be understood that some of the sequences provided herein contain sequence tags or terminal peptide sequences (e.g., at the N-terminal or C-terminal ends) that may be deleted, for example, prior to use in the preparation of an RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine.

“Substitutional variants” when referring to polypeptides are those that have at least one amino acid residue in a native or starting sequence removed and a different amino acid inserted in its place at the same position. Substitutions may be single, where only one amino acid in the molecule has been substituted, or they may be multiple, where two or more amino acids have been substituted in the same molecule.

As used herein the term “conservative amino acid substitution” refers to the substitution of an amino acid that is normally present in the sequence with a different amino acid of similar size, charge, or polarity. Examples of conservative substitutions include the substitution of a non-polar (hydrophobic) residue such as isoleucine, valine and leucine for another non-polar residue. Likewise, examples of conservative substitutions include the substitution of one polar (hydrophilic) residue for another such as between arginine and lysine, between glutamine and asparagine, and between glycine and serine. Additionally, the substitution of a basic residue such as lysine, arginine, or histidine for another, or the substitution of one acidic residue such as aspartic acid or glutamic acid for another acidic residue are additional examples of conservative substitutions. Examples of non-conservative substitutions include the substitution of a non-polar (hydrophobic) amino acid residue such as isoleucine, valine, leucine, alanine, or methionine for a polar (hydrophilic) residue such as cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid or lysine and/or a polar residue for a non-polar residue.

“Features” when referring to polypeptide or polynucleotide are defined as distinct amino acid sequence-based or nucleotide-based components of a molecule respectively. Features of the polypeptides encoded by the polynucleotides include surface manifestations, local conformational shape, folds, loops, half-loops, domains, half-domains, sites, termini or any combination thereof.

As used herein when referring to polypeptides the term “domain” refers to a motif of a polypeptide having one or more identifiable structural or functional characteristics or properties (e.g., binding capacity, serving as a site for protein-protein interactions).

As used herein when referring to polypeptides, the terms “site” as it pertains to amino acid based embodiments is used synonymously with “amino acid residue” and “amino acid side chain.” As used herein when referring to polynucleotides the terms “site” as it pertains to nucleotide based embodiments is used synonymously with “nucleotide.” A site represents a position within a peptide or polypeptide or polynucleotide that may be modified, manipulated, altered, derivatized or varied within the polypeptide or polynucleotide based molecules.

As used herein the terms “termini” or “terminus” when referring to polypeptides or polynucleotides refers to an extremity of a polypeptide or polynucleotide, respectively. Such extremity is not limited only to the first or final site of the polypeptide or polynucleotide but may include additional amino acids or nucleotides in the terminal regions. Polypeptide-based molecules may be characterized as having both an N-terminus (terminated by an amino acid with a free amino group (NH₂)) and a C-terminus (terminated by an amino acid with a free carboxyl group (COOH)). Proteins are, in some cases, made up of multiple polypeptide chains brought together by disulfide bonds or by non-covalent forces (multimers, oligomers). These proteins have multiple N- and C-termini. Alternatively, the termini of the polypeptides may be modified such that they begin or end, as the case may be, with a non-polypeptide based moiety such as an organic conjugate.

As recognized by those skilled in the art, protein fragments, functional protein domains, and homologous proteins are also considered to be within the scope of polypeptides of interest. For example, provided herein is any protein fragment (meaning a polypeptide sequence at least one amino acid residue shorter than a reference polypeptide sequence but otherwise identical) of a reference protein 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 or greater than 100 amino acids in length. In another example, any protein that includes a stretch of 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100 amino acids which are 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 100% identical to any of the sequences described herein can be utilized in accordance with the disclosure. In some embodiments, a polypeptide includes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more mutations as shown in any of the sequences provided or referenced herein.

Polypeptide or polynucleotide molecules of the present disclosure may share a certain degree of sequence similarity or identity with the reference molecules (e.g., reference polypeptides or reference polynucleotides), for example, with art-described molecules (e.g., engineered or designed molecules or wild-type molecules). The term “identity” as known in the art, refers to a relationship between the sequences of two or more polypeptides or polynucleotides, as determined by comparing the sequences. In the art, identity also means the degree of sequence relatedness between them as determined by the number of matches between strings of two or more amino acid residues or nucleic acid residues. Identity measures the percent of identical matches between the smaller of two or more sequences with gap alignments (if any) addressed by a particular mathematical model or computer program (e.g., “algorithms”). Identity of related peptides can be readily calculated by known methods. “% identity” as it applies to polypeptide or polynucleotide sequences is defined as the percentage of residues (amino acid residues or nucleic acid residues) in the candidate amino acid or nucleic acid sequence that are identical with the residues in the amino acid sequence or nucleic acid sequence of a second sequence after aligning the sequences and introducing gaps, if necessary, to achieve the maximum percent identity. Methods and computer programs for the alignment are well known in the art. It is understood that identity depends on a calculation of percent identity but may differ in value due to gaps and penalties introduced in the calculation. Generally, variants of a particular polynucleotide or polypeptide have at least 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% but less than 100% sequence identity to that particular reference polynucleotide or polypeptide as determined by sequence alignment programs and parameters described herein and known to those skilled in the art. Such tools for alignment include those of the BLAST suite (Stephen F. Altschul, et al., (1997), “Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs”, Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402). Another popular local alignment technique is based on the Smith-Waterman algorithm (Smith, T. F. & Waterman, M. S. (1981) “Identification of common molecular subsequences.” J Mol. Biol. 147:195-197). A general global alignment technique based on dynamic programming is the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (Needleman, S. B. & Wunsch, C. D. (1970) “A general method applicable to the search for similarities in the amino acid sequences of two proteins.” J. Mol. Biol. 48:443-453.). More recently a Fast Optimal Global Sequence Alignment Algorithm (FOGSAA) has been developed that purportedly produces global alignment of nucleotide and protein sequences faster than other optimal global alignment methods, including the Needleman-Wunsch algorithm. Other tools are described herein, specifically in the definition of “identity” below.

As used herein, the term “homology” refers to the overall relatedness between polymeric molecules, e.g. between nucleic acid molecules (e.g. DNA molecules and/or RNA molecules) and/or between polypeptide molecules. Polymeric molecules (e.g. nucleic acid molecules (e.g. DNA molecules and/or RNA molecules) and/or polypeptide molecules) that share a threshold level of similarity or identity determined by alignment of matching residues are termed homologous. Homology is a qualitative term that describes a relationship between molecules and can be based upon the quantitative similarity or identity. Similarity or identity is a quantitative term that defines the degree of sequence match between two compared sequences. In some embodiments, polymeric molecules are considered to be “homologous” to one another if their sequences are at least 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 99% identical or similar. The term “homologous” necessarily refers to a comparison between at least two sequences (polynucleotide or polypeptide sequences). Two polynucleotide sequences are considered homologous if the polypeptides they encode are at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or even 99% for at least one stretch of at least 20 amino acids. In some embodiments, homologous polynucleotide sequences are characterized by the ability to encode a stretch of at least 4-5 uniquely specified amino acids. For polynucleotide sequences less than 60 nucleotides in length, homology is determined by the ability to encode a stretch of at least 4-5 uniquely specified amino acids. Two protein sequences are considered homologous if the proteins are at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% identical for at least one stretch of at least 20 amino acids.

Homology implies that the compared sequences diverged in evolution from a common origin. The term “homolog” refers to a first amino acid sequence or nucleic acid sequence (e.g., gene (DNA or RNA) or protein sequence) that is related to a second amino acid sequence or nucleic acid sequence by descent from a common ancestral sequence. The term “homolog” may apply to the relationship between genes and/or proteins separated by the event of speciation or to the relationship between genes and/or proteins separated by the event of genetic duplication.

Multiprotein and Multicomponent Vaccines

The present disclosure encompasses HSV vaccines comprising multiple RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotides, each encoding a single antigenic polypeptide, as well as HSV vaccines comprising a single RNA polynucleotide encoding more than one antigenic polypeptide (e.g., as a fusion polypeptide). Thus, it should be understood that a vaccine composition comprising a RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding a first HSV antigenic polypeptide and a RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding a second HSV antigenic polypeptide encompasses (a) vaccines that comprise a first RNA polynucleotide encoding a first HSV antigenic polypeptide and a second RNA polynucleotide encoding a second HSV antigenic polypeptide, and (b) vaccines that comprise a single RNA polynucleotide encoding a first and second HSV antigenic polypeptide (e.g., as a fusion polypeptide). HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure, in some embodiments, comprise 2-10 (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10), or more RNA polynucleotides having an open reading frame, each of which encodes a different HSV antigenic polypeptide (or a single RNA polynucleotide encoding 2-10, or more, different HSV antigenic polypeptides).

In some embodiments, a RNA (e.g., mRNA) polynucleotide encodes a HSV antigenic polypeptide fused to a signal peptide (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 281 or SEQ ID NO: 282). Thus, HSV vaccines comprising at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding a signal peptide linked to a HSV antigenic peptide are provided.

Further provided herein are HSV vaccines comprising any HSV antigenic polypeptides disclosed herein fused to signal peptides. The signal peptide may be fused to the N- or C-terminus of the HSV antigenic polypeptides.

Signal Peptides

In some embodiments, antigenic polypeptides encoded by HSV polynucleotides comprise a signal peptide. Signal peptides, comprising the N-terminal 15-60 amino acids of proteins, are typically needed for the translocation across the membrane on the secretory pathway and thus universally control the entry of most proteins both in eukaryotes and prokaryotes to the secretory pathway. Signal peptides generally include of three regions: an N-terminal region of differing length, which usually comprises positively charged amino acids; a hydrophobic region; and a short carboxy-terminal peptide region. In eukaryotes, the signal peptide of a nascent precursor protein (pre-protein) directs the ribosome to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and initiates the transport of the growing peptide chain across it. The signal peptide is not responsible for the final destination of the mature protein, however. Secretory proteins devoid of further address tags in their sequence are by default secreted to the external environment. Signal peptides are cleaved from precursor proteins by an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident signal peptidase or they remain uncleaved and function as a membrane anchor. During recent years, a more advanced view of signal peptides has evolved, showing that the functions and immunodominance of certain signal peptides are much more versatile than previously anticipated.

Signal peptides typically function to facilitate the targeting of newly synthesized protein to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for processing. ER processing produces a mature Envelope protein, wherein the signal peptide is cleaved, typically by a signal peptidase of the host cell. A signal peptide may also facilitate the targeting of the protein to the cell membrane. HSV vaccines of the present disclosure may comprise, for example, RNA polynucleotides encoding an artificial signal peptide, wherein the signal peptide coding sequence is operably linked to and is in frame with the coding sequence of the HSV antigenic polypeptide. Thus, HSV vaccines of the present disclosure, in some embodiments, produce an antigenic polypeptide comprising a HSV antigenic polypeptide fused to a signal peptide. In some embodiments, a signal peptide is fused to the N-terminus of the HSV antigenic polypeptide. In some embodiments, a signal peptide is fused to the C-terminus of the HSV antigenic polypeptide.

In some embodiments, the signal peptide fused to the HSV antigenic polypeptide is an artificial signal peptide. In some embodiments, an artificial signal peptide fused to the HSV antigenic polypeptide encoded by the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine is obtained from an immunoglobulin protein, e.g., an IgE signal peptide or an IgG signal peptide. In some embodiments, a signal peptide fused to the HSV antigenic polypeptide encoded by a HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine is an Ig heavy chain epsilon-1 signal peptide (IgE HC SP) having the sequence of: MDWTWILFLVAAATRVHS (SEQ ID NO: 79). In some embodiments, a signal peptide fused to a HSV antigenic polypeptide encoded by the HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine is an IgGk chain V-III region HAH signal peptide (IgGk SP) having the sequence of METPAQLLFLLLLWLPDTTG (SEQ ID NO: 78). In some embodiments, the HSV antigenic polypeptide encoded by a HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine has an amino acid sequence set forth in one of SEQ ID NO: 24-53 or 66-77 fused to a signal peptide of SEQ ID NO: 78-82. The examples disclosed herein are not meant to be limiting and any signal peptide that is known in the art to facilitate targeting of a protein to ER for processing and/or targeting of a protein to the cell membrane may be used in accordance with the present disclosure.

A signal peptide may have a length of 15-60 amino acids. For example, a signal peptide may have a length of 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, or 60 amino acids. In some embodiments, a signal peptide may have a length of 20-60, 25-60, 30-60, 35-60, 40-60, 45-60, 50-60, 55-60, 15-55, 20-55, 25-55, 30-55, 35-55, 40-55, 45-55, 50-55, 15-50, 20-50, 25-50, 30-50, 35-50, 40-50, 45-50, 15-45, 20-45, 25-45, 30-45, 35-45, 40-45, 15-40, 20-40, 25-40, 30-40, 35-40, 15-35, 20-35, 25-35, 30-35, 15-30, 20-30, 25-30, 15-25, 20-25, or 15-20 amino acids.

A signal peptide is typically cleaved from the nascent polypeptide at the cleavage junction during ER processing. The mature HSV antigenic polypeptide produced by HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine of the present disclosure typically does not comprise a signal peptide.

Chemical Modifications

RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure comprise, in some embodiments, at least one ribonucleic acid (RNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigenic polypeptide, wherein said RNA comprises at least one chemical modification.

The terms “chemical modification” and “chemically modified” refer to modification with respect to adenosine (A), guanosine (G), uridine (U), thymidine (T), or cytidine (C) ribonucleosides or deoxyribnucleosides in at least one of their position, pattern, percent or population. Generally, these terms do not refer to the ribonucleotide modifications in naturally-occurring 5′-terminal mRNA cap moieties.

Modifications of polynucleotides include, without limitation, those described herein, and include, but are expressly not limited to, those modifications that comprise chemical modifications. Polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) may comprise modifications that are naturally-occurring, non-naturally-occurring or the polynucleotide may comprise a combination of naturally-occurring and non-naturally-occurring modifications. Polynucleotides may include any useful modification, for example, of a sugar, a nucleobase, or an internucleoside linkage (e.g., to a linking phosphate, to a phosphodiester linkage or to the phosphodiester backbone).

With respect to a polypeptide, the term “modification” refers to a modification relative to the canonical set of 20 amino acids. Polypeptides, as provided herein, are also considered “modified” if they contain amino acid substitutions, insertions, or a combination of substitutions and insertions.

Polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides), in some embodiments, comprise various (more than one) different modifications. In some embodiments, a particular region of a polynucleotide contains one, two, or more (optionally different) nucleoside or nucleotide modifications. In some embodiments, a modified RNA polynucleotide (e.g., a modified mRNA polynucleotide), introduced to a cell or organism, exhibits reduced degradation in the cell or organism, respectively, relative to an unmodified polynucleotide. In some embodiments, a modified RNA polynucleotide (e.g., a modified mRNA polynucleotide), introduced into a cell or organism, may exhibit reduced immunogenicity in the cell or organism, respectively (e.g., a reduced innate response).

Polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides), in some embodiments, comprise non-natural modified nucleotides that are introduced during synthesis or post-synthesis of the polynucleotides to achieve desired functions or properties. The modifications may be present on internucleotide linkages, purine or pyrimidine bases, or sugars. The modification may be introduced with chemical synthesis or with a polymerase enzyme at the terminal of a chain or anywhere else in the chain. Any of the regions of a polynucleotide may be chemically modified.

The present disclosure provides for modified nucleosides and nucleotides of a polynucleotide (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides). A “nucleoside” refers to a compound containing a sugar molecule (e.g., a pentose or ribose) or a derivative thereof in combination with an organic base (e.g., a purine or pyrimidine) or a derivative thereof (also referred to herein as “nucleobase”). A “nucleotide” refers to a nucleoside including a phosphate group. Modified nucleotides may by synthesized by any useful method, such as, for example, chemically, enzymatically, or recombinantly, to include one or more modified or non-natural nucleosides. Polynucleotides may comprise a region or regions of linked nucleosides. Such regions may have variable backbone linkages. The linkages may be standard phosphdioester linkages, in which case the polynucleotides would comprise regions of nucleotides.

Modified nucleotide base pairing encompasses not only the standard adenosine-thymine, adenosine-uracil, or guanosine-cytosine base pairs, but also base pairs formed between nucleotides and/or modified nucleotides comprising non-standard or modified bases, wherein the arrangement of hydrogen bond donors and hydrogen bond acceptors permits hydrogen bonding between a non-standard base and a standard base or between two complementary non-standard base structures, such as, for example, in those polynucleotides having at least one chemical modification. One example of such non-standard base pairing is the base pairing between the modified nucleotide inosine and adenine, cytosine, or uracil. Any combination of base/sugar or linker may be incorporated into polynucleotides of the present disclosure.

