Patent Application
20220062427
Incorporated by reference herein in its entirety is a computer-readable sequence listing submitted via EFS-Web and identified as follows: One (80,502 byte ASCII (Text)) file named “US—The Sequence Listing.txt” created on Aug. 12, 2021.
The present disclosure relates to a nucleic acid capable of inhibiting the expression of Apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) gene, a composition and a conjugate comprising the same. The present disclosure also relates to a preparation method and use of such nucleic acids, compositions and conjugates.
Dyslipidemia (also known as hyperlipidemia), referring to a systemic disease in which abnormal metabolism and transportation of fat cause a higher plasma lipid content than the normal value, severely threatens the health of patients worldwide. The currently available medicines for treating dyslipidemia include mainly statins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, resins, probucol, fibrates, niacins, and derivatives thereof.
Apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) plays a crucial role in lipid metabolism. In the people carrying APOC3 mutant gene, the expression level of APOC3 in blood circulation reduces by 46%, and the triglyceride level in plasma reduces by 39% as compared with normal population. Meanwhile, the relatively low blood lipid level can reduce the risk of developing heart diseases in people carrying APOC3 mutant gene by 35.1% as compared with those not carrying said gene. Thus, silencing gene expression of APOC3 gene at genetic level to block APOC3 production is undoubtedly the most ideal treatment means. Based on the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi), small interfering RNA (siRNA) could inhibit or block the expression of any target gene of interest in a sequence-specific manner, so as to achieve the purpose of treating diseases.
Suitable sequences and modification of siRNA and the delivery system thereof are two crucial technologies in the development of siRNA medicines.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a siRNA conjugate having a structure as shown by Formula (308):
wherein
n1 is an integer of 1-3, and n3 is an integer of 0-4;
m1, m2, and m3 independently of one another are an integer of 2-10;
R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 independently of one another are H, or selected from the group consisting of C1-C10 alkyl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, and C1-C10 alkoxy;
R3 is a group having a structure as shown by Formula (A59):
wherein,
E1 is OH, SH or BH2;
Nu is a siRNA;
the siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are the sequences selected from one of the following groups i)-v):
i) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Za1 is A and Za2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Za3 at the position corresponding to Za1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Za4 at the position corresponding to Za2, wherein Za4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
ii) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 13 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 14 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zb1 is A and Zb2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zb3 at the position corresponding to Zb1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zb4 at the position corresponding to Zb2, wherein Zb4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
iii) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 25 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 26 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zc1 is A and Zc2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zc3 at the position corresponding to Zc1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zc4 at the position corresponding to Zc2, wherein Zc4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
iv) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 37 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 38 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zd1 is A and Zd2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zd3 at the position corresponding to Zd1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zd4 at the position corresponding to Zd2, wherein Zd4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
v) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 49 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 50 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Ze1 is A and Ze2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Ze3 at the position corresponding to Ze1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Ze4 at the position corresponding to Ze2, wherein Ze4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
R2 is a linear alkylene of 1 to 20 carbon atoms in length, wherein one or more carbon atoms are optionally replaced with one or more groups selected from the group consisting of: C(O), NH, O, S, CH═N, S(O)2, C2-C10 alkenylene, C2-C10 alkynylene, C6-C10 arylene, C3-C18 heterocyclylene, and C5-C10 heteroarylene; and wherein R2 optionally has any one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: C1-C10 alkyl, C6-C10 aryl, C5-C10 heteroaryl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC1-C10 alkyl, —OC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-OH, —OC1-C10 haloalkyl, —SC1-C10 alkyl, —SC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-SH, —SC1-C10 haloalkyl, halo, —OH, —SH, —NH2, —C1-C10 alkyl-NH2, —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl) (C1-C10 alkylphenyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), cyano, nitro, —CO2H, —C(O)O(C1-C10 alkyl), —CON(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH2, —NHC(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHC(O)(phenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(phenyl), —C(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —C(O)C1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C(O)C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —SO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2(phenyl), —SO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl), —SO2NH2, —SO2NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2NH(phenyl), —NHSO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHSO2(phenyl), and —NHSO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl);
each L1 is a linear alkylene of 1 to 70 carbon atoms in length, wherein one or more carbon atoms are optionally replaced with one or more groups selected from the group consisting of: C(O), NH, O, S, CH═N, S(O)2, C2-C10 alkenylene, C2-C10 alkynylene, C6-C10 arylene, C3-C18 heterocyclylene, and C5-C10 heteroarylene; and wherein L1 optionally has any one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: C1-C10 alkyl, C6-C10 aryl, C5-C10 heteroaryl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC1-C10 alkyl, —OC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-OH, —OC1-C10 haloalkyl, —SC1-C10 alkyl, —SC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-SH, —SC1-C10 haloalkyl, halo, —OH, —SH, —NH2, —C1-C10 alkyl-NH2, —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl) (C1-C10 alkylphenyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), cyano, nitro, —CO2H, —C(O)O(C1-C10 alkyl), —CON(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH2, —NHC(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHC(O)(phenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(phenyl), —C(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —C(O)C1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C(O)C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —SO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2(phenyl), —SO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl), —SO2NH2, —SO2NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2NH(phenyl), —NHSO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHSO2(phenyl), and —NHSO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl);
represents the site where a group is linked to the rest of the molecule; and
M1 represents a targeting group.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a siRNA capable of inhibiting the expression of APOC3 gene, wherein the siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the sense strand and the antisense strand is independently a fluoro modified nucleotide and a non-fluoro modified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; the fluoro modified nucleotides are located in the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the rest of positions in the sense strand of the siRNA are non-fluoro modified nucleotides; in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the rest of positions in the antisense strand of the siRNA are non-fluoro modified nucleotides; and the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are the sequences selected from one of the following groups i)-v):
i) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Za1 is A and Za2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Za3 at the position corresponding to Za1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Za4 at the position corresponding to Za2, wherein Za4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
ii) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 13 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 14 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zb1 is A and Zb2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zb3 at the position corresponding to Zb1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zb4 at the position corresponding to Zb2, wherein Zb4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
iii) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 25 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 26 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zc1 is A and Zc2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zc3 at the position corresponding to Zc1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zc4 at the position corresponding to Zc2, wherein Zc4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
iv) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 37 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 38 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zd1 is A and Zd2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zd3 at the position corresponding to Zd1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zd4 at the position corresponding to Zd2, wherein Zd4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; or
v) the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 49 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 50 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Ze1 is A and Ze2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Ze3 at the position corresponding to Ze1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Ze4 at the position corresponding to Ze2, wherein Ze4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand.
In some embodiments, each non-fluoro modified nucleotide is independently selected from one of a nucleotide formed by substituting the 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group thereof with a non-fluoro group, and a nucleotide analogue.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide formed by substituting the 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a non-fluoro group is selected from the group consisting of 2′-alkoxy modified nucleotide, 2′-substituted alkoxy modified nucleotide, 2′-alkyl modified nucleotide, 2′-substituted alkyl modified nucleotide, 2′-amino modified nucleotide, 2′-substituted amino modified nucleotide and 2′-deoxy nucleotide; and the nucleotide analogue is selected from the group consisting of an isonucleotide, LNA, ENA, cET, UNA, and GNA.
In some embodiments, each non-fluoro modified nucleotide is a methoxy modified nucleotide.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising the above siRNA of the present disclosure, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides use of the siRNA, and/or the pharmaceutical composition, and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure in the manufacture of a medicament for treating and/or preventing dyslipidemia caused by abnormal expression of the APOC3 gene.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method for treating and/or preventing dyslipidemia, comprising administering an effective amount of the siRNA, and/or the pharmaceutical composition, and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure to a subject suffering from dyslipidemia.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method for inhibiting the expression of APOC3 gene in hepatocytes, comprising contacting an effective amount of the siRNA, and/or the pharmaceutical composition, and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure with the hepatocytes.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a kit, comprising the siRNA, and/or the pharmaceutical composition, and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure.
The siRNA, the composition comprising the siRNA, and the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure could exhibit good stability, higher gene suppression activity, and/or significantly reduced blood lipid level.
In some embodiments, the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure exhibits excellent property of suppressing APOC3 mRNA: inhibiting at least 82.0% of the expression of APOC3 mRNA in the liver of high-fat model mice at a dose of 1 mg/kg.
The experiments show that as compared with the conjugates formed from conjugation molecules as provided in the prior art, the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure exhibits excellent capability of reducing blood lipid. Moreover, the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure could continuously exhibit excellent effect of reducing blood lipid level over a period of up to 189 days under low administration dose and low administration frequency.
For example, after single administrations of 3 mg/kg, Conjugates 2, 4 and 5 maintain an inhibition rate of 70% to 90% against TG over a period of up to 77 days, substantially maintain an inhibition rate of 50% against total cholesterol (CHO) over a period of up to 77 days, and maintain an inhibition rate of about 50% or higher against TG over a period of up to 147 days; after single administrations of 3 mg/kg, the three conjugates exhibit an inhibition rate of up to about 80% against TG on day 7, and continuously exhibit an effect of reducing the TG content by no less than 50% over a period of up to 49 days; and on day 35 after single administration, the three conjugates in the 1 mg/kg dose group still show an effect of reducing the CHO content by at least about 50%. For Conjugate 1, in both of the dose groups of 3 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, Conjugate 1 could significantly reduce the TG and CHO levels in the transgenic mice over a period of up to 112 days; and such reduction effects are significantly superior to that of Comparative Conjugate 2. In both of the dose groups of 3 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, Conjugate 1 exhibits inhibition rates of 50% or higher against TG and CHO over a period of 56 days after single administration; and the inhibitory effects on TG are more significant: the two doses of Conjugate 1 continuously maintain the TG level of about 50% over a period of up to 112 days.
As another example, Conjugate 3 could significantly reduce the TG and CHO levels in transgenic mice over a period of up to 98 days. On day 14 after single administration of 3 mg/kg, Conjugate 3 shows an inhibition rate of up to 93.6% against TG, and on day 7 after single administration shows an inhibition rate of up to 63.0% against CHO. Conjugates 4, 6 and 7 in the two doses could exhibit an effect of significantly reducing blood lipid level in human APOC3 transgenic mice, and in the 3 mg/kg dose group, continuously maintain an inhibition rate of 50% or higher against TG and an inhibition rate of 30% or higher against CHO over a period of 84 days after administration. It is noteworthy that at the doses of 3 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, Conjugates 4, 6 and 7 continuously show higher inhibitory effects on TG than that of Comparative Conjugate 2; and the same tendency is also observed for the inhibitory effect on CHO.
As for Conjugates 8 and 9, the ED50 values for inhibiting TG at different time points are measured. It can be seen that for human APOC3 transgenic mouse, even half a month after administration, a single subcutaneous injection of 0.16 mg/kg Conjugate 8 or 0.11 mg/kg Conjugate 9 could still realize the efficacy of reducing half of the serum TG content; and even one month after administration, a single subcutaneous injection of less than 1 mg/kg of the conjugates of the present disclosure could still realize the effect of reducing half of the serum TG content.
Therefore, the siRNA, the pharmaceutical composition and the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure could inhibit the expression of APOC3 gene, effectively treat and/or prevent dyslipidemia caused by the overexpression of APOC3 gene, and thus show a promising prospect of application.
Additional features and advantages of the present disclosure will be detailedly illustrated in the following part “detailed description of the invention”.
In order to more clearly illustrate the examples of the present invention and the technical solutions of the prior art, the following parts briefly describe the figures used in the examples and the prior art. Obviously, the figures in the following description represent only some examples of the present invention.
The following is the detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.
In the present disclosure, the sequence of APOC3 mRNA is the sequence as shown in Genbank Accession No. NM_000040.1. Further, unless otherwise specified, the term “target gene” used in the present disclosure refers to the gene expressing the above APOC3 mRNA; and the term “target mRNA” refers to the above APOC3 mRNA.
In the context of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, C, G, U, and A represent the base composition of a nucleotide; m represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the left side of the letter m is a methoxy modified nucleotide; f represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the left side of the letter f is a fluoro modified nucleotide; s represents the two nucleotides adjacent to both sides of the letter s are linked by a thiophosphate linkage; P1 represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of P1 is a 5′-phosphate nucleotide or a 5′-phosphate analogue modified nucleotide; in some embodiments, P1 represents the specific modified nucleotide VP, Ps or P, wherein VP represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of VP is a vinyl phosphate (5′-(E)-vinylphosphonate, E-VP) modified nucleotide; Ps represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of Ps is a thiophosphate modified nucleotide; and P represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of the letter P is a 5′-phosphate nucleotide.
In the context of the present disclosure, a “fluoro modified nucleotide” refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a fluorine atom. A “non-fluoro modified nucleotide” refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a non-fluoro group, or a nucleotide analogue. A “nucleotide analogue” refers to a group that can replace a nucleotide in a nucleic acid, while structurally differs from an adenine ribonucleotide, a guanine ribonucleotide, a cytosine ribonucleotide, a uracil ribonucleotide, or thymine deoxyribonucleotide, such as an isonucleotide, a bridged nucleotide (bridged nucleic acid, BNA) or an acyclic nucleotide. The “methoxy modified nucleotide” refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a methoxy group.
In the context of the present disclosure, expressions “complementary” and “reverse complementary” can be interchangeably used, and have a well-known meaning in the art, namely, the bases in one strand are complementarily paired with those in the other strand in a double-stranded nucleic acid molecule. In DNAs, a purine base adenine (A) is always paired with a pyrimidine base thymine (T) (or a uracil (U) in RNAs); and a purine base guanine (G) is always paired with a pyrimidine base cytosine (C). Each base pair comprises a purine and a pyrimidine. While adenines in one strand are always paired with thymines (or uracils) in another strand, and guanines are always paired with cytosines, the two strands are considered as being complementary with each other; and the sequence of a strand may be deduced from the sequence of its complementary strand. Correspondingly, a “mispairing” means that the bases at corresponding positions are not present in a manner of complementary pairing in a double-stranded nucleic acid.
In the context of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, “basically reverse complementary” means that there are no more than 3 base mispairings between two nucleotide sequences. “Substantially reverse complementary” means that there is no more than 1 base mispairing between two nucleotide sequences. “Completely reverse complementary” means that there is no base mispairing between two nucleotide sequences.
In the context of the present disclosure, when a nucleotide sequence has a “nucleotide difference” from another nucleotide sequence, the bases of the nucleotides at the same position therebetween are changed. For example, if a nucleotide base in the latter sequence is A and the nucleotide base at the same position in the former sequence is U, C, G, or T, the two nucleotide sequences are considered as having a nucleotide difference at this position. In some embodiments, if a nucleotide at a position is replaced with an abasic nucleotide or a nucleotide analogue, it is also considered that there is a nucleotide difference at the position.
In the context of the present disclosure, particularly in the description of the siRNA, the composition comprising the siRNA, or the method for preparing the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the “nucleoside monomer” refers to, according to the type and sequence of the nucleotides in the siRNA or siRNA conjugate to be prepared, unmodified or modified nucleoside phosphoramidite monomer (unmodified or modified RNA phosphoramidites; sometimes RNA phosphoramidites are referred to as nucleoside phosphoramidites) used in a phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis. The phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis is a well-known method for RNA synthesis by those skilled in the art. Nucleoside monomers used in the present disclosure are all commercially available.
In the context of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, “conjugation” means that two or more chemical moieties each having specific function are linked to each other via a covalent linkage. Correspondingly, a “conjugate” refers to a compound formed by covalent linkage of individual chemical moieties. Furthermore, a “siRNA conjugate” represents a compound formed by covalently attaching one or more chemical moieties each with specific functions to a siRNA. In the following text, the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure is sometimes abbreviated as “conjugate”. According to the context of the present disclosure, the siRNA conjugate should be understood as the generic term of siRNA conjugates, the generic term of siRNA conjugates of many specific chemical molecules, or each siRNA conjugate among the siRNA conjugates of many specific chemical molecules. In the context of the present disclosure, “conjugation molecules” should be interpreted as a class of compounds or specific compounds capable of being conjugated to a siRNA via reactions, thereby finally forming the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure.
As used herein, a dash (“-”) that is not present between two letters or symbols is used to indicate the position that is an attachment point for a substituent. For example, the dash on the far left side in the structure formula “—C1-C10alkyl-NH2” means being attached through the C1-C10alkyl.
As used herein, “optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances in which the event or circumstance occurs and instances in which it does not. For example, “optionally substituted alkyl” encompasses both “alkyl” and “substituted alkyl” as defined below. Those skilled in the art would understand, with respect to any group containing one or more substituents, that such groups are not intended to introduce any substitution or substitution patterns that are sterically impractical, synthetically infeasible and/or inherently unstable.
As used herein, “alkyl” refers to straight chain and branched chain alkyl having the indicated number of carbon atoms, usually from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, for example 1 to 10 carbon atoms, such as 1 to 8 or 1 to 6 carbon atoms. For example, C1-C6 alkyl encompasses both straight and branched chain alkyl of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. When an alkyl residue having a specific number of carbon atoms is named, all branched and straight chain forms having that number of carbon atoms are intended to be encompassed; thus, for example, “butyl” is meant to encompass n-butyl, sec-butyl, isobutyl, and t-butyl; “propyl” includes n-propyl and isopropyl. Alkylene is a subset of alkyl, referring to the same residues as alkyl, but having two attachment points.
As used herein, “alkenyl” refers to an unsaturated branched or straight-chain alkyl group having at least one carbon-carbon double bond obtained by respectively removing one hydrogen molecule from two adjacent carbon atoms of the parent alkyl. The group may be in either the cis or trans configuration of the double bond(s). Typical alkenyl groups include, but are not limited to, ethenyl; propenyl, such as prop-1-en-1-yl, prop-1-en-2-yl, prop-2-en-1-yl (allyl), prop-2-en-2-yl; butenyl, such as but-1-en-1-yl, but-1-en-2-yl, 2-methyl-prop-1-en-1-yl, but-2-en-1-yl, but-2-en-2-yl, buta-1,3-dien-1-yl, buta-1,3-dien-2-yl; and the like. In certain embodiments, an alkenyl group has from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and in other embodiments, from 2 to 10, 2 to 8, or 2 to 6 carbon atoms. Alkenylene is a subset of alkenyl, referring to the same residues as alkenyl, but having two attachment points.
As used herein, “alkynyl” refers to an unsaturated branched or straight-chain alkyl group having at least one carbon-carbon triple bond obtained by respectively removing two hydrogen molecules from two adjacent carbon atoms of the parent alkyl. Typical alkynyl groups include, but are not limited to, ethynyl; propynyl, such as prop-1-yn-1-yl, prop-2-yn-1-yl; butynyl, such as but-1-yn-1-yl, but-1-yn-3-yl, but-3-yn-1-yl; and the like. In certain embodiments, an alkynyl group has from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and in other embodiments, from 2 to 10, 2 to 8, or 2 to 6 carbon atoms. Alkynylene is a subset of alkynyl, referring to the same residues as alkynyl, but having two attachment points.
As used herein, “alkoxy” refers to an alkyl group of the indicated number of carbon atoms attached through an oxygen bridge, for example, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, n-butoxy, sec-butoxy, tert-butoxy, pentyloxy, 2-pentyloxy, isopentyloxy, neopentyloxy, hexyloxy, 2-hexyloxy, 3-hexyloxy, 3-methylpentyloxy, and the like. Alkoxy group usually has from 1 to 10, 1 to 8, 1 to 6, or 1 to 4 carbon atoms attached through oxygen bridge.
As used herein, “aryl” refers to a radical derived from an aromatic monocyclic or multicyclic hydrocarbon ring system by removing a hydrogen atom from a ring carbon atom. The aromatic monocyclic or multicyclic hydrocarbon ring system contains only hydrogen and carbon, including from 6 to 18 carbon atoms, wherein at least one ring in the ring system is fully unsaturated, i.e., it contains a cyclic, delocalized (4n+2)π-electron system in accordance with the Hückel theory. Aryl groups include, but are not limited to, groups such as phenyl, fluorenyl, and naphthyl. Arylene is a subset of aryl, referring to the same residues as aryl, but having two attachment points.
As used herein, “cycloalkyl” refers to a non-aromatic carbon ring, usually having from 3 to 7 ring carbon atoms. The ring may be saturated or have one or more carbon-carbon double bonds. Examples of cycloalkyl groups include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclopentenyl, cyclohexyl, and cyclohexenyl, as well as bridged and caged ring groups such as norbornane.
As used herein, “halo substituent” or “halo” refers to fluoro, chloro, bromo, and iodo, and the term “halogen” includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine.