Modifications of polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides), including but not limited to chemical modification, that are useful in the compositions, vaccines, methods and synthetic processes of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to the following: 2-methylthio-N6-(cis-hydroxyisopentenyl)adenosine; 2-methylthio-N6-methyladenosine; 2-methylthio-N6-threonyl carbamoyladenosine; N6-glycinylcarbamoyladenosine; N6-isopentenyladenosine; N6-methyladenosine; N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine; 1,2′-O-dimethyladenosine; 1-methyladenosine; 2′-O-methyladenosine; 2′-O-ribosyladenosine (phosphate); 2-methyladenosine; 2-methylthio-N6 isopentenyladenosine; 2-methylthio-N6-hydroxynorvalyl carbamoyladenosine; 2′-O-methyladenosine; 2′-O-ribosyladenosine (phosphate); Isopentenyladenosine; N6-(cis-hydroxyisopentenyl)adenosine; N6,2′-O-dimethyladenosine; N6,2′-O-dimethyladenosine; N6,N6,2′-O-trimethyladenosine; N6,N6-dimethyladenosine; N6-acetyladenosine; N6-hydroxynorvalylcarbamoyladenosine; N6-methyl-N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine; 2-methyladenosine; 2-methylthio-N6-isopentenyladenosine; 7-deaza-adenosine; N1-methyl-adenosine; N6, N6 (dimethyl)adenine; N6-cis-hydroxy-isopentenyl-adenosine; α-thio-adenosine; 2 (amino)adenine; 2 (aminopropyl)adenine; 2 (methylthio) N6 (isopentenyl)adenine; 2-(alkyl)adenine; 2-(aminoalkyl)adenine; 2-(aminopropyl)adenine; 2-(halo)adenine; 2-(halo)adenine; 2-(propyl)adenine; 2′-Amino-2′-deoxy-ATP; 2′-Azido-2′-deoxy-ATP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-aminoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-azidoadenosine TP; 6 (alkyl)adenine; 6 (methyl)adenine; 6-(alkyl)adenine; 6-(methyl)adenine; 7 (deaza)adenine; 8 (alkenyl)adenine; 8 (alkynyl)adenine; 8 (amino)adenine; 8 (thioalkyl)adenine; 8-(alkenyl)adenine; 8-(alkyl)adenine; 8-(alkynyl)adenine; 8-(amino)adenine; 8-(halo)adenine; 8-(hydroxyl)adenine; 8-(thioalkyl)adenine; 8-(thiol)adenine; 8-azido-adenosine; aza adenine; deaza adenine; N6 (methyl)adenine; N6-(isopentyl)adenine; 7-deaza-8-aza-adenosine; 7-methyladenine; 1-Deazaadenosine TP; 2′Fluoro-N6-Bz-deoxyadenosine TP; 2′-OMe-2-Amino-ATP; 2′O-methyl-N6-Bz-deoxyadenosine TP; 2′-a-Ethynyladenosine TP; 2-aminoadenine; 2-Aminoadenosine TP; 2-Amino-ATP; 2′-a-Trifluoromethyladenosine TP; 2-Azidoadenosine TP; 2′-b-Ethynyladenosine TP; 2-Bromoadenosine TP; 2′-b-Trifluoromethyladenosine TP; 2-Chloroadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′,2′-difluoroadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-mercaptoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-thiomethoxyadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-aminoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-azidoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-bromoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-chloroadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-fluoroadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-iodoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-mercaptoadenosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-thiomethoxyadenosine TP; 2-Fluoroadenosine TP; 2-Iodoadenosine TP; 2-Mercaptoadenosine TP; 2-methoxy-adenine; 2-methylthio-adenine; 2-Trifluoromethyladenosine TP; 3-Deaza-3-bromoadenosine TP; 3-Deaza-3-chloroadenosine TP; 3-Deaza-3-fluoroadenosine TP; 3-Deaza-3-iodoadenosine TP; 3-Deazaadenosine TP; 4′-Azidoadenosine TP; 4′-Carbocyclic adenosine TP; 4′-Ethynyladenosine TP; 5′-Homo-adenosine TP; 8-Aza-ATP; 8-bromo-adenosine TP; 8-Trifluoromethyladenosine TP; 9-Deazaadenosine TP; 2-aminopurine; 7-deaza-2,6-diaminopurine; 7-deaza-8-aza-2,6-diaminopurine; 7-deaza-8-aza-2-aminopurine; 2,6-diaminopurine; 7-deaza-8-aza-adenine, 7-deaza-2-aminopurine; 2-thiocytidine; 3-methylcytidine; 5-formylcytidine; 5-hydroxymethylcytidine; 5-methylcytidine; N4-acetylcytidine; 2′-O-methylcytidine; 2′-O-methylcytidine; 5,2′-O-dimethylcytidine; 5-formyl-2′-O-methylcytidine; Lysidine; N4,2′-O-dimethylcytidine; N4-acetyl-2′-O-methylcytidine; N4-methylcytidine; N4,N4-Dimethyl-2′-OMe-Cytidine TP; 4-methylcytidine; 5-aza-cytidine; Pseudo-iso-cytidine; pyrrolo-cytidine; α-thio-cytidine; 2-(thio)cytosine; 2′-Amino-2′-deoxy-CTP; 2′-Azido-2′-deoxy-CTP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-aminocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-azidocytidine TP; 3 (deaza) 5 (aza)cytosine; 3 (methyl)cytosine; 3-(alkyl)cytosine; 3-(deaza) 5 (aza)cytosine; 3-(methyl)cytidine; 4,2′-O-dimethylcytidine; 5 (halo)cytosine; 5 (methyl)cytosine; 5 (propynyl)cytosine; 5 (trifluoromethyl)cytosine; 5-(alkyl)cytosine; 5-(alkynyl)cytosine; 5-(halo)cytosine; 5-(propynyl)cytosine; 5-(trifluoromethyl)cytosine; 5-bromo-cytidine; 5-iodo-cytidine; 5-propynyl cytosine; 6-(azo)cytosine; 6-aza-cytidine; aza cytosine; deaza cytosine; N4 (acetyl)cytosine; 1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudoisocytidine; 1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine; 2-methoxy-5-methyl-cytidine; 2-methoxy-cytidine; 2-thio-5-methyl-cytidine; 4-methoxy-1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine; 4-methoxy-pseudoisocytidine; 4-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudoisocytidine; 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine; 4-thio-pseudoisocytidine; 5-aza-zebularine; 5-methyl-zebularine; pyrrolo-pseudoisocytidine; Zebularine; (E)-5-(2-Bromo-vinyl)cytidine TP; 2,2′-anhydro-cytidine TP hydrochloride; 2′Fluor-N4-Bz-cytidine TP; 2′Fluoro-N4-Acetyl-cytidine TP; 2′-O-Methyl-N4-Acetyl-cytidine TP; 2′O0-methyl-N4-Bz-cytidine TP; 2′-a-Ethynylcytidine TP; 2′-a-Trifluoromethylcytidine TP; 2′-b-Ethynylcytidine TP; 2′-b-Trifluoromethyl cytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′,2′-difluorocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-mercaptocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-thiomethoxycytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-aminocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-azidocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-bromocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-chlorocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-fluorocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-iodocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-mercaptocytidine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-thiomethoxycytidine TP; 2′-O-Methyl-5-(1-propynyl)cytidine TP; 3′-Ethynylcytidine TP; 4′-Azidocytidine TP; 4′-Carbocyclic cytidine TP; 4′-Ethynylcytidine TP; 5-(1-Propynyl)ara-cytidine TP; 5-(2-Chloro-phenyl)-2-thiocytidine TP; 5-(4-Amino-phenyl)-2-thiocytidine TP; 5-Aminoallyl-CTP; 5-Cyanocytidine TP; 5-Ethynylara-cytidine TP; 5-Ethynylcytidine TP; 5′-Homo-cytidine TP; 5-Methoxycytidine TP; 5-Trifluoromethyl-Cytidine TP; N4-Amino-cytidine TP; N4-Benzoyl-cytidine TP; Pseudoisocytidine; 7-methylguanosine; N2,2′-O-dimethylguanosine; N2-methylguanosine; Wyosine; 1,2′-O-dimethylguanosine; 1-methylguanosine; 2′-O-methylguanosine; 2′-O-ribosylguanosine (phosphate); 2′-O-methylguanosine; 2′-O-ribosylguanosine (phosphate); 7-aminomethyl-7-deazaguanosine; 7-cyano-7-deazaguanosine; Archaeosine; Methylwyosine; N2,7-dimethylguanosine; N2,N2,2′-O-trimethylguanosine; N2,N2,7-trimethylguanosine; N2,N2-dimethylguanosine; N2,7,2′-O-trimethylguanosine; 6-thio-guanosine; 7-deaza-guanosine; 8-oxo-guanosine; N1-methyl-guanosine; α-thio-guanosine; 2 (propyl)guanine; 2-(alkyl)guanine; 2′-Amino-2′-deoxy-GTP; 2′-Azido-2′-deoxy-GTP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-aminoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-azidoguanosine TP; 6 (methyl)guanine; 6-(alkyl)guanine; 6-(methyl)guanine; 6-methyl-guanosine; 7 (alkyl)guanine; 7 (deaza)guanine; 7 (methyl)guanine; 7-(alkyl)guanine; 7-(deaza)guanine; 7-(methyl)guanine; 8 (alkyl)guanine; 8 (alkynyl)guanine; 8 (halo)guanine; 8 (thioalkyl)guanine; 8-(alkenyl)guanine; 8-(alkyl)guanine; 8-(alkynyl)guanine; 8-(amino)guanine; 8-(halo)guanine; 8-(hydroxyl)guanine; 8-(thioalkyl)guanine; 8-(thiol)guanine; aza guanine; deaza guanine; N (methyl)guanine; N-(methyl)guanine; 1-methyl-6-thio-guanosine; 6-methoxy-guanosine; 6-thio-7-deaza-8-aza-guanosine; 6-thio-7-deaza-guanosine; 6-thio-7-methyl-guanosine; 7-deaza-8-aza-guanosine; 7-methyl-8-oxo-guanosine; N2,N2-dimethyl-6-thio-guanosine; N2-methyl-6-thio-guanosine; 1-Me-GTP; 2′Fluoro-N2-isobutyl-guanosine TP; 2′O-methyl-N2-isobutyl-guanosine TP; 2′-a-Ethynylguanosine TP; 2′-a-Trifluoromethylguanosine TP; 2′-b-Ethynylguanosine TP; 2′-b-Trifluoromethylguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′,2′-difluoroguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-mercaptoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-thiomethoxyguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-aminoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-azidoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-bromoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-chloroguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-fluoroguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-iodoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-mercaptoguanosine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-thiomethoxyguanosine TP; 4′-Azidoguanosine TP; 4′-Carbocyclic guanosine TP; 4′-Ethynylguanosine TP; 5′-Homo-guanosine TP; 8-bromo-guanosine TP; 9-Deazaguanosine TP; N2-isobutyl-guanosine TP; 1-methylinosine; Inosine; 1,2′-O-dimethylinosine; 2′-O-methylinosine; 7-methylinosine; 2′-O-methylinosine; Epoxyqueuosine; galactosyl-queuosine; Mannosylqueuosine; Queuosine; allyamino-thymidine; aza thymidine; deaza thymidine; deoxy-thymidine; 2′-O-methyluridine; 2-thiouridine; 3-methyluridine; 5-carboxymethyluridine; 5-hydroxyuridine; 5-methyluridine; 5-taurinomethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-taurinomethyluridine; Dihydrouridine; Pseudouridine; (3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)uridine; 1-methyl-3-(3-amino-5-carboxypropyl)pseudouridine; 1-methylpseduouridine; 1-ethyl-pseudouridine; 2′-O-methyluridine; 2′-O-methylpseudouridine; 2′-O-methyluridine; 2-thio-2′-O-methyluridine; 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)uridine; 3,2′-O-dimethyluridine; 3-Methyl-pseudo-Uridine TP; 4-thiouridine; 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)uridine; 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)uridine methyl ester; 5,2′-O-dimethyluridine; 5,6-dihydro-uridine; 5-aminomethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-carbamoylmethyl-2′-O-methyluridine; 5-carbamoylmethyluridine; 5-carboxyhydroxymethyluridine; 5-carboxyhydroxymethyluridine methyl ester; 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2′-O-methyluridine; 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-carboxymethylaminomethyluridine; 5-carboxymethylaminomethyluridine; 5-Carbamoylmethyluridine TP; 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2′-O-methyluridine; 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-methoxycarbonylmethyluridine; 5-methyluridine,), 5-methoxyuridine; 5-methyl-2-thiouridine; 5-methyl aminomethyl-2-selenouridine; 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine; 5-methylaminomethyluridine; 5-Methyldihydrouridine; 5-Oxyacetic acid-Uridine TP; 5-Oxyacetic acid-methyl ester-Uridine TP; N1-methyl-pseudo-uracil; N1-ethyl-pseudo-uracil; uridine 5-oxyacetic acid; uridine 5-oxyacetic acid methyl ester; 3-(3-Amino-3-carboxypropyl)-Uridine TP; 5-(iso-Pentenylaminomethyl)-2-thiouridine TP; 5-(iso-Pentenylaminomethyl)-2′-O-methyluridine TP; 5-(iso-Pentenylaminomethyl)uridine TP; 5-propynyl uracil; α-thio-uridine; 1 (aminoalkylamino-carbonylethylenyl)-2(thio)-pseudouracil; 1 (aminoalkylaminocarbonylethylenyl)-2,4-(dithio)pseudouracil; 1 (aminoalkylaminocarbonyl ethylenyl)-4 (thio)pseudouracil; 1 (aminoalkylaminocarbonylethylenyl)-pseudouracil; 1 (aminocarbonylethylenyl)-2(thio)-pseudouracil; 1 (aminocarbonylethylenyl)-2,4-(dithio)pseudouracil; 1 (aminocarbonyl ethylenyl)-4 (thio)pseudouracil; 1 (aminocarbonyl ethyl enyl)-pseudouracil; 1 substituted 2(thio)-pseudouracil; 1 substituted 2,4-(dithio)pseudouracil; 1 substituted 4 (thio)pseudouracil; 1 substituted pseudouracil; 1-(aminoalkylamino-carbonylethylenyl)-2-(thio)-pseudouracil; 1-Methyl-3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl) pseudouridine TP; 1-Methyl-3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Ethyl-pseudo-UTP; 2 (thio)pseudouracil; 2′ deoxy uridine; 2′ fluorouridine; 2-(thio)uracil; 2,4-(dithio)psuedouracil; 2′ methyl, 2′amino, 2′azido, 2′fluro-guanosine; 2′-Amino-2′-deoxy-UTP; 2′-Azido-2′-deoxy-UTP; 2′-Azido-deoxyuridine TP; 2′-O-methylpseudouridine; 2′ deoxy uridine; 2′ fluorouridine; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-aminouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-azidouridine TP; 2-methylpseudouridine; 3 (3 amino-3 carboxypropyl)uracil; 4 (thio)pseudouracil; 4-(thio)pseudouracil; 4-(thio)uracil; 4-thiouracil; 5 (1,3-diazole-1-alkyl)uracil; 5 (2-aminopropyl)uracil; 5 (aminoalkyl)uracil; 5 (dimethylaminoalkyl)uracil; 5 (guanidiniumalkyl)uracil; 5 (methoxycarbonylmethyl)-2-(thio)uracil; 5 (methoxycarbonyl-methyl)uracil; 5 (methyl) 2 (thio)uracil; 5 (methyl) 2,4 (dithio)uracil; 5 (methyl) 4 (thio)uracil; 5 (methylaminomethyl)-2 (thio)uracil; 5 (methylaminomethyl)-2,4 (dithio)uracil; 5 (methylaminomethyl)-4 (thio)uracil; 5 (propynyl)uracil; 5 (trifluoromethyl)uracil; 5-(2-aminopropyl)uracil; 5-(alkyl)-2-(thio)pseudouracil; 5-(alkyl)-2,4 (dithio)pseudouracil; 5-(alkyl)-4 (thio)pseudouracil; 5-(alkyl)pseudouracil; 5-(alkyl)uracil; 5-(alkynyl)uracil; 5-(allylamino)uracil; 5-(cyanoalkyl)uracil; 5-(dialkylaminoalkyl)uracil; 5-(dimethylaminoalkyl)uracil; 5-(guanidiniumalkyl)uracil; 5-(halo)uracil; 5-(1,3-diazole-1-alkyl)uracil; 5-(methoxy)uracil; 5-(methoxycarbonylmethyl)-2-(thio)uracil; 5-(methoxycarbonyl-methyl)uracil; 5-(methyl) 2(thio)uracil; 5-(methyl) 2,4 (dithio)uracil; 5-(methyl) 4 (thio)uracil; 5-(methyl)-2-(thio)pseudouracil; 5-(methyl)-2,4 (dithio)pseudouracil; 5-(methyl)-4 (thio)pseudouracil; 5-(methyl)pseudouracil; 5-(methylaminomethyl)-2 (thio)uracil; 5-(methylaminomethyl)-2,4(dithio)uracil; 5-(methylaminomethyl)-4-(thio)uracil; 5-(propynyl)uracil; 5-(trifluoromethyl)uracil; 5-aminoallyl-uridine; 5-bromo-uridine; 5-iodo-uridine; 5-uracil; 6 (azo)uracil; 6-(azo)uracil; 6-aza-uridine; allyamino-uracil; aza uracil; deaza uracil; N3 (methyl)uracil; P seudo-UTP-1-2-ethanoic acid; Pseudouracil; 4-Thio-pseudo-UTP; 1-carboxymethyl-pseudouridine; 1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine; 1-propynyl-uridine; 1-taurinomethyl-1-methyl-uridine; 1-taurinomethyl-4-thio-uridine; 1-taurinomethyl-pseudouridine; 2-methoxy-4-thio-pseudouridine; 2-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine; 2-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine; 2-thio-5-aza-uridine; 2-thio-dihydropseudouridine; 2-thio-dihydrouridine; 2-thio-pseudouridine; 4-methoxy-2-thio-pseudouridine; 4-methoxy-pseudouridine; 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine; 4-thio-pseudouridine; 5-aza-uridine; Dihydropseudouridine; (±)1-(2-Hydroxypropyl)pseudouridine TP; (2R)-1-(2-Hydroxypropyl)pseudouridine TP; (2S)-1-(2-Hydroxypropyl)pseudouridine TP; (E)-5-(2-Bromo-vinyl)ara-uridine TP; (E)-5-(2-Bromo-vinyl)uridine TP; (Z)-5-(2-Bromo-vinyl)ara-uridine TP; (Z)-5-(2-Bromo-vinyl)uridine TP; 1-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)-pseudo-UTP; 1-(2,2,3,3,3-Pentafluoropropyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(2,2-Diethoxyethyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(2,4,6-Trimethylbenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(2,4,6-Trimethyl-benzyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(2,4,6-Trimethyl-phenyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(2-Amino-2-carboxyethyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(2-Amino-ethyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(2-Methoxyethyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(3,4-Bis-trifluoromethoxybenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(3,4-Dimethoxybenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(3-Amino-3-carboxypropyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(3-Amino-propyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(3-Cyclopropyl-prop-2-ynyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Amino-4-carboxybutyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Amino-benzyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Amino-butyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Amino-phenyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Azidobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Bromobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Chlorobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Fluorobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Iodobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Methanesulfonylbenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Methoxybenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Methoxy-benzyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Methoxy-phenyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Methylbenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Methyl-benzyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Nitrobenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Nitro-benzyl)pseudo-UTP; 1(4-Nitro-phenyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(4-Thiomethoxybenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Trifluoromethoxybenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(4-Trifluoromethylbenzyl)pseudouridine TP; 1-(5-Amino-pentyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-(6-Amino-hexyl)pseudo-UTP; 1,6-Dimethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-[3-(2-{2-[2-(2-Aminoethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-propionyl]pseudouridine TP; 1-{3-[2-(2-Aminoethoxy)-ethoxy]-propionyl} pseudouridine TP; 1-Acetylpseudouridine TP; 1-Alkyl-6-(1-propynyl)-pseudo-UTP; 1-Alkyl-6-(2-propynyl)-pseudo-UTP; 1-Alkyl-6-allyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Alkyl-6-ethynyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Alkyl-6-homoallyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Alkyl-6-vinyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Allylpseudouridine TP; 1-Aminomethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Benzoylpseudouridine TP; 1-Benzyloxymethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Benzyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Biotinyl-PEG2-pseudouridine TP; 1-Biotinylpseudouridine TP; 1-Butyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyanomethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Cyclobutylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclobutyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cycloheptylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cycloheptyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclohexylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclohexyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclooctylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclooctyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclopentylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclopentyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclopropylmethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Cyclopropyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Ethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Hexyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Homoallylpseudouridine TP; 1-Hydroxymethylpseudouridine TP; 1-iso-propyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Me-2-thio-pseudo-UTP; 1-Me-4-thio-pseudo-UTP; 1-Me-alpha-thio-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methanesulfonylmethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Methoxymethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Methyl-6-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-(4-morpholino)-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-(4-thiomorpholino)-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-(substituted phenyl)pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-amino-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-azido-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-bromo-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-butyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-chloro-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-cyano-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-dimethylamino-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-ethoxy-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-ethylcarboxylate-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-ethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-fluoro-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-formyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-hydroxyamino-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-hydroxy-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-iodo-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-iso-propyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-methoxy-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-methylamino-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-phenyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-propyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-tert-butyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-trifluoromethoxy-pseudo-UTP; 1-Methyl-6-trifluoromethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Morpholinomethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Pentyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Phenyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Pivaloylpseudouridine TP; 1-Propargylpseudouridine TP; 1-Propyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-propynyl-pseudouridine; 1-p-tolyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-tert-Butyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Thiomethoxymethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Thiomorpholinomethylpseudouridine TP; 1-Trifluoroacetylpseudouridine TP; 1-Trifluoromethyl-pseudo-UTP; 1-Vinylpseudouridine TP; 2,2′-anhydro-uridine TP; 2′-bromo-deoxyuridine TP; 2′-F-5-Methyl-2′-deoxy-UTP; 2′-OMe-5-Me-UTP; 2′-OMe-pseudo-UTP; 2′-a-Ethynyluridine TP; 2′-a-Trifluoromethyluridine TP; 2′-b-Ethynyluridine TP; 2′-b-Trifluoromethyluridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′,2′-difluorouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-mercaptouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-a-thiomethoxyuridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-aminouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-azidouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-bromouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-chlorouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-fluorouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-iodouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-mercaptouridine TP; 2′-Deoxy-2′-b-thiomethoxyuridine TP; 2-methoxy-4-thio-uridine; 2-methoxyuridine; 2′-O-Methyl-5-(1-propynyl)uridine TP; 3-Alkyl-pseudo-UTP; 4′-Azidouridine TP; 4′-Carbocyclic uridine TP; 4′-Ethynyluridine TP; 5-(1-Propynyl)ara-uridine TP; 5-(2-Furanyl)uridine TP; 5-Cyanouridine TP; 5-Dimethylaminouridine TP; 5′-Homo-uridine TP; 5-iodo-2′-fluoro-deoxyuridine TP; 5-Phenyl ethynyluridine TP; 5-Trideuteromethyl-6-deuterouridine TP; 5-Trifluoromethyl-Uridine TP; 5-Vinylarauridine TP; 6-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)-pseudo-UTP; 6-(4-Morpholino)-pseudo-UTP; 6-(4-Thiomorpholino)-pseudo-UTP; 6-(Substituted-Phenyl)-pseudo-UTP; 6-Amino-pseudo-UTP; 6-Azido-pseudo-UTP; 6-Bromo-pseudo-UTP; 6-Butyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Chloro-pseudo-UTP; 6-Cyano-pseudo-UTP; 6-Dimethylamino-pseudo-UTP; 6-Ethoxy-pseudo-UTP; 6-Ethylcarboxylate-pseudo-UTP; 6-Ethyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Fluoro-pseudo-UTP; 6-Formyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Hydroxyamino-pseudo-UTP; 6-Hydroxy-pseudo-UTP; 6-Iodo-pseudo-UTP; 6-iso-Propyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Methoxy-pseudo-UTP; 6-Methylamino-pseudo-UTP; 6-Methyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Phenyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Phenyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Propyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-tert-Butyl-pseudo-UTP; 6-Trifluoromethoxy-pseudo-UTP; 6-Trifluoromethyl-pseudo-UTP; Alpha-thio-pseudo-UTP; Pseudouridine 1-(4-methylbenzenesulfonic acid) TP; Pseudouridine 1-(4-methylbenzoic acid) TP; Pseudouridine TP 1-[3-(2-ethoxy)]propionic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-[3-{2-(2-[2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy)-ethoxy}]propionic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-[3-{2-(2-[2-{2(2-ethoxy)-ethoxy}-ethoxy]-ethoxy)-ethoxy}]propionic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-[3-{2-(2-[2-ethoxy]-ethoxy)-ethoxy}]propionic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-[3-{2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxy}] propionic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-methylphosphonic acid; Pseudouridine TP 1-methylphosphonic acid diethyl ester; Pseudo-UTP-N1-3-propionic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-4-butanoic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-5-pentanoic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-6-hexanoic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-7-heptanoic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-methyl-p-benzoic acid; Pseudo-UTP-N1-p-benzoic acid; Wybutosine; Hydroxywybutosine; Isowyosine; Peroxywybutosine; undermodified hydroxywybutosine; 4-demethylwyosine; 2,6-(diamino)purine; 1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenoxazin-1-yl: 1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenthiazin-1-yl; 1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 1,3,5-(triaza)-2,6-(dioxa)-naphthalene; 2 (amino)purine; 2,4,5-(trimethyl)phenyl; 2′ methyl, 2′amino, 2′azido, 2′fluro-cytidine; 2′ methyl, 2′amino, 2′azido, 2′fluro-adenine; 2′methyl, 2′amino, 2′azido, 2′fluro-uridine; 2′-amino-2′-deoxyribose; 2-amino-6-Chloro-purine; 2-aza-inosinyl; 2′-azido-2′-deoxyribose; 2′fluoro-2′-deoxyribose; 2′-fluoro-modified bases; 2′-O-methyl-ribose; 2-oxo-7-aminopyridopyrimidin-3-yl; 2-oxo-pyridopyrimidine-3-yl; 2-pyridinone; 3 nitropyrrole; 3-(methyl)-7-(propynyl)isocarbostyrilyl; 3-(methyl)isocarbostyrilyl; 4-(fluoro)-6-(methyl)benzimidazole; 4-(methyl)benzimidazole; 4-(methyl)indolyl; 4,6-(dimethyl)indolyl; 5 nitroindole; 5 substituted pyrimidines; 5-(methyl)isocarbostyrilyl; 5-nitroindole; 6-(aza)pyrimidine; 6-(azo)thymine; 6-(methyl)-7-(aza)indolyl; 6-chloro-purine; 6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; 7-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenthiazin-1-yl; 7-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenthiazin-1-yl; 7-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(aza)indolyl; 7-(guanidiniumalkylhydroxy)-1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenoxazinl-yl; 7-(guanidiniumalkylhydroxy)-1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenthiazin-1-yl; 7-(guanidiniumalkylhydroxy)-1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(guani diniumalkylhydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(guanidiniumalkyl-hydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenthiazin-1-yl; 7-(guanidiniumalkylhydroxy)-1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-(propynyl)isocarbostyrilyl; 7-(propynyl)isocarbostyrilyl, propynyl-7-(aza)indolyl; 7-deaza-inosinyl; 7-substituted 1-(aza)-2-(thio)-3-(aza)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 7-substituted 1,3-(diaza)-2-(oxo)-phenoxazin-1-yl; 9-(methyl)-imidizopyridinyl; Aminoindolyl; Anthracenyl; bis-ortho-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; bis-ortho-substituted-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; Difluorotolyl; Hypoxanthine; Imidizopyridinyl; Inosinyl; Isocarbostyrilyl; Isoguanisine; N2-substituted purines; N6-methyl-2-amino-purine; N6-substituted purines; N-alkylated derivative; Napthalenyl; Nitrobenzimidazolyl; Nitroimidazolyl; Nitroindazolyl; Nitropyrazolyl; Nubularine; O6-substituted purines; O-alkylated derivative; ortho-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; ortho-substituted-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; Oxoformycin TP; para-(aminoalkylhydroxy)-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; para-substituted-6-phenyl-pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; Pentacenyl; Phenanthracenyl; Phenyl; propynyl-7-(aza)indolyl; Pyrenyl; pyridopyrimidin-3-yl; pyridopyrimidin-3-yl, 2-oxo-7-amino-pyridopyrimidin-3-yl; pyrrolo-pyrimidin-2-on-3-yl; Pyrrolopyrimidinyl; Pyrrolopyrizinyl; Stilbenzyl; substituted 1,2,4-triazoles; Tetracenyl; Tubercidine; Xanthine; Xanthosine-5′-TP; 2-thio-zebularine; 5-aza-2-thio-zebularine; 7-deaza-2-amino-purine; pyridin-4-one ribonucleoside; 2-Amino-riboside-TP; Formycin A TP; Formycin B TP; Pyrrolosine TP; 2′-OH-ara-adenosine TP; 2′-OH-ara-cytidine TP; 2′-OH-ara-uridine TP; 2′-OH-ara-guanosine TP; 5-(2-carbomethoxyvinyl)uridine TP; and N6-(19-Amino-pentaoxanonadecyl)adenosine TP.