As used herein, “haloalkyl” refers to alkyl as defined above in which the specified number of carbon atoms are substituted with one or more (up to the maximum allowable number) halogen atoms. Examples of haloalkyl include, but are not limited to, trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, 2-fluoroethyl, and penta-fluoroethyl.
“Heterocyclyl” refers to a stable 3 to 18 membered non-aromatic ring radical that comprises 2 to 12 carbon atoms and 1 to 6 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Unless stated otherwise in the specification, the heterocyclyl is a monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic, or tetracyclic ring system, which may include fused or bridged ring system(s). The heteroatom(s) in the heterocyclyl may be optionally oxidized. One or more nitrogen atoms, if present, are optionally quaternized. The heterocyclyl is partially or fully saturated. The heterocyclyl may be attached to the rest of the molecule through any ring atom. Examples of such heterocyclyl include, but are not limited to, dioxolanyl, thienyl[1,3]dithianyl, decahydroisoquinolyl, imidazolinyl, imidazolidinyl, isothiazolidinyl, isoxazolidinyl, morpholinyl, octahydroindolyl, octahydroisoindolyl, 2-oxapiperazinyl, 2-oxapiperidinyl, 2-oxapyrrolidinyl, oxazolidinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, 4-piperidonyl, pyrrolidinyl, pyrazolidinyl, quinuclidinyl, thiazolidinyl, tetrahydrofuryl, trithianyl, tetrahydropyranyl, thiomorpholinyl, thiamorpholinyl, 1-oxo-thiomorpholinyl, and 1,1-dioxo-thiomorpholinyl.
“Heteroaryl” refers to a radical derived from a 3 to 18 membered aromatic ring radical that comprises 2 to 17 carbon atoms and 1 to 6 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. As used herein, the heteroaryl may be a monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic or tetracyclic ring system, wherein at least one ring in the ring system is fully unsaturated, i.e., it contains a cyclic, delocalized (4n+2)π-electron system in accordance with the Hückel theory. Heteroaryl includes fused or bridged ring system(s). The heteroatom(s) in the heteroaryl is optionally oxidized. One or more nitrogen atoms, if present, are optionally quaternized. The heteroaryl is attached to the rest of the molecule through any ring atom. Examples of heteroaryl include, but are not limited to, azepinyl, acridinyl, benzimidazolyl, benzindolyl, 1,3-benzodioxazolyl, benzofuranyl, benzoxazolyl, benzo[d]thiazolyl, benzothiadiazolyl, benzo[b][1,4]dioxepinyl, benzo[b][1,4]oxazinyl, 1,4-benzodioxanyl, benzonaphthofuranyl, benzooxazolyl, benzodioxolyl, benzodioxinyl, benzopyranyl, benzopyranonyl, benzofuranyl, benzofuranonyl, benzothienyl, benzothieno[3,2-d]pyrimidinyl, benzotriazolyl, benzo[4,6]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridinyl, carbazolyl, cinnolinyl, cyclopenta[d]pyrimidinyl, 6,7-dihydro-5H-cyclopenta[4,5]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidinyl, 5,6-dihydrobenzo[h]quinazolinyl, 5,6-dihydrobenzo[h]cinnolinyl, 6,7-dihydro-5H-benzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-c]pyridazinyl, dibenzofuranyl, dibenzothienyl, furanyl, furanonyl, furo[3,2-c]pyridinyl, 5,6,7,8,9,10 hexahydrocycloocta[d]pyrimidinyl, 5,6,7,8,9,10-hexahydrocyclohepta[d]pyridazinyl, 5,6,7,8,9,10-hexahydrocycloocta[d]pyridinyl, isothiazolyl, imidazolyl, indazolyl, indolyl, isoindolyl, indolinyl, isoindolinyl, isoquinolyl, indolizinyl, isoxazolyl, 5,8-methano-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinazolinyl, naphthyridinonyl, 1,6-naphthyridinonyl, oxadiazolyl, 2-oxoazepinyl, oxazolyl, oxiranyl, 5,6,6a,7,8,9,10,10a-octahydrobenzo[h]quinazolinyl, 1-phenyl-1H-pyrrolyl, phenazinyl, phenothiazinyl, phenoxazinyl, phthalazinyl, pteridinyl, purinyl, pyrrolyl, pyrazolyl, pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidinyl, pyridinyl, pyrido[3,2-d]pyrimidinyl, pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, pyrrolyl, quinazolinyl, quinoxalinyl, quinolinyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinazolinyl, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobenzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidinyl, 6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-5H-cyclohepta [4,5]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidinyl, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydropyrido[4,5-c]pyridazinyl, thiazolyl, thiadiazolyl, triazolyl, tetrazolyl, triazinyl, thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidinyl, thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidinyl, thieno[2,3-c]pyridinyl and thiophenyl/thienyl.
Various hydroxyl protection groups may be used in the present disclosure. In general, protection groups render chemical functional groups inert to specific reaction conditions, and may be appended to and removed from such functional groups in a molecule without substantially damaging the remainder of the molecule. Representative hydroxyl protection groups are disclosed in Beaucage et al., Tetrahedron 1992, 48, 2223-2311, and also in Greene and Wuts, Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, Chapter 2, 2d ed, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1991, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the protection group is stable under basic conditions but may be removed under acidic conditions. In some embodiments, non-exclusive examples of the hydroxyl protection groups that may be used herein include dimethoxytrityl (DMT), monomethoxytrityl, 9-phenylxanthen-9-yl (Pixyl) and 9-(p-methoxyphenyl)xanthen-9-yl (Mox). In some embodiments, non-exclusive examples of the hydroxyl protection groups that may be used herein comprises Tr (trityl), MMTr (4-methoxytrityl), DMTr (4,4′-dimethoxytrityl), and TMTr (4,4′,4″-trimethoxytrityl).
The term “subject”, as used herein, refers to any animal, e.g., a mammal or marsupial. The subject of the present disclosure includes, but are not limited to, human, non-human primate (e.g., rhesus or other types of macaques), mouse, pig, horse, donkey, cow, sheep, rat, and any kind of poultry.
As used herein, “treatment” or “treating”, or “alleviating” or “ameliorating” can be used interchangeably herein. These terms refer to an approach for obtaining beneficial or desirable results, including but not limited to therapeutic benefit. By “therapeutic benefit” is meant eradication or amelioration of the underlying disorder being treated. Also, a therapeutic benefit is achieved by eradicating or ameliorating one or more physiological symptoms associated with the underlying disorder, thereby observing amelioration in the subject, although the subject may still be afflicted with the underlying disorder.
As used herein, “prevention” and “preventing” can be used interchangeably. These terms refer to an approach for obtaining beneficial or desirable results, including but not limited to a prophylactic benefit. In order to obtain “prophylactic benefit”, the conjugates or compositions may be administered to a subject at risk of developing a particular disease, or to a subject reporting one or more physiological symptoms of a disease, even a diagnosis of this disease has not been made.
The siRNA of the present disclosure comprises nucleotide groups as basic structural units. It is well known to those skilled in the art that the nucleotide group comprises a phosphate group, a ribose group and a base. Detailed illustrations of these groups are omitted herein.
First siRNA
According to the present disclosure, the siRNA may be a first siRNA.
The first siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the first siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; for the first siRNA, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Za1 is A and Za2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Za3 at the position corresponding to Za1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Za4 at the position corresponding to Za2, wherein Za4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
In the context of the present disclosure, “corresponding position” refers to, the same position in the nucleotide sequence when counting from the same terminal of the nucleotide sequence. For example, for the first siRNA, the first nucleotide at 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I is a nucleotide at the position corresponding to the first nucleotide at 3′ terminal of SEQ ID NO: 1.
In some embodiments, the sense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence II.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 1 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference, and/or the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference between the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 2 includes a difference at the position Za4, wherein Za4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference is a difference at the position Za4, wherein Za4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, Za3 is a nucleotide complementary to Za4. These nucleotide differences will not significantly reduce the ability of the siRNA conjugates of inhibiting the target gene, and thus these siRNA conjugates comprising the nucleotide differences are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are basically reverse complementary, substantially reverse complementary, or completely reverse complementary to each other; the “basically reverse complementary” means that there is no more than 3 base mispairings between two nucleotide sequences; the “substantially reverse complementary” means that there is no more than 1 base mispairing between two nucleotide sequences; the “completely reverse complementary” means that there is no mispairing between two nucleotide sequences.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 3, and the nucleotide sequence II is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 4:
wherein, Za4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand, Za3 is selected from A, U, G, or C, and Za4 is a nucleotide complementary to Za3; in some embodiments, Za3 is U, and Za4 is A.
Moreover, the sense strand and the antisense strand have the same or different length, wherein the sense strand has a length of 19 to 23 nucleotides, and the antisense strand has a length of 20 to 26 nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the sense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence III, the antisense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence IV, and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV independently of one another have a length of 1 to 4 nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence III is linked to 5′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I, the nucleotide sequence IV is linked to 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 1 nucleotide, and the base of the nucleotide sequence III is C, and the base of the nucleotide sequence IV is G; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 20/20; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 3 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is UGC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GCA; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 22/22; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 4 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is UUGC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GCAA; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 23/23. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length and are completely reverse complementary. Hence, where the base(s) of nucleotide sequence III is(are) provided, the base(s) of nucleotide sequence IV is(are) also determined.
Second siRNA
According to the present disclosure, the siRNA may be a second siRNA.
The second siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the second siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; wherein, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 13 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 14 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zb1 is A and Zb2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zb3 at the position corresponding to Zb1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zb4 at the position corresponding to Zb2, wherein Zb4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
In some embodiments, the sense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence II.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 13 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference, and/or the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 14 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference between the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 14 includes a difference at the position Zb4, wherein Zb4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference is a difference at the position Zb4, wherein Zb4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, Zb3 is a nucleotide complementary to Zb4. These nucleotide differences will not significantly reduce the ability of the siRNA conjugates of inhibiting the target gene, and thus these siRNA conjugates comprising the nucleotide differences are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are basically reverse complementary, substantially reverse complementary, or completely reverse complementary to each other.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 15, and the nucleotide sequence II is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 16:
wherein, Zb4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand, Zb3 is selected from A, U, G, or C, and Zb4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zb3; in some embodiments, Zb3 is U, and Zb4 is A.
Moreover, the sense strand and the antisense strand have the same or different length, wherein the sense strand has a length of 19 to 23 nucleotides, and the antisense strand has a length of 20 to 26 nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the sense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence III, the antisense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence IV, and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV independently of one another have a length of 1 to 4 nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence III is linked to 5′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I, the nucleotide sequence IV is linked to 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 1 nucleotide, and the base of the nucleotide sequence III is G, and the base of the nucleotide sequence IV is C; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 20/20; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 3 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GGG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CCC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 22/22; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 4 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AGGG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CCCU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 23/23. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length and are completely reverse complementary. Hence, where the base(s) of nucleotide sequence III is(are) provided, the base(s) of nucleotide sequence IV is(are) also determined.
Third siRNA
According to the present disclosure, the siRNA may be a third siRNA.
The third siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the third siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; wherein, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 25 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 26 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zc1 is A and Zc2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zc3 at the position corresponding to Zc1; the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zc4 at the position corresponding to Zc2, wherein Zc4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
In some embodiments, the sense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence II.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 25 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference, and/or the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 26 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference between the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 26 includes a difference at the position Zc4, wherein Zc4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference is a difference at the position Zc4, wherein Zc4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, Zc3 is a nucleotide complementary to Zc4. These nucleotide differences will not significantly reduce the ability of the siRNA conjugates of inhibiting the target gene, and thus these siRNA conjugates comprising the nucleotide differences are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are basically reverse complementary, substantially reverse complementary, or completely reverse complementary to each other.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 27, and the nucleotide sequence II is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 28:
wherein, Zc4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand, Zc3 is selected from A, U, G, or C, and Zc4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zc3; in some embodiments, Zc3 is U, and Zc4 is A.
Moreover, the sense strand and the antisense strand have the same or different length, wherein the sense strand has a length of 19 to 23 nucleotides, and the antisense strand has a length of 20 to 26 nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the sense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence III, the antisense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence IV, and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV independently of one another have a length of 1 to 4 nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence III is linked to 5′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I, the nucleotide sequence IV is linked to 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 1 nucleotide, and the base of the nucleotide sequence III is G, and the base of the nucleotide sequence IV is C; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 20/20; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 3 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is CAG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CUG; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 22/22; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 4 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is ACAG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CUGU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 23/23. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length, and are completely reverse complementary. Hence, where the base(s) of nucleotide sequence III is(are) provided, the base(s) of nucleotide sequence IV is(are) also determined.
Fourth siRNA
According to the present disclosure, the siRNA may be a fourth siRNA.
The fourth siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the fourth siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; wherein, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 37 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 38 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Zd1 is A and Zd2 is U, and
the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Zd3 at the position corresponding to Zd1, the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Zd4 at the position corresponding to Zd2, wherein Zd4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand.
In some embodiments, the sense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence II.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 37 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference, and/or the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 38 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference between the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 38 includes a difference at the position Zd4, wherein Zd4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference is a difference at the position Za4, wherein Zd4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, Zd3 is a nucleotide complementary to Za4. These nucleotide differences will not significantly reduce the ability of the siRNA conjugates of inhibiting the target gene, and thus these siRNA conjugates comprising the nucleotide differences are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are basically reverse complementary, substantially reverse complementary, or completely reverse complementary to each other.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 39, and the nucleotide sequence II is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 40:
wherein, Zd4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand, Zd3 is selected from A, U, G, or C, and Zd4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zd3; in some embodiments, Zd3 is U, and Zd4 is A.
Moreover, the sense strand and the antisense strand have the same or different length, wherein the sense strand has a length of 19 to 23 nucleotides, and the antisense strand has a length of 20 to 26 nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the sense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence III, the antisense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence IV, and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV independently of one another have a length of 1 to 4 nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence III is linked to 5′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I, the nucleotide sequence IV is linked to 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 1 nucleotide, and the base of the nucleotide sequence III is C, and the base of the nucleotide sequence IV is G; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 20/20; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 3 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GAC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GUC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 22/22; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 4 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is GGAC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GUCC; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 23/23. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AC, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is GU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length, and are completely reverse complementary. Hence, where the base(s) of nucleotide sequence III is(are) provided, the base(s) of nucleotide sequence IV is(are) also determined.
Fifth siRNA
According to the present disclosure, the siRNA may be a fifth siRNA.
The fifth siRNA comprises a sense strand and an antisense strand; each nucleotide in the fifth siRNA is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide; wherein the sense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises a nucleotide sequence II; the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are at least partly reverse complementary to form a double-stranded region; wherein, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 49 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences, and the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 50 have an equal length and no more than 3 nucleotide differences:
wherein, Ze1 is A and Ze2 is U, and the nucleotide sequence I comprises a nucleotide Ze3 at the position corresponding to Ze1, the nucleotide sequence II comprises a nucleotide Ze4 at the position corresponding to Ze2, wherein Ze4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand.
In some embodiments, the sense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence I, and the antisense strand comprises only the nucleotide sequence II.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 49 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference, and/or the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 50 have no more than 1 nucleotide difference.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference between the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 50 includes a difference at the position Ze4, wherein Ze4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, the nucleotide difference is a difference at the position Ze4, wherein Ze4 is selected from A, C or G. In some embodiments, Ze3 is a nucleotide complementary to Ze4. These nucleotide differences will not significantly reduce the ability of the siRNA conjugates of inhibiting the target gene, and thus these siRNA conjugates comprising the nucleotide differences are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II are basically reverse complementary, substantially reverse complementary, or completely reverse complementary to each other.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence I is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 51, and the nucleotide sequence II is the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 52:
wherein, Ze4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand, Ze3 is selected from A, U, G, or C, and Ze4 is a nucleotide complementary to Ze3; in some embodiments, Ze3 is U, and Ze4 is A.
Moreover, the sense strand and the antisense strand have the same or different length, wherein the sense strand has a length of 19 to 23 nucleotides, and the antisense strand has a length of 20 to 26 nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the sense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence III, the antisense strand further comprises a nucleotide sequence IV, and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV independently of one another have a length of 1 to 4 nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence III is linked to 5′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence I, the nucleotide sequence IV is linked to 3′ terminal of the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 1 nucleotide, and the base of the nucleotide sequence III is G, and the base of the nucleotide sequence IV is C; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 20/20; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 3 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AAG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CUU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 22/22; or, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV both have a length of 4 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AAAG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CUUU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 23/23. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have a length of 2 nucleotides, and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the bases of the nucleotide sequence III is AG, and the bases of the nucleotide sequence IV is CU; in this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand thereof is 21/21.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence III and the nucleotide sequence IV have an equal length, and are completely reverse complementary. Hence, where the base(s) of nucleotide sequence III is(are) provided, the base(s) of nucleotide sequence IV is(are) also determined.
Overhang Terminal and Modification of siRNA
The following description regarding the nucleotide sequence V, the nucleic acid sequence, or the nucleotide modification and the modified sequence of the siRNA is applicable to any one of the first siRNA to the fifth siRNA. Namely, unless stated otherwise, the following description of the siRNA should be regarded as the description of each of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth siRNAs. For example, if no particular siRNA is specifically indicated, “the siRNA further comprises a nucleotide sequence V” means that “the first siRNA, the second siRNA, the third siRNA, the fourth siRNA or the fifth siRNA further comprise a nucleotide sequence V”.
In some embodiments, the siRNA further comprises a nucleotide sequence V. The nucleotide sequence V has a length of 1 to 3 nucleotides and is linked to 3′ terminal of the antisense strand (i.e., linking to the terminal of the nucleotide sequence II or the nucleotide sequence IV), thereby forming a 3′ overhang terminal of the antisense strand. In this case, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA may be 19/20, 19/21, 19/22, 20/21, 20/22, 20/23, 21/22, 21/23, 21/24, 22/23, 22/24, 22/25, 23/24, 23/25, or 23/26. In some embodiments, the nucleotide sequence V has a length of 2 nucleotides. Thus, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure may be 19/21, 21/23 or 23/25.
Each nucleotide in the nucleotide sequence V may be any nucleotide. In order to facilitate the synthesis and to save synthesis cost, the nucleotide sequence V is 2 consecutive thymine deoxyribonucleotides (dTdT) or 2 consecutive uracil ribonucleotides (UU); in order to enhance the affinity between the antisense strand of the siRNA and the target mRNA, the nucleotide sequence V is complementary to the nucleotides at the corresponding positions of the target mRNA. Thus, in some embodiments, the length ratio of the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure is 19/21 or 21/23. In this case, the siRNA of the present disclosure exhibits better mRNA silencing activity.
The nucleotides at the corresponding positions of the target mRNA refer to the nucleotides or nucleotide sequence adjacent to 5′ terminal of a segment of the nucleotide sequence of the target mRNA. This segment of the nucleotide sequence of the target mRNA refers to the segment of the nucleotide sequence which is substantially reverse complementary or completely reverse complementary with the nucleotide sequence II, or is substantially reverse complementary or completely reverse complementary with the nucleotide sequence consisted of the nucleotide sequence II and the nucleotide sequence IV.
In some embodiments, for the first siRNA, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 5, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 6:
Alternatively, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 7, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 8:
wherein, Za4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; Za3 is selected from A, U, G or C, and Za4 is a nucleotide complementary to Za3.
In some embodiments, for the second siRNA, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 17, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 18:
Alternatively, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 19, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 20:
wherein, Zb4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; Zb3 is selected from A, U, G or C, and Zb4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zb3.
In some embodiments, for the third siRNA, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 29, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 30:
Alternatively, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 31, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 32:
wherein, Zc4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; Zc3 is selected from A, U, G or C, and Zc4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zc3.
In some embodiments, for the fourth siRNA, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 41, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 42:
Alternatively, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 43, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 44:
wherein, Zd4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; Zd3 is selected from A, U, G or C, and Zd4 is a nucleotide complementary to Zd3.
In some embodiments, for the fifth siRNA, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 53, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 54:
Alternatively, the sense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 55, and the antisense strand of the siRNA comprises the nucleotide sequence as shown by SEQ ID NO: 56:
wherein, Ze4 is the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand; Ze3 is selected from A, U, G or C, and Ze4 is a nucleotide complementary to Ze3.
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is siAPa1, siAPa2, siAPb1, siAPb2, siAPc1, siAPc2, siAPd1, siAPd2, siAPe1, or siAPe2:
In some embodiments, the siRNA has the nucleotide sequence (i.e., nucleic acid or base sequence) as shown by siAPa1, siAPa2, siAPb1, siAPb2, siAPc1, siAPc2, siAPd1, siAPd2, siAPe1, or siAPe2.
As mentioned above, in the siRNA of the present disclosure, each nucleotide is independently a modified or unmodified nucleotide. In some embodiments, the nucleotide in the siRNA of the present disclosure is an unmodified nucleotide; in some embodiments, in the siRNA of the present disclosure, some or all of the nucleotides are modified nucleotides. These modifications on the nucleotide groups would not lead to significant decrease or loss of the functions for inhibiting the expression of APOC3 gene of the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure comprises at least 1 modified nucleotide. In the context of the present disclosure, the term “modified nucleotide” used refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with other groups, or nucleotide analogue, or a nucleotide of which the base is a modified base. The modified nucleotide would not lead to significant impairment or loss of the functions for inhibiting gene expression of the siRNA conjugate. For example, the modified nucleotides disclosed in Watts, J. K., G. F. Deleavey and M. J. Damha, Chemically Modified siRNA: tools and applications. Drug Discov Today, 2008.13(19-20): p. 842-55 may be selected.
In some embodiments, at least one nucleotide in the sense strand or the antisense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure is a modified nucleotide, and/or at least one phosphate group is a phosphate group with modified group(s). In other words, at least a portion of the phosphate and/or ribose groups in the phosphate-ribose backbone of at least one single strand in the sense strand and the antisense strand are phosphate groups with modified groups and/or ribose groups with modified groups.
In some embodiments, all the nucleotides in the sense strand and/or the antisense strand are modified nucleotides. In some embodiments, each nucleotide in the sense strand and antisense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure is independently a fluoro modified nucleotide or a non-fluoro modified nucleotide.
The inventors of the present disclosure surprisingly found that the siRNA of the present disclosure achieves high balance between plasma stability and gene silencing efficiency in animal experiments.
In some embodiments, the fluoro modified nucleotides are located in the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I are fluoro modified nucleotides; and in the direction from 5′terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II are fluoro modified nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the fluoro modified nucleotides are located in the nucleotide sequence I and the nucleotide sequence II; and the nucleotide sequence I comprises no more than 5 fluoro modified nucleotides; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I are fluoro modified nucleotides; the nucleotide sequence II comprises no more than 7 fluoro modified nucleotides; and the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II are fluoro modified nucleotides.
In some embodiments, in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 or at positions 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the sense strand are non-fluoro modified nucleotides; in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 or at positions 2, 6, 8, 9, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the antisense strand are non-fluoro modified nucleotides.
In the context of the present disclosure, a “fluoro modified nucleotide” refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a fluorine atom, which has a structure as shown by the following Formula (7). A “non-fluoro modified nucleotide” refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a non-fluoro group, or a nucleotide analogue. In some embodiments, each non-fluoro modified nucleotide is independently selected from a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group thereof with a non-fluoro group, or a nucleotide analogue.
The nucleotides formed by replacing 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a non-fluoro group are well-known in the art, and can be one selected from the group consisting of 2′-alkoxy modified nucleotides, 2′-substituted alkoxy modified nucleotides, 2′-alkyl modified nucleotides, 2′-substituted alkyl modified nucleotides, 2′-amino modified nucleotides, 2′-substituted amino modified nucleotides, and 2′-deoxy nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the 2′-alkoxy modified nucleotide is a 2′-methoxy (2′-OMe) modified nucleotide, as shown by Formula (8). In some embodiments, the 2′-substituted alkoxy modified nucleotide is for example a 2′-O-methoxyethyl (2′-MOE) modified nucleotide, as shown by Formula (9). In some embodiments, the 2′-amino (2′-NH2) modified nucleotide is as shown by Formula (10). In some embodiments, the 2′-deoxy nucleotide (DNA) is as shown by Formula (11).
A nucleotide analogue refers to a group that can replace a nucleotide in a nucleic acid, while structurally differs from an adenine ribonucleotide, a guanine ribonucleotide, a cytosine ribonucleotide, a uracil ribonucleotide, or thymine deoxyribonucleotide. In some embodiments, the nucleotide analogue may be an isonucleotide, a bridged nucleotide or an acyclic nucleotide.
A BNA nucleotide (bridged nucleic acid, BNA) is a nucleotide that is constrained or inaccessible. BNA can contain a 5-, 6-membered or a 7-membered ring bridged structure with a “fixed” C3′-endo sugar puckering. The bridge is typically incorporated at the 2′- and 4′-positions of the ribose to afford a 2′, 4′-BNA nucleotide. In some embodiments, BNA may be LNA, ENA, cET BNA and so on, which are shown by Formulae (12), (13) and (14), respectively.
An acyclic nucleotide refers to a class of nucleotides in which the sugar ring is opened. In some embodiments, the acrylic nucleotide is an unlocked nucleic acid (UNA) or a glycerol nucleic acid (GNA), which are as shown by Formulae (15) and (16), respectively.
In the above Formulae (15) and (16), R is selected from H, OH or alkoxy (O-alkyl).
An isonucleotide is a compound formed by changing the position of the base on the ribose ring in the nucleotide. In some embodiments, the isonucleotide is a compound formed by transposing the base from 1-position to 2′-position or 3′-position on the ribose ring, as shown by Formula (17) or (18), respectively.
In the above compounds of Formulae (17)-(18), “Base” represents a base of a nucleic acid, such as A, U, G, C, or T; R is selected from H, OH, F, or the above non-fluoro group.
In some embodiments, a nucleotide analogue is one selected from the group consisting of isonucleotide, LNA, ENA, cET, UNA, and GNA. In some embodiments, each non-fluoro modified nucleotide is a methoxy modified nucleotide. In the context of the present disclosure, the methoxy modified nucleotide refers to a nucleotide formed by substituting 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group with a methoxy group.
In the context of the disclosure, a “fluoro modified nucleotide”, a “2′-fluoro modified nucleotide”, a “nucleotide in which 2′-hydroxy of a ribose group is substituted with a fluorine atom”, and a “nucleotide with 2′-fluororibosyl” have the same meaning, referring to a compound in which 2′-hydroxy of the nucleotide is substituted with a flurorin atom, which has a structure as shown by Formula (7). A “methoxy modified nucleotide”, a “2′-methoxy modified nucleotide”, a “nucleotide in which 2′-hydroxy of a ribose group is substituted with a methoxy” and a “nucleotide with 2′-methoxyribosyl” have the same meaning, referring to a compound in which 2′-hydroxy of the ribose group in the nucleotide is substituted with a methoxy, which has a structure as shown by Formula (8).
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is a siRNA with the following modifications: in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 or at positions 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the sense strand are methoxy modified nucleotides; the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 or at positions 2, 6, 8, 9, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the antisense strand are methoxy modified nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is a siRNA with the following modifications: in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 5, 7, 8, and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions of the sense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 8, 9, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the antisense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides;
Alternatively, in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 5, 7, 8, and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the sense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the antisense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides.
Alternatively, in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 7, 8 and 9 of the nucleotide sequence I in the sense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the sense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides; and in the direction from 5′ terminal to 3′ terminal, the nucleotides at positions 2, 6, 14, and 16 of the nucleotide sequence II in the antisense strand of the siRNA are fluoro modified nucleotides, and the nucleotides at the other positions in the antisense strand of the siRNA are methoxy modified nucleotides.
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is any one of siAPa1-M1, siAPa2-M1, siAPa1-M2, siAPa2-M2, siAPa1-M3, siAPa2-M3, siAPb1-M1, siAPb2-M1, siAPb1-M2, siAPb2-M2, siAPb1-M3, siAPb2-M3, siAPc1-M1, siAPc2-M1, siAPc1-M2, siAPc2-M2, siAPc1-M3, siAPc2-M3, siAPd1-M1, siAPd2-M1, siAPd1-M2, siAPd2-M2, siAPd1-M3, siAPd2-M3, siAPe1-M1, siAPe2-M1, siAPe1-M2, siAPe2-M2, siAPe1-M3, or siAPe2-M3:
The siRNAs with the above modifications not only have lower costs, but also cause that the ribonucleases in the blood cannot easily cleave the nucleic acid, thereby increasing the stability of the nucleic acid and rendering the nucleic acid to have stronger resistance against nuclease hydrolysis.
In some embodiments, at least a portion of the phosphate groups in the phosphate-ribose backbone of at least one single strand in the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure are phosphate groups with modified groups. In some embodiments, the phosphate group with modified group(s) is a phosphorothioate group formed by substituting at least one oxygen atom in a phosphodiester bond in a phosphate groups with a sulfur atom. In some embodiments, the phosphate group with modified group(s) is a phosphorothioate group having a structure as shown by Formula (1):
This modification stabilizes the double-stranded structure of the siRNA, thereby maintaining high specificity and high affinity of base pairing.
In some embodiments, in the siRNA of the present disclosure, the phosphorothioate linkage is located in at least one of the group consisting of the following positions: the position between the first and the second nucleotides at either terminal of the sense or antisense strand, the position between the second and the third nucleotides at either terminal of the sense or antisense strand, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the phosphorothioate linkage is located in all the above positions except 5′ terminal of the sense strand. In some embodiments, the phosphorothioate linkage is located in all the above positions except 3′ terminal of the sense strand. In some embodiments, the phosphorothioate linkage is located in at least one of the following positions:
the position between the first and second nucleotides at 5′ terminal of the sense strand;
the position between the second and third nucleotides at 5′ terminal of the sense strand;
the position between the first and second nucleotides at 3′ terminal of the sense strand;
the position between the second and third nucleotides at 3′ terminal of the sense strand;
the position between the first and second nucleotides at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
the position between the second and third nucleotides at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand;
the position between the first and second nucleotides at 3′ terminal of the antisense strand; and
the position between the second and third nucleotides at 3′ terminal of the antisense strand.
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is siAPa1-M1S, siAPa2-M1S, siAPa1-M2S, siAPa2-M2S, siAPa1-M3S, siAPa2-M3S, siAPb1-M1S, siAPb2-M1S, siAPb1-M2S, siAPb2-M2S, siAPb1-M3S, siAPb2-M3S, siAPc1-M1S, siAPc2-M1S, siAPc1-M2S, siAPc2-M2S, siAPc1-M3S, siAPc2-M3S, siAPd1-M1S, siAPd2-M1S, siAPd1-M2S, siAPd2-M2S, siAPd1-M3S, siAPd2-M3S, siAPe1-M1S, siAPe2-M1S, siAPe1-M2S, siAPe2-M2S, siAPe1-M3S, and siAPe2-M3S.
In some embodiments, the nucleotide at 5′-terminal in the antisense strand of the siRNA is a 5′-phosphate nucleotide or a 5′-phosphate analogue modified nucleotide.
Typical 5′-phosphate nucleotides or 5′-phosphate analogue modified nucleotides are well known to those skilled in the art. For example, the 5′-phosphate nucleotides may have the following structure:
As another example, Anastasia Khvorova and Jonathan K. Watts, The chemical evolution of oligonucleotide therapies of clinical utility. Nature Biotechnology, 2017, 35(3): 238-48 discloses the following four 5′-phosphate analogue modified nucleotides:
wherein R is selected from H, OH, methoxy, and F;
“Base” represents a base selected from A, U, C, G, or T.
In some embodiments, the 5′-phosphate nucleotide is a nucleotide with 5′-phosphate modification as shown by Formula (2); the 5′-phosphate analogue modified nucleotide is a nucleotide with vinylphosphonate modification as shown by Formula (3), or a phosphorothioate modified nucleotide as shown by Formula (5).
In some embodiments, the siRNA of the present disclosure is any one of siAPa1-M1P1, siAPa2-M1P1, siAPa1-M2P1, siAPa2-M2P1, siAPa1-M3P1, siAPa2-M3P1, siAPa1-M1SP1, siAPa2-M1SP1, siAPa1-M2SP1, siAPa2-M2SP1, siAPa1-M3SP1, siAPa2-M3SP1, siAPa1U-M1P1, siAPa2U-M1P1, siAPa1U-M2P1, siAPa2U-M2P1, siAPa1U-M3P1, siAPa2U-M3P1, siAPa1U-M1SP1, siAPa2U-M1SP1, siAPa1U-M2SP1, siAPa2U-M2SP1, siAPa1U-M3SP1, siAPa2U-M3SP1, siAPb1-M1P1, siAPb2-M1P1, siAPb1-M2P1, siAPb2-M2P1, siAPb1-M3P1, siAPb2-M3P1, siAPb1-M1SP1, siAPb2-M1SP1, siAPb1-M2SP1, siAPb2-M2SP1, siAPb1-M3SP1, siAPb2-M3SP1, siAPb1U-M1P1, siAPb2U-M1P1, siAPb1U-M2P1, siAPb2U-M2P1, siAPb1U-M3P1, siAPb2U-M3P1, siAPb1U-M1SP1, siAPb2U-M1SP1, siAPb1U-M2SP1, siAPb2U-M2SP1, siAPb1U-M3SP1, siAPb2U-M3SP1, siAPc1-M1P1, siAPc2-M1P1, siAPc1-M2P1, siAPc2-M2P1, siAPc1-M3P1, siAPc2-M3P1, siAPc1-M1SP1, siAPc2-M1SP1, siAPc1-M2SP1, siAPc2-M2SP1, siAPc1-M3SP1, siAPc2-M3SP1, siAPd1-M1P1, siAPd2-M1P1, siAPd1-M2P1, siAPd2-M2P1, siAPd1-M3P1, siAPd2-M3P1, siAPd1-M1SP1, siAPd2-M1SP1, siAPd1-M2SP1, siAPd2-M2SP1, siAPd1-M3SP1, siAPd2-M3SP1, siAPd1U-M1P1, siAPd2U-M1P1, siAPd1U-M2P1, siAPd2U-M2P1, siAPd1U-M3P1, siAPd2U-M3P1, siAPd1U-M1SP1, siAPd2U-M1SP1, siAPd1U-M2SP1, siAPd2U-M2SP1, siAPd1U-M3SP1, siAPd2U-M3SP1, siAPe1-M1P1, siAPe2-M1P1, siAPe1-M2P1, siAPe2-M2P1, siAPe1-M3P1, siAPe2-M3P1, siAPe1-M1SP1, siAPe2-M1SP1, siAPe1-M2SP1, siAPe2-M2SP1, siAPe1-M3SP1, siAPe2-M3SP1, siAPe1U-M1P1, siAPe2U-M1P1, siAPe1U-M2P1, siAPe2U-M2P1, siAPe1U-M3P1, siAPe2U-M3P1, siAPe1U-M1SP1, siAPe2U-M1SP1, siAPe1U-M2SP1, siAPe2U-M2SP1, siAPe1U-M3SP1, and siAPe2U-M3SP1.
In some embodiments, the siRNA may be one selected from siAPa1UM3SVP, siAPe1UM3SVP, siAPb1UM3SVP, siAPd1UM3SVP, siAPc1M3SVP, siAPd1UM3SP, siAPd1UM3SPs, siAPa1M3SP, siAPe1M3SP, siAPb1M3SP, and siAPc1M3SP, as shown in Table 7.
In the above siRNAs of the present disclosure, C, G, U, and A represent the base composition of a nucleotide; m represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the left side of the letter m is a methoxy modified nucleotide; f represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the left side of the letter f is a fluoro modified nucleotide; s represents that the two nucleotides adjacent to both sides of the letter s are linked by a phosphorothioate linkage; P1 represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of P1 is a 5′-phosphate nucleotide or a 5′-phosphate analog modified nucleotide. In some embodiments, P1 represents the specific modified nucleotide VP, Ps or P, wherein VP represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of VP is a vinyl phosphate (5′-(E)-vinylphosphonate, E-VP) modified nucleotide; Ps represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of Ps is a thiophosphate modified nucleotide; and P represents that the nucleotide adjacent to the right side of the letter P is a 5′-phosphate nucleotide.
The inventors of the present disclosure surprisingly found that the siRNAs of the present disclosure have significantly enhanced plasma and lysosomal stability, while maintaining high gene-suppressing activity.
The siRNAs of the present disclosure can be obtained by conventional methods for preparing siRNAs in the art, e.g., solid phase synthesis method and liquid phase synthesis method. Commercial customization services have already been available for solid phase synthesis. A modified nucleotide group can be introduced into the siRNA of the present disclosure by using a nucleotide monomer having the corresponding modification. The method for preparing a nucleotide monomer having the corresponding modification and the method for introducing a modified nucleotide group into a siRNA are also well known to those skilled in the art.
Pharmaceutical Composition
The present disclosure provides a pharmaceutical composition, comprising the above siRNA as an active ingredient and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be a conventional carrier in the field of siRNA administration, for example, but not limited to, one or more of magnetic nanoparticles (such as Fe3O4 and Fe2O3-based nanoparticle), carbon nanotubes, mesoporous silicon, calcium phosphate nanoparticles, polyethylenimine (PEI), polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer, poly(L-lysine) (PLL), chitosan, 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP), poly(D&L-lactic/glycolic acid) copolymer (PLGA), poly(2-aminoethyl ethylene phosphate) (PPEEA), poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA), and derivatives thereof.
In some embodiments, in the pharmaceutical composition, there are no special requirements for the contents of the siRNA and the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In some embodiments, the weight ratio of the siRNA to the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is 1:(1-500), and in some embodiments, the weight ratio is 1:(1-50).
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition may also contain other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, which may be one or more of various conventional formulations or compounds in the art. For example, said other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients may comprise at least one of a pH buffer, a protection agent and an osmotic pressure regulator.
The pH buffer may be a tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane hydrochloride buffer solution with a pH of 7.5-8.5, and/or a phosphate buffer solution with a pH of 5.5-8.5, such as a phosphate buffer solution with a pH of 5.5-8.5.
The protection agent may be at least one of inositol, sorbitol, sucrose, trehalose, mannose, maltose, lactose, and glucose. The content of the protection agent may be from 0.01 wt % to 30 wt % based on the total weight of the pharmaceutical composition.
The osmotic pressure regulator may be sodium chloride and/or potassium chloride. The content of the osmotic pressure regulator renders the osmotic pressure of the pharmaceutical composition to be 200-700 milliosmol/kg. Depending on the desired osmotic pressure, those skilled in the art can readily determine the content of the osmotic pressure regulator.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition may be a liquid formulation, for example, an injection solution; or a lyophilized powder for injection, which will be mixed with a liquid excipient to form a liquid formulation upon administration. The liquid formulation may be administered by, but not limited to, subcutaneous, intramuscular or intravenous injection, and also may be administered to, but not limited to, lung by spray, or other organs (such as liver) via lung by spray. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition is administered by intravenous injection.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition may be in the form of a liposome formulation. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier used in the liposome formulation comprises an amine-containing transfection compound (hereinafter also referred to as an organic amine), a helper lipid and/or a PEGylated lipid. Therein, the organic amine, the helper lipid and the PEGylated lipid may be respectively one or more selected from the amine-containing transfection compounds or the pharmaceutically acceptable salts or derivatives thereof, the helper lipids and the PEGylated lipids as described in CN103380113A, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments, the organic amine may be a compound as shown by Formula (201) as described in CN103380113A or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:
wherein,
X101 and X102 independently of one another are selected from O, S, N-A and C-A, wherein A is hydrogen or a C1-C20 hydrocarbon chain;
Y101 and Z101 independently of one another are selected from C═O, C═S, S═O, CH—OH and SO2;
R101, R102, R103, R104, R105, R106 and R107 independently of one another are selected from hydrogen; a cyclic or an acyclic, substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear aliphatic group; a cyclic or an acyclic, substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear heteroaliphatic group; a substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear acyl group; a substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear aryl group; and a substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear heteroaryl group;
x is an integer of 1-10;
n is an integer of 1-3, m is an integer of 0-20, p is 0 or 1, wherein if m=p=0, then R102 is hydrogen; and
if at least one of n and m is 2, then R103 and nitrogen in Formula (201) form a structure as shown by Formula (202) or (203):
wherein g, e and f independently of one another are an integer of 1-6; “HCC” represents a hydrocarbon chain, and each *N represents a nitrogen atom shown in Formula (201).
In some embodiments, R103 is a polyamine. In other embodiments, R103 is a ketal. In some embodiments, R101 and R102 in the Formula (201) independently of one another are any substituted or unsubstituted, branched or linear alkyl or alkenyl, wherein the alkyl or alkenyl has 3-20 carbon atoms (such as 8-18 carbon atoms) and 0-4 double bonds (such as 0-2 double bonds).