In some embodiments, polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) include a combination of at least two (e.g., 2, 3, 4 or more) of the aforementioned modified nucleobases.

In some embodiments, modified nucleobases in polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) are selected from the group consisting of pseudouridine (ψ), 2-thiouridine (s2U), 4′-thiouridine, 5-methylcytosine, 2-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine, 2-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 2-thio-5-aza-uridine, 2-thio-dihydropseudouridine, 2-thio-dihydrouridine, 2-thio-pseudouridine, 4-methoxy-2-thio-pseudouridine, 4-methoxy-pseudouridine, 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 4-thio-pseudouridine, 5-aza-uridine, dihydropseudouridine, 5-methyluridine, 5-methoxyuridine, 2′-O-methyl uridine, 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1ψ), 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ), 5-methoxy-uridine (mo5U), 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C), α-thio-guanosine, α-thio-adenosine, 5-cyano uridine, 4′-thio uridine 7-deaza-adenine, 1-methyl-adenosine (m1A), 2-methyl-adenine (m2A), N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A), and 2,6-Diaminopurine, (I), 1-methyl-inosine (m1I), wyosine (imG), methylwyosine (mimG), 7-deaza-guanosine, 7-cyano-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ0), 7-aminomethyl-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ1), 7-methyl-guanosine (m7G), 1-methyl-guanosine (m1G), 8-oxo-guanosine, 7-methyl-8-oxo-guanosine, 2,8-dimethyladenosine, 2-geranylthiouridine, 2-lysidine, 2-selenouridine, 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)-5,6-dihydrouridine, 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)pseudouridine, 3-methylpseudouridine, 5-(carboxyhydroxymethyl)-2′-O-methyluridine methyl ester, 5-aminomethyl-2-geranylthiouridine, 5-aminomethyl-2-selenouridine, 5-aminomethyluridine, 5-carbamoylhydroxymethyluridine, 5-carbamoylmethyl-2-thiouridine, 5-carboxymethyl-2-thiouridine, 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-geranylthiouridine, 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-selenouridine, 5-cyanomethyluridine, 5-hydroxycytidine, 5-methylaminomethyl-2-geranylthiouridine, 7-aminocarboxypropyl-demethylwyosine, 7-aminocarboxypropylwyosine, 7-aminocarboxypropylwyosine methyl ester, 8-methyladenosine, N4,N4-dimethylcytidine, N6-formyladenosine, N6-hydroxymethyladenosine, agmatidine, cyclic N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine, glutamyl-queuosine, methylated undermodified hydroxywybutosine, N4,N4,2′-O-trimethylcytidine, geranylated 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine, geranylated 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine, Qbase, preQ0base, preQ1base, and combinations of two or more thereof. In some embodiments, the at least one chemically modified nucleoside is selected from the group consisting of pseudouridine, 1-methyl-pseudouridine, 1-ethyl-pseudouridine, 5-methylcytosine, 5-methoxyuridine, and a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotide (e.g., RNA polyribonucleotide, such as mRNA polyribonucleotide) includes a combination of at least two (e.g., 2, 3, 4 or more) of the aforementioned modified nucleobases. In some embodiments, polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) include a combination of at least two (e.g., 2, 3, 4 or more) of the aforementioned modified nucleobases.

In some embodiments, modified nucleobases in polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) are selected from the group consisting of 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1ψ), 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ), 5-methoxy-uridine (mo5U), 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C), pseudouridine (ψ), α-thio-guanosine and α-thio-adenosine. In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotide includes a combination of at least two (e.g., 2, 3, 4 or more) of the aforementioned modified nucleobases, including but not limited to chemical modifications.

In some embodiments, polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) comprise pseudouridine (ψ) and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1ψ). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1ψ) and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ) and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 2-thiouridine (s2U). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 2-thiouridine and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise methoxy-uridine (mo5U). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 5-methoxy-uridine (mo5U) and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 2′-O-methyl uridine. In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise 2′-O-methyl uridine and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A). In some embodiments, the polyribonucleotides (e.g., RNA, such as mRNA) comprise N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A) and 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C).

In some embodiments, polynucleotides (e.g., RNA polynucleotides, such as mRNA polynucleotides) are uniformly modified (e.g., fully modified, modified throughout the entire sequence) with a particular modification. For example, a polynucleotide can be uniformly modified with 1-methyl-pseudouridine, meaning that all uridine residues in the mRNA sequence are replaced with 1-methyl-pseudouridine. Similarly, a polynucleotide can be uniformly modified for any type of nucleoside residue present in the sequence by replacement with a modified residue such as those set forth above.

Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified cytosine include N4-acetyl-cytidine (ac4C), 5-methyl-cytidine (m5C), 5-halo-cytidine (e.g., 5-iodo-cytidine), 5-hydroxymethyl-cytidine (hm5C), 1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine, 2-thio-cytidine (s2C), and 2-thio-5-methyl-cytidine.

In some embodiments, a modified nucleobase is a modified uridine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified uridine include 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m1ψ), 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ), 5-methoxy uridine, 2-thio uridine, 5-cyano uridine, 2′-O-methyl uridine, and 4′-thio uridine.

In some embodiments, a modified nucleobase is a modified adenine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified adenine include 7-deaza-adenine, 1-methyl-adenosine (m1A), 2-methyl-adenine (m2A), and N6-methyl-adenosine (m6A).

In some embodiments, a modified nucleobase is a modified guanine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified guanine include inosine (I), 1-methyl-inosine (m1I), wyosine (imG), methylwyosine (mimG), 7-deaza-guanosine, 7-cyano-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ0), 7-aminomethyl-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ1), 7-methyl-guanosine (m7G), 1-methyl-guanosine (m1G), 8-oxo-guanosine, and 7-methyl-8-oxo-guanosine.

The polynucleotides of the present disclosure may be partially or fully modified along the entire length of the molecule. For example, one or more or all or a given type of nucleotide (e.g., purine or pyrimidine, or any one or more or all of A, G, U, C) may be uniformly modified in a polynucleotide of the invention, or in a given predetermined sequence region thereof (e.g., in the mRNA including or excluding the polyA tail). In some embodiments, all nucleotides X in a polynucleotide of the present disclosure (or in a given sequence region thereof) are modified nucleotides, wherein X may be any one of nucleotides A, G, U, C, or any one of the combinations A+G, A+U, A+C, G+U, G+C, U+C, A+G+U, A+G+C, G+U+C, or A+G+C.

The polynucleotide may contain from about 1% to about 100% modified nucleotides (either in relation to overall nucleotide content, or in relation to one or more types of nucleotide, i.e., any one or more of A, G, U or C) or any intervening percentage (e.g., from 1% to 20%, from 1% to 25%, from 1% to 50%, from 1% to 60%, from 1% to 70%, from 1% to 80%, from 1% to 90%, from 1% to 95%, from 10% to 20%, from 10% to 25%, from 10% to 50%, from 10% to 60%, from 10% to 70%, from 10% to 80%, from 10% to 90%, from 10% to 95%, from 10% to 100%, from 20% to 25%, from 20% to 50%, from 20% to 60%, from 20% to 70%, from 20% to 80%, from 20% to 90%, from 20% to 95%, from 20% to 100%, from 50% to 60%, from 50% to 70%, from 50% to 80%, from 50% to 90%, from 50% to 95%, from 50% to 100%, from 70% to 80%, from 70% to 90%, from 70% to 95%, from 70% to 100%, from 80% to 90%, from 80% to 95%, from 80% to 100%, from 90% to 95%, from 90% to 100%, and from 95% to 100%). It will be understood that any remaining percentage is accounted for by the presence of unmodified A, G, U, or C.

The polynucleotides may contain at a minimum 1% and at maximum 100% modified nucleotides, or any intervening percentage, such as at least 5% modified nucleotides, at least 10% modified nucleotides, at least 25% modified nucleotides, at least 50% modified nucleotides, at least 80% modified nucleotides, or at least 90% modified nucleotides. For example, the polynucleotides may contain a modified pyrimidine such as a modified uracil or cytosine. In some embodiments, at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25%, at least 50%, at least 80%, at least 90% or 100% of the uracil in the polynucleotide is replaced with a modified uracil (e.g., a 5-substituted uracil). The modified uracil can be replaced by a compound having a single unique structure, or can be replaced by a plurality of compounds having different structures (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or more unique structures). In some embodiments, at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 25%, at least 50%, at least 80%, at least 90%, or 100% of the cytosine in the polynucleotide is replaced with a modified cytosine (e.g., a 5-substituted cytosine). The modified cytosine can be replaced by a compound having a single unique structure, or can be replaced by a plurality of compounds having different structures (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or more unique structures).

Thus, in some embodiments, the RNA vaccines comprise a 5′UTR element, an optionally codon optimized open reading frame, and a 3′UTR element, a poly(A) sequence and/or a polyadenylation signal wherein the RNA is not chemically modified.

In some embodiments, the modified nucleobase is a modified uracil. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified uracil include pseudouridine (ψ), pyridin-4-one ribonucleoside, 5-aza-uridine, 6-aza-uridine, 2-thio-5-aza-uridine, 2-thio-uridine (s²U), 4-thio-uridine (s⁴U), 4-thio-pseudouridine, 2-thio-pseudouridine, 5-hydroxy-uridine (ho⁵U), 5-aminoallyl-uridine, 5-halo-uridine (e.g., 5-iodo-uridineor 5-bromo-uridine), 3-methyl-uridine (m³U), 5-methoxy-uridine (mo⁵U), uridine 5-oxyacetic acid (cmo⁵U), uridine 5-oxyacetic acid methyl ester (mcmo⁵U), 5-carboxymethyl-uridine (cm⁵U), 1-carboxymethyl-pseudouridine, 5-carboxyhydroxymethyl-uridine (chm⁵U), 5-carboxyhydroxymethyl-uridine methyl ester (mchm⁵U), 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-uridine (mcm⁵U), 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thio-uridine (mcm⁵s²U), 5-aminomethyl-2-thio-uridine (nm⁵s²U), 5-methylaminomethyl-uridine (mnm⁵U), 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thio-uridine (mnm⁵s²U), 5-methylaminomethyl-2-seleno-uridine (mnm⁵se²U), 5-carbamoylmethyl-uridine (ncm⁵U), 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-uridine (cmnm⁵U), 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2-thio-uridine (cmnm⁵s²U), 5-propynyl-uridine, 1-propynyl-pseudouridine, 5-taurinomethyl-uridine (τm⁵U), 1-taurinomethyl-pseudouridine, 5-taurinomethyl-2-thio-uridine(τm⁵s²U), 1-taurinomethyl-4-thio-pseudouridine, 5-methyl-uridine (m⁵U, i.e., having the nucleobase deoxythymine), 1-methyl-pseudouridine (m¹ψ), 1-ethyl-pseudouridine (e1ψ), 5-methyl-2-thio-uridine (m5s²U), 1-methyl-4-thio-pseudouridine (m¹s⁴ψ), 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 3-methyl-pseudouridine (m³ψ), 2-thio-1-methyl-pseudouridine, 1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine, 2-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudouridine, dihydrouridine (D), dihydropseudouridine, 5,6-dihydrouridine, 5-methyl-dihydrouridine (m⁵D), 2-thio-dihydrouridine, 2-thio-dihydropseudouridine, 2-methoxy-uridine, 2-methoxy-4-thio-uridine, 4-methoxy-pseudouridine, 4-methoxy-2-thio-pseudouridine, N1-methyl-pseudouridine, 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)uridine (acp³U), 1-methyl-3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)pseudouridine (acp³ψ), 5-(isopentenylaminomethyl)uridine (inm⁵U), 5-(isopentenylaminomethyl)-2-thio-uridine (inm⁵s²U), α-thio-uridine, 2′-O-methyl-uridine (Um), 5,2′-O-dimethyl-uridine (m⁵Um), 2′-O-methyl-pseudouridine (ψm), 2-thio-2′-O-methyl-uridine (s²Um), 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2′-O-methyl-uridine (mcm⁵Um), 5-carbamoylmethyl-2′-O-methyl-uridine (ncm⁵Um), 5-carboxymethylaminomethyl-2′-O-methyl-uridine (cmnm⁵Um), 3,2′-O-dimethyl-uridine (m³Um), and 5-(isopentenylaminomethyl)-2′-O-methyl-uridine (inm⁵Um), 1-thio-uridine, deoxythymidine, 2′-F-ara-uridine, 2′-F-uridine, 2′-OH-ara-uridine, 5-(2-carbomethoxyvinyl) uridine, and 5-[3-(1-E-propenylamino)]uridine.