In some embodiments, if n and m independently of one another are 1 or 3, R103 is any of the following Formulae (204)-(213):
wherein, in Formulae (204)-(213), g, e and f independently of one another are an integer of 1-6, each “HCC” represents a hydrocarbon chain, and each * represents a potential attachment point of R103 to the nitrogen atom in Formula (201), wherein each H at any * position can be replaced to achieve the attachment to the nitrogen atom in Formula (201).
The compound as shown by Formula (201) may be prepared as described in CN103380113A.
In some embodiments, the organic amine is an organic amine as shown by Formula (214) and/or an organic amine as shown by Formula (215):
The helper lipid is cholesterol, cholesterol analogs and/or cholesterol derivatives.
The PEGylated lipid is 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)]-2000.
In some embodiments, the molar ratio among the organic amine, the helper lipid, and the PEGylated lipid in the pharmaceutical composition is (19.7-80):(19.7-80):(0.3-50), for example, the molar ratio may be (50-70):(20-40):(3-20).
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition particles formed by the siRNA of the present disclosure and the above amine-containing transfection reagents have an average diameter from about 30 nm to about 200 nm, typically from about 40 nm to about 135 nm, and more typically, the average diameter of the liposome particles is from about 50 nm to about 120 nm, from about 50 nm to about 100 nm, from about 60 nm to about 90 nm, or from about 70 nm to about 90 nm; for example, the average diameter of the liposome particles is about 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 or 160 nm.
In some embodiments, in the pharmaceutical composition formed by the siRNA of the present disclosure and the above amine-containing transfection reagents, the weight ratio (weight/weight ratio) of the siRNA to total lipids, e.g., the organic amines, the helper lipids and/or the PEGylated lipids, ranges from about 1:1 to about 1:50, from about 1:1 to about 1:30, from about 1:3 to about 1:20, from about 1:4 to about 1:18, from about 1:5 to about 1:17, from about 1:5 to about 1:15, from about 1:5 to about 1:12, from about 1:6 to about 1:12, or from about 1:6 to about 1:10. For example, the weight ratio of the siRNA of the present disclosure to total lipids is about 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:9, 1:10, 1:11, 1:12, 1:13, 1:14, 1:15, 1:16, 1:17, or 1:18.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition may be marketed with each component being separate, and used in the form of a liquid formulation. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition formed by the siRNA of the present disclosure and the above pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may be prepared by various known processes, except for replacing the existing siRNA with the siRNA of the present disclosure. In some specific embodiments, the pharmaceutical composition may be prepared according to the following process:
The organic amines, helper lipids and PEGylated lipids are suspended in alcohol at a molar ratio as described above and mixed homogeneously to yield a lipid solution; the alcohol is used in an amount such that the resultant lipid solution is present at a total mass concentration of 2 to 25 mg/mL (e.g., 8 to 18 mg/mL). The alcohol is a pharmaceutically acceptable alcohol, such as an alcohol that is in liquid form at about room temperature, for example, one or more of ethanol, propylene glycol, benzyl alcohol, glycerol, PEG 200, PEG 300, and PEG 400, such as ethanol.
The siRNA of the present disclosure is dissolved in a buffered salt solution to produce an aqueous solution of the siRNA. The buffered salt solution has a concentration of 0.05 to 0.5 M, such as 0.1 to 0.2 M. The pH of the buffered salt solution is adjusted to 4.0 to 5.5, such as 5.0 to 5.2. The buffered salt solution is used in an amount such that the siRNA is present at a concentration of less than 0.6 mg/ml, such as 0.2 to 0.4 mg/mL. The buffered salt may be one or more selected from the group consisting of soluble acetate and soluble citrate, such as sodium acetate and/or potassium acetate.
The lipid solution and the aqueous solution of the siRNA are mixed. The product obtained by mixing is incubated at a temperature of 40 to 60° C. for at least 2 minutes (e.g., 5 to 30 minutes) to produce an incubated lipid formulation. The volume ratio of the lipid solution to the aqueous solution of the siRNA is 1:(2-5).
The incubated lipid formulation is concentrated or diluted, purified to remove impurities, and then sterilized to afford the pharmaceutical composition of the present disclosure, which has the following physicochemical parameters: a pH of 6.5 to 8, an encapsulation percentage of more than 80%, a particle size of 40 to 200 nm, a polydispersity index of less than 0.30, and an osmotic pressure of 250 to 400 mOsm/kg. For example, the physicochemical parameters may be as follows: a pH of 7.2 to 7.6, an encapsulation percentage of more than 90%, a particle size of 60 to 100 nm, a polydispersity index of less than 0.20, and an osmotic pressure of 300 to 400 mOsm/kg.
Therein, the concentration or dilution step may be performed before, after or simultaneously with removal of the impurities. The method for removing impurities may be any of various existing methods, for example, ultrafiltration with 100 kDa hollow fiber column and PBS at pH 7.4 as ultrafiltration exchange solution using tangential flow system. The method for sterilization may be any of various existing methods, such as filtration sterilization on a 0.22 μm filter.
siRNA Conjugate
The present disclosure provides a siRNA conjugate comprising the above siRNA and a conjugation group conjugatively linked to the siRNA.
Generally speaking, the conjugation group comprises at least one pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group and an optional linker. Moreover, the siRNA, the linker and the targeting group are sequentially linked. In some embodiments, the number of the targeting groups is 1 to 6. In some embodiments, the number of target groups is 2 to 4. The siRNA molecule may be non-covalently or covalently conjugated to the conjugation group, for example the siRNA molecule may be covalently conjugated to the conjugation group. The conjugation site between the siRNA and the conjugation group can be at 3′ terminal or 5′ terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA, or at 5′ terminal of the antisense strand of the siRNA, and can be within the internal sequence of the siRNA. In some embodiments, the conjugation site between the siRNA and the conjugation group is at 3′ terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA.
In some embodiments, the conjugation group may be linked to the phosphate group, the 2′-hydroxy or the base of a nucleotide. The conjugation group may also be linked to the 3′-hydroxy group when the nucleotides are linked via a 2′-5′-phosphodiester bond. When the conjugation group is linked to a terminal of the siRNA, the conjugation group is typically linked to the phosphate group of a nucleotide; when the conjugation group is linked to an internal sequence of the siRNA, the conjugation group is typically linked to a ribose ring or a base. For various linking modes, reference may be made to: Muthiah Manoharan et. al. siRNA conjugates carrying sequentially assembled trivalent N-acetylgalactosamine linked through nucleosides elicit robust gene silencing in vivo in hepatocytes. ACS Chemical biology, 2015, 10(5): 1181-7.
In some embodiments, the siRNA and the conjugation group can be linked by an acid-labile or reducible chemical bond, and these chemical bonds can be degraded under the acidic environment of cell endosomes, thereby making the siRNA be in free state. For non-degradable conjugation modes, the conjugation group can be linked to the sense strand of the siRNA, thereby minimizing the effect of conjugation on the activity of the siRNA.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group may be a conventional ligand in the field of siRNA administration, for example, various ligands as described in WO2009082607A2, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group may be one or more selected from the ligands formed by the following targeting molecules or derivatives thereof: lipophilic molecules, such as cholesterol, bile acids, vitamins (such as vitamin E), lipid molecules with different chain lengths; polymers, such as polyethylene glycol; polypeptides, such as cell-penetrating peptide; aptamers; antibodies; quantum dots; saccharides, such as lactose, polylactose, mannose, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc); folate; or receptor ligands expressed in hepatic parenchymal cells, such as asialoglycoprotein, asialo-sugar residue, lipoproteins (such as high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein and the like), glucagon, neurotransmitters (such as adrenaline), growth factors, transferrin and the like.
In some embodiments, each ligand is independently selected from a ligand capable of binding to a cell surface receptor. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a ligand capable of binding to a surface receptor of a hepatocyte. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a ligand capable of binding to a surface receptor of a mammalian hepatocyte. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a ligand capable of binding to a surface receptor of a human hepatocyte. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a ligand capable of binding to an asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on the surface of hepatocytes. The types of these ligands are well-known to those skilled in the art and they typically serve the function of binding to specific receptor on the surface of the target cell, thereby mediating delivery of the siRNA linked to the ligand into the target cell.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group may be any ligand that binds to the asialoglycoprotein receptors on the surface of mammalian hepatocytes. In some embodiments, each ligand is independently an asialoglycoprotein, such as asialoorosomucoid (ASOR) or asialofetuin (ASF). In some embodiments, the ligand is a saccharide or its derivatives.
In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a saccharide. In some embodiments, each ligand is a saccharide. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a monosaccharide, polysaccharide, modified monosaccharide, modified polysaccharide, or saccharide derivative. In some embodiments, at least one ligand may be a monosaccharide, disaccharide or trisaccharide. In some embodiments, at least one ligand is a modified saccharide. In some embodiments, each ligand is a modified saccharide. In some embodiments, each ligand is independently selected from a polysaccharide, modified polysaccharide, monosaccharide, modified monosaccharide, polysaccharide derivative, and monosaccharide derivative. In some embodiments, each ligand or at least one ligand may be independently selected from the group consisting of glucose and its derivatives, mannose and its derivatives, galactose and its derivatives, xylose and its derivatives, ribose and its derivatives, fucose and its derivatives, lactose and its derivatives, maltose and its derivatives, arabinose and its derivatives, fructose and its derivatives, and sialic acid.
In some embodiments, each ligand may be independently selected from the group consisting of D-mannopyranose, L-mannopyranose, D-arabinose, D-xylofuranose, L-xylofuranose, D-glucose, L-glucose, D-galactose, L-galactose, α-D-mannofuranose, β-D-mannofuranose, α-D-mannopyranose, β-D-mannopyranose, α-D-glucopyranose, β-D-glucopyranose, α-D-glucofuranose, β-D-glucofuranose, α-D-fructofuranose, α-D-fructopyranose, α-D-galactopyranose, β-D-galactopyranose, α-D-galactofuranose, β-D-galactofuranose, glucosamine, sialic acid, galactosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, N-trifluoroacetylgalactosamine, N-propionylgalactosamine, N-n-butyrylgalactosamine, N-isobutyrylgalactosamine, 2-amino-3-O—[(R)-1-carboxyethyl]-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranose, 2-deoxy-2-methylamino-L-glucopyranose, 4,6-dideoxy-4-formamido-2,3-di-O-methyl-D-mannopyranose, 2-deoxy-2-sulfoamino-D-glucopyranose, N-glycolyl-α-neuraminic acid, 5-thio-β-D-glucopyranose, methyl 2,3,4-tris-O-acetyl-1-thio-6-O-trityl-α-D-glucopyranoside, 4-thio-β-D-galactopyranose, ethyl 3,4,6,7-tetra-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-1,5-dithio-α-D-glucoheptopyranoside, 2,5-anhydro-D-allononitrile, ribose, D-ribose, D-4-thioribose, L-ribose, L-4-thioribose. Other options of the ligand may be found, for example, in the disclosure of CN105378082A, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group in the siRNA conjugate may be galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine, wherein the galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine molecules may be be mono-, bi-, tri-, or tetra-valent. It should be understood that the terms mono-, bi-, tri-, or tetra-valent described herein respectively mean that the molar ratio of the siRNA molecule to the galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine molecule in the siRNA conjugate is 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 or 1:4, wherein the siRNA conjugate is formed from the siRNA molecule and the conjugation group containing galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine molecule as the targeting group. In some embodiments, the pharmaceutically acceptable targeting group is N-acetylgalactosamine. In some embodiments, when the double-stranded oligonucleotide of the present disclosure is conjugated to a conjugation group comprising N-acetylgalactosamine, the N-acetylgalactosamine molecule is trivalent or tetravalent. In some embodiments, when the siRNA of the present disclosure is conjugated to a conjugation group containing N-acetylgalactosamine, the N-acetylgalactosamine molecule is trivalent.
The targeting group can be linked to the siRNA molecule via an appropriate linker, and the appropriate linker can be selected by those skilled in the art according to the specific type of the targeting group. The types of these linkers and targeting groups and the linking modes with the siRNA may be found in the disclosure of WO2015006740A2, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments, when the targeting group is N-acetylgalactosamine, a suitable linker may have the following structure as shown by Formula (301):
wherein,
k is an integer of 1-3;
LA is an amide bond-comprising chain moiety that has a structure as shown by Formula (302), and two terminals of each LA are respectively linked to the targeting group and the LC moiety through an ether bond:
LB is a N-acylpyrrolidine-comprising chain moiety that has a structure as shown by Formula (303), wherein the chain moiety has a carbonyl group at one terminal and is linked to the LC moiety through an amide bond, and has an oxy group at the other terminal and is linked to the siRNA via a phosphoester bond:
LC is a bivalent to tetravalent linking group based on hydroxymethyl aminomethane, dihydroxymethyl aminomethane or trihydroxymethyl aminomethane, and LC is linked to LA moieties through an ether bond via an oxygen atom, and is linked to LB moiety through an amide bond via a nitrogen atom.
In some embodiments, when n=3 and LC is a tetravalent linking group based on trihydroxymethyl aminomethane, the siRNA conjugate formed by linking N-acetylgalactosamine molecules with a siRNA molecule via -(LA)3-trihydroxymethyl aminomethane-LB- as a linker has a structure as shown by Formula (304):
wherein the double helix structure represents a siRNA.
Likewise, the conjugation site between the siRNA and the conjugation group can be at 3′-terminal or 5′-terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA, or at 5′-terminal of the antisense strand, or within the internal sequence of the siRNA.
In some embodiments, the 3′-terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA of the present disclosure is covalently conjugated to three N-acetylgalactosamine molecules via a linker -(LA)3-trihydroxymethyl aminomethane-LB-, to afford a siRNA conjugate in which the molar ratio of the siRNA molecule to the GaINAc molecule is 1:3 (hereinafter also referred to as (GaINAc)3-siRNA), and this conjugate has a structure as shown by Formula (305):
wherein the double helix structure represents a siRNA; and the linker is linked to 3′-terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA.
In some embodiments, when the targeting group is N-acetylgalactosamine, a suitable linker may have a structure as shown by Formula (306):
wherein,
l is an integer of 0-3;
* represents a site on the linker linked to the targeting group via an ether bond; and
# represents a site on the linker linked to the siRNA via a phosphoester bond.
In some specific embodiments, when 1=2, the siRNA conjugate has a structure as shown by Formula (307):
wherein, the double helix structure denotes a siRNA; and the linker is linked to 3′-terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA.
The above conjugates can be synthesized according to the method described in detail in the prior art. For example, WO2015006740 A2 describes in detail the preparation methods of various conjugates. The siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure may be obtained by the methods well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, WO2014025805A1 describes the preparation method of the conjugate having the structure as shown by Formula (305). Rajeev et al., ChemBioChem 2015, 16, 903-908 describes the preparation method of the conjugate having the structure as shown by Formula (307).
In some embodiments, the siRNA conjugate has a structure as shown by Formula (308):
wherein,
n1 is an integer of 1-3, and n3 is an integer of 0-4;
m1, m2, and m3 independently of one another are an integer of 2-10;
R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 independently of one another are H, or selected from the group consisting of C1-C10 alkyl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, and C1-C10 alkoxy,
R3 is a group having a structure as shown by Formula (A59):
wherein E1 is OH, SH or BH2; and Nu is the siRNA of the present disclosure;
R2 is a linear alkylene of 1 to 20 carbon atoms in length, wherein one or more carbon atoms are optionally replaced with any one or more groups selected from the group consisting of: C(O), NH, O, S, CH═N, S(O)2, C2-C10 alkenylene, C2-C10 alkynylene, C6-C10 arylene, C3-C18 heterocyclylene, and C5-C10 heteroarylene, and wherein R2 optionally has any one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: C1-C10 alkyl, C6-C10 aryl, C5-C10 heteroaryl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC1-C10 alkyl, —OC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-OH, —OC1-C10 haloalkyl, —SC1-C10 alkyl, —SC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-SH, —SC1-C10 haloalkyl, halo, —OH, —SH, —NH2, —C1-C10 alkyl-NH2, —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), cyano, nitro, —CO2H, —C(O)OC1-C10 alkyl, —CON(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH2, —NHC(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHC(O)(phenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(phenyl), —C(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —C(O)C1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C(O)C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —SO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2(phenyl), —SO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl), —SO2NH2, —SO2NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2NH(phenyl), —NHSO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHSO2(phenyl), and —NHSO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl);
each L1 is a linear alkylene of 1 to 70 carbon atoms in length, wherein one or more carbon atoms are optionally replaced with any one or more groups selected from the group consisting of: C(O), NH, O, S, CH═N, S(O)2, C2-C10 alkenylene, C2-C10 alkynylene, C6-C10 arylene, C3-C18 heterocyclylene, and C5-C10 heteroarylene, and wherein L1 optionally has any one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of: C1-C10 alkyl, C6-C10 aryl, C5-C10 heteroaryl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC1-C10 alkyl, —OC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-OH, —OC1-C10 haloalkyl, —SC1-C10 alkyl, —SC1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C1-C10 alkyl-SH, —SC1-C10 haloalkyl, halo, —OH, —SH, —NH2, —C1-C10 alkyl-NH2, —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —NH(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkylphenyl), cyano, nitro, —CO2H, —C(O)OC1-C10 alkyl, —CON(C1-C10 alkyl)(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH(C1-C10 alkyl), —CONH2, —NHC(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHC(O)(phenyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(C1-C10 alkyl), —N(C1-C10 alkyl)C(O)(phenyl), —C(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —C(O)C1-C10 alkylphenyl, —C(O)C1-C10 haloalkyl, —OC(O)C1-C10 alkyl, —SO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2(phenyl), —SO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl), —SO2NH2, —SO2NH(C1-C10 alkyl), —SO2NH(phenyl), —NHSO2(C1-C10 alkyl), —NHSO2(phenyl), and —NHSO2(C1-C10 haloalkyl).
In some embodiments, L1 may be selected from the group consisting of the groups of Formulae (A1)-(A26) and any combination thereof, wherein the structures and definitions of A1-A26 are as follows:
wherein j1 is an integer of 1-20;
j2 is an integer of 1-20;
R′ is a C1-C10 alkyl;
Ra is selected from the group consisting of the groups of Formulae (A27)-(A45) or any combination thereof:
Rb is a C1-C10 alkyl; and
represents the site where a group is linked to the rest of the molecule.
Those skilled in the art would understand that, though L1 is defined as a linear alkyl for convenience, but it may not be a linear group or be named differently, such as an amine or alkenyl produced by the above replacement and/or substitution. For the purpose of the present disclosure, the length of L1 is the number of the atoms in the chain linking the two attachment points. For this purpose, a ring obtained by replacing a carbon atom in the linear alkylene, such as a heterocyclylene or heteroarylene, is counted as one atom.
M1 represents a targeting group, of which the definitions and options are the same as those of the above targeting groups. In some embodiments, each M1 is independently one selected from the ligands that have affinity to the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of mammalian hepatocytes.
When M1 is a ligand that has affinity to the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of mammalian hepatocyte, in some embodiments, n1 may be an integer of 1-3, and n3 may be an integer of 0-4 to ensure that the number of the M1 targeting group in the conjugate may be at least 2. In some embodiments, n1+n3≥2, such that the number of the M1 targeting group is at least 3, thereby rendering the M1 targeting group to more easily bind to the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of hepatocytes, which may facilitates the endocytosis of the conjugate into cells. Experiments have shown that when the number of the M1 ligand is greater than 3, the ease of the binding between the M1 ligand and the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of hepatocytes is not significantly increased. Therefore, in view of various aspects such as synthesis convenience, structure/process costs and delivery efficiency, in some embodiments, n1 is an integer of 1-2, n3 is an integer of 0-1, and n1+n3=2-3.
In some embodiments, when m1, m2, and m3 independently of one another are an integer selected from 2-10, the steric positions among many M1 ligands may be suitable for the binding between the M1 ligands and the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of hepatocytes. In order to make the conjugate of the present disclosure have simpler structure, easier synthesis and/or reduced cost, in some embodiments, m1, m2 and m3 independently of one another are an integer of 2-5; in some embodiments, m1=m2=m3.
Those skilled in the art would understand that when R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 independently of one another is one selected from H, C1-C10 alkyl, C1-C10 haloalkyl, and C1-C10 alkoxy, they would not change the properties of the conjugate of the present disclosure and could all achieve the purpose of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 independently of one another are selected from H, methyl and ethyl. In some embodiments, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 are H.
R3 is a group having the structure as shown by Formula A59, wherein E1 is OH, SH or BH2, and considering the easy availability of the starting materials, in some embodiments, E1 is OH or SH.
R2 is selected to achieve the linkage between the group as shown by Formula A59 and the N atom on a nitrogenous backbone. In the context of the present disclosure, a “nitrogenous backbone” refers to a chain structure in which the N atom are coadjacently linked to the carbon atoms to which R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 are attached. Therefore, R2 may be any linking group capable of linking the group as shown by Formula (A59) to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone by suitable means. In some embodiments, in the case where the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) is prepared by a solid phase synthesis process, R2 group needs to have both a site linking to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone and a site linking to the P atom in R3. In some embodiments, in R2, the site linking to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone forms an amide bond with the N atom, and the site linking to the P atom in R3 forms a phosphoester bond with the P atom. In some embodiments, R2 may be B5, B6, B5′, or B6′:
wherein represents the site where the group is linked via a covalent bond;
q2 is an integer of 1-10; in some embodiments, q2 is an integer of 1-5.
L1 is used to link the M1 targeting group to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone, thereby providing liver targeting function for the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308). In some embodiments, L1 is selected from the linkage combinations of one or more of Formulae (A1)-(A26). In some embodiments, L1 is selected from the linkage combinations of one or more of Formulae (A1), (A4), (A5), (A6), (A8), (A10), (A11), and (A13). In some embodiments, L1 is selected from the linkage combinations of at least two of Formulae (A1), (A4), (A8), (A10), and (A11). In some embodiments, L1 is selected from the linkage combinations of at least two of Formulae (A1), (A8) and (A10).
In some embodiments, L1 may have a length of 3 to 25, 3 to 20, 4 to 15 or 5 to 12 atoms. In some embodiments, L1 has a length of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60 atoms.
In some embodiments, j1 is an integer of 2-10, and in some embodiments, j1 is an integer of 3-5. In some embodiments, j2 is an integer of 2-10, and in some embodiments, j2 is an integer of 3-5. R′ is a C1-C4 alkyl, and in some embodiments, R′ is one of methyl, ethyl and isopropyl. Ra is one of Formulae (A27), (A28), (A29), (A30), and (A31), and in some embodiments, Ra is Formula (A27) or (A28). Rb is a C1-C5 alkyl, and in some embodiments, is one of methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and butyl. In some embodiments, j1, j2, R′, Ra, and Rb in Formulae (A1)-(A26) are respectively selected to achieve the linkage between the M1 targeting groups and the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone, and to make the steric position among the M1 targeting groups more suitable for binding between the M1 targeting groups and the asialoglycoprotein receptor on the surface of hepatocytes.
In some embodiments, the siRNA conjugate has a structure as shown by Formula (403), (404), (405), (406), (407), (408), (409), (410), (411), (412), (413), (414), (415), (416), (417), (418), (419), (420), (421) or (422):
In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 may be linked to any possible position in the siRNA sequence. For example, the P atom in Formula A59 may be linked to any nucleotide in the sense or antisense strand of the siRNA. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to any nucleotide in the sense strand of the siRNA. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 may be linked to a terminal region of the sense or antisense strand of the siRNA. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to a terminal region of the sense strand of the siRNA. Said terminal region refers to the first 4 nucleotides counted from one terminal of the sense or antisense strand. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to either terminal of the sense or antisense strand of the siRNA. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to 3′ terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA. In the case where the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to the above position of the sense strand of the siRNA, after having entered into cells, the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can release a separate antisense strand of the siRNA during unwinding, thereby blocking the translation of the APOC3 mRNA into a protein and inhibiting the expression of apolipoprotein C3 gene.
In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 may be linked to any possible position of a nucleotide in the siRNA, for example, position 5′, position 2′, position 3′, or the base of the nucleotide. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 may be linked to position 2′, 3′, or 5′ of a nucleotide in the siRNA by forming a phosphodiester bond. In some embodiments, the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to an oxygen atom formed by dehydrogenation of 3′-hydroxy of the nucleotide at 3′ terminal of the sense strand in the siRNA (in this case, the P atom in Formula A59 may be also regarded as the P atom in the phosphate group of the siRNA), or the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to a nucleotide by substituting a hydrogen atom in 2′-hydroxy of a nucleotide of the sense strand in the siRNA, or the P atom in Formula A59 is linked to a nucleotide by substituting a hydrogen atom in 5′-hydroxy of the nucleotide at 5′ terminal of the sense strand in the siRNA.
The inventors of the present disclosure have surprisingly found that the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure exhibits significantly improved stability in plasma and low off-target effect, without significantly reduced silencing activity against APOC3 mRNA, and further shows higher inhibitory effect on blood lipid. Thus, in some embodiments, the siRNA in the siRNA conjugates of the present disclosure is shown in Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5:
In the siRNA or siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure, each pair of adjacent nucleotides is linked via a phosphodiester bond or phosphorothioate diester bond. The non-bridging oxygen or sulfur atom in the phosphodiester bond or phosphorothioate diester bond is negatively charged, and may be present in the form of hydroxy or sulfhydryl. Moreover, the hydrogen ion in the hydroxy or sulfhydryl may be partially or completely substituted with a cation. The cation may be any cation, such as a metal cation, an ammonium cation NH4+ or an organic ammonium cation. In order to increase solubility, in one embodiment, the cation is one or more selected from an alkali metal cation, an ammonium cation formed by a tertiary amine and a quaternary ammonium cation. The alkali metal ion may be K+ and/or Na+, and the cation formed by a tertiary amine may be an ammonium cation formed by triethylamine and/or an ammonium cation formed by N,N-diisopropylethylamine. Thus, the siRNA and the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure can be at least partially present in the form of salt. In one embodiment, the non-bridging oxygen atom or sulfur atom in the phosphodiester bond or phosphorothioate diester bond at least partly binds to sodium ion, and thus the siRNA and the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure are present or partially present in the form of sodium salt.
Those skilled in the art clearly know that a modified nucleotide group can be introduced into the siRNA of the present disclosure by a nucleoside monomer with a corresponding modification. The methods for preparing a nucleoside monomer having the corresponding modification and the methods for introducing a modified nucleotide into a siRNA are also well-known to those skilled in the art. All modified nucleoside monomers may be either commercially available or prepared by known methods.
Preparation of the siRNA Conjugate as Shown by Formula (308)
The siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can be prepared by any appropriate synthetic routes.
In some embodiments, the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can be prepared by the following method, comprising: sequentially linking nucleoside monomers in 3′ to 5′ direction according to the type and sequence of the nucleotides in the sense strand and antisense strands of the siRNA respectively, under the condition for phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis, wherein the step of linking each nucleoside monomer includes a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation or sulfurization; isolating the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA; and annealing; wherein the siRNA is the above siRNA of the present disclosure.
Moreover, the method further comprises: contacting the compound as shown by Formula (321) with a nucleoside monomer or a nucleotide sequence attached to a solid phase support under coupling reaction condition and in the presence of a coupling agent, thereby linking the compound as shown by Formula (321) to the nucleotide sequence via a coupling reaction. Hereinafter, the compound as shown by Formula (321) is also referred to as a conjugation molecule.
wherein,
R4 is a group capable of binding to the siRNA represented by Nu in the compound as shown by Formula (308). In some embodiments, R4 is a group capable of binding to the siRNA represented by Nu via a covalent bond. In some embodiments, R4 is a group comprising any functional group that may be conjugated to the siRNA represented by Nu via a phosphodiester bond by a reaction;
Each S1 is independently a group formed by substituting all active hydroxyls in M1 with the group YCOO—, wherein each Y is independently one selected from the group consisting of methyl, trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, monofluoromethyl, trichloromethyl, dichloromethyl, monochloromethyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, phenyl, halophenyl, and alkylphenyl; in some embodiments, Y is methyl.
The definitions and options of n1, n3, m1, m2, m3, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, L1, and M1 are respectively as described above.
R4 is selected to achieve the linkage to the N atom on a nitrogenous backbone and to provide a suitable reaction site for synthesizing the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308). In some embodiments, R4 comprises a R2 linking group or a protected R2 linking group, and a functional group than can react with a siRNA to form a structure as shown by Formula (A59).
In some embodiments, R4 comprises a first functional group that can react with a group on the siRNA represented by Nu or a nucleoside monomer to form a phosphite ester, and a second functional group that can react with a hydroxy group or an amino group to form a covalent bond with, or comprises a solid phase support linked by the covalent bond. In some embodiments, the first functional group is a phosphoramidite, a hydroxy or a protected hydroxy. In some embodiments, the second functional group is a phosphoramidite, a carboxyl or a carboxylate salt. In some embodiments, the second functional group is a solid phase support linked to the rest of the molecule via a covalent bond which is formed by a hydroxy group or an amino group. In some embodiments, the solid phase support is linked via a phosphoester bond, a carboxyl ester bond or an amide bond. In some embodiments, the solid phase support is a resin.
In some embodiments, the first functional group comprises hydroxy, —ORk or a group as shown by Formula (C3); the second functional group comprises a group as shown by Formula (C1), (C2), (C3), (C1′), or (C3′):
wherein q1 is an integer of 1-4, X is O or NH, M+ is a cation, Rk is a hydroxy protection group, SPS represents a solid phase support, and represents the site where a group is attached to the rest of the molecule.
In some embodiments, the first functional group comprises a phosphoramidite group, such as the group as shown by Formula (C3). The phosphoramidite group can form a phosphite ester with a hydroxy at any position on a nucleotide (such as a 2′-hydroxy or 3′-hydroxy) by a coupling reaction, and the phosphite ester can form a phosphodiester bond or phosphorothioate ester bond as shown by Formula (A59) via oxidation or sulfurization, so as to conjugate the conjugation molecule to a siRNA. Here, even if the second functional group does not exist, the compound as shown by Formula (321) could still be conjugated to the nucleotide, while not affecting the obtaining of the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308). Under such circumstances, after obtaining a sense or antisense strand of the siRNA by a method such as phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis, the compound as shown by Formula (321) is reacted with a hydroxy on the nucleotide at the terminal of the nucleotide sequence, and a phosphodiester bond linkage or a phosphorothioate bond linkage is formed in the subsequent oxidation or sulfurization process, thereby conjugating the compound as shown by Formula (321) to the siRNA.
In some embodiments, the first functional group comprises a protected hydroxy. In some embodiments, the second functional group comprises a group that can react with a solid phase support to provide a conjugation molecule comprising a solid phase support. In some embodiments, the second functional group comprises a carboxyl, a carboxylate salt or a phosphoramidite, such as the functional group as shown by Formula (C1), (C2) or (C3). When the second functional group comprises a carboxyl or a carboxylate salt, the compound of Formula (321) can react with a hydroxy or an amino group on a solid phase support (such as a resin) via esterification or amidation reaction, to form a conjugation molecule comprising a solid phase support linked via a carboxylate ester bond. When the second functional group comprises a phosphoramidite functional group, the compound of Formula (321) can couple with a hydroxy group on a universal solid phase support (such as a resin), and form a conjugation molecule comprising a solid phase support linked via a phosphodiester bond by oxidation. Next, starting from the above product linked to a solid phase support, the nucleoside monomers are linked sequentially through a phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, so as to obtain a sense strand or an antisense strand of the siRNA linked to a conjugation group. In the process of phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis, the first functional group is deprotected, and then coupled with a phosphoramidite group on a nucleoside monomer under coupling reaction condition.
In some embodiments, the first functional group comprises a hydroxy or a protected hydroxy group; the second functional group comprises a solid phase support linked via a carboxylate ester bond, an amide bond, or a phosphoester bond, as shown by Formula (C1′) or (C3′). In this case, starting from the compound of Formula (321) in place of a solid phase support, the nucleoside monomers are linked sequentially through a phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, so as to obtain a sense strand or an antisense strand of the siRNA linked to a conjugation group.
In some embodiments, the carboxylate may be expressed as—COO−M+, wherein M+ is a cation such as one selected from a metal cation, an ammonium cation NH4+ and an organic ammonium cation. In one embodiment, the metal cation may be an alkali metal cation, such as K+ or Na+. In order to increase solubility and facilitate the reaction, in some embodiments, the organic ammonium cation is an ammonium cation formed by a tertiary amine or a quaternary ammonium cation, such as an ammonium cation formed by triethylamine or an ammonium cation formed by N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the carboxylate is a triethylamine carboxylate or an N,N-diisopropylethylamine carboxylate.
In some embodiments, R4 comprises the structure as shown by Formula (B9), (B10), (B9′), (B10′), (B11), (B12), (B11′), or B(12′):
wherein q1 is an integer of 1-4, q2 is an integer of 1-10, X is O or NH, M+ is a cation, Rk is a hydroxy protection group, SPS represents a solid phase support, and represents the site where the group is linked to the rest of the molecule. In some embodiments, q1 is 1 or 2. In some embodiments, q2 is an integer of 1-5. In some embodiments, R4 comprises a structure as shown by Formula (B9) or (B10). In some embodiments, R4 comprises a structure as shown by Formula (B11) or (B12).
In some embodiments, Rk is one or more of Tr (trityl), MMTr (4-methoxytrityl), DMTr (4,4′-dimethoxytrityl), and TMTr (4,4′,4′-trimethoxytrityl). In some embodiments, Rk may be DMTr, i.e., 4,4′-dimethoxytrityl.
The definition of L1 is as described above.
In some embodiments, L1 is used to link the M1 targeting group to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone, thereby providing liver targeting function for the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308). In some embodiments, L1 comprises any one of Formulae (A1)-(A26), and any combination thereof.
According to the above description, those skilled in the art that would easily understand that as compared with the well-known phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method in the art, the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) in which the conjugation molecule is linked to any possible position of the nucleotide sequence can be obtained by using the above first functional group and an optional second functional group. For example, the conjugation molecule is linked to a terminal region of the nucleotide sequence, or to a terminal of the nucleotide sequence. Correspondingly, unless otherwise specified, in the following description regarding preparation of the conjugate and/or the conjugation molecule, when referring to the reactions such as “deprotection”, “coupling”, “capping”, “oxidation”, “sulfurization”, it will be understood that the reaction conditions and agents involved in the well-known phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method in the art would also apply to these reactions. Exemplary reaction conditions and agents will be described in detail hereinafter.
In some embodiments, each S1 is independently a M1. In some embodiments, each S1 is independently a group formed by protecting at least one active hydroxyl group in M1 with a hydroxyl protection group. In some embodiments, each S1 is independently a group formed by protecting all existing active hydroxyl groups in M1 with hydroxyl protection groups. In some embodiments, any hydroxyl protection group known to a skilled one may be used to protect the active hydroxyl group in M1. In some embodiments, the protected hydroxy is expressed as the Formula YCOO—, wherein each Y is independently selected from the group consisting of C1-C10 alkyl and C6-C10 aryl, which is optionally substituted with one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of halo and C1-C6 alkyl. In some embodiments, each Y is independently selected from the group consisting of methyl, trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, monofluoromethyl, trichloromethyl, dichloromethyl, monochloromethyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, phenyl, halophenyl, and C1-C6 alkylphenyl.
In some embodiments, each S1 is independently selected from the group consisting of Formulae (A46)-(A54):
In some embodiments, S1 is A49 or A50.
In some embodiments, each Y is independently one selected from methyl, trifluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, monofluoromethyl, trichloromethyl, dichloromethyl, monochloromethyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, phenyl, halophenyl, and alkylphenyl. In some embodiments, Y is methyl.
As mentioned above, the method for preparing the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) further comprises the following steps: synthesizing the other strand of the siRNA (for example, when a sense strand of the siRNA linked to a conjugation group is synthesized in the above step, the method further comprises synthesizing an antisense strand of the siRNA according to the solid phase synthesis method, vice versa), isolating the sense strand and the antisense strand, and annealing. In particular, in the step of isolating, the solid phase support linked to the nucleotide sequence and/or the conjugation molecule is cleaved, and the necessary protection group is removed (in this case, each S1 group in the compound of Formula (321) is converted to the corresponding M1 targeting group), to afford a sense strand (or an antisense strand) of the siRNA linked to a conjugation group and the corresponding antisense strand (or sense strand). The sense strand and the antisense strand are annealed to form a double-strand RNA structure, thereby affording the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308).
In some embodiments, the method for preparing the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) comprises the following steps: contacting the compound as shown by Formula (321) with the first nucleoside monomer at 3′ terminal of the sense strand or the antisense strand under coupling reaction condition in the presence of a coupling agent, thereby linking the compound as shown by Formula (321) to the first nucleotide in the sequence; sequentially linking nucleoside monomers in 3′ to 5′ direction to synthesize a sense or antisense strand of the siRNA according to the type and sequence of the nucleotides in the desired sense or antisense strand under the condition for phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis, wherein the compound of Formula (321) is a compound in which R4 comprises a first functional group and a second functional group, wherein the first functional group comprises a protected hydroxyl and the second functional group has a structure as shown by Formula (C1′) or (C3′), and the compound of (321) is deprotected before being linked to the first nucleoside monomer; and the linking of each nucleoside monomer comprises a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation or sulfurization; thus obtaining a sense or antisense strand of the nucleic acid linked to a conjugation group; sequentially linking nucleoside monomers in 3′ to 5′ direction to synthesize an antisense or sense strand of the nucleic acid according to the type and sequence of the nucleotides in the sense or antisense strand under the condition for phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis; wherein the linking of each nucleoside monomer includes a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation or sulfurization; removing the protection group and cleaving the solid phase support; isolating and purifying the sense strand and the antisense strand of the nucleic acid; and annealing.
In some embodiments, the method for preparing the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) comprises the following steps: according to the type and sequence of the nucleotides in the sense or antisense strand of the double-strand siRNA, sequentially linking nucleoside monomers in 3′ to 5′ direction to synthesize the antisense and sense strand; wherein the linking of each nucleoside monomer includes a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation or sulfurization, to obtain the sense strand linked to the solid phase support and the antisense strand linked to the solid phase support; contacting the compound as shown by Formula (321) with the sense strand linked to the solid phase support or the antisense strand linked to the solid phase support under coupling reaction condition in the presence of a coupling agent, thereby linking the compound as shown by Formula (321) to the sense strand or antisense strand; wherein the compound as shown by Formula (321) is a compound in which R4 comprises a first functional group which is a phosphoramidite group; removing the protection group and cleaving the solid phase support; respectively isolating and purifying the sense strand or the antisense strand of the siRNA; and annealing, wherein the sense or antisense strand of the siRNA is linked to a conjugation group.
In some embodiments, the P atom in the Formula A59 is linked to the 3′ terminal of the sense strand of the siRNA, and the method for preparing the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) comprises:
(1) removing the hydroxyl protection group Pk in the compound of Formula (321), wherein the compound of Formula (321) is a compound in which R4 comprises a first functional group comprising a protected hydroxyl ORk, and a second functional group having a structure as shown by Formulas (C1′) or (C3′); contacting the deprotected product with a nucleoside monomer to afford a nucleoside monomer linked to a solid phase support via a conjugation molecule under coupling reaction condition in the presence of a coupling agent;
(2) starting from the nucleoside monomer linked to a solid phase support via the conjugation molecule, synthesizing a sense strand of the siRNA in 3′ to 5′ direction by a phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method;
(3) synthesizing an antisense strand of the siRNA by a phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method; and
(4) isolating the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA and annealing the same to afford the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308).
Therein, in step (1), the method for removing the protection group Rk in the compound of Formula (321) comprises contacting the compound of Formula (321) with a deprotection agent under deprotection condition. The deprotection condition comprises a temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 30-300 seconds, and in some embodiments, 50-150 seconds. The deprotection agent may be one or more selected from trifluoroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, and monochloroacetic acid, and in some embodiments, dichloroacetic acid. The molar ratio of the deprotection agent to the compound as shown by Formula (321) is 10:1 to 1000:1, and in some embodiments, 50:1 to 500:1.
The coupling reaction condition and the coupling agent may be any condition and agent suitable for the above coupling reaction. In some embodiments, the same condition and agent as those of the coupling reaction in the solid phase synthesis method can be used.
In some embodiments, the coupling reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C. The molar ratio of the compound of Formula (321) to the nucleoside monomer is 1:1 to 1:50, and in some embodiments, 1:2 to 1:5. The molar ratio of the compound of Formula (321) to the coupling agent may be 1:1 to 1:50, and in some embodiments, 1:3 to 1:10. The reaction time is 200-3,000 seconds, and in some embodiments, 500-1,500 seconds. The coupling agent is one or more selected from 1H-tetrazole, 5-ethylthio-1H-tetrazole and 5-benzylthio-1H-tetrazole, and in some embodiments, is 5-ethylthio-1H-tetrazole. The coupling reaction may be performed in an organic solvent. The organic solvent is one or more selected from anhydrous acetonitrile, anhydrous DMF and anhydrous dichloromethane, and in some embodiments, is anhydrous acetonitrile. With respect to the compound as shown by Formula (321), the amount of the organic solvent is 3-50 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 5-20 L/mol.