In some embodiments, the modified nucleobase is a modified cytosine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified cytosine include 5-aza-cytidine, 6-aza-cytidine, pseudoisocytidine, 3-methyl-cytidine (m³C), N4-acetyl-cytidine (ac⁴C), 5-formyl-cytidine (f⁵C), N4-methyl-cytidine (m⁴C), 5-methyl-cytidine (m⁵C), 5-halo-cytidine (e.g., 5-iodo-cytidine), 5-hydroxymethyl-cytidine (hm⁵C), 1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine, pyrrolo-cytidine, pyrrolo-pseudoisocytidine, 2-thio-cytidine (s²C), 2-thio-5-methyl-cytidine, 4-thio-pseudoisocytidine, 4-thio-1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine, 4-thio-1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudoisocytidine, 1-methyl-1-deaza-pseudoisocytidine, zebularine, 5-aza-zebularine, 5-methyl-zebularine, 5-aza-2-thio-zebularine, 2-thio-zebularine, 2-methoxy-cytidine, 2-methoxy-5-methyl-cytidine, 4-methoxy-pseudoisocytidine, 4-methoxy-1-methyl-pseudoisocytidine, lysidine (k₂C), α-thio-cytidine, 2′-O-methyl-cytidine (Cm), 5,2′-O-dimethyl-cytidine (m⁵Cm), N4-acetyl-2′-O-methyl-cytidine (ac⁴Cm), N4,2′-O-dimethyl-cytidine (m⁴Cm), 5-formyl-2′-O-methyl-cytidine (f⁵Cm), N4,N4,2′-O-trimethyl-cytidine (m⁴₂Cm), 1-thio-cytidine, 2′-F-ara-cytidine, 2′-F-cytidine, and 2′-OH-ara-cytidine.

In some embodiments, the modified nucleobase is a modified adenine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified adenine include 2-amino-purine, 2, 6-diaminopurine, 2-amino-6-halo-purine (e.g., 2-amino-6-chloro-purine), 6-halo-purine (e.g., 6-chloro-purine), 2-amino-6-methyl-purine, 8-azido-adenosine, 7-deaza-adenine, 7-deaza-8-aza-adenine, 7-deaza-2-amino-purine, 7-deaza-8-aza-2-amino-purine, 7-deaza-2,6-diaminopurine, 7-deaza-8-aza-2,6-diaminopurine, 1-methyl-adenosine (m¹A), 2-methyl-adenine (m²A), N6-methyl-adenosine (m⁶A), 2-methylthio-N6-methyl-adenosine (ms²m⁶A), N6-isopentenyl-adenosine (i⁶A), 2-methylthio-N6-isopentenyl-adenosine (ms²i⁶A), N6-(cis-hydroxyisopentenyl)adenosine (io⁶A), 2-methylthio-N6-(cis-hydroxyisopentenyl)adenosine (ms²io⁶A), N6-glycinylcarbamoyl-adenosine (g⁶A), N6-threonylcarbamoyl-adenosine (t⁶A), N6-methyl-N6-threonylcarbamoyl-adenosine (m⁶t⁶A), 2-methylthio-N6-threonylcarbamoyl-adenosine (ms²g⁶A), N6,N6-dimethyl-adenosine (m⁶₂A), N6-hydroxynorvalylcarbamoyl-adenosine (hn⁶A), 2-methylthio-N6-hydroxynorvalylcarbamoyl-adenosine (ms²hn⁶A), N6-acetyl-adenosine (ac⁶A), 7-methyl-adenine, 2-methylthio-adenine, 2-methoxy-adenine, α-thio-adenosine, 2′-O-methyl-adenosine (Am), N6,2′-O-dimethyl-adenosine (m⁶Am), N6,N6,2′-O-trimethyl-adenosine (m⁶₂Am), 1,2′-O-dimethyl-adenosine (m¹Am), 2′-O-ribosyladenosine (phosphate) (Ar(p)), 2-amino-N6-methyl-purine, 1-thio-adenosine, 8-azido-adenosine, 2′-F-ara-adenosine, 2′-F-adenosine, 2′-OH-ara-adenosine, and N6-(19-amino-pentaoxanonadecyl)-adenosine.

In some embodiments, the modified nucleobase is a modified guanine. Exemplary nucleobases and nucleosides having a modified guanine include inosine (I), 1-methyl-inosine (m¹I), wyosine (imG), methylwyosine (mimG), 4-demethyl-wyosine (imG-14), isowyosine (imG2), wybutosine (yW), peroxywybutosine (o₂yW), hydroxywybutosine (OhyW), undermodified hydroxywybutosine (OhyW*), 7-deaza-guanosine, queuosine (Q), epoxyqueuosine (oQ), galactosyl-queuosine (galQ), mannosyl-queuosine (manQ), 7-cyano-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ₀), 7-aminomethyl-7-deaza-guanosine (preQ₁), archaeosine (G⁺), 7-deaza-8-aza-guanosine, 6-thio-guanosine, 6-thio-7-deaza-guanosine, 6-thio-7-deaza-8-aza-guanosine, 7-methyl-guanosine (m⁷G), 6-thio-7-methyl-guanosine, 7-methyl-inosine, 6-methoxy-guanosine, 1-methyl-guanosine (m¹G), N2-methyl-guanosine (m²G), N2,N2-dimethyl-guanosine (m²₂G), N2,7-dimethyl-guanosine (m^2,7G), N2, N2,7-dimethyl-guanosine (m^2,2,7G), 8-oxo-guanosine, 7-methyl-8-oxo-guanosine, 1-methyl-6-thio-guanosine, N2-methyl-6-thio-guanosine, N2,N2-dimethyl-6-thio-guanosine, α-thio-guanosine, 2′-O-methyl-guanosine (Gm), N2-methyl-2′-O-methyl-guanosine (m²Gm), N2,N2-dimethyl-2′-O-methyl-guanosine (m²₂Gm), 1-methyl-2′-O-methyl-guanosine (m¹Gm), N2,7-dimethyl-2′-O-methyl-guanosine (m^2,7Gm), 2′-O-methyl-inosine (Im), 1,2′-O-dimethyl-inosine (m¹Im), 2′-O-ribosylguanosine (phosphate) (Gr(p)), 1-thio-guanosine, 06-methyl-guanosine, 2′-F-ara-guanosine, and 2′-F-guanosine.

HSV Vaccines

In Vitro Transcription of RNA (e.g., mRNA)

HSV vaccines of the present disclosure comprise at least one RNA polynucleotide, such as a mRNA (e.g., modified mRNA). mRNA, for example, is transcribed in vitro from template DNA, referred to as an “in vitro transcription template.” In some embodiments, the at least one RNA polynucleotide has at least one chemical modification. The at least one chemical modification may include, but is expressly not limited to, any modification described herein.

In vitro transcription of RNA is known in the art and is described in WO2014/152027, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. For example, in some embodiments, the RNA transcript is generated using a non-amplified, linearized DNA template in an in vitro transcription reaction to generate the RNA transcript. In some embodiments, the RNA transcript is capped via enzymatic capping. In some embodiments, the RNA transcript is purified via chromatographic methods, e.g., use of an oligo dT substrate. Some embodiments exclude the use of DNase. In some embodiments, the RNA transcript is synthesized from a non-amplified, linear DNA template coding for the gene of interest via an enzymatic in vitro transcription reaction utilizing a T7 phage RNA polymerase and nucleotide triphosphates of the desired chemistry. Any number of RNA polymerases or variants may be used in the method of the present invention. The polymerase may be selected from, but is not limited to, a phage RNA polymerase, e.g., a T7 RNA polymerase, a T3 RNA polymerase, a SP6 RNa polymerase, and/or mutant polymerases such as, but not limited to, polymerases able to incorporate modified nucleic acids and/or modified nucleotides, including chemically modified nucleic acids and/or nucleotides.

In some embodiments, a non-amplified, linearized plasmid DNA is utilized as the template DNA for in vitro transcription. In some embodiments, the template DNA is isolated DNA. In some embodiments, the template DNA is cDNA. In some embodiments, the cDNA is formed by reverse transcription of a RNA polynucleotide, for example, but not limited to HSV RNA, e.g. HSV mRNA. In some embodiments, cells, e.g., bacterial cells, e.g., E. coli, e.g., DH-1 cells are transfected with the plasmid DNA template. In some embodiments, the transfected cells are cultured to replicate the plasmid DNA which is then isolated and purified. In some embodiments, the DNA template includes a RNA polymerase promoter, e.g., a T7 promoter located 5′ to and operably linked to the gene of interest.

In some embodiments, an in vitro transcription template encodes a 5′ untranslated (UTR) region, contains an open reading frame, and encodes a 3′ UTR and a polyA tail. The particular nucleic acid sequence composition and length of an in vitro transcription template will depend on the mRNA encoded by the template.

A “5′ untranslated region” (UTR) refers to a region of an mRNA that is directly upstream (i.e., 5′) from the start codon (i.e., the first codon of an mRNA transcript translated by a ribosome) that does not encode a polypeptide.

A “3′ untranslated region” (UTR) refers to a region of an mRNA that is directly downstream (i.e., 3′) from the stop codon (i.e., the codon of an mRNA transcript that signals a termination of translation) that does not encode a polypeptide.

An “open reading frame” is a continuous stretch of DNA or RNA beginning with a start codon (e.g., methionine (ATG or AUG)), and ending with a stop codon (e.g., TAA, TAG or TGA, or UAA, UAG or UGA) and typically encodes a polypeptide (e.g., protein). It will be understood that the sequences disclosed herein may further comprise additional elements, e.g., 5′ and 3′ UTRs, but that those elements, unlike the ORF, need not necessarily be present in a vaccine of the present disclosure. A “polyA tail” is a region of mRNA that is downstream, e.g., directly downstream (i.e., 3′), from the 3′ UTR that contains multiple consecutive adenosine monophosphates. A polyA tail may contain 10 to 300 adenosine monophosphates. For example, a polyA tail may contain 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, or 300 adenosine monophosphates. In some embodiments, a polyA tail contains 50 to 250 adenosine monophosphates. In a relevant biological setting (e.g., in cells, in vivo), the poly(A) tail functions to protect mRNA from enzymatic degradation, e.g., in the cytoplasm, and aids in transcription termination, export of the mRNA from the nucleus, and translation.

In some embodiments, a polynucleotide includes 200 to 3,000 nucleotides. For example, a polynucleotide may include 200 to 500, 200 to 1000, 200 to 1500, 200 to 3000, 500 to 1000, 500 to 1500, 500 to 2000, 500 to 3000, 1000 to 1500, 1000 to 2000, 1000 to 3000, 1500 to 3000, or 2000 to 3000 nucleotides.

Methods of Treatment

Provided herein are compositions (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions), methods, kits and reagents for prevention and/or treatment of HSV in humans and other mammals. HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines can be used as therapeutic or prophylactic agents. They may be used in medicine to prevent and/or treat infectious disease. In exemplary aspects, the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure are used to provide prophylactic protection from HSV. Prophylactic protection from HSV can be achieved following administration of a HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine of the present disclosure. Vaccines can be administered once, twice, three times, four times or more, but it is likely sufficient to administer the vaccine once (optionally followed by a single booster). It is possible, although less desirable, to administer the vaccine to an infected individual to achieve a therapeutic response. Dosing may need to be adjusted accordingly.

In some embodiments, the HSV vaccines of the present disclosure can be used as a method of preventing a HSV infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to said subject at least one HSV vaccine of this invention. In other embodiments, the HSV vaccines of this invention can be used as a method of inhibiting a primary HSV infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to said subject at least one HSV vaccine of this invention. In other embodiments, the HSV vaccines of this invention can be used as a method of treating a HSV infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to said subject at least one HSV vaccine of this invention. In other embodiments, the HSV vaccines of this invention can be used as a method of reducing an incidence of HSV infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to said subject at least one HSV vaccine of this invention. In other embodiments, the HSV vaccines of this invention can be used as a method of inhibiting spread of HSV from a first subject infected with HSV to a second subject not infected with HSV, the method comprising administering to at least one of said first subject sand said second subject at least one HSV vaccine of this invention.

A method of eliciting an immune response in a subject against a HSV is provided in aspects of the present disclosure. The method involves administering to the subject a HSV RNA vaccine comprising at least one RNA (e.g. mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide, thereby inducing in the subject an immune response specific to HSV antigenic polypeptide, wherein anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV. An “anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody” is a serum antibody the binds specifically to the antigenic polypeptide.

A prophylactically effective dose is a therapeutically effective dose that prevents infection with the virus at a clinically acceptable level. In some embodiments, the therapeutically effective dose is a dose listed in a package insert for the vaccine. A traditional vaccine, as used herein, refers to a vaccine other than the RNA vaccines of the invention. For instance, a traditional vaccine includes but is not limited to live microorganism vaccines, killed microorganism vaccines, subunit vaccines, protein antigen vaccines, DNA vaccines, etc. In exemplary embodiments, a traditional vaccine is a vaccine that has achieved regulatory approval and/or is registered by a national drug regulatory body, for example the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States or the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 1 log to 10 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 1 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 2 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 3 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 5 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

In some embodiments, the anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject is increased 10 log following vaccination relative to anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV.

A method of eliciting an immune response in a subject against a HSV is provided in other aspects of the invention. The method involves administering to the subject a HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine comprising at least one RNA polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide, thereby inducing in the subject an immune response specific to HSV antigenic polypeptide, wherein the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine against the HSV at 2 times to 100 times the dosage level relative to the RNA vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at twice the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at three times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 4 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 5 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 10 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 50 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 100 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 10 times to 1000 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is equivalent to an immune response in a subject vaccinated with a traditional vaccine at 100 times to 1000 times the dosage level relative to the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In other embodiments, the immune response is assessed by determining anti-antigenic polypeptide antibody titer in the subject.

In other aspects, the invention is a method of eliciting an immune response in a subject against a HSV by administering to the subject a HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine comprising at least one RNA (e.g. mRNA) polynucleotide having an open reading frame encoding at least one HSV antigenic polypeptide, thereby inducing in the subject an immune response specific to HSV antigenic polypeptide, wherein the immune response in the subject is induced 2 days to 10 weeks earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine against the HSV. In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine at 2 times to 100 times the dosage level relative to the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 2 days earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 3 days earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 1 week earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 2 weeks earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 3 weeks earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 5 weeks earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

In some embodiments, the immune response in the subject is induced 10 weeks earlier relative to an immune response induced in a subject vaccinated with a prophylactically effective dose of a traditional vaccine.

Aspects of the present disclosure further include a method of eliciting an immune response in a subject against a HSV by administering to the subject a HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine having an open reading frame encoding a first antigenic polypeptide, wherein the RNA polynucleotide does not include a stabilization element, and wherein an adjuvant is not coformulated or co-administered with the vaccine.

Broad Spectrum HSV Vaccines

It is envisioned that there may be situations where persons are at risk for infection with more than one strain of HSV. RNA (mRNA) therapeutic vaccines are particularly amenable to combination vaccination approaches due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, speed of manufacture, ability to rapidly tailor vaccines to accommodate perceived geographical threat, and the like. Moreover, because the vaccines utilize the human body to produce the antigenic protein, the vaccines are amenable to the production of larger, more complex antigenic proteins, allowing for proper folding, surface expression, antigen presentation, etc. in the human subject. To protect against more than one strain of HSV, a combination vaccine can be administered that includes RNA (e.g. mRNA) encoding at least one antigenic polypeptide protein (or antigenic portion thereof) of a first HSV and further includes RNA (e.g. mRNA) encoding at least one antigenic polypeptide protein (or antigenic portion thereof) of a second HSV. RNAs (mRNAs) can be co-formulated, for example, in a single lipid nanoparticle (LNP) or can be formulated in separate LNPs destined for co-administration.

Flagellin Adjuvants

Flagellin is an approximately 500 amino acid monomeric protein that polymerizes to form the flagella associated with bacterial motion. Flagellin is expressed by a variety of flagellated bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium for example) as well as non-flagellated bacteria (such as Escherichia coli). Sensing of flagellin by cells of the innate immune system (dendritic cells, macrophages, etc.) is mediated by the Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) as well as by Nod-like receptors (NLRs) Ipaf and Naip5. TLRs and NLRs have been identified as playing a role in the activation of innate immune response and adaptive immune response. As such, flagellin provides an adjuvant effect in a vaccine.

The nucleotide and amino acid sequences encoding known flagellin polypeptides are publicly available in the NCBI GenBank database. The flagellin sequences from S. typhimurium, H. pylori, V. cholera, S. marcesens, S. flexneri, T. pallidum, L. pneumophila, B. burgdorferei, C. difficile, R. meliloti, A. tumefaciens, R. lupini, B. clarridgeiae, P. mirabilis, B. subtilus, L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, and E. coli, among others are known.

A “flagellin polypeptide,” as used herein, refers to a full length flagellin protein, immunogenic fragments thereof, and peptides having at least 50% sequence identity to a flagellin protein or immunogenic fragments thereof. Exemplary flagellin proteins include flagellin from Salmonella typhi (UniPro Entry number: Q56086), Salmonella typhimurium (A0A0C9DG09), Salmonella enteritidis (A0A0C9BAB7), and Salmonella choleraesuis (Q6V2X8), and SEQ ID NO: 89, 125 or 126. In some embodiments, the flagellin polypeptide has at least 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequence identity to a flagellin protein or immunogenic fragments thereof (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 89, 125 or 126).

In some embodiments, the flagellin polypeptide is an immunogenic fragment. An immunogenic fragment is a portion of a flagellin protein that provokes an immune response. In some embodiments, the immune response is a TLR5 immune response. An example of an immunogenic fragment is a flagellin protein in which all or a portion of a hinge region has been deleted or replaced with other amino acids. For example, an antigenic polypeptide may be inserted in the hinge region. Hinge regions are the hypervariable regions of a flagellin. Hinge regions of a flagellin are also referred to as “D3 domain or region, “propeller domain or region,” “hypervariable domain or region,” and “variable domain or region.” “At least a portion of a hinge region,” as used herein, refers to any part of the hinge region of the flagellin, or the entirety of the hinge region. In other embodiments, an immunogenic fragment of flagellin is a 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 amino acid C-terminal fragment of flagellin.

The flagellin monomer is formed by domains D0 through D3. D0 and D1, which form the stem, are composed of tandem long alpha helices and are highly conserved among different bacteria. The D1 domain includes several stretches of amino acids that are useful for TLR5 activation. The entire D1 domain or one or more of the active regions within the domain are immunogenic fragments of flagellin. Examples of immunogenic regions within the D1 domain include residues 88-114 and residues 411-431 in Salmonella typhimurium FliC flagellin. Within the 13 amino acids in the 88-100 region, at least 6 substitutions are permitted between Salmonella flagellin and other flagellins that still preserve TLR5 activation. Thus, immunogenic fragments of flagellin include flagellin-like sequences that activate TLR5 and contain a 13 amino acid motif that is 53% or more identical to the Salmonella sequence in 88-100 of FliC (LQRVRELAVQSAN; SEQ ID NO: 127).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine includes an RNA that encodes a fusion protein of flagellin and one or more antigenic polypeptides. A “fusion protein” as used herein, refers to a linking of two components of the construct. In some embodiments, a carboxy-terminus of the antigenic polypeptide is fused or linked to an amino terminus of the flagellin polypeptide. In other embodiments, an amino-terminus of the antigenic polypeptide is fused or linked to a carboxy-terminus of the flagellin polypeptide. The fusion protein may include, for example, one, two, three, four, five, six or more flagellin polypeptides linked to one, two, three, four, five, six or more antigenic polypeptides. When two or more flagellin polypeptides and/or two or more antigenic polypeptides are linked such a construct may be referred to as a “multimer.”