In step (2), starting from the nucleoside monomer linked to a solid phase support via a conjugation molecule prepared in the above steps, a sense strand S of the second siRNA conjugate is synthesized in 3′ to 5′ direction by the phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method. In this case, the conjugation molecule is linked to 3′ terminal of the resultant sense strand.
Other conditions for the solid phase synthesis in steps (2) and (3), including the deprotection condition for the nucleoside monomer, the type and amount of the deprotection agent, the coupling reaction condition, the type and amount of the coupling agent, the capping reaction condition, the type and amount of the capping agent, the oxidation reaction condition, the type and amount of the oxidation agent, the sulfurization reaction condition, and the type and amount of the sulfurization agent, adopt various conventional agents, amounts, and conditions in the art.
In some embodiments, for example, the solid phase synthesis in steps (2) and (3) can use the following conditions:
The deprotection condition for the nucleoside monomer comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 30-300 seconds, and in some embodiments, 50-150 seconds. The deprotection agent may be one or more selected from trifluoroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, and monochloroacetic acid, and in some embodiments, is dichloroacetic acid. The molar ratio of the deprotection agent to the protection group 4,4′-dimethoxytrityl on the solid phase support is 2:1 to 100:1, and in some embodiments, 3:1 to 50:1.
The coupling reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C. The molar ratio of the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support to the nucleoside monomer is 1:1 to 1:50, and in some embodiments, 1:5 to 1:15. The molar ratio of the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support to the coupling agent is 1:1 to 1:100, and in some embodiments, 1:50 to 1:80. The selection of the reaction time and the coupling agent is the same as above.
The capping reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 5-500 seconds, and in some embodiments, 10-100 seconds. The selection of the capping agent is the same as above. The molar ratio of the total amount of the capping agent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support is 1:100 to 100:1, and in some embodiments, is 1:10 to 10:1. In the case where the capping agent uses equimolar acetic anhydride and N-methylimidazole, the molar ratio of acetic anhydride, N-methylimidazole, and the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support may be 1:1:10-10:10:1, and in some embodiments, is 1:1:2-2:2:1.
The oxidation reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 1-100 seconds, and in some embodiments, 5-50 seconds. In some embodiments, the oxidation agent is iodine (in some embodiments provided as iodine water). The molar ratio of the oxidation agent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support in the coupling step may be 1:1 to 100:1, and in some embodiments, is 5:1 to 50:1. In some embodiments, the oxidation reaction is performed in a mixed solvent in which the ratio of tetrahydrofuran:water:pyridine is 3:1:1-1:1:3. The sulfurization reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 50-2,000 seconds, and in some embodiments, 100-1,000 seconds. in some embodiments, the sulfurization agent is xanthane hydride. The molar ratio of the sulfurization agent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support in the coupling step is 10:1 to 1,000:1, and in some embodiments, is 10:1 to 500:1. In some embodiments, the sulfurization reaction is performed in a mixed solvent in which the ratio of acetonitrile:pyridine is 1:3-3:1.
The method further comprises isolating the sense strand and the antisense strand of the siRNA after linking all nucleoside monomers and before the annealing. Methods for isolation are well-known to those skilled in the art and generally comprise cleaving the synthesized nucleotide sequence from the solid phase support, removing the protection groups on the bases, phosphate groups and ligands, purifying, and desalting.
The conventional cleavage and deprotection methods in the synthesis of siRNAs can be used to cleave the synthesized nucleotide sequence from the solid phase support, and remove the protection groups on the bases, phosphate groups and ligands. For example, the resultant nucleotide sequence linked to the solid phase support is contacted with concentrated aqueous ammonia; during deprotection, the protection group YCOO— in groups A46-A54 is converted to a hydroxyl group, and thus the S1 groups are converted to corresponding M1 groups, providing the conjugate as shown by Formula (308); wherein the concentrated aqueous ammonia may be aqueous ammonia of a concentration of 25-30 wt %. With respect to the target siRNA sequence, the amount of the concentrated aqueous ammonia may be 0.2 ml/mol-0.8 ml/mol.
When there is at least one 2′-TBDMS protection on the synthesized nucleotide sequence, the method further comprises contacting the nucleotide sequence removed from the solid phase support with triethylamine trihydrofluoride to remove the 2′-TBDMS protection. Here, the resultant target siRNA sequence comprises the corresponding nucleoside having free 2′-hydroxy. With respect to the target siRNA sequence, the amount of pure triethylamine trihydrofluoride is 0.4 ml/mol-1.0 ml/mol. As such, the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can be obtained.
Methods for purification and desalination are well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, nucleic acid purification may be performed using a preparative ion chromatography purification column with a gradient elution of NaBr or NaCl; after collection and combination of the product, the desalination may be performed using a reverse phase chromatography purification column.
In the resultant siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308), the non-bridging oxygen or sulfur atom in the phosphodiester bond or phosphorothioate diester bond between the nucleotides substantially binds to sodium ion, and the siRNA conjugate is substantially present in the form of a sodium salt. The well-known ion-exchange methods may be used, in which the sodium ion may be replaced with hydrogen ion and/or other cations, thereby providing other forms of siRNA conjugates as shown by Formula (308). The cations are as described above.
During synthesis, the purity and molecular weight of the nucleic acid sequence may be determined at any time, in order to better control the synthesis quality. Such determination methods are well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, the purity of the nucleic acid may be determined by ion exchange chromatography, and the molecular weight may be determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
Methods for annealing are also well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, the synthesized sense strand (S strand) and the antisense strand (AS strand) may be simply mixed in water for injection at an equimolar ratio, heated to 70-95° C., and then cooled at room temperature to form a double-stranded structure via hydrogen bond. Hence, the siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can be obtained.
After having obtained the conjugate, in some embodiments, the synthesized siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) can also be characterized by the means such as molecular weight detection using the methods such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, to confirm that the synthesized siRNA conjugate is the designed siRNA conjugate as shown by Formula (308) of interest, and the sequence of the synthesized siRNA is the sequence of the desired siRNA sequence, for example, one of the sequences listed in Tables 1-5.
The compound as shown by Formula (321) may be obtained by the following preparation method, comprising: contacting a compound as shown by Formula (313) with a cyclic anhydride in an organic solvent under esterification reaction condition in the presence of a base and an esterification catalyst; isolating the compound as shown by Formula (321) by ion exchange:
wherein the definitions and options of n1, n3, m1, m2, m3, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, L1, and S1 are respectively as described above;
R6 is a group for providing R4 of Formula (321); in some embodiments, R6 has a structure as shown by Formula (A61):
wherein Ri is any group capable of linking to the N atom on the nitrogenous backbone, linking to RkO and linking to a free hydroxy group; Rk is a hydroxy protection group. In this case, a compound as shown by Formula (321) is obtained, wherein R4 comprises a first functional group which comprises a hydroxy protection group and a second functional group which comprises a structure as shown by Formula (C1) or (C2).
The esterification reaction condition includes a reaction temperature of 0-100° C. and a reaction time of 8-48 hours. In some embodiments, the esterification reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 10-40° C. and a reaction time of 20-30 hours.
In some embodiments, the organic solvent comprises one or more of an epoxy solvent, an ether solvent, an haloalkane solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the epoxy solvent is dioxane and/or tetrahydrofuran, the ether solvent is diethyl ether and/or methyl tertbutyl ether, and the haloalkane solvent is one or more of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is dichloromethane. With respect to the compound as shown by Formula (313), the amount of the organic solvent is 3-50 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 5-20 L/mol.
In some embodiments, the cyclic anhydride is one of succinic anhydride, glutaric anhydride, adipic anhydride or pimelic anhydride, and in some embodiments, the cyclic anhydride is succinic anhydride. The molar ratio of the cyclic anhydride to the compound as shown by Formula (313) is 1:1 to 10:1, and in some embodiments, 2:1 to 5:1.
The esterification catalyst may be any catalyst capable of catalyzing esterification reaction, such as 4-dimethylaminopyridine. The molar ratio of the catalyst to the compound as shown by Formula (313) is 1:1 to 10:1, and in some embodiments, is 2:1 to 5:1.
In some embodiments, the base may be any inorganic base, organic base or combination thereof. Considering solubility and product stability, the base may be, for example, an organic base of tertiary amine. In some embodiments, the organic base of tertiary amine is triethylamine or N,N-diisopropylethylamine. The molar ratio of the organic base of tertiary amine to the compound as shown by Formula (313) is 1:1 to 20:1, and in some embodiments, 3:1 to 10:1.
The ion exchange serves the function of converting the compound as shown by Formula (321) into a desired form of carboxylic acid or carboxylic salt and the methods of ion exchange are well-known to those skilled in the art. The above conjugation molecule in which the cation is M+ may be obtained by using suitable ion exchange solution and ion exchange condition, which are omitted herein. In some embodiments, the ion exchange reaction is performed using a triethylamine phosphate solution, and the concentration of the triethylamine phosphate solution is 0.2-0.8 M. In some embodiments, the concentration of the triethylamine phosphate solution is 0.4-0.6 M, and with respect to the compound as shown by Formula (313), the amount of the triethylamine phosphate solution is 3-6 L/mol, and in further embodiments, 4-5 L/mol.
The compound of Formula (321) may be isolated from the reaction mixture using any suitable isolation methods. In some embodiments, the compound of Formula (321) may be isolated by removal of solvent via evaporation followed by chromatography. For example, the following two chromatographic conditions can be used for isolation: (1) normal phase purification of silica gel: 200-300 mesh silica gel filler, gradient elution of 1 wt ‰ triethylamine in dichloromethane:methanol=100:18-100:20; or (2) reverse phase purification: C18 and C8 reverse phase filler, gradient elution of methanol:acetonitrile=0.1:1-1:0.1. In some embodiments, the solvent may be directly removed to obtain a crude product of the compound of Formula (321), which may be directly used in subsequent reactions.
In some embodiments, the method for preparing the compound of Formula (321) further comprises: further contacting the product obtained by the above ion exchanging reaction with a solid phase support with amino or hydroxy groups in an organic solvent under condensation reaction condition in the presence of a condensation agent and an organic base of tertiary amine. In this case, a compound as shown by Formula (321) is obtained, wherein R4 comprises a first functional group which comprises a hydroxy protection group and a second functional group which comprises a structure as shown by Formula (C1′).
The solid phase support is one of the supports used in solid phase synthesis of siRNA, some of which are well-known to those skilled in the art. For example, the solid phase support may be selected from the solid phase supports containing active hydroxy or amino functional group(s), and in some embodiments, is an amino or hydroxy resin. In some embodiments, the amino or hydroxy resin has the following parameters: particle size of 100-400 mesh, and surface amino or hydroxy loading of 0.2-0.5 mmol/g. The ratio of the compound as shown by Formula (321) to the solid phase support is 10-400 μmol compound/g solid phase support. In some embodiments, the ratio of the compound of Formula (321) to the solid phase support is 50 mol/g to 200 μmol/g.
The organic solvent may be any suitable solvent or mixed solvent known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is one or more of acetonitrile, an epoxy solvent, an ether solvent, an haloalkane solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the epoxy solvent is dioxane and/or tetrahydrofuran; the ether solvent is diethyl ether and/or methyl tertbutyl ether; the haloalkane solvent is one or more of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is acetonitrile. With respect to the compound of Formula (321), the amount of the organic solvent is 20-200 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 50-100 L/mol.
In some embodiments, the condensation agent may be benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidino phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBop), 3-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,2,3-benzotrizin-4(3H)-one and/or O-benzotriazol-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate. In some embodiments, the condensation agent is O-benzotriazol-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate. The molar ratio of the condensation agent to the compound as shown by Formula (321) is 1:1 to 20:1, and in some embodiments, 1:1 to 5:1.
In some embodiments, the organic base of tertiary amine is triethylamine and/or N,N-diisopropylethylamine, and in some embodiments, N,N-diisopropylethylamine. The molar ratio of the organic base of tertiary amine to the compound as shown by Formula (321) is 1:1 to 20:1, and in some embodiments, 1:1 to 5:1.
In some embodiments, the method for preparing the compound of Formula (321) further comprises: contacting the resultant condensation product with a capping agent and an acylation catalyst in an organic solvent under capping reaction condition, and isolating the compound of Formula (321). The capping reaction is used to remove any active functional group that does not completely react, so as to avoid producing unnecessary by-products in subsequent reactions. The capping reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., and in some embodiments, 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 1-10 hours, and in some embodiments, 3-6 hours. The capping agent may be the capping agent used in solid phase synthesis of siRNA, which are well-known to those skilled in the art.
In some embodiments, the capping agent is composed of a capping agent 1 (cap1) and a capping agent 2 (cap2). The cap1 is N-methylimidazole, and in some embodiments, provided as a mixed solution of N-methylimidazole in pyridine/acetonitrile, wherein the volume ratio of pyridine to acetonitrile is 1:10 to 1:1, and in some embodiments, 1:3 to 1:1. In some embodiments, the ratio of the total volume of pyridine and acetonitrile to the volume of N-methylimidazole is 1:1 to 10:1, and in some embodiments, 3:1 to 7:1. The cap2 is acetic anhydride, and in some embodiments, provided as a solution of acetic anhydride in acetonitrile, wherein the volume ratio of acetic anhydride to acetonitrile is 1:1 to 1:10, and in further embodiments, 1:2 to 1:6.
In some embodiments, the ratio of the volume of the mixed solution of N-methylimidazole in pyridine/acetonitrile to the weight of the compound of Formula (321) is 5 ml/g-50 ml/g, and in some embodiments, 15 ml/g-30 ml/g. The ratio of the volume of the solution of acetic anhydride in acetonitrile to the weight of the compound of Formula (321) is 0.5 ml/g-10 ml/g, and in some embodiments, 1 ml/g-5 ml/g.
In some embodiments, the capping agent comprises equimolar acetic anhydride and N-methylimidazole. The organic solvent is one or more of acetonitrile, an epoxy solvent, an ether solvent, an haloalkane solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is acetonitrile. With respect to the compound of Formula (321), the amount of the organic solvent is 10-50 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 5-30 L/mol.
In some embodiments, the acylation catalyst may be selected from any catalyst that may be used for esterification condensation or amidation condensation, such as alkaline heterocyclic compounds. In some embodiments, the acylation catalyst is 4-dimethylaminopyridine. The weight ratio of the catalyst to the compound as shown by Formula (321) may be 0.001:1 to 1:1, and in some embodiments, 0.01:1 to 0.1:1.
In some embodiments, the compound of Formula (321) may be isolated from the reaction mixture by any suitable separation methods. In some embodiments, the compound of Formula (321) may be obtained by thoroughly washing with an organic solvent and filtering to remove unreacted reactants, excess capping agent and other impurities, wherein the organic solvent is selected from acetonitrile, dichloromethane and methanol. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is acetonitrile.
In some embodiments, the preparation method of the conjugation molecule as shown by Formula (321) comprises contacting a compound as shown by Formula (313) with a phosphorodiamidite in an organic solvent under coupling reaction condition in the presence of a coupling agent, and isolating the compound as shown by Formula (321). In this case, a compound as shown by Formula (321) is obtained, wherein R4 comprises a first functional group comprising a hydroxy protection group and a second functional group comprising a structure as shown by Formula (C3).
In some embodiments, the coupling reaction condition comprises: a reaction temperature of 0-50° C., such as 15-35° C.; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (313) to the phosphorodiamidite of 1:1 to 1:50, such as 1:5 to 1:15; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (313) to the coupling agent of 1:1 to 1:100, such as 1:50 to 1:80; and a reaction time of 200-3,000 seconds, such as 500-1,500 seconds. The phosphorodiamidite may be, for example, bis(diisopropylamino)(2-cyanoethoxy)phosphine, which may be commercially available or synthesized according to the methods well-known in the art. The coupling agent is one or more selected from 1H-tetrazole, 5-ethylthio-1H-tetrazole and 5-benzylthio-1H-tetrazole, such as 5-ethylthio-1H-tetrazole. The coupling reaction may be performed in an organic solvent. The organic solvent is one or more selected from anhydrous acetonitrile, anhydrous DMF and anhydrous dichloromethane, such as anhydrous acetonitrile. With respect to the compound of Formula (313), the amount of the organic solvent is 3-50 L/mol, such as 5-20 L/mol. By coupling reaction, the hydroxy group in the compound of Formula (313) reacts with the phosphorodiamidite to form a phosphoramidite group. In some embodiments, the solvent may be directly removed to afford a crude product of the compound of Formula (321), which may be directly used in subsequent reactions.
In some embodiments, the preparation method of the compound of Formula (321) further comprises the following steps: further contacting the isolated product with a solid phase support with hydroxy groups in an organic solvent under coupling reaction condition in the presence of a coupling agent, followed by capping, oxidation, and isolation, to afford the compound of Formula (321), wherein R4 comprises a first functional group comprising a hydroxy protection group and a second functional group comprising a structure as shown by Formula (C3′).
In some embodiments, the solid phase support is a solid support well-known in the art for solid phase synthesis of nucleic acid, such as, a deprotected commercially available universal solid phase support (NittoPhase® HL UnyLinker™ 300 Oligonucleotide Synthesis Support, Kinovate Life Sciences, as shown by Formula B80):
A deprotection reaction is well-known to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the deprotection condition comprises a temperature of 0-50° C., such as 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 30-300 seconds, such as 50-150 seconds. The deprotection agent may be one or more selected from of trifluoroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, and monochloroacetic acid. In some embodiments, the deprotection agent is dichloroacetic acid. The molar ratio of the deprotection agent to the protection group -DMTr (4,4′-dimethoxytrityl) on the solid phase support is 2:1 to 100:1, such as 3:1 to 50:1. Through such deprotection, reactive free hydroxy groups are obtained on the surface of the solid phase support, for facilitating the subsequent coupling reaction.
The coupling reaction condition and the coupling agent may be selected as above. Through the coupling reaction, the free hydroxy groups formed in the deprotection react with the phosphoramidite groups, so as to form a phosphite ester linkage.
In some embodiments, the capping reaction condition comprises a temperature of 0-50° C., such as 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 5-500 seconds, such as 10-100 seconds. The capping reaction is carried out in the presence of a capping agent. The selection and amount of the capping agent are as described above.
The oxidation reaction condition comprises a temperature of 0-50° C., such as 15-35° C., and a reaction time of 1-100 seconds, such as 5-50 seconds. The oxidation agent may be, for example, iodine (in some embodiments, provided as iodine water). The molar ratio of the oxidation agent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support is 1:1 to 100:1, such as, may be 5:1 to 50:1. In some embodiments, the oxidation reaction is performed in a mixed solvent in which the ratio of tetrahydrofuran:water:pyridine=3:1:1-1:1:3.
In some embodiments, R6 is one of the groups of Formula B7 or B8:
wherein the definition of q2 is as described above.
In this case, the compound as shown by Formula (313) may be obtained by the following preparation method, comprising: contacting the compound as shown by Formula (314) with a compound as shown by Formula (A-1) or (A-2) in an organic solvent under amidation reaction condition in the presence of a condensation agent for amidation reaction and an organic base of tertiary amine, followed by isolation:
wherein the definitions and options of n1, n3, m1, m2, m3, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, R15, L1, S1, q2, and Rk are respectively as described above.
The amidation reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-100° C. and a reaction time of 1-48 hours. In some embodiments, the amidation reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 10-40° C. and a reaction time of 2-16 hours.
In some embodiments, the organic solvent is one or more of an alcohol solvent, an epoxy solvent, an ether solvent, an haloalkane solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the alcohol solvent is one or more of methanol, ethanol and propanol, and in some embodiments, ethanol. In some embodiments, the epoxy solvent is dioxane and/or tetrahydrofuran. In some embodiments, the ether solvent is diethyl ether and/or methyl tert-butyl ether. In some embodiments, the haloalkane solvent is one or more of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is dichloromethane. With respect to the compound of Formula (314), the amount of the organic solvent is 3-50 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 3-20 L/mol.
In some embodiments, the condensation agent for amidation reaction is benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate, 3-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,2,3-benzotrizin-4(3H)-one, 4-(4,6-dimethoxytriazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholine hydrochloride, 2-ethoxy-1-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ), or O-benzotriazol-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate, and in further embodiments, 3-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,2,3-benzotrizin-4(3H)-one. The molar ratio of the condensation agent for amidation reaction to the compound as shown by Formula (314) is 1:1 to 10:1, and in some embodiments, 2.5:1 to 5:1.