Each of the components of a fusion protein may be directly linked to one another or they may be connected through a linker. For instance, the linker may be an amino acid linker. The amino acid linker encoded for by the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine to link the components of the fusion protein may include, for instance, at least one member selected from the group consisting of a lysine residue, a glutamic acid residue, a serine residue, and an arginine residue. In some embodiments, the linker is 1-30, 1-25, 1-25, 5-10, 5, 15, or 5-20 amino acids in length.

In other embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine includes at least two separate RNA polynucleotides, one encoding one or more antigenic polypeptides and the other encoding the flagellin polypeptide. The at least two RNA (e.g. mRNA) polynucleotides may be co-formulated in a carrier such as a lipid nanoparticle.

Therapeutic and Prophylactic Compositions

Provided herein are compositions (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions), methods, kits and reagents for prevention, treatment or diagnosis of HSV in humans and other mammals, for example. HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines can be used as therapeutic or prophylactic agents. They may be used in medicine to prevent and/or treat infectious disease. In some embodiments, the HSV vaccines of the invention can be envisioned for use in the priming of immune effector cells, for example, to activate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) ex vivo, which are then infused (re-infused) into a subject.

In exemplary embodiments, a HSV vaccine containing RNA polynucleotides as described herein can be administered to a subject (e.g., a mammalian subject, such as a human subject), and the RNA polynucleotides are translated in vivo to produce an antigenic polypeptide.

The HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be induced for translation of a polypeptide (e.g., antigen or immunogen) in a cell, tissue or organism. In exemplary embodiments, such translation occurs in vivo, although there can be envisioned embodiments where such translation occurs ex vivo, in culture or in vitro. In exemplary embodiments, the cell, tissue, or organism is contacted with an effective amount of a composition containing a HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine that contains a polynucleotide that has at least one a translatable region encoding an antigenic polypeptide.

An “effective amount” of the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine is provided based, at least in part, on the target tissue, target cell type, means of administration, physical characteristics of the polynucleotide (e.g., size, and extent of modified nucleosides), and other components of the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine, and other determinants. In general, an effective amount of the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine composition provides an induced or boosted immune response as a function of antigen production in the cell. In general, an effective amount of the HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine containing RNA polynucleotides having at least one chemical modifications are preferably more efficient than a composition containing a corresponding unmodified RNA polynucleotides encoding the same antigen or a peptide antigen. Increased antigen production may be demonstrated by increased cell transfection (the percentage of cells transfected with the RNA vaccine), increased protein translation from the polynucleotide, decreased nucleic acid degradation (as demonstrated, for example, by increased duration of protein translation from a modified polynucleotide), or altered antigen specific immune response of the host cell.

The term “pharmaceutical composition” refers to the combination of an active agent with a carrier, inert or active, making the composition especially suitable for diagnostic or therapeutic use in vivo or ex vivo. A “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier,” after administration to or upon a subject, does not cause undesirable physiological effects. The carrier in the pharmaceutical composition must be “acceptable” also in the sense that it is compatible with the active ingredient and can be capable of stabilizing it. One or more solubilizing agents can be utilized as pharmaceutical carriers for delivery of an active agent. Examples of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier include, but are not limited to, biocompatible vehicles, adjuvants, additives, and diluents to achieve a composition usable as a dosage form. Examples of other carriers include colloidal silicon oxide, magnesium stearate, cellulose, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Additional suitable pharmaceutical carriers and diluents, as well as pharmaceutical necessities for their use, are described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences.

In some embodiments, RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines (including polynucleotides their encoded polypeptides) in accordance with the present disclosure may be used for treatment of HSV.

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be administered prophylactically or therapeutically as part of an active immunization scheme to healthy individuals or early in infection during the incubation phase or during active infection after onset of symptoms. In some embodiments, the amount of RNA vaccines of the present disclosure provided to a cell, a tissue or a subject may be an amount effective for immune prophylaxis.

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be administrated with other prophylactic or therapeutic compounds. As a non-limiting example, a prophylactic or therapeutic compound may be an adjuvant or a booster. As used herein, when referring to a prophylactic composition, such as a vaccine, the term “booster” refers to an extra administration of the prophylactic (vaccine) composition. A booster (or booster vaccine) may be given after an earlier administration of the prophylactic composition. The time of administration between the initial administration of the prophylactic composition and the booster may be, but is not limited to, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes 35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, 55 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours, 11 hours, 12 hours, 13 hours, 14 hours, 15 hours, 16 hours, 17 hours, 18 hours, 19 hours, 20 hours, 21 hours, 22 hours, 23 hours, 1 day, 36 hours, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 1 week, 10 days, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 7 months, 8 months, 9 months, 10 months, 11 months, 1 year, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7 years, 8 years, 9 years, 10 years, 11 years, 12 years, 13 years, 14 years, 15 years, 16 years, 17 years, 18 years, 19 years, 20 years, 25 years, 30 years, 35 years, 40 years, 45 years, 50 years, 55 years, 60 years, 65 years, 70 years, 75 years, 80 years, 85 years, 90 years, 95 years or more than 99 years. In exemplary embodiments, the time of administration between the initial administration of the prophylactic composition and the booster may be, but is not limited to, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.

In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be administered intramuscularly or intradermally, similarly to the administration of inactivated vaccines known in the art.

The HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be utilized in various settings depending on the prevalence of the infection or the degree or level of unmet medical need. As a non-limiting example, the RNA vaccines may be utilized to treat and/or prevent a variety of infectious disease. RNA vaccines have superior properties in that they produce much larger antibody titers and produce responses early than commercially available anti-virals.

Provided herein are pharmaceutical compositions including HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines and RNA vaccine compositions and/or complexes optionally in combination with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients.

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be formulated or administered alone or in conjunction with one or more other components. For instance, HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines (vaccine compositions) may comprise other components including, but not limited to, adjuvants.

In some embodiments, RNA (e.g., mRNA) RNA vaccines do not include an adjuvant (they are adjuvant free).

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be formulated or administered in combination with one or more pharmaceutically-acceptable excipients. In some embodiments, vaccine compositions comprise at least one additional active substances, such as, for example, a therapeutically-active substance, a prophylactically-active substance, or a combination of both. Vaccine compositions may be sterile, pyrogen-free, or both sterile and pyrogen-free. General considerations in the formulation and/or manufacture of pharmaceutical agents, such as vaccine compositions, may be found, for example, in Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy 21st ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005 (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines are administered to humans, human patients, or subjects. For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “active ingredient” generally refers to the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines or the polynucleotides contained therein, for example, RNA polynucleotides (e.g., mRNA polynucleotides) encoding antigenic polypeptides.

Formulations of the vaccine compositions described herein may be prepared by any method known or hereafter developed in the art of pharmacology. In general, such preparatory methods include the step of bringing the active ingredient (e.g., mRNA polynucleotide) into association with an excipient and/or one or more other accessory ingredients, and then, if necessary and/or desirable, dividing, shaping and/or packaging the product into a desired single- or multi-dose unit.

Relative amounts of the active ingredient, the pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, and/or any additional ingredients in a pharmaceutical composition in accordance with the disclosure will vary, depending upon the identity, size, and/or condition of the subject treated and further depending upon the route by which the composition is to be administered. By way of example, the composition may comprise between 0.1% and 100%, e.g., between 0.5 and 50%, between 1-30%, between 5-80%, at least 80% (w/w) active ingredient.

HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines can be formulated using one or more excipients to: (1) increase stability; (2) increase cell transfection; (3) permit the sustained or delayed release (e.g., from a depot formulation); (4) alter the biodistribution (e.g., target to specific tissues or cell types); (5) increase the translation of encoded protein in vivo; and/or (6) alter the release profile of encoded protein (antigen) in vivo. In addition to traditional excipients, such as any and all solvents, dispersion media, diluents, or other liquid vehicles, dispersion or suspension aids, surface active agents, isotonic agents, thickening or emulsifying agents, preservatives, excipients can include, without limitation, lipidoids, liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, polymers, lipoplexes, core-shell nanoparticles, peptides, proteins, cells transfected with HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines (e.g., for transplantation into a subject), hyaluronidase, nanoparticle mimics and combinations thereof.

Stabilizing Elements

Naturally-occurring eukaryotic mRNA molecules have been found to contain stabilizing elements, including, but not limited to untranslated regions (UTR) at their 5′-end (5′UTR) and/or at their 3′-end (3′UTR), in addition to other structural features, such as a 5′-cap structure or a 3′-poly(A) tail. Both the 5′UTR and the 3′UTR are typically transcribed from the genomic DNA and are elements of the premature mRNA. Characteristic structural features of mature mRNA, such as the 5′-cap and the 3′-poly(A) tail, are usually added to the transcribed (premature) mRNA during mRNA processing. The 3′-poly(A) tail is typically a stretch of adenine nucleotides added to the 3′-end of the transcribed mRNA. It can comprise up to about 400 adenine nucleotides. In some embodiments, the length of the 3′-poly(A) tail may be an essential element with respect to the stability of the individual mRNA.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine may include one or more stabilizing elements. Stabilizing elements may include, for instance, a histone stem-loop. A stem-loop binding protein (SLBP), a 32 kDa protein, has been identified. It is associated with the histone stem-loop at the 3′-end of the histone messages in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Its expression level is regulated by the cell cycle; it is peaks during the S-phase, when histone mRNA levels are also elevated. The protein has been shown to be essential for efficient 3′-end processing of histone pre-mRNA by the U7 snRNP. SLBP continues to be associated with the stem-loop after processing, and then stimulates the translation of mature histone mRNAs into histone proteins in the cytoplasm. The RNA binding domain of SLBP is conserved through metazoa and protozoa; its binding to the histone stem-loop depends on the structure of the loop. The minimum binding site includes at least three nucleotides 5′ and two nucleotides 3′ relative to the stem-loop.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccines include a coding region, at least one histone stem-loop, and optionally, a poly(A) sequence or polyadenylation signal. The poly(A) sequence or polyadenylation signal generally should enhance the expression level of the encoded protein. The encoded protein, in some embodiments, is not a histone protein, a reporter protein (e.g. Luciferase, GFP, EGFP, β-Galactosidase, EGFP), or a marker or selection protein (e.g. alpha-Globin, Galactokinase and Xanthine:guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (GPT)).

In some embodiments, the combination of a poly(A) sequence or polyadenylation signal and at least one histone stem-loop, even though both represent alternative mechanisms in nature, acts synergistically to increase the protein expression beyond the level observed with either of the individual elements. It has been found that the synergistic effect of the combination of poly(A) and at least one histone stem-loop does not depend on the order of the elements or the length of the poly(A) sequence.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine does not comprise a histone downstream element (HDE). “Histone downstream element” (HDE) includes a purine-rich polynucleotide stretch of approximately 15 to 20 nucleotides 3′ of naturally occurring stem-loops, representing the binding site for the U7 snRNA, which is involved in processing of histone pre-mRNA into mature histone mRNA. Ideally, the inventive nucleic acid does not include an intron.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine may or may not contain an enhancer and/or promoter sequence, which may be modified or unmodified or which may be activated or inactivated. In some embodiments, the histone stem-loop is generally derived from histone genes, and includes an intramolecular base pairing of two neighbored partially or entirely reverse complementary sequences separated by a spacer, consisting of a short sequence, which forms the loop of the structure. The unpaired loop region is typically unable to base pair with either of the stem loop elements. It occurs more often in RNA, as is a key component of many RNA secondary structures, but may be present in single-stranded DNA as well. Stability of the stem-loop structure generally depends on the length, number of mismatches or bulges, and base composition of the paired region. In some embodiments, wobble base pairing (non-Watson-Crick base pairing) may result. In some embodiments, the at least one histone stem-loop sequence comprises a length of 15 to 45 nucleotides.

In other embodiments, the RNA vaccine may have one or more AU-rich sequences removed. These sequences, sometimes referred to as AURES, are destabilizing sequences found in the 3′UTR. The AURES may be removed from the RNA vaccines. Alternatively, the AURES may remain in the RNA vaccine.

Nanoparticle Formulations

In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines are formulated in a nanoparticle. In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines are formulated in a lipid nanoparticle. In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines are formulated in a lipid-polycation complex, referred to as a cationic lipid nanoparticle. The formation of the lipid nanoparticle may be accomplished by methods known in the art and/or as described in U.S. Publication No. 2012/0178702, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, the polycation may include a cationic peptide or a polypeptide such as, but not limited to, polylysine, polyornithine and/or polyarginine and the cationic peptides described in International Publication No. WO2012/013326 or U.S. Publication No. US2013/0142818; each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some embodiments, HSV RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines are formulated in a lipid nanoparticle that includes a non-cationic lipid such as, but not limited to, cholesterol or dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE).

A lipid nanoparticle formulation may be influenced by, but not limited to, the selection of the cationic lipid component, the degree of cationic lipid saturation, the nature of the PEGylation, ratio of all components, and biophysical parameters such as size. In one example by Semple et al. (Nature Biotech. 2010 28:172-176; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety), the lipid nanoparticle formulation is composed of 57.1% cationic lipid, 7.1% dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, 34.3% cholesterol, and 1.4% PEG-c-DMA. As another example, changing the composition of the cationic lipid was shown to more effectively deliver siRNA to various antigen presenting cells (Basha et al. Mol Ther. 2011 19:2186-2200; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations may comprise 35% to 45% cationic lipid, 40% to 50% cationic lipid, 50% to 60% cationic lipid and/or 55% to 65% cationic lipid. In some embodiments, the ratio of lipid to RNA (e.g., mRNA) in lipid nanoparticles may be 5:1 to 20:1, 10:1 to 25:1, 15:1 to 30:1, and/or at least 30:1.

In some embodiments, the ratio of PEG in the lipid nanoparticle formulations may be increased or decreased and/or the carbon chain length of the PEG lipid may be modified from C14 to C18 to alter the pharmacokinetics and/or biodistribution of the lipid nanoparticle formulations. As a non-limiting example, lipid nanoparticle formulations may contain 0.5% to 3.0%, 1.0% to 3.5%, 1.5% to 4.0%, 2.0% to 4.5%, 2.5% to 5.0%, and/or 3.0% to 6.0% of the lipid molar ratio of PEG-c-DOMG (R-3-[(ω-methoxy-poly(ethyleneglycol)2000)carbamoyl)]-1,2-dimyristyloxypropyl-3-amine) (also referred to herein as PEG-DOMG) as compared to the cationic lipid, DSPC, and cholesterol. In some embodiments, the PEG-c-DOMG may be replaced with a PEG lipid such as, but not limited to, PEG-DSG (1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycerol, methoxypolyethylene glycol), PEG-DMG (1,2-Dimyristoyl-sn-glycerol) and/or PEG-DPG (1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol, methoxypolyethylene glycol). The cationic lipid may be selected from any lipid known in the art such as, but not limited to, DLin-MC3-DMA, DLin-DMA, C12-200, and DLin-KC2-DMA.

In some embodiments, a HSV RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine formulation is a nanoparticle that comprises at least one lipid. The lipid may be selected from, but is not limited to, DLin-DMA, DLin-K-DMA, 98N12-5, C12-200, DLin-MC3-DMA, DLin-KC2-DMA, DODMA, PLGA, PEG, PEG-DMG, (12Z,15Z)—N,N-dimethyl-2-nonylhenicosa-12,15-dien-1-amine, N,N-dimethyl-1-[(1S,2R)-2-octylcyclopropyl]heptadecan-8-amine, PEGylated lipids, and amino alcohol lipids.

In some embodiments, the lipid is

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In some embodiments, the lipid is

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In some embodiments, the lipid may be a cationic lipid such as, but not limited to, DLin-DMA, DLin-D-DMA, DLin-MC3-DMA, DLin-KC2-DMA, DODMA, and amino alcohol lipids. The amino alcohol cationic lipid may be the lipids described in and/or made by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0150625, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, the cationic lipid may be 2-amino-3-[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]-2-{[(9Z,2Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]methyl}propan-1-ol (Compound 1 in US2013/0150625); 2-amino-3-[(9Z)-octadec-9-en-1-yloxy]-2-{[(9Z)-octadec-9-en-1-yloxy]methyl}propan-1-ol (Compound 2 in US2013/0150625); 2-amino-3-[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]-2-[(octyloxy)methyl]propan-1-ol (Compound 3 in US2013/0150625); and 2-(dimethylamino)-3-[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]-2-{[(9Z,12Z)-octadeca-9,12-dien-1-yloxy]methyl}propan-1-ol (Compound 4 in US2013/0150625); or any pharmaceutically acceptable salt or stereoisomer thereof.

Lipid nanoparticle formulations typically comprise a lipid, in particular, an ionizable cationic lipid, for example, 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), or di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, and further comprise a neutral lipid, a sterol and a molecule capable of reducing particle aggregation, for example a PEG or PEG-modified lipid.

In some embodiments, a lipid nanoparticle formulation consists essentially of (i) at least one lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate; (ii) a neutral lipid selected from DSPC, DPPC, POPC, DOPE and SM; (iii) a sterol, e.g., cholesterol; and (iv) a PEG-lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG or PEG-cDMA, in a molar ratio of 20-60% cationic lipid: 5-25% neutral lipid (non-cationic lipid): 25-55% sterol: 0.5-15% PEG-lipid.

In some embodiments, a lipid nanoparticle formulation includes 25% to 75% on a molar basis of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, e.g., 35% to 65%, 45% to 65%, 60%, 57.5%, 50% or 40% on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, a lipid nanoparticle formulation includes 0.5% to 15% on a molar basis of the neutral lipid (non-cationic lipid), e.g., 3% to 12%, 5% to 10% or 15%, 10%, or 7.5% on a molar basis. Examples of neutral lipids include, without limitation, DSPC, POPC, DPPC, DOPE, and SM. In some embodiments, the formulation includes 5% to 50% on a molar basis of the sterol (e.g., 15% to 45%, 20% to 40%, 40%, 38.5%, 35%, or 31% on a molar basis. A non-limiting example of a sterol is cholesterol. In some embodiments, a lipid nanoparticle formulation includes 0.5% to 20% on a molar basis of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid (e.g., 0.5% to 10%, 0.5% to 5%, 1.5%, 0.5%, 1.5%, 3.5%, or 5% on a molar basis. In some embodiments, a PEG or PEG modified lipid comprises a PEG molecule of an average molecular weight of 2,000 Da. In some embodiments, a PEG or PEG modified lipid comprises a PEG molecule of an average molecular weight of less than 2,000, for example around 1,500 Da, around 1,000 Da, or around 500 Da. Non-limiting examples of PEG-modified lipids include PEG-distearoyl glycerol (PEG-DMG) (also referred herein as PEG-C14 or C14-PEG), and PEG-cDMA (further discussed in Reyes et al. J. Controlled Release, 107, 276-287 (2005) the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 25-75% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 0.5-15% of the neutral lipid, 5-50% of the sterol, and 0.5-20% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 35-65% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 3-12% of the neutral lipid, 15-45% of the sterol, and 0.5-10% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 45-65% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 5-10% of the neutral lipid, 25-40% of the sterol, and 0.5-10% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 60% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 7.5% of the neutral lipid, 31% of the sterol, and 1.5% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 50% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 10% of the neutral lipid, 38.5% of the sterol, and 1.5% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 50% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 10% of the neutral lipid, 35% of the sterol, 4.5% or 5% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid, and 0.5% of the targeting lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 40% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 15% of the neutral lipid, 40% of the sterol, and 5% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 57.2% of a cationic lipid selected from the group consisting of 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), and di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 7.1% of the neutral lipid, 34.3% of the sterol, and 1.4% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations include 57.5% of a cationic lipid selected from the PEG lipid is PEG-cDMA (PEG-cDMA is further discussed in Reyes et al. (J. Controlled Release, 107, 276-287 (2005), the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety), 7.5% of the neutral lipid, 31.5% of the sterol, and 3.5% of the PEG or PEG-modified lipid on a molar basis.

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations consist essentially of a lipid mixture in molar ratios of 20-70% cationic lipid: 5-45% neutral lipid (non-cationic lipid): 20-55% cholesterol: 0.5-15% PEG-modified lipid. In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations consist essentially of a lipid mixture in a molar ratio of 20-60% cationic lipid: 5-25% neutral lipid (non-cationic lipid): 25-55% cholesterol: 0.5-15% PEG-modified lipid.

In some embodiments, the molar lipid ratio is 50/10/38.5/1.5 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid (non-cationic lipid), e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG, PEG-DSG or PEG-DPG), 57.2/7.1134.3/1.4 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DPPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-cDMA), 40/15/40/5 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG), 50/10/35/4.5/0.5 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DSG), 50/10/35/5 (cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG), 40/10/40/10 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG or PEG-cDMA), 35/15/40/10 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG or PEG-cDMA), or 52/13/30/5 (mol % cationic lipid/neutral lipid, e.g., DSPC/Chol/PEG-modified lipid, e.g., PEG-DMG or PEG-cDMA).

Non-limiting examples of lipid nanoparticle compositions and methods of making them are described, for example, in Semple et al. (2010) Nat. Biotechnol. 28:172-176; Jayarama et al. (2012), Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 51: 8529-8533; and Maier et al. (2013) Molecular Therapy 21, 1570-1578 (the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety).

In some embodiments, lipid nanoparticle formulations may comprise a cationic lipid, a PEG lipid, and a structural lipid, and optionally comprise a non-cationic lipid. As a non-limiting example, a lipid nanoparticle may comprise 40-60% of a cationic lipid, 5-15% of a non-cationic lipid, 1-2% of a PEG lipid and 30-50% of a structural lipid. As another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 50% cationic lipid, 10% non-cationic lipid, 1.5% PEG lipid and 38.5% structural lipid. As yet another non-limiting example, a lipid nanoparticle may comprise 55% cationic lipid, 10% non-cationic lipid, 2.5% PEG lipid and 32.5% structural lipid. In some embodiments, the cationic lipid may be any cationic lipid described herein such as, but not limited to, 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethylaminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, (12Z,15Z)—N,N-dimethyl-2-nonylhenicosa-12,15-dien-1-amine, and N,N-dimethyl-1-[(1S,2R)-2-octylcyclopropyl]heptadecan-8-amine.

In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle formulations described herein may be 4 component lipid nanoparticles. The lipid nanoparticle may comprise a cationic lipid, a non-cationic lipid, a PEG lipid and a structural lipid. As a non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 40-60% of a cationic lipid, 5-15% of a non-cationic lipid, 1-2% of a PEG lipid, and 30-50% of a structural lipid. As another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 50% cationic lipid, 10% non-cationic lipid, 1.5% PEG lipid, and 38.5% structural lipid. As yet another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 55% cationic lipid, 10% non-cationic lipid, 2.5% PEG lipid, and 32.5% structural lipid. In some embodiments, the cationic lipid may be any cationic lipid described herein such as, but not limited to, 2,2-dilinoleyl-4-dimethylaminoethyl-[1,3]-dioxolane (DLin-KC2-DMA), dilinoleyl-methyl-4-dimethyl aminobutyrate (DLin-MC3-DMA), di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, (12Z,15Z)—N,N-dimethyl-2-nonylhenicosa-12,15-dien-1-amine, and N,N-dimethyl-1-[(1S,2R)-2-octylcyclopropyl]heptadecan-8-amine.

In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle formulations described herein may comprise a cationic lipid, a non-cationic lipid, a PEG lipid and a structural lipid. As a non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 50% of the cationic lipid DLin-KC2-DMA, 10% of the non-cationic lipid DSPC, 1.5% of the PEG lipid PEG-DOMG and 38.5% of the structural lipid cholesterol. As a non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 50% of the cationic lipid DLin-MC3-DMA, 10% of the non-cationic lipid DSPC, 1.5% of the PEG lipid PEG-DOMG and 38.5% of the structural lipid cholesterol. As a non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 50% of the cationic lipid DLin-MC3-DMA, 10% of the non-cationic lipid DSPC, 1.5% of the PEG lipid PEG-DMG and 38.5% of the structural lipid cholesterol. As yet another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise 55% of the cationic lipid di((Z)-non-2-en-1-yl) 9-((4-(dimethylamino)butanoyl)oxy)heptadecanedioate, 10% of the non-cationic lipid DSPC, 2.5% of the PEG lipid PEG-DMG and 32.5% of the structural lipid cholesterol.

Relative amounts of the active ingredient, the pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, and/or any additional ingredients in a vaccine composition may vary, depending upon the identity, size, and/or condition of the subject being treated and further depending upon the route by which the composition is to be administered. For example, the composition may comprise between 0.1% and 99% (w/w) of the active ingredient. By way of example, the composition may comprise between 0.1% and 100%, e.g., between 0.5 and 50%, between 1-30%, between 5-80%, at least 80% (w/w) active ingredient.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine composition may comprise the polynucleotide described herein, formulated in a lipid nanoparticle comprising MC3, Cholesterol, DSPC and PEG2000-DMG, the buffer trisodium citrate, sucrose and water for injection. As a non-limiting example, the composition comprises: 2.0 mg/mL of drug substance (e.g., polynucleotides encoding HSV), 21.8 mg/mL of MC3, 10.1 mg/mL of cholesterol, 5.4 mg/mL of DSPC, 2.7 mg/mL of PEG2000-DMG, 5.16 mg/mL of trisodium citrate, 71 mg/mL of sucrose and 1.0 mL of water for injection.

In some embodiments, a nanoparticle (e.g., a lipid nanoparticle) has a mean diameter of 10-500 nm, 20-400 nm, 30-300 nm, or 40-200 nm. In some embodiments, a nanoparticle (e.g., a lipid nanoparticle) has a mean diameter of 50-150 nm, 50-200 nm, 80-100 nm, or 80-200 nm.

Liposomes, Lipoplexes, and Lipid Nanoparticles

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated in liposomes such as, but not limited to, DiLa2 liposomes (Marina Biotech, Bothell, Wash.), SMARTICLES® (Marina Biotech, Bothell, Wash.), neutral DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) based liposomes (e.g., siRNA delivery for ovarian cancer (Landen et al. Cancer Biology & Therapy 2006 5(12)1708-1713); herein incorporated by reference in its entirety) and hyaluronan-coated liposomes (Quiet Therapeutics, Israel).

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccines may be formulated in a lyophilized gel-phase liposomal composition as described in U.S. Publication No. US2012/0060293, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulations may comprise a phosphate conjugate. The phosphate conjugate may increase in vivo circulation times and/or increase the targeted delivery of the nanoparticle. Phosphate conjugates for use with the present invention may be made by the methods described in International Publication No. WO2013/033438 or U.S. Publication No. US2013/0196948, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, the phosphate conjugates may include a compound of any one of the formulas described in International Publication No. WO2013/033438, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulation may comprise a polymer conjugate. The polymer conjugate may be a water-soluble conjugate. The polymer conjugate may have a structure as described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0059360, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some aspects, polymer conjugates with the polynucleotides of the present invention may be made using the methods and/or segmented polymeric reagents described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0072709, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other aspects, the polymer conjugate may have pendant side groups comprising ring moieties such as, but not limited to, the polymer conjugates described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0196948, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulations may comprise a conjugate to enhance the delivery of nanoparticles of the present invention in a subject. Further, the conjugate may inhibit phagocytic clearance of the nanoparticles in a subject. In some aspects, the conjugate may be a “self” peptide designed from the human membrane protein CD47 (e.g., the “self” particles described by Rodriguez et al. (Science 2013, 339, 971-975), herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As shown by Rodriguez et al., the self peptides delayed macrophage-mediated clearance of nanoparticles which enhanced delivery of the nanoparticles. In other aspects, the conjugate may be the membrane protein CD47 (e.g., see Rodriguez et al. Science 2013, 339, 971-975, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Rodriguez et al. showed that, similarly to “self” peptides, CD47 can increase the circulating particle ratio in a subject as compared to scrambled peptides and PEG coated nanoparticles.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines of the present invention are formulated in nanoparticles which comprise a conjugate to enhance the delivery of the nanoparticles of the present invention in a subject. The conjugate may be the CD47 membrane or the conjugate may be derived from the CD47 membrane protein, such as the “self” peptide described previously. In other embodiments, the nanoparticle may comprise PEG and a conjugate of CD47 or a derivative thereof. In yet other embodiments, the nanoparticle may comprise both the “self” peptide described above and the membrane protein CD47.

In some embodiments, a “self” peptide and/or CD47 protein may be conjugated to a virus-like particle or pseudovirion, as described herein for delivery of the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines of the present invention.

In other embodiments, RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine pharmaceutical compositions comprise the polynucleotides of the present invention and a conjugate, which may have a degradable linkage. Non-limiting examples of conjugates include an aromatic moiety comprising an ionizable hydrogen atom, a spacer moiety, and a water-soluble polymer. As a non-limiting example, pharmaceutical compositions comprising a conjugate with a degradable linkage and methods for delivering such pharmaceutical compositions are described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0184443, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulations may be a carbohydrate nanoparticle comprising a carbohydrate carrier and a RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine. As a non-limiting example, the carbohydrate carrier may include, but is not limited to, an anhydride-modified phytoglycogen or glycogen-type material, phtoglycogen octenyl succinate, phytoglycogen beta-dextrin, or anhydride-modified phytoglycogen beta-dextrin. (See e.g., International Publication No. WO2012/109121, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

Nanoparticle formulations of the present invention may be coated with a surfactant or polymer in order to improve the delivery of the particle. In some embodiments, the nanoparticle may be coated with a hydrophilic coating such as, but not limited to, PEG coatings and/or coatings that have a neutral surface charge. The hydrophilic coatings may help to deliver nanoparticles with larger payloads such as, but not limited to, RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines, within the central nervous system. As a non-limiting example nanoparticles comprising a hydrophilic coating and methods of making such nanoparticles are described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0183244, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticles of the present invention may be hydrophilic polymer particles. Non-limiting examples of hydrophilic polymer particles and methods of making hydrophilic polymer particles are described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0210991, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In other embodiments, the lipid nanoparticles of the present invention may be hydrophobic polymer particles.

Lipid nanoparticle formulations may be improved by replacing the cationic lipid with a biodegradable cationic lipid which is known as a rapidly eliminated lipid nanoparticle (reLNP). Ionizable cationic lipids, such as, but not limited to, DLinDMA, DLin-KC2-DMA, and DLin-MC3-DMA, have been shown to accumulate in plasma and tissues over time and may be a potential source of toxicity. The rapid metabolism of the rapidly eliminated lipids can improve the tolerability and therapeutic index of the lipid nanoparticles by an order of magnitude from a 1 mg/kg dose to a 10 mg/kg dose in rat. Inclusion of an enzymatically degraded ester linkage can improve the degradation and metabolism profile of the cationic component, while still maintaining the activity of the reLNP formulation. The ester linkage can be internally located within the lipid chain or it may be terminally located at the terminal end of the lipid chain. The internal ester linkage may replace any carbon in the lipid chain.

In some embodiments, the internal ester linkage may be located on either side of the saturated carbon.

In some embodiments, an immune response may be elicited by delivering a lipid nanoparticle which may include a nanospecies, a polymer and an immunogen. (U.S. Publication No. 2012/0189700 and International Publication No. WO2012/099805, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

The polymer may encapsulate the nanospecies or partially encapsulate the nanospecies. The immunogen may be a recombinant protein, a modified RNA and/or a polynucleotide described herein. In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle may be formulated for use in a vaccine such as, but not limited to, against a pathogen.

Lipid nanoparticles may be engineered to alter the surface properties of particles so the lipid nanoparticles may penetrate the mucosal barrier. Mucus is located on mucosal tissue such as, but not limited to, oral (e.g., the buccal and esophageal membranes and tonsil tissue), ophthalmic, gastrointestinal (e.g., stomach, small intestine, large intestine, colon, rectum), nasal, respiratory (e.g., nasal, pharyngeal, tracheal and bronchial membranes), and genital (e.g., vaginal, cervical and urethral membranes). Nanoparticles larger than 10-200 nm, which are preferred for higher drug encapsulation efficiency and the ability to provide the sustained delivery of a wide array of drugs, have been thought to be too large to rapidly diffuse through mucosal barriers. Mucus is continuously secreted, shed, discarded or digested, and recycled so most of the trapped particles may be removed from the mucosal tissue within seconds or within a few hours. Large polymeric nanoparticles (200 nm to 500 nm in diameter) which have been coated densely with a low molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) diffused through mucus only 4- to 6-fold lower than the same particles diffusing in water (Lai et al. PNAS 2007 104(5):1482-487; Lai et al. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2009 61(2): 158-171; each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The transport of nanoparticles may be determined using rates of permeation and/or fluorescent microscopy techniques including, but not limited to, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and high resolution multiple particle tracking (MPT). As a non-limiting example, compositions which can penetrate a mucosal barrier may be made as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,241,670 or International Publication No. WO2013/110028, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The lipid nanoparticle engineered to penetrate mucus may comprise a polymeric material (e.g., a polymeric core) and/or a polymer-vitamin conjugate and/or a tri-block co-polymer. The polymeric material may include, but is not limited to, polyamines, polyethers, polyamides, polyesters, polycarbamates, polyureas, polycarbonates, poly(styrenes), polyimides, polysulfones, polyurethanes, polyacetylenes, polyethylenes, polyethyeneimines, polyisocyanates, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polyacrylonitriles, and polyarylates. The polymeric material may be biodegradable and/or biocompatible. Non-limiting examples of biocompatible polymers are described in International Publication No. WO2013/116804, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The polymeric material may additionally be irradiated. As a non-limiting example, the polymeric material may be gamma irradiated (see e.g., International Publication No. WO2012/082165, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Non-limiting examples of specific polymers include poly(caprolactone) (PCL), ethylene vinyl acetate polymer (EVA), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(L-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLLGA), poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLA), poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), poly(D,L-lactide-co-caprolactone), poly(D,L-lactide-co-caprolactone-co-glycolide), poly(D,L-lactide-co-PEO-co-D,L-lactide), poly(D,L-lactide-co-PPO-co-D,L-lactide), polyalkyl cyanoacralate, polyurethane, poly-L-lysine (PLL), hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA), polyethyleneglycol, poly-L-glutamic acid, poly(hydroxy acids), polyanhydrides, polyorthoesters, poly(ester amides), polyamides, poly(ester ethers), polycarbonates, polyalkylenes such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyalkylene glycols such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), polyalkylene oxides (PEO), polyalkylene terephthalates such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), polyvinyl alcohols (PVA), polyvinyl ethers, polyvinyl esters such as poly(vinyl acetate), polyvinyl halides such as poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), polyvinylpyrrolidone, polysiloxanes, polystyrene (PS), polyurethanes, derivatized celluloses such as alkyl celluloses, hydroxyalkyl celluloses, cellulose ethers, cellulose esters, nitro celluloses, hydroxypropylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, polymers of acrylic acids, such as poly(methyl(meth)acrylate) (PMMA), poly(ethyl(meth)acrylate), poly(butyl(meth)acrylate), poly(isobutyl(meth)acrylate), poly(hexyl(meth)acrylate), poly(isodecyl(meth)acrylate), poly(lauryl(meth)acrylate), poly(phenyl(meth)acrylate), poly(methyl acrylate), poly(isopropyl acrylate), poly(isobutyl acrylate), poly(octadecyl acrylate) and copolymers and mixtures thereof, polydioxanone and its copolymers, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polypropylene fumarate, polyoxymethylene, poloxamers, poly(ortho)esters, poly(butyric acid), poly(valeric acid), poly(lactide-co-caprolactone), PEG-PLGA-PEG, trimethylene carbonate, and polyvinylpyrrolidone. The lipid nanoparticle may be coated or associated with a copolymer such as, but not limited to, a block co-polymer (such as a branched polyether-polyamide block copolymer described in International Publication No. WO2013/012476, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety), and (poly(ethylene glycol))-(poly(propylene oxide))-(poly(ethylene glycol)) triblock copolymer (see e.g., U.S. Publication 2012/0121718, U.S. Publication 2010/0003337, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,263,665, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The co-polymer may be a polymer that is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and the formation of the lipid nanoparticle may be in such a way that no new chemical entities are created. For example, the lipid nanoparticle may comprise poloxamers coating PLGA nanoparticles without forming new chemical entities which are still able to rapidly penetrate human mucus (Yang et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011 50:2597-2600, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). A non-limiting scalable method to produce nanoparticles which can penetrate human mucus is described by Xu et al. (see e.g., J Control Release 2013, 170(2):279-86, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

The vitamin of the polymer-vitamin conjugate may be vitamin E. The vitamin portion of the conjugate may be substituted with other suitable components such as, but not limited to, vitamin A, vitamin E, other vitamins, cholesterol, a hydrophobic moiety, or a hydrophobic component of other surfactants (e.g., sterol chains, fatty acids, hydrocarbon chains and alkylene oxide chains).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine pharmaceutical compositions may be formulated in liposomes such as, but not limited to, DiLa2 liposomes (Marina Biotech, Bothell, Wash.), SMARTICLES® (Marina Biotech, Bothell, Wash.), neutral DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) based liposomes (e.g., siRNA delivery for ovarian cancer (Landen et al. Cancer Biology & Therapy 2006 5(12)1708-1713, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety)), and hyaluronan-coated liposomes (Quiet Therapeutics, Israel).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines may be formulated in a lyophilized gel-phase liposomal composition as described in U.S. Publication No. US2012/0060293, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulations may comprise a phosphate conjugate. The phosphate conjugate may increase in vivo circulation times and/or increase the targeted delivery of the nanoparticle. Phosphate conjugates for use with the present invention may be made by the methods described in International Publication No. WO2013/033438 or U.S. Publication No. 2013/0196948, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, the phosphate conjugates may include a compound of any one of the formulas described in International Publication No. WO2013/033438, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticle formulation may comprise a polymer conjugate. The polymer conjugate may be a water-soluble conjugate. The polymer conjugate may have a structure as described in U.S. Application No. 2013/0059360, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some aspects, polymer conjugates with the polynucleotides of the present invention may be made using the methods and/or segmented polymeric reagents described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0072709, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other aspects, the polymer conjugate may have pendant side groups comprising ring moieties such as, but not limited to, the polymer conjugates described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0196948, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The lipid nanoparticle engineered to penetrate mucus may include surface altering agents such as, but not limited to, polynucleotides, anionic proteins (e.g., bovine serum albumin), surfactants (e.g., cationic surfactants such as for example dimethyldioctadecyl-ammonium bromide), sugars or sugar derivatives (e.g., cyclodextrin), nucleic acids, polymers (e.g., heparin, polyethylene glycol and poloxamer), mucolytic agents (e.g., N-acetylcysteine, mugwort, bromelain, papain, clerodendrum, acetylcysteine, bromhexine, carbocisteine, eprazinone, mesna, ambroxol, sobrerol, domiodol, letosteine, stepronin, tiopronin, gelsolin, thymosin β4 dornase alfa, neltenexine, erdosteine) and various DNases including rhDNase. The surface altering agent may be embedded or enmeshed in the particle's surface or disposed (e.g., by coating, adsorption, covalent linkage, or other process) on the surface of the lipid nanoparticle (see e.g., U.S. Publication 2010/0215580 and U.S. Publication 2008/0166414 and US2013/0164343 the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the mucus penetrating lipid nanoparticles may comprise at least one polynucleotide described herein. The polynucleotide may be encapsulated in the lipid nanoparticle and/or disposed on the surface of the particle. The polynucleotide may be covalently coupled to the lipid nanoparticle. Formulations of mucus penetrating lipid nanoparticles may comprise a plurality of nanoparticles. Further, the formulations may contain particles which may interact with the mucus and alter the structural and/or adhesive properties of the surrounding mucus to decrease mucoadhesion which may increase the delivery of the mucus penetrating lipid nanoparticles to the mucosal tissue.