In some embodiments, the organic base of tertiary amine is triethylamine or N,N-diisopropylethylamine, and in some embodiments, N,N-diisopropylethylamine. The molar ratio of the organic base of tertiary amine to the compound as shown by Formula (314) is 3:1 to 20:1, and in some embodiments, 5:1 to 10:1.
The compounds of Formula (A-1) and (A-2) may be prepared by any suitable means. For example, when Rk is a DMTr group, the compound of Formula (A-1) may be prepared by reacting calcium glycerate with DMTrCl. Similarly, the compound of Formula (A-2) may be prepared by firstly contacting 3-amino-1,2-propanediol with a cyclic anhydride and then reacting with DMTrCl, wherein the cyclic anhydride may have 4-13 carbon atoms, and in some embodiments, 4-8 carbon atoms. Those skilled in the art would easily understand that the selections of different cyclic anhydrides correspond to different values for q2 in the compound of Formula (A-2). For example, when the cyclic anhydride is succinic anhydride, q2=1; when the cyclic anhydride is glutaric anhydride, q2=2, and so on.
In some variations, the compound of Formula (313) can also be prepared by sequentially reacting the compound as shown by Formula (314) with the cyclic anhydride, 3-amino-1,2-propanediol and DMTrCl. Those skilled in the art would easily understand that these variations would not affect the structure and function of the compound of Formula (313), and these variations are readily realized by those skilled in the art on the basis of the above methods.
Similarly, the compound of Formula (313) may be isolated from the reaction mixture by any suitable isolation methods. In some embodiments, the compound of Formula (313) may be isolated by removal of solvent via evaporation followed by chromatography. For example, the following chromatographic conditions may be used for isolation: (1) normal phase purification of silica gel: 200-300 mesh silica gel filler, with gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate:dichloromethane:N,N-dimethylformamide=1:1:1:0.5-1:1:1:0.6; and (2) reverse phase purification: C18 and C8 reverse phase fillers, with gradient elution of methanol:acetonitrile=0.1:1-1:0.1. In some embodiments, the solvent may be directly removed to afford a crude product of the compound of Formula (313), which may be directly used in subsequent reactions.
In some embodiments, the compound as shown by Formula (314) may be obtained by the following preparation method, comprising: contacting the compound as shown by Formula (320) with the compound as shown by Formula (316) in an organic solvent under condensation reaction condition in the presence of a condensation agent for amidation reaction and an organic base of tertiary amine, followed by isolation:
wherein the definitions and options of n1, n3, m1, m2, m3, R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 are respectively as described above.
The compound of Formula (316) can be, such as, those disclosed in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 16958-16961. Alternatively, the compounds of Formula (316) may be prepared by those skilled in the art via various methods. For example, some compounds of Formula (316) may be prepared according to the method disclosed in Example 1 of the U.S. Pat. No. 8,106,022B2, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In some embodiments, the condensation reaction condition comprises a reaction temperature of 0-100° C. and a reaction time of 0.1-24 hours, and in some embodiments, a reaction temperature of 10-40° C. and a reaction time of 0.5-16 hours.
Considering the structure of the desired product compound of Formula (314), the molar ratio of the compound as shown by Formula (316) to the compound as shown by Formula (320) should be determined based on the sum of n1 and n3 in Formula (320). In some embodiments, for example, when n1+n3=3, to ensure complete reaction without any excess, the molar ratio of the compound as shown by Formula (316) to the compound as shown by Formula (320) may be 3:1 to 3.5:1, and in some embodiments, 3.01:1 to 3.15:1.
In some embodiments, the organic solvent is one or more of acetonitrile, an epoxy solvent, an ether solvent, an haloalkane solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide, N,N-dimethylformamide, and N,N-diisopropylethylamine. In some embodiments, the epoxy solvent is dioxane and/or tetrahydrofuran. In some embodiments, the ether solvent is diethyl ether and/or methyl tert-butyl ether. In some embodiments, the haloalkane solvent is one or more of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane. In some embodiments, the organic solvent is dichloromethane. With respect to the compound of Formula (320), the amount of the organic solvent may be 3-50 L/mol, and in some embodiments, 5-20 L/mol.
In some embodiments, the condensing agent for amidation reaction is benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate, 3-diethoxyphosphoryloxy-1,2,3-benzotrizin-4(3H)-one (DEPBT), O-benzotriazol-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate, 4-(4,6-dimethoxytriazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholine hydrochloride, or 1-hydroxybenzotriazole, and in further embodiments, is a mixture of benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole, wherein benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole are used in equimolar amounts. The molar ratio of the total condensing agent for amidation reaction to the compound as shown by Formula (316) may be 1:1 to 3:1, and in some embodiments, 1.05:1 to 1.5:1.
The organic base of tertiary amine may be N-methylmorpholine, triethylamine or N,N-diisopropylethylamine, and in some embodiments, N-methylmorpholine. The molar ratio of the organic base of tertiary amine to the compound as shown by Formula (316) may be 2:1 to 10:1, and in some embodiments, 2:1 to 5:1.
Similarly, the compound as shown by Formula (314) may be isolated from the reaction mixture by any suitable isolation method. In some embodiments, the compound as shown by Formula (314) may be isolated by removal of solvent via evaporation followed by chromatography, for example, using the following two chromatographic conditions for isolation: (1) normal phase purification of silica gel: 200-300 mesh silica gel filler, with gradient elution of dichloromethane:methanol=100:5-100:7; and (2) reverse phase purification: C18 and C8 reverse phase fillers, with gradient elution of methanol:acetonitrile=0.1:1-1:0.1. In some embodiments, the solvent may be directly removed to afford a crude product of the compound of Formula (314), which may be directly used in subsequent reactions.
The compound of Formula (320) may be commercially available, or prepared by those skilled in the art via known methods. For example, in the case where m1=m2=m3=3, n1=1, n3=2, and R10, R11, R12, R13, R14, and R15 are all H, the compound of Formula (320) may be commercially available from Alfa Aesar Inc.
The siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure may also be used in combination with other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, which may be one or more of various conventional formulations or compounds in the art. For details, please refer to the above description of the pharmaceutical compositions of the present disclosure.
Use of the siRNA, the Pharmaceutical Composition and the Conjugate Comprising the siRNA of the Present Disclosure
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides the use of the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure in the manufacture of a medicament for treating and/or preventing dyslipidemia.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method for preventing and/or treating dyslipidemia, comprising administering an effective amount of the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure to a subject in need thereof.
The purpose of preventing and/or treating dyslipidemia may be achieved through the mechanism of RNA interference by administering the siRNA active ingredient of the present disclosure to a subject in need thereof. Therefore, the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure may be used for preventing and/or treating dyslipidemia, or for preparing a medicament for preventing and/or treating dyslipidemia.
The dyslipidemia refers to abnormal blood lipid caused by over-expression of APOC3 gene in hepatocytes, and generally manifests itself as increased level(s) of any one or all of lipids (such as triglyceride and cholesterol) and/or lipoprotein in blood. A high level of blood lipid is highly associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other pathological conditions. Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with atherosclerosis, and would lead to pancreatitis. The dyslipidemia of the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, hypercholesteremia, hypertriglyceridemia or atherosclerosis.
As used herein, the term “administration/administer” refers to the delivery of the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure into a subject's body by a method or a route that at least partly locates the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure at a desired site to produce a desired effect. Suitable administration routes for the methods of the present disclosure include topical administration and systemic administration. In general, topical administration results in the delivery of more siRNA conjugate to a particular site as compared with the whole body of the subject; whereas systemic administration results in the delivery of the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure to substantially the whole body of the subject. Considering that the present disclosure is intended to provide a means for preventing and/or treating dyslipidemia, in some embodiments, an administration mode capable of delivering a medicament to the liver.
The administration to a subject may be achieved by any suitable routes known in the art, including but not limited to, oral and parenteral routes, such as intravenous administration, intramuscular administration, subcutaneous administration, transdermal administration, intratracheal administration (aerosol), pulmonary administration, nasal administration, rectal administration, and topical administration (including buccal administration and sublingual administration). The administration frequency may be once or more times daily, weekly, biweekly, triweekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, semiannually, or yearly.
The dose of the siRNA or the pharmaceutical composition or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure may be a conventional dose in the art, which may be determined according to various parameters, especially age, weight and gender of a subject. Toxicity and efficacy may be determined in cell cultures or experimental animals by standard pharmaceutical procedures, for example, by determining LD50 (the lethal dose that causes 50% population death) and ED50 (the dose that can cause 50% of the maximum response intensity in a graded response, and that causes 50% of the experimental subjects to have a positive response in a qualitative response). The dose range for human may be derived based on data obtained from cell culture analysis and animal studies.
When the siRNA, the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure is administered, for example, to male or female, 6 to 12 weeks old, C57BL/6J mice of 18 to 25 g body weight or ob/ob mice of 30 to 45 g body weight, (i) for the siRNA conjugate, the amount of the siRNA thereof may be 0.001 to 100 mg/kg body weight, in further embodiments 0.01 to 50 mg/kg body weight, in more further embodiments 0.05 to 20 mg/kg body weight, in some embodiments 0.05 to 15 mg/kg body weight, and in other embodiments 0.1 to 10 mg/kg body weight; (ii) for a pharmaceutical composition formed from the siRNA and the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, the amount of the siRNA thereof may be 0.001 to 50 mg/kg body weight, in further embodiments 0.01 to 10 mg/kg body weight, in more further embodiments 0.05 to 5 mg/kg body weight, and in still more further embodiments 0.1 to 3 mg/kg body weight, based on the amount of the siRNA.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method of inhibiting the expression of APOC3 gene in hepatocytes, comprising contacting an effective amount of the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure with the hepatocytes, and introducing the siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure into the hepatocytes, so as to realize the purpose of inhibiting the expression of APOC3 gene in hepatocytes through the mechanism of RNA interference. The hepatocytes may be selected from hepatoma cell lines (such as Hep3B, HepG2 and Huh7), and isolated primary hepatocytes. In some embodiments, the hepatocytes are Huh7 hepatoma cells.
In the case where the expression of APOC3 gene in a cell is inhibited by the method of the present disclosure, the amount of the siRNA in the modified siRNA and/or the pharmaceutical composition and/or the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure is generally such an amount that is sufficient to reduce the expression of the target gene and results in an extracellular concentration of 1 pM to 1 μM, or 0.01 nM to 100 nM, or 0.05 nM to 50 nM, or 0.05 nM to about 5 nM on the surface of the target cells. The amount required to achieve this topical concentration will vary with various factors, including the delivery method, the delivery site, the number of cell layers between the delivery site and the target cells or tissues, the delivery route (topical or systemic), etc. The concentration at the delivery site may be significantly higher than that on the surface of the target cells or tissues.
Kit
The present disclosure provides a kit comprising an effective amount of at least one of the modified siRNA, the pharmaceutical composition, and the siRNA conjugate of the present disclosure.
In some embodiments, the kit of the present disclosure may provide the modified siRNA in a container. In some embodiments, the kit of the present disclosure may comprise a container containing a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. In some embodiments, the kit may further comprise other ingredients, such as stabilizers or preservatives. In some embodiments, the kit of the present disclosure may comprise at least one additional therapeutic agent in other container different from the container for providing the modified siRNA of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the kit may comprise an instruction for mixing the modified siRNA with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and/or excipients or other ingredients (if present).
In the kit of the present disclosure, the modified siRNA and the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or excipient, as well as the modified siRNA, the pharmaceutical composition, and/or the siRNA conjugate and/or the conjugate, and/or the pharmaceutically acceptable excipient may be provided in any form, such as in a liquid form, a dry form or a lyophilized form. In some embodiments, the modified siRNA and the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or excipient, and the pharmaceutical composition and/or conjugate and optional pharmaceutically acceptable excipient(s) are substantially pure and/or sterilized. In some embodiments, the kit of the present disclosure may provide sterilized water.
Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be further illustrated by way of examples, but will not be limited thereto in any respect.
Unless otherwise specified, the reagents and culture media used in following examples are all commercially available, and the procedures used such as nucleic acid electrophoresis and real-time PCR are all performed according to the methods described in Molecular Cloning (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989)).
Huh7 cells were purchased from the Stem Cell Bank of Chinese Academy of Science and cultured in DMEM complete media (Hyclone company) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Hyclone company) and 1% non-essential amino acid (NEAA, Corning company) at 37° C. in an incubator containing 5% CO2/95% air.
When the siRNA or the siRNA conjugate against APOC3 gene synthesized in the present disclosure or the siRNA or the siRNA conjugate as negative control was used to transfect cells, Lipofectamine™ 2000 (Invitrogen) was used as a transfection reagent. The specific procedures could refer to the instruction provided by the manufacturer.
Unless otherwise specified, ratios of reagents provided below are all calculated by volume ratio (v/v).
The animal models used are as follows: Human APOC3 transgenic mice: B6; CBA-Tg(APOC3)3707Bres/J, purchased from Jackson Laboratory, US;
All the experimental data are expressed as
In this preparation example, Conjugates 1-11 were synthesized. The conjugates were those formed by conjugating L-9 conjugation molecule to the siRNAs as shown in Table 7.
(1-1) Synthesis of Compound L-10:
Compound L-10 was synthesized according to the following method:
(1-1-1) Synthesis of GAL-5 (a Terminal Segment of the Conjugation Molecule)
(1-1-1a) Synthesis of GAL-2
100.0 g of GAL-1 (N-acetyl-D-galactosamine hydrochloride, CAS No.: 1772-03-8, purchased from Ning Bo hongxiang bio-chem Co., Ltd., 463.8 mmol) was dissolved in 1000 ml of anhydrous pyridine, to which 540 ml of acetic anhydride (purchased from Enox Inc., 5565.6 mmol) was added in an ice water bath to react under stirring at room temperature for 1.5 hours. The resultant reaction solution was poured into 10 L of ice water and subjected to suction filtration under reduced pressure. The residue was washed with 2 L of ice water, and then added with a mixed solvent of acetonitrile/toluene (v/v ratio of acetonitrile:toluene=1:1) until completely dissolved. The solvent was removed by evaporation to give 130.0 g of product GAL-2 as a white solid.
(1-1-1b) Synthesis of GAL-3
GAL-2 (35.1 g, 90.0 mmol) obtained in step (1-1-1a) was dissolved in 213 ml of anhydrous 1,2-dichloroethane, to which 24.0 g of TMSOTf (CAS No.: 27607-77-8, purchased from Macklin Inc., 108.0 mmol) was added in an ice water bath under nitrogen atmosphere to react at room temperature overnight.
The reaction solution was added with 400 ml dichloromethane for dilution, filtered with diatomite, and then added with 1 L saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and stirred evenly. An organic phase was isolated. The aqueous phase remained was extracted twice, each with 300 ml of dichloroethane. The organic phases were combined and washed with 300 ml of saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and 300 ml of saturated brine, respectively. The organic phase was isolated and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 26.9 g of product GAL-3 as a light yellow viscous syrup.
(1-1-1c) Synthesis of GAL-4
GAL-3 (26.9 g, 81.7 mmol) obtained in step (1-1-1b) was dissolved in 136 ml of anhydrous 1,2-dichloroethane, added with 30 g of dry 4 Å molecular sieve powder followed by 9.0 g of 5-hexen-1-ol (CAS No.: 821-41-0, purchased from Adamas-beta Inc., 89.9 mmol), and stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes. 9.08 g of TMSOTf (40.9 mmol) was added in an ice bath under nitrogen atmosphere to react under stirring at room temperature overnight. The 4 Å molecular sieve powder was removed by filtration. The filtrate was added with 300 ml dichloroethane for dilution, filtered with diatomite, and then added with 500 ml of saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and stirred for 10 minutes for washing. An organic phase was isolated. The aqueous phase was extracted once with 300 ml of dichloroethane. The organic phases were combined and washed with 300 ml of saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and 300 ml of saturated brine, respectively. The organic phase was isolated and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 41.3 g of product GAL-4 as a yellow syrup, which was directly used in the next oxidation reaction without purification.
(1-1-1d) Synthesis of GAL-5
GAL-4 (14.9 g, 34.7 mmol) obtained according to the method described in step (1-1-1c) was dissolved in a mixed solvent of 77 ml of dichloromethane and 77 ml of acetonitrile, added with 103 ml of deionized water and 29.7 g of sodium periodate (CAS No.: 7790-28-5, purchased from Aladdin Inc., 138.8 mmol) respectively, and stirred in an ice bath for 10 minutes. Ruthenium trichloride (CAS No.: 14898-67-0, available from Energy Chemical, 238 mg, 1.145 mmol) was added to react at room temperature overnight. The resultant reaction solution was diluted by adding 300 ml of water under stirring, and adjusted to a pH of about 7.5 by adding saturated sodium bicarbonate. The organic phase was isolated and discarded. The aqueous phase was extracted three times, each with 200 ml of dichloromethane, and the organic phase was discarded. The aqueous phase was adjusted to a pH of about 3 with citric acid solids and extracted three times, each with 200 ml of dichloromethane, and the resultant organic phases were combined and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 6.85 g of product GAL-5 as a white foamy solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO) δ 12.01 (br, 1H), 7.83 (d, J=9.2 Hz, 1H), 5.21 (d, J=3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (dd, J=11.2, 3.2 Hz, 1H), 4.49 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 1H), 4.07-3.95 (m, 3H), 3.92-3.85 (m, 1H), 3.74-3.67 (m, 1H), 3.48-3.39 (m, 1H), 2.20 (t, J=6.8 Hz, 2H), 2.11 (s, 3H), 2.00 (s, 3H), 1.90 (s, 3H), 1.77 (s, 3H), 1.55-1.45 (m, 4H).
(1-1-2) Synthesis of L-8
J-0 (9.886 g, 52.5 mmol, purchased from Alfa Aesar Inc.) and GAL-5 (72.819 g, 162.75 mmol, obtained by combining several batches of products) obtained in step (1-1-1) were dissolved in 525 ml of dichloromethane, and added with diisopropylethylamine (DIEA, 44.782 g, 346.50 mmol), benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidino phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBOP, 90.158 g, 173.25 mmol) and hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt, 23.410 g, 173.25 mmol) to react at room temperature for 4 hours. The resultant reaction solution was washed by adding 20 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and 200 ml of saturated brine. The aqueous phase was extracted twice, each with 100 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered. Then the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give a crude product. The crude product was purified by using a normal phase silica gel column (200-300 mesh). The column was added with 10 wt % triethylamine for neutralizing the acidity of silica gel, equilibrated with 1 wt ‰ triethylamine, and eluted with a gradient elution of dichloromethane:methanol=100:25-100:40. The eluate was collected, and the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 38.8 g of pure product L-8. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO) δ 7.84 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 3H), 7.27-7.23 (m, 1H), 7.13-7.18 (m, 1H), 5.22 (d, J=3.1 Hz, 3H), 4.97 (dd, J=11.3, 3.1 Hz, 3H), 4.48 (d, J=8.4 Hz, 3H), 4.09-3.98 (m, 9H), 3.88 (dd, J=19.3, 9.3 Hz, 3H), 3.75-3.66 (m, 3H), 3.44-3.38 (m, 3H), 3.17-3.30 (m, 4H), 3.10-2.97 (m, 4H), 2.35-2.20 (m, 6H), 2.15-2.08 (m, 9H), 2.07-1.98 (m, 13H), 1.94-1.87 (m, 9H), 1.81-1.74 (m, 9H), 1.65-1.42 (m, 18H). MS m/z: C85H119N7O30, [M+H]+, calculated: 1477.59, measured: 1477.23.
(1-1-3)
(1-1-3a) Synthesis of A-1
DMTrCl (4,4′-dimethoxytrityl chloride, 101.65 g, 300 mmol) was dissolved in 1000 ml of anhydrous pyridine, and added with calcium DL-glycerate hydrate (28.63 g, 100 mmol) to react at 45° C. for 20 hours. The resultant reaction solution was filtered. The residue was rinsed with 200 ml of DCM, and the filtrate was concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was redissolved in 500 ml of dichloromethane and washed twice, each with 200 ml of 0.5 M triethylamine phosphate (pH=7-8). The aqueous phase was extracted twice, each with 200 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by using a normal phase silica gel column (200-300 mesh). The column was eluted with a gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate:dichloromethane:methanol=1:1:1:0.35-1:1:1:0.55. The eluate was collected, and the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was redissolved in 600 ml of dichloromethane, and washed once with 200 ml of 0.5 M triethylamine phosphate. The aqueous phase was extracted once with 200 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was dried under reduced pressure in a vacuum oil pump overnight to give 50.7 g of product A-1 as a white solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 7.46 (ddd, J=6.5, 2.3, 1.1 Hz, 1H), 7.40-7.28 (m, 7H), 6.89-6.81 (m, 4H), 4.84 (d, J=5.0 Hz, 1H), 4.36-4.24 (m, 1H), 4.29 (s, 6H), 3.92 (dd, J=12.4, 7.0 Hz, 1H), 3.67 (dd, J=12.3, 7.0 Hz, 1H), 2.52 (q, J=6.3 Hz, 6H), 1.03 (t, J=6.3 Hz, 9H). MS m/z: C24H23O6, [M−H]−, calculated: 407.15, measured: 406.92.