In other embodiments, the mucus penetrating lipid nanoparticles may be a hypotonic formulation comprising a mucosal penetration enhancing coating. The formulation may be hypotonice for the epithelium to which it is being delivered.

Non-limiting examples of hypotonic formulations may be found in International Publication No. WO2013/110028, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, in order to enhance the delivery through the mucosal barrier the RNA vaccine formulation may comprise or be a hypotonic solution. Hypotonic solutions were found to increase the rate at which mucoinert particles such as, but not limited to, mucus-penetrating particles, were able to reach the vaginal epithelial surface (see e.g., Ensign et al. Biomaterials 2013, 34(28):6922-9, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine is formulated as a lipoplex, such as, without limitation, the ATUPLEX™ system, the DACC system, the DBTC system and other siRNA-lipoplex technology from Silence Therapeutics (London, United Kingdom), STEMFECT™ from STEMGENT® (Cambridge, Mass.), and polyethylenimine (PEI) or protamine-based targeted and non-targeted delivery of nucleic acids (Aleku et al. Cancer Res. 2008 68:9788-9798; Strumberg et al. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther 2012 50:76-78; Santel et al., Gene Ther 2006 13:1222-1234; Santel et al., Gene Ther 2006 13:1360-1370; Gutbier et al., Pulm Pharmacol. Ther. 2010 23:334-344; Kaufmann et al. Microvasc Res 2010 80:286-293; Weide et al. J Immunother. 2009 32:498-507; Weide et al. Jlmmunother. 2008 31:180-188; Pascolo, Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. 4:1285-1294; Fotin-Mleczek et al., 2011 J Immunother. 34:1-15; Song et al., Nature Biotechnol. 2005, 23:709-717; Peer et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2007 6; 104:4095-4100; deFougerolles Hum Gene Ther. 2008 19:125-132; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, such formulations may also be constructed or compositions altered such that they passively or actively are directed to different cell types in vivo, including but not limited to hepatocytes, immune cells, tumor cells, endothelial cells, antigen presenting cells, and leukocytes (Akinc et al. Mol Ther. 2010 18:1357-1364; Song et al., Nat Biotechnol. 2005 23:709-717; Judge et al., J Clin Invest. 2009 119:661-673; Kaufmann et al., Microvasc Res 2010 80:286-293; Santel et al., Gene Ther 2006 13:1222-1234; Santel et al., Gene Ther 2006 13:1360-1370; Gutbier et al., Pulm Pharmacol. Ther. 2010 23:334-344; Basha et al., Mol. Ther. 2011 19:2186-2200; Fenske and Cullis, Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2008 5:25-44; Peer et al., Science. 2008 319:627-630; Peer and Lieberman, Gene Ther. 2011 18:1127-1133; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). One example of passive targeting of formulations to liver cells includes the DLin-DMA, DLin-KC2-DMA, and DLin-MC3-DMA-based lipid nanoparticle formulations which have been shown to bind to apolipoprotein E and promote binding and uptake of these formulations into hepatocytes in vivo (Akinc et al. Mol Ther. 2010 18:1357-1364; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Formulations can also be selectively targeted through expression of different ligands on their surface as exemplified by, but not limited by, folate, transferrin, N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), and antibody targeted approaches (Kolhatkar et al., Curr Drug Discov Technol. 2011 8:197-206; Musacchio and Torchilin, Front Biosci. 2011 16:1388-1412; Yu et al., Mol Membr Biol. 2010 27:286-298; Patil et al., Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst. 2008 25:1-61; Benoit et al., Biomacromolecules. 2011 12:2708-2714; Zhao et al., Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2008 5:309-319; Akinc et al., Mol Ther. 2010 18:1357-1364; Srinivasan et al., Methods Mol Biol. 2012 820:105-116; Ben-Arie et al., Methods Mol Biol. 2012 757:497-507; Peer 2010 J Control Release. 20:63-68; Peer et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2007 104:4095-4100; Kim et al., Methods Mol Biol. 2011 721:339-353; Subramanya et al., Mol Ther. 2010 18:2028-2037; Song et al., Nat Biotechnol. 2005 23:709-717; Peer et al., Science. 2008 319:627-630; Peer and Lieberman, Gene Ther. 2011 18:1127-1133; each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine is formulated as a solid lipid nanoparticle. A solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) may be spherical with an average diameter between 10 to 1000 nm. SLNs possess a solid lipid core matrix that can solubilize lipophilic molecules and may be stabilized with surfactants and/or emulsifiers. In other embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle may be a self-assembly lipid-polymer nanoparticle (see Zhang et al., ACS Nano, 2008, 2 (8), pp 1696-1702; the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As a non-limiting example, the SLN may be the SLN described in International Publication No. WO2013/105101, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As another non-limiting example, the SLN may be made by the methods or processes described in International Publication No. WO2013/105101, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Liposomes, lipoplexes, or lipid nanoparticles may be used to improve the efficacy of polynucleotides directed protein production as these formulations may be able to increase cell transfection by the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine; and/or increase the translation of encoded protein. One such example involves the use of lipid encapsulation to enable the effective systemic delivery of polyplex plasmid DNA (Heyes et al., Mol Ther. 2007 15:713-720; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The liposomes, lipoplexes, or lipid nanoparticles may also be used to increase the stability of the polynucleotide.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention can be formulated for controlled release and/or targeted delivery. As used herein, “controlled release” refers to a pharmaceutical composition or compound release profile that conforms to a particular pattern of release to effect a therapeutic outcome. In some embodiments, the RNA vaccines may be encapsulated into a delivery agent described herein and/or known in the art for controlled release and/or targeted delivery. As used herein, the term “encapsulate” means to enclose, surround, or encase. As it relates to the formulation of the compounds of the invention, encapsulation may be substantial, complete, or partial. The term “substantially encapsulated” means that at least greater than 50, 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 99.9, 99.99 or greater than 99.999% of the pharmaceutical composition or compound of the invention may be enclosed, surrounded, or encased within the delivery agent. “Partially encapsulation” means that less than 10, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50% or less of the pharmaceutical composition or compound of the invention may be enclosed, surrounded, or encased within the delivery agent. Advantageously, encapsulation may be determined by measuring the escape or the activity of the pharmaceutical composition or compound of the invention using fluorescence and/or electron micrograph. For example, at least 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 99.9, 99.99 or greater than 99.99% of the pharmaceutical composition or compound of the present disclosure are encapsulated in the delivery agent.

In some embodiments, the controlled release formulation may include, but is not limited to, tri-block co-polymers. As a non-limiting example, the formulation may include two different types of tri-block co-polymers (International Pub. No. WO2012/131104 and WO2012/131106; the contents of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In other embodiments, the RNA vaccines may be encapsulated into a lipid nanoparticle or a rapidly eliminated lipid nanoparticle and the lipid nanoparticles or a rapidly eliminated lipid nanoparticle may then be encapsulated into a polymer, hydrogel, and/or surgical sealant described herein and/or known in the art. As a non-limiting example, the polymer, hydrogel or surgical sealant may be PLGA, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVAc), poloxamer, GELSITE® (Nanotherapeutics, Inc. Alachua, Fla.), HYLENEX® (Halozyme Therapeutics, San Diego Calif.), surgical sealants such as fibrinogen polymers (Ethicon Inc. Cornelia, Ga.), TISSELL® (Baxter International, Inc Deerfield, Ill.), PEG-based sealants, and COSEAL® (Baxter International, Inc Deerfield, Ill.).

In other embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle may be encapsulated into any polymer known in the art which may form a gel when injected into a subject. As another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle may be encapsulated into a polymer matrix which may be biodegradable.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine formulation for controlled release and/or targeted delivery may also include at least one controlled release coating. Controlled release coatings include, but are not limited to, OPADRY®, polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, EUDRAGIT RL®, EUDRAGIT RS® and cellulose derivatives such as ethylcellulose aqueous dispersions (AQUACOAT® and SURELEASE®).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccine controlled release and/or targeted delivery formulation may comprise at least one degradable polyester which may contain polycationic side chains. Degradeable polyesters include, but are not limited to, poly(serine ester), poly(L-lactide-co-L-lysine), poly(4-hydroxy-L-proline ester), and combinations thereof. In other embodiments, the degradable polyesters may include a PEG conjugation to form a PEGylated polymer.

In some embodiments, the RNA vaccine controlled release and/or targeted delivery formulation comprising at least one polynucleotide may comprise at least one PEG and/or PEG related polymer derivatives as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,222, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In other embodiments, the RNA vaccine controlled release delivery formulation comprising at least one polynucleotide may be the controlled release polymer system described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0130348, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention may be encapsulated in a therapeutic nanoparticle, referred to herein as “therapeutic nanoparticle RNA vaccines.” Therapeutic nanoparticles may be formulated by methods described herein and known in the art such as, but not limited to, International Publication Nos. WO2010/005740, WO2010/030763, WO2010/005721, WO2010/005723, and WO2012/054923, U.S. Publication Nos. US2011/0262491, US2010/0104645, US2010/0087337, US2010/0068285, US2011/0274759, US2010/0068286, US2012/0288541, US2013/0123351 and US2013/0230567, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,206,747, 8,293,276, 8,318,208 and 8,318,211, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other embodiments, therapeutic polymer nanoparticles may be identified by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. US2012/0140790, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle RNA vaccine may be formulated for sustained release. As used herein, “sustained release” refers to a pharmaceutical composition or compound that conforms to a release rate over a specific period of time. The period of time may include, but is not limited to, hours, days, weeks, months, and years. As a non-limiting example, the sustained release nanoparticle may comprise a polymer and a therapeutic agent such as, but not limited to, the polynucleotides of the present invention (see International Publication No. 2010/075072 and U.S. Publication Nos. US2010/0216804, US2011/0217377 and US2012/0201859, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). In another non-limiting example, the sustained release formulation may comprise agents which permit persistent bioavailability such as, but not limited to, crystals, macromolecular gels and/or particulate suspensions (see U.S. Publication No. US2013/0150295, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines may be formulated to be target specific. As a non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticles may include a corticosteroid (see International Publication No. WO2011/084518, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As a non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticles may be formulated in nanoparticles described in International Publication Nos. WO2008/121949, WO2010/005726, WO2010/005725, WO2011/084521 and U.S. Publication Nos. US2010/0069426, US2012/0004293 and US2010/0104655, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticles of the present invention may comprise a polymeric matrix. As a non-limiting example, the nanoparticle may comprise two or more polymers such as, but not limited to, polyethylenes, polycarbonates, polyanhydrides, polyhydroxyacids, polypropylfumerates, polycaprolactones, polyamides, polyacetals, polyethers, polyesters, poly(orthoesters), polycyanoacrylates, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyphosphazenes, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polycyanoacrylates, polyureas, polystyrenes, polyamines, polylysine, poly(ethylene imine), poly(serine ester), poly(L-lactide-co-L-lysine), poly(4-hydroxy-L-proline ester), or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle comprises a diblock copolymer. In some embodiments, the diblock copolymer may include PEG in combination with a polymer such as, but not limited to, polyethylenes, polycarbonates, polyanhydrides, polyhydroxyacids, polypropylfumerates, polycaprolactones, polyamides, polyacetals, polyethers, polyesters, poly(orthoesters), polycyanoacrylates, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyphosphazenes, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polycyanoacrylates, polyureas, polystyrenes, polyamines, polylysine, poly(ethylene imine), poly(serine ester), poly(L-lactide-co-L-lysine), poly(4-hydroxy-L-proline ester), or combinations thereof. In yet other embodiments, the diblock copolymer may be a high-X diblock copolymer such as those described in International Publication No. WO2013/120052, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As a non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticle comprises a PLGA-PEG block copolymer (see U.S. Publication No. US2012/0004293 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,236,330, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). In another non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticle is a stealth nanoparticle comprising a diblock copolymer of PEG and PLA or PEG and PLGA (see U.S. Pat. No. 8,246,968 and International Publication No. WO2012/166923, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). In yet another non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticle is a stealth nanoparticle or a target-specific stealth nanoparticle as described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0172406, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle may comprise a multiblock copolymer (see e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,263,665 and 8,287,910 and U.S. Publication No. 2013/0195987, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In yet another non-limiting example, the lipid nanoparticle comprises the block copolymer PEG-PLGA-PEG (see e.g., the thermosensitive hydrogel (PEG-PLGA-PEG) used as a TGF-beta1 gene delivery vehicle in Lee et al. “Thermosensitive Hydrogel as a Tgf-β1 Gene Delivery Vehicle Enhances Diabetic Wound Healing.” Pharmaceutical Research, 2003 20(12): 1995-2000; and used as a controlled gene delivery system in Li et al. “Controlled Gene Delivery System Based on Thermosensitive Biodegradable Hydrogel” Pharmaceutical Research 2003 20(6):884-888; and Chang et al., “Non-ionic amphiphilic biodegradable PEG-PLGA-PEG copolymer enhances gene delivery efficiency in rat skeletal muscle.” J Controlled Release. 2007 118:245-253; each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure may be formulated in lipid nanoparticles comprising the PEG-PLGA-PEG block copolymer.

In some embodiments, the block copolymers described herein may be included in a polyion complex comprising a non-polymeric micelle and the block copolymer. (see e.g., U.S. Publication No. 2012/0076836, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle may comprise at least one acrylic polymer. Acrylic polymers include but are not limited to, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylic acid and methacrylic acid copolymers, methyl methacrylate copolymers, ethoxyethyl methacrylates, cyanoethyl methacrylate, amino alkyl methacrylate copolymer, poly(acrylic acid), poly(methacrylic acid), polycyanoacrylates, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticles may comprise at least one poly(vinyl ester) polymer. The poly(vinyl ester) polymer may be a copolymer such as a random copolymer. As a non-limiting example, the random copolymer may have a structure such as those described in International Publication No. WO2013/032829 or U.S. Publication No. 2013/0121954, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some aspects, the poly(vinyl ester) polymers may be conjugated to the polynucleotides described herein.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle may comprise at least one diblock copolymer. The diblock copolymer may be, but it not limited to, a poly(lactic) acid-poly(ethylene)glycol copolymer (see e.g., International Publication No. WO2013/044219; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As a non-limiting example, the therapeutic nanoparticle may be used to treat cancer (see International Publication No. WO2013/044219, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticles may comprise at least one cationic polymer described herein and/or known in the art.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticles may comprise at least one amine-containing polymer such as, but not limited to polylysine, polyethyleneimine, poly(amidoamine) dendrimers, poly(beta-amino esters) (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,287,849, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety), and combinations thereof. In other embodiments, the nanoparticles described herein may comprise an amine cationic lipid such as those described in International Publication No. WO2013/059496, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some aspects, the cationic lipids may have an amino-amine or an amino-amide moiety.

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticles may comprise at least one degradable polyester, which may contain polycationic side chains. Degradeable polyesters include, but are not limited to, poly(serine ester), poly(L-lactide-co-L-lysine), poly(4-hydroxy-L-proline ester), and combinations thereof. In other embodiments, the degradable polyesters may include a PEG conjugation to form a PEGylated polymer.

In other embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle may include a conjugation of at least one targeting ligand. The targeting ligand may be any ligand known in the art such as, but not limited to, a monoclonal antibody (Kirpotin et al, Cancer Res. 2006 66:6732-6740, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle may be formulated in an aqueous solution, which may be used to target cancer (see International Publication No. WO2011/084513 and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0294717, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the therapeutic nanoparticle RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines, e.g., therapeutic nanoparticles comprising at least one RNA vaccine may be formulated using the methods described by Podobinski et a in U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,799, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be encapsulated in, linked to and/or associated with synthetic nanocarriers. Synthetic nanocarriers include, but are not limited to, those described in International Publication Nos. WO2010/005740, WO2012/149454, and WO2013/019669, and U.S. Publication Nos. US2011/0262491, US2010/0104645, US2010/0087337, and US2012/0244222, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The synthetic nanocarriers may be formulated using methods known in the art and/or described herein. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarriers may be formulated by the methods described in International Publication Nos. WO2010/005740, WO2010/030763, and WO2012/013501, and U.S. Publication Nos. US2011/0262491, US2010/0104645, US2010/0087337, and US2012/024422, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier formulations may be lyophilized by methods described in International Publication No. WO2011/072218 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,211,473, the content of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In yet other embodiments, formulations of the present invention, including, but not limited to, synthetic nanocarriers, may be lyophilized or reconstituted by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0230568, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarriers may contain reactive groups to release the polynucleotides described herein (see International Publication No. WO2012/092552 and U.S. Publication No. US2012/0171229, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarriers may contain an immunostimulatory agent to enhance the immune response from delivery of the synthetic nanocarrier. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarrier may comprise a Th1 immunostimulatory agent which may enhance a Th1-based response of the immune system (see International Publication No. WO2010/123569 and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0223201, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarriers may be formulated for targeted release. In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier is formulated to release the polynucleotides at a specified pH and/or after a desired time interval. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanoparticle may be formulated to release the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines after 24 hours and/or at a pH of 4.5 (see International Publication Nos. WO2010/138193 and WO2010/138194 and U.S. Publication Nos. US2011/0020388 and US2011/0027217, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarriers may be formulated for controlled and/or sustained release of the polynucleotides described herein. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarriers for sustained release may be formulated by methods known in the art, described herein and/or as described in International Publication No. WO2010/138192 and U.S. Publication No. 2010/0303850, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine may be formulated for controlled and/or sustained release wherein the formulation comprises at least one polymer that is a crystalline side chain (CYSC) polymer. CYSC polymers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,399,007, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may be formulated for use as a vaccine. In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may encapsulate at least one polynucleotide which encodes at least one antigen. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarrier may include at least one antigen and an excipient for a vaccine dosage form (see International Publication No. WO2011/150264 and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0293723, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As another non-limiting example, a vaccine dosage form may include at least two synthetic nanocarriers with the same or different antigens and an excipient (see International Publication No. WO2011/150249 and U.S. Publication No. 2011/0293701, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The vaccine dosage form may be selected by methods described herein, known in the art, and/or described in International Publication No. WO2011/150258 and U.S. Publication No. US2012/0027806, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may comprise at least one polynucleotide which encodes at least one adjuvant. As non-limiting example, the adjuvant may comprise dimethyldioctadecylammonium-bromide, dimethyldioctadecylammonium-chloride, dimethyldioctadecylammonium-phosphate or dimethyldioctadecylammonium-acetate (DDA), and an apolar fraction or part of said apolar fraction of a total lipid extract of a mycobacterium (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,241,610; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). In other embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may comprise at least one polynucleotide and an adjuvant. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarrier comprising an adjuvant may be formulated by the methods described in International Publication No. WO2011/150240 and U.S. Publication No. US2011/0293700, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may encapsulate at least one polynucleotide which encodes a peptide, fragment, or region from a virus. As a non-limiting example, the synthetic nanocarrier may include, but is not limited to, the nanocarriers described in International Publication Nos. WO2012/024621, WO2012/02629, and WO2012/024632 and U.S. Publication Nos. US2012/0064110, US2012/0058153, and US2012/0058154, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the synthetic nanocarrier may be coupled to a polynucleotide which may be able to trigger a humoral and/or cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response (see e.g., International Publication No. WO2013/019669, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine may be encapsulated in, linked to and/or associated with zwitterionic lipids. Non-limiting examples of zwitterionic lipids and methods of using zwitterionic lipids are described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0216607, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In some aspects, the zwitterionic lipids may be used in the liposomes and lipid nanoparticles described herein.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine may be formulated in colloid nanocarriers as described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0197100, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticle may be optimized for oral administration. The nanoparticle may comprise at least one cationic biopolymer such as, but not limited to, chitosan or a derivative thereof. As a non-limiting example, the nanoparticle may be formulated by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. 2012/0282343; herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, LNPs comprise the lipid KL52 (an amino-lipid disclosed in U.S. Application Publication No. 2012/0295832 expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). Activity and/or safety (as measured by examining one or more of ALT/AST, white blood cell count and cytokine induction) of LNP administration may be improved by incorporation of such lipids. LNPs comprising KL52 may be administered intravenously and/or in one or more doses. In some embodiments, administration of LNPs comprising KL52 results in equal or improved mRNA and/or protein expression as compared to LNPs comprising MC3.

In some embodiments, RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines may be delivered using smaller LNPs. Such particles may comprise a diameter from below 0.1 μm up to 100 nm such as, but not limited to, less than 0.1 μm, less than 1.0 μm, less than 5 μm, less than 10 μm, less than 15 μm, less than 20 μm, less than 25 μm, less than 30 μm, less than 35 μm, less than 40 μm, less than 50 μm, less than 55 μm, less than 60 μm, less than 65 μm, less than 70 μm, less than 75 μm, less than 80 μm, less than 85 μm, less than 90 μm, less than 95 μm, less than 100 μm, less than 125 μm, less than 150 μm, less than 175 μm, less than 200 μm, less than 225 μm, less than 250 μm, less than 275 μm, less than 300 μm, less than 325 μm, less than 350 μm, less than 375 μm, less than 400 μm, less than 425 μm, less than 450 μm, less than 475 μm, less than 500 μm, less than 525 μm, less than 550 μm, less than 575 μm, less than 600 μm, less than 625 μm, less than 650 μm, less than 675 μm, less than 700 μm, less than 725 μm, less than 750 μm, less than 775 μm, less than 800 μm, less than 825 μm, less than 850 μm, less than 875 μm, less than 900 μm, less than 925 μm, less than 950 μm, or less than 975 μm.

In other embodiments, RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be delivered using smaller LNPs which may comprise a diameter from about 1 nm to about 100 nm, from about 1 nm to about 10 nm, about 1 nm to about 20 nm, from about 1 nm to about 30 nm, from about 1 nm to about 40 nm, from about 1 nm to about 50 nm, from about 1 nm to about 60 nm, from about 1 nm to about 70 nm, from about 1 nm to about 80 nm, from about 1 nm to about 90 nm, from about 5 nm to about from 100 nm, from about 5 nm to about 10 nm, about 5 nm to about 20 nm, from about 5 nm to about 30 nm, from about 5 nm to about 40 nm, from about 5 nm to about 50 nm, from about 5 nm to about 60 nm, from about 5 nm to about 70 nm, from about 5 nm to about 80 nm, from about 5 nm to about 90 nm, about 10 to about 50 nm, from about 20 to about 50 nm, from about 30 to about 50 nm, from about 40 to about 50 nm, from about 20 to about 60 nm, from about 30 to about 60 nm, from about 40 to about 60 nm, from about 20 to about 70 nm, from about 30 to about 70 nm, from about 40 to about 70 nm, from about 50 to about 70 nm, from about 60 to about 70 nm, from about 20 to about 80 nm, from about 30 to about 80 nm, from about 40 to about 80 nm, from about 50 to about 80 nm, from about 60 to about 80 nm, from about 20 to about 90 nm, from about 30 to about 90 nm, from about 40 to about 90 nm, from about 50 to about 90 nm, from about 60 to about 90 nm, and/or from about 70 to about 90 nm.

In some embodiments, such LNPs are synthesized using methods comprising microfluidic mixers. Exemplary microfluidic mixers may include, but are not limited to a slit interdigitial micromixers including, but not limited to those manufactured by Microinnova (Allerheiligen bei Wildon, Austria) and/or a staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) (Zhigaltsev, I. V. et al., Bottom-up design and synthesis of limit size lipid nanoparticle systems with aqueous and triglyceride cores using millisecond microfluidic mixing. Langmuir. 2012. 28:3633-40) have been published (Belliveau, N. M. et al., Microfluidic synthesis of highly potent limit-size lipid nanoparticles for in vivo delivery of siRNA. Molecular Therapy-Nucleic Acids. 2012. 1:e37; Chen, D. et al., Rapid discovery of potent siRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles enabled by controlled microfluidic formulation. J Am Chem Soc. 2012. 134(16):6948-51; each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, methods of LNP generation comprising SHM, further comprise the mixing of at least two input streams wherein mixing occurs by microstructure-induced chaotic advection (MICA). According to this method, fluid streams down flow through channels present in a herringbone pattern, causing rotational flow and folding the fluids around each other. This method may also comprise a surface for fluid mixing wherein the surface changes orientations during fluid cycling. Methods of generating LNPs using SHM include those disclosed in U.S. Publication Nos. 2004/0262223 and 2012/0276209, each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccine of the present invention may be formulated in lipid nanoparticles created using a micromixer such as, but not limited to, a Slit Interdigital Microstructured Mixer (SIMM-V2) or a Standard Slit Interdigital Micro Mixer (SSIMM) or Caterpillar (CPMM) or Impinging-jet ((IJMM) from the Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz GmbH, Mainz Germany).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure may be formulated in lipid nanoparticles created using microfluidic technology (see Whitesides, George M. The Origins and the Future of Microfluidics. Nature, 2006 442: 368-373; and Abraham et al. Chaotic Mixer for Microchannels. Science, 2002 295: 647-651; each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As a non-limiting example, controlled microfluidic formulation includes a passive method for mixing streams of steady pressure-driven flows in micro channels at a low Reynolds number (see e.g., Abraham et al. Chaotic Mixer for Microchannels. Science, 2002 295: 647651; which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention may be formulated in lipid nanoparticles created using a micromixer chip such as, but not limited to, those from Harvard Apparatus (Holliston, Mass.) or Dolomite Microfluidics (Royston, UK). A micromixer chip can be used for rapid mixing of two or more fluid streams with a split and recombine mechanism.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the invention may be formulated for delivery using the drug encapsulating microspheres described in International Publication No. WO2013/063468 or U.S. Pat. No. 8,440,614, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The microspheres may comprise a compound of the formula (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V) or (VI) as described in International Publication No. WO2013/063468, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other aspects, the amino acid, peptide, polypeptide, lipids are useful in delivering the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines of the invention to cells (see International Publication No. WO2013/063468, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present disclosure may be formulated in lipid nanoparticles having a diameter from about 10 to about 100 nm such as, but not limited to, about 10 to about 20 nm, about 10 to about 30 nm, about 10 to about 40 nm, about 10 to about 50 nm, about 10 to about 60 nm, about 10 to about 70 nm, about 10 to about 80 nm, about 10 to about 90 nm, about 20 to about 30 nm, about 20 to about 40 nm, about 20 to about 50 nm, about 20 to about 60 nm, about 20 to about 70 nm, about 20 to about 80 nm, about 20 to about 90 nm, about 20 to about 100 nm, about 30 to about 40 nm, about 30 to about 50 nm, about 30 to about 60 nm, about 30 to about 70 nm, about 30 to about 80 nm, about 30 to about 90 nm, about 30 to about 100 nm, about 40 to about 50 nm, about 40 to about 60 nm, about 40 to about 70 nm, about 40 to about 80 nm, about 40 to about 90 nm, about 40 to about 100 nm, about 50 to about 60 nm, about 50 to about 70 nm about 50 to about 80 nm, about 50 to about 90 nm, about 50 to about 100 nm, about 60 to about 70 nm, about 60 to about 80 nm, about 60 to about 90 nm, about 60 to about 100 nm, about 70 to about 80 nm, about 70 to about 90 nm, about 70 to about 100 nm, about 80 to about 90 nm, about 80 to about 100 nm, and/or about 90 to about 100 nm.

In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticles may have a diameter from about 10 to 500 nm.

In some embodiments, the lipid nanoparticle may have a diameter greater than 100 nm, greater than 150 nm, greater than 200 nm, greater than 250 nm, greater than 300 nm, greater than 350 nm, greater than 400 nm, greater than 450 nm, greater than 500 nm, greater than 550 nm, greater than 600 nm, greater than 650 nm, greater than 700 nm, greater than 750 nm, greater than 800 nm, greater than 850 nm, greater than 900 nm, greater than 950 nm or greater than 1000 nm.

In some aspects, the lipid nanoparticle may be a limit size lipid nanoparticle described in International Publication No. WO2013/059922, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The limit size lipid nanoparticle may comprise a lipid bilayer surrounding an aqueous core or a hydrophobic core; where the lipid bilayer may comprise a phospholipid such as, but not limited to, diacylphosphatidylcholine, a diacylphosphatidylethanolamine, a ceramide, a sphingomyelin, a dihydrosphingomyelin, a cephalin, a cerebroside, a C8-C20 fatty acid diacylphophatidylcholine, and a 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC). In other aspects, the limit size lipid nanoparticle may comprise a polyethylene glycol-lipid such as, but not limited to, DLPE-PEG, DMPE-PEG, DPPC-PEG, and DSPE-PEG.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines may be delivered, localized, and/or concentrated in a specific location using the delivery methods described in International Publication No. WO2013/063530, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, a subject may be administered an empty polymeric particle prior to, simultaneously with or after delivering the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines to the subject. The empty polymeric particle undergoes a change in volume once in contact with the subject and becomes lodged, embedded, immobilized or entrapped at a specific location in the subject.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g. mRNA) vaccines may be formulated in an active substance release system (see e.g., U.S. Publication No. US2013/0102545, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). The active substance release system may comprise 1) at least one nanoparticle bonded to an oligonucleotide inhibitor strand which is hybridized with a catalytically active nucleic acid and 2) a compound bonded to at least one substrate molecule bonded to a therapeutically active substance (e.g., polynucleotides described herein), where the therapeutically active substance is released by the cleavage of the substrate molecule by the catalytically active nucleic acid.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be formulated in a nanoparticle comprising an inner core comprising a non-cellular material and an outer surface comprising a cellular membrane. The cellular membrane may be derived from a cell or a membrane derived from a virus. As a non-limiting example, the nanoparticle may be made by the methods described in International Publication No. WO2013/052167, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As another non-limiting example, the nanoparticle described in International Publication No. WO2013/052167, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, may be used to deliver the RNA vaccines described herein.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines may be formulated in porous nanoparticle-supported lipid bilayers (protocells). Protocells are described in International Publication No. WO2013/056132, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines described herein may be formulated in polymeric nanoparticles as described in or made by the methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,420,123 and 8,518,963 and European Patent No. EP2073848B1, the contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. As a non-limiting example, the polymeric nanoparticle may have a high glass transition temperature such as the nanoparticles described in or nanoparticles made by the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,518,963, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As another non-limiting example, the polymer nanoparticle for oral and parenteral formulations may be made by the methods described in European Patent No. EP2073848B1, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In other embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines described herein may be formulated in nanoparticles used in imaging. The nanoparticles may be liposome nanoparticles such as those described in U.S. Publication No. 20130129636, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting example, the liposome may comprise gadolinium(III)2-{4,7-bis-carboxymethyl-10-[(N,N-distearylamidomethyl-N′-amido-methyl]-1,4,7,10-tetra-azacyclododec-1-yl}-acetic acid and a neutral, fully saturated phospholipid component (see e.g., U.S. Publication No. US2013/0129636, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

In some embodiments, the nanoparticles which may be used in the present invention are formed by the methods described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0130348, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The nanoparticles of the present invention may further include nutrients such as, but not limited to, those which deficiencies can lead to health hazards from anemia to neural tube defects (see e.g., the nanoparticles described in International Patent Publication No. WO2013/072929, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). As a non-limiting example, the nutrient may be iron in the form of ferrous, ferric salts, or elemental iron, iodine, folic acid, vitamins or micronutrients.

In some embodiments, the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention may be formulated in a swellable nanoparticle. The swellable nanoparticle may be, but is not limited to, those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,440,231, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. As a non-limiting embodiment, the swellable nanoparticle may be used for delivery of the RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention to the pulmonary system (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,440,231, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).

The RNA (e.g., mRNA) vaccines of the present invention may be formulated in polyanhydride nanoparticles such as, but not limited to, those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,449,916, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nanoparticles and microparticles of the present invention may be geometrically engineered to modulate macrophage and/or the immune response. In some aspects, the geometrically engineered particles may have varied shapes, sizes, and/or surface charges in order to incorporated the polynucleotides of the present invention for targeted delivery such as, but not limited to, pulmonary delivery (see e.g., International Publication No. WO2013/082111, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). Other physical features the geometrically engineering particles may have include, but are not limited to, fenestrations, angled arms, asymmetry, surface roughness, and charge, which can alter the interactions with cells and tissues. As a non-limiting example, nanoparticles of the present invention may be made by the methods described in International Publication No. WO2013/082111, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticles of the present invention may be water soluble nanoparticles such as, but not limited to, those described in International Publication No. WO2013/090601, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nanoparticles may be inorganic nanoparticles which have a compact and zwitterionic ligand in order to exhibit good water solubility. The nanoparticles may also have small hydrodynamic diameters (HD), stability with respect to time, pH, and salinity and a low level of non-specific protein binding.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticles of the present invention may be developed by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. US2013/0172406, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticles of the present invention are stealth nanoparticles or target-specific stealth nanoparticles such as, but not limited to, those described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0172406, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nanoparticles of the present invention may be made by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0172406, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In other embodiments, the stealth or target-specific stealth nanoparticles may comprise a polymeric matrix. The polymeric matrix may comprise two or more polymers such as, but not limited to, polyethylenes, polycarbonates, polyanhydrides, polyhydroxyacids, polypropylfumerates, polycaprolactones, polyamides, polyacetals, polyethers, polyesters, poly(orthoesters), polycyanoacrylates, polyvinyl alcohols, polyurethanes, polyphosphazenes, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polycyanoacrylates, polyureas, polystyrenes, polyamines, polyesters, polyanhydrides, polyethers, polyurethanes, polymethacrylates, polyacrylates, polycyanoacrylates, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the nanoparticle may be a nanoparticle-nucleic acid hybrid structure having a high density nucleic acid layer. As a non-limiting example, the nanoparticle-nucleic acid hybrid structure may made by the methods described in U.S. Publication No. 2013/0171646, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The nanoparticle may comprise a nucleic acid such as, but not limited to, polynucleotides described herein and/or known in the art.

At least one of the nanoparticles of the present invention may be embedded in the core a nanostructure or coated with a low density porous 3-D structure or coating which is capable of carrying or associating with at least one payload within or on the surface of the nanostructure. Non-limiting examples of the nanostructures comprising at least one nanoparticle are described in International Publication No. WO2013/123523, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, a nanoparticle comprises compounds of Formula (I):

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or a salt or isomer thereof, wherein:

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₂and R₃are independently selected from the group consisting of H, C_1-14alkyl, C_2-14alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R*OR″, or R₂and R₃, together with the atom to which they are attached, form a heterocycle or carbocycle;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of a C_3-6carbocycle, —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, —CQ(R)₂, and unsubstituted C_1-6alkyl, where Q is selected from a carbocycle, heterocycle, —OR, —O(CH₂)_nN(R)₂, —C(O)OR, —OC(O)R, —CX₃, —CX₂H, —CXH₂, —CN, —N(R)₂, —C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(R)R₈, —O(CH₂)_nOR, —N(R)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)R, —N(OR)S(O)₂R, —N(OR)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)R, —C(O)N(R)OR, and —C(R)N(R)₂C(O)OR, and each n is independently selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;

each R₅is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R₆is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

M and M′ are independently selected from —C(O)O—, —OC(O)—, —C(O)N(R′)—, —N(R′)C(O)—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, —C(S)S—, —SC(S)—, —CH(OH)—, —P(O)(OR′)O—, —S(O)₂—, —S—S—, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group;

R₇is selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

R₈is selected from the group consisting of C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

R₉is selected from the group consisting of H, CN, NO₂, C_1-6alkyl, —OR, —S(O)₂R, —S(O)₂N(R)₂, C_2-6alkenyl, C_3-6carbocycle and heterocycle;

each R is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-3alkyl, C_2-3alkenyl, and H;

each R′ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-18alkyl, C_2-18alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and H;

each R″ is independently selected from the group consisting of C_3-14alkyl and C_3-14alkenyl;

each R* is independently selected from the group consisting of C_1-12alkyl and C_2-12alkenyl;

each Y is independently a C_3-6carbocycle;

each X is independently selected from the group consisting of F, Cl, Br, and I; and

m is selected from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

In some embodiments, another subset of compounds of Formula (I) includes those in which

R₁is selected from the group consisting of C_5-30alkyl, C_5-20alkenyl, —R*YR″, —YR″, and —R″M′R′;

R₄is selected from the group consisting of a C_3-6carbocycle, —(CH₂)_nQ, —(CH₂)_nCHQR, —CHQR, —CQ(R)₂, and unsubstituted C_1-6alkyl, where Q is selected from a C_3-6carbocycle, a 5- to 14-membered heteroaryl having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, —OR, —O(CH₂)_nN(R)₂, —C(O)OR, —OC(O)R, —CX₃, —CX₂H, —CXH₂, —CN, —C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)R, —N(R)S(O)₂R, —N(R)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(S)N(R)₂, —CRN(R)₂C(O)OR, —N(R)R₈, —O(CH₂)_nOR, —N(R)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —OC(O)N(R)₂, —N(R)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)R, —N(OR)S(O)₂R, —N(OR)C(O)OR, —N(OR)C(O)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(S)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —N(OR)C(═CHR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)N(R)₂, —C(═NR₉)R, —C(O)N(R)OR, and a 5- to 14-membered heterocycloalkyl having one or more heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S which is substituted with one or more substituents selected from oxo (═O), OH, amino, mono- or di-alkylamino, and C_1-3alkyl, and each n is independently selected from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;