(1-1-3b) Synthesis of L-7
L-8 (40 g, 27.09 mmol, obtained by combining several batches of products) obtained in step (1-1-2) and A-1 (41.418 g, 81.27 mmol) obtained in step (1-1-3a) were mixed and dissolved in 271 ml of dichloromethane, added with 3-diethoxyphosphoryl-1,2,3-benzotrizin-4(3H)-one (DEPBT) (24.318 g, 81.37 mmol), and further added with diisopropylethylamine (21.007 g, 162.54 mmol) to react under stirring at 25° C. for 1.5 hours. The organic phase was washed with 800 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate. The aqueous phase was extracted three times, each with 50 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phase was washed with 150 ml of saturated brine, and the aqueous phase was extracted once with 50 ml of dichloromethane, and the organic phases were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was foam-dried in a vacuum oil pump overnight to give a crude product. The crude product was subjected to a column purification. The column was filled with 2 kg normal phase silica gel (200-300 mesh), added with 200 ml triethylamine for neutralizing the acidity of silica gel, equilibrated with petroleum ether containing 1 wt % triethylamine, and eluted with a gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate:dichloromethane:N,N-dimethylformamide=1:1:1:0.5-1:1:1:0.6. The eluate was collected, and the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 40.4 g of pure product L-7. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO) δ 7.90-7.78 (m, 4H), 7.75-7.64 (m, 1H), 7.38-7.18 (m, 9H), 6.91-6.83 (m, 4H), 5.25-5.10 (m, 4H), 4.97 (dd, J=11.2, 3.2 Hz, 3H), 4.48-4.30 (m, 4H), 4.02 (s, 9H), 3.93-3.84 (m, 3H), 3.76-3.66 (m, 9H), 3.45-3.35 (m, 3H), 3.24-2.98 (m, 10H), 2.30-2.20 (m, 2H), 2.11-1.88 (m, 31H), 1.80-1.40 (m, 28H). MS m/z: C90H128N7O35, [M-DMTr]+, calculated: 1564.65, measured: 1564.88.
(1-1-4) Synthesis of L-9
L-7 (40 g, 21.4247 mmol) obtained in step (1-1-3b), succinic anhydride (4.288 g, 42.8494 mmol) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP, 5.235 g, 42.8494 mmol) were mixed and dissolved in 215 ml of dichloromethane, further added with diisopropylethylamine (DIEA, 13.845 g, 107.1235 mmol), and stirred at 25° C. for 24 hours. The resultant reaction solution was washed with 800 ml of 0.5 M triethylamine phosphate. The aqueous phase was extracted three times, each with 5 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure to give a crude product. The crude product was subjected to a column purification. The column was filled with 1 kg normal phase silica gel (200-300 mesh), added with 1 wt % triethylamine for neutralizing the acidity of silica gel, equilibrated with dichloromethane, and eluted with a gradient elution of 1 wt ‰ triethylamine in dichloromethane:methanol=100:18-100:20. The eluate was collected, and the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure to give 31.0 g of pure product L-9 conjugation molecule. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO) δ 8.58 (d, J=4.2 Hz, 1H), 7.94-7.82 (m, 3H), 7.41-7.29 (m, 5H), 7.22 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 5H), 6.89 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 4H), 5.49-5.37 (m, 1H), 5.21 (d, J=3.0 Hz, 3H), 4.97 (d, J=11.1 Hz, 3H), 4.49 (d, J=8.2 Hz, 3H), 4.02 (s, 9H), 3.88 (dd, J=19.4, 9.4 Hz, 3H), 3.77-3.65 (m, 9H), 3.50-3.39 (m, 6H), 3.11-2.90 (m, 5H), 2.61-2.54 (m, 4H), 2.47-2.41 (m, 2H), 2.26-2.17 (m, 2H), 2.15-1.95 (m, 22H), 1.92-1.84 (m, 9H), 1.80-1.70 (m, 10H), 1.65-1.35 (m, 17H), 1.31-1.19 (m, 4H), 0.96 (t, J=7.1 Hz, 9H). MS m/z: C94H132N7O38, [M-DMTr]+, calculated: 1664.72, measured: 1665.03.
(1-1-5) Synthesis of Compound L-10
In this step, Compound L-10 was prepared by linking the L-9 conjugation molecule to a solid phase support.
The L-9 conjugation molecule (22.751 g, 11 mmol) obtained in step (1-1-4), O-benzotriazol-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU, 6.257 g, 16.5 mmol) and diisopropylethylamine (DIEA, 2.843 g, 22 mmol) were mixed and dissolved in 900 ml of acetonitrile, and stirred at room temperature for 5 minutes. The resultant reaction solution was added with Aminomethyl resin (H2NResin, 88 g, 100-200 mesh, amino loading: 400 μmol/g, purchased from Tianjin Nankai HECHENG S&T Co., Ltd.). A reaction was performed on a shaker at 25° C. and at a rotation speed of 150 rpm/min for 18 hours, followed by filtration. The residue was rinsed twice (each with 300 ml of DCM) and three times (each with 300 ml of acetonitrile), and dried in a vacuum oil pump for 18 hours. Then starting materials (CapA, CapB, 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) and acetonitrile) were added according to the charge ratio as shown in Table 6 for a capping reaction. The reaction was performed on a shaker at 25° C. and at a rotation speed of 150 rpm/min for 5 hours. The reaction liquid was filtered. The residue was rinsed three times, each with 300 ml of acetonitrile. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was dried under reduced pressure in a vacuum oil pump overnight to give 102 g of Compound L-10 (i.e., the L-9 conjugation molecule linked to a solid phase support), with a loading of 90.8 μmol/g.
In the above table, Cap A and Cap B are solutions of capping agents. Cap A is a mixed solution of 20% by volume of N-methylimidazole in pyridine/acetonitrile, wherein the volume ratio of pyridine to acetonitrile is 3:5. Cap B is a solution of 20% by volume of acetic anhydride in acetonitrile.
(1-2) Synthesis of Sense Strands of Conjugates 1-11
Nucleoside monomers were linked one by one in 3′ to 5′ direction according to the arrangement sequences of nucleotides in the sense strands of Conjugates 1-11 the phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, starting the cycles from the Compound L-10 prepared in the above step. The linking of each nucleoside monomer included a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation or sulfurization. Therein, when two nucleotides are linked via a phosphoester bond, a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation was included during linking of the later nucleoside monomer; and when two nucleotides is linked via a phosphorothioate linkage, a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and sulfurization was included during linking of the later nucleoside monomer. The synthesis conditions are as follows.
The nucleoside monomers are provided in a 0.1 M acetonitrile solution. The condition for deprotection reaction in each step is identical, i.e., a temperature of 25° C., a reaction time of 70 seconds, a solution of dichloroacetic acid in dichloromethane (3% v/v) as a deprotection reagent, and a molar ratio of dichloroacetic acid to the protection group 4,4′-dimethoxytrityl on the solid phase support of 5:1.
The condition for coupling reaction in each step is identical, including a temperature of 25° C., a molar ratio of the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support to nucleoside monomers of 1:10, a molar ratio of the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support to a coupling reagent of 1:65, a reaction time of 600 seconds, and 0.5 M acetonitrile solution of 5-ethylthio-1H-tetrazole (ETT) as a coupling reagent.
The condition for capping reaction in each step is identical, including a temperature of 25° C., a reaction time of 15 seconds, a mixed solution of Cap A and Cap B in a molar ratio of 1:1 as a solution of capping agent, and a molar ratio of the capping agent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support of 1:1:1 (acetic anhydride:N-methylimidazole:the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support).
The condition for oxidation reaction in each step is identical, including a temperature of 25° C., a reaction time of 15 seconds, and 0.05 M iodine water as an oxidation reagent; and a molar ratio of iodine to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support in the coupling step of 30:1. The reaction is carried out in a mixed solvent of tetrahydrofuran:water:pyridine (3:1:1).
The condition for sulfurization reaction in each step is identical, including a temperature of 25° C., a reaction time of 300 seconds, and xanthane hydride as a sulfurization reagent; and a molar ratio of the sulfurization reagent to the nucleic acid sequence linked to the solid phase support in the coupling step of 120:1. The reaction is carried out in a mixed solvent of acetonitrile:pyridine (1:1).
The conditions for cleavage and deprotection are as follows: adding the synthesized nucleotide sequence linked to the support into 25 wt % aqueous ammonia to react at 55° C. for 16 hours, wherein the amount of the aqueous ammonia is 0.5 ml/mol. The liquid was removed, and the residue is concentrated to dryness in vacuum.
Purification and desalination: purification of the nucleic acid is achieved by using a preparative ion chromatography purification column (Source 15Q) with a gradient elution of NaCl. Specifically, eluent A is 20 mM sodium phosphate (pH 8.1), solvent is water/acetonitrile in 9:1 (v/v); eluent B is 1.5 M sodium chloride, 20 mM sodium phosphate (pH 8.1), solvent is water/acetonitrile in 9:1 (v/v); elution gradient:the ratio of eluent A:eluent B=100:0-50:50. The eluate is collected, combined and desalted by using a reverse phase chromatography purification column. The specific condition includes: using a Sephadex column for desalination (filler: Sephadex G25) and eluting with deionized water.
Detection: the purity is determined by ion exchange chromatography (IEX-HPLC); and the molecular weight of the product was analyzed by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). The fact that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values indicates that the sense strands S of Conjugates 1-11 of which 3′ terminal was conjugated to the L-9 conjugation molecule were synthesized.
(1-3) Synthesis of Antisense Strands
(1-3A) Preparation of Antisense Strands of Conjugates 1-5
Antisense strands AS of Conjugates 1-5 were synthesized respectively by linking nucleoside monomers one by one in 3′ to 5′ direction according to the arrangement sequences of nucleotides in the antisense strands of Conjugates 1-5 in the phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, starting the cycles from a universal solid phase support (UnyLinker™ loaded NittoPhase® HL Solid Supports, Kinovate Life Sciences Inc.). The reaction conditions of deprotection, coupling, capping, oxidation or sulfurization, cleavage and deprotection, and purification and desalting in the solid phase synthesis method were the same as those used for the synthesis of the sense strands.
Detection: the purity was detected by ion exchange chromatography (IEX-HPLC); and the molecular weight was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The fact that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values indicates that the antisense strands AS having the target sequences were synthesized.
Therein, the vinyl phosphate and 2′-methoxy modified uracil monomer (VP-Um) was synthesized according to the following method:
(1-3-1) Synthesis of VP-U-2
A VP-U-2 molecule was synthesized according to the following method:
A 2′-methoxy modified uracil nucleoside (2′-OMe-U, 51.30 g, 91.6 mmol), tert-butyl diphenylchlorosilane (TBDPSCl, 50.35 g, 183.2 mmol), and imidazole (12.47 g, 183.2 mmol) were mixed and dissolved in 450 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to react under stirring at room temperature for 20 hours. DMF was removed by evaporation, and the residue was dissolved with 600 ml of dichloromethane and washed with 300 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate. The aqueous phase was extracted three times, each with 300 ml of dichloromethane (DCM). The organic phases were combined, washed with 5% oxalic acid until the pH of the aqueous phase was <5. The solvent was evaporated to dryness to give a crude product VP-U-1, which was directly used in the subsequent synthesis of VP-U-2.
The crude product VP-U-1 was dissolved in 100 ml of dichloromethane, and then stirred for 10 minutes in an ice bath. 450 ml of 2% p-toluenesulfonic acid solution (the solvent is a mixed solvent of methanol and dichloromethane in a volume ratio of 3:7) pre-cooled in a refrigerator at 4° C. was added to react for 10 minutes. The reaction was quenched by addition of 200 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate. The organic phase was washed to pH=8 by addition of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution. The aqueous phases were combined and extracted twice, each with 200 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined and washed once with 200 ml of saturated brine. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness, and the residue was purified by using a normal phase silica gel column (200-300 mesh). The column was packed with petroleum ether and eluted with a gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate:dichloromethane:methanol=1:1:1:0.05-1:1:1:0.25. The eluate was collected, the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was foam-dried in a vacuum oil pump to give a total of 40.00 g of pure product VP-U-2. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 7.96 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.64 (dtd, J=5.1, 4.0, 2.2 Hz, 4H), 7.41-7.30 (m, 6H), 6.79 (d, J=4.7 Hz, 1H), 5.73 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 4.94 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 1H), 4.12 (td, J=4.6, 3.9 Hz, 1H), 4.05 (dd, J=4.8, 4.0 Hz, 1H), 3.96 (t, J=4.7 Hz, 1H), 3.68 (ddd, J=11.8, 7.0, 4.6 Hz, 1H), 3.57-3.46 (m, 1H), 3.39 (s, 3H), 1.05 (s, 8H). MS m/z: C26H33N2O6Si, [M+H]+, calculated: 497.21, measured: 497.45.
(1-3-2) Synthesis of VP-U-4
VP-U-2 (19.84 g, 40.0 mmol), dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC, 16.48 g, 80.0 mmol), pyridine (4.20 g, 53.2 mmol), and trifluoroacetic acid (6.61 g, 53.2 mmol) were mixed and dissolved in 200 ml of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to react under stirring at room temperature for 20 hours. Separately, tetraethyl methylenediphosphate (21.44 g, 74.4 mmol) was dissolved in 120 ml of THF, cooled in an ice bath, added with t-BuOK (11.36 g, 101.2 mmol) at a temperature of the ice bath to react for 10 min, warmed to room temperature to react for 0.5 hour and added into the above reaction solution over about 1 hour. The reaction was carried out at a temperature of the ice bath for 1 hour and then warmed to room temperature to react for 18 hours. The reaction was quenched by addition of water. The aqueous phase was extracted three times, each with 200 ml of dichloromethane. The organic phases were combined and washed once with 200 ml of saturated brine. The solvent was evaporated to dryness, and the residue was purified by using a normal phase silica gel column (200-300 mesh). The column was packed with petroleum ether and eluted with a gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate=1:1-1:4. The eluate was collected. The solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was foam-dried in a vacuum oil pump to give a total of 14.00 g of pure product VP-U-4. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 7.96 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.64 (dtd, J=5.1, 4.0, 2.2 Hz, 4H), 7.41-7.30 (m, 6H), 6.82-6.71 (m, 2H), 5.90 (ddd, J=25.9, 15.0, 1.0 Hz, 1H), 5.73 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 4.36-4.21 (m, 3H), 4.18 (t, J=4.9 Hz, 1H), 4.05 (ddq, J=9.7, 8.5, 6.9 Hz, 2H), 3.87 (t, J=4.8 Hz, 1H), 3.39 (s, 3H), 1.32 (td, J=6.9, 0.7 Hz, 6H), 1.05 (s, 8H). MS m/z: C31H42N2O8PSi, [M+H]+, calculated: 629.24, measured: 629.51.
(1-3-3) Synthesis of VP-U-5
VP-U-4 (14.00 g, 22.29 mmol) was dissolved in 100 ml of tetrahydrofuran, added with triethylamine trihydrofluoride (17.96 g, 111.45 mmol), and stirred at room temperature for 20 hours to react completely. The solvent was directly evaporated to dryness, the residue was dissolved in dichloromethane, and then the solvent was evaporated to dryness again. The above dissolution and evaporation steps were performed twice, each with 50 ml of dichloromethane, to give a crude product. The crude product was purified by using a normal phase silica gel column (200-300 mesh). The column was packed with petroleum ether and eluted with a gradient elution of petroleum ether:ethyl acetate:dichloromethane:methanol=1:1:1:0.05-1:1:1:0.25. The eluate was collected, the solvent was removed by evaporation to dryness under reduced pressure, and the residue was foam-dried in a vacuum oil pump to give a total of 6.70 g of pure product VP-U-5. 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 7.96 (d, J=7.8 Hz, 1H), 6.77 (dd, J=15.0, 6.2 Hz, 1H), 5.99-5.82 (m, 2H), 5.73 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 5.27 (d, J=5.1 Hz, 1H), 5.10 (dd, J=5.3, 4.7 Hz, 1H), 4.29 (ddq, J=9.8, 8.6, 7.0 Hz, 2H), 4.17 (ddd, J=6.2, 5.2, 1.0 Hz, 1H), 4.12-3.98 (m, 3H), 3.39 (s, 2H), 1.32 (td, J=6.9, 0.6 Hz, 6H). MS m/z: C15H24N2O8P, [M+H]+, calculated: 391.13, measured: 391.38.
(1-3-4) Synthesis of VP-U-6
VP-U-5 (391 mg, 1.0 mmol), pyridine trifluoroacetate (0.232 g, 1.2 mmol), N-methylimidazole (0.099 g, 1.2 mmol), and bis(diisopropylamino)(2-cyanoethoxy)phosphine (0.452 g, 1.5 mmol) were added into 10 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under argon atmosphere to react under stirring at room temperature for 5 hours. The solvent was evaporated to dryness, and then the residue was purified by column chromatography (200-300 mesh normal phase silica gel, with a gradient elution of dichloromethane:acetonitrile (containing 0.5 wt % triethylamine)=3:1-1:3). The eluate was collected and concentrated to remove the solvent to give a total of 508 mg of target product VP-U-6. 31P NMR (161 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 150.34, 150.29, 17.07, 15.50. MS m/z: C24H41N4O9P2, [M+H]+, calculated: 591.23, measured: 591.55. The above data indicated that VP-U-6 was the target product VP-Um, which was involved in the synthesis of RNA strands as a nucleoside monomer.
(1-3B) Preparation of Antisense Strands of Conjugates 6 and 8-11
In addition to linking the corresponding nucleoside monomers one by one according to the nucleotide sequences as shown in Table 7 respectively, the method for synthesizing the antisense strands of Conjugates 6 and 8-11 differs from that of the antisense strand of Conjugate 4 only in the modification of the the first nucleotide at 5′ terminal. During preparation of the antisense strands according to the phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, after the linking of 2′-methoxy modified guanine nucleoside monomer (Gm) as the last nucleoside monomer, the monomer of Formula (CPR-I) (purchased from Suzhou GenePharma Inc. as Cat #13-2601-XX) was linked to 5′ terminal of the antisense strand by a four-step reaction of deprotection, coupling, capping, and oxidation, so as to form a 5′-phosphate modification.
During the synthesis, the universal solid phase support, the conditions of deprotection, coupling, capping, oxidation or sulfurization reaction, cleavage and deprotection, purification and desalting used were the same as those used in the synthesis of the sense strand.
The purity was detected by ion exchange chromatography (IEX-HPLC); and the molecular weight was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The fact that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values indicates that the antisense strands AS having the target sequences were synthesized.
An antisense strand of Conjugate 7 with a 5′-phosphorothioate modification was prepared by using the same synthesis method as that in step (1-3B), except that the oxidation reaction condition was replaced with a sulfurization reaction condition in the linking of the CPR-I monomer.
(1-4) Synthesis of Conjugates 1-11
For Conjugate 1, the S strand and AS strand were respectively dissolved in water for injection to give a solution of 40 mg/mL. They were mixed in an equimolar ratio, heated at 50° C. for 15 min, cooled at room temperature to produce an annealed product, and then lyophilized to give a lyophilized powder. After the conjugate was diluted to a concentration of 0.2 mg/mL with ultra-pure water (homemade by Milli-Q ultra-pure water instrument, with resistivity of 18.2MΩ*cm (25° C.)), the molecular weight was determined by a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument (purchased from Waters Corp., model: LCT Premier). The fact that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values indicates that the synthesized Conjugate 1 was the designed target double-stranded nucleic acid sequence with the L-9 conjugation molecule.
Conjugates 2-11 were prepared by the same method except that the sense strand of Conjugate 1 was replaced with the sense strands of Conjugates 2-11 as prepared above, and the antisense strand of Conjugate 1 was replaced with the antisense strands of Conjugates 2-11 as prepared above. The molecular weights of the resultant Conjugates 2-11 were respectively determined to confirm that that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values, indicating that the synthesized conjugates were the designed target double-stranded nucleic acid sequences with the L-9 conjugation molecule.
Conjugates 1-11 have the structure as shown by Formula (403).
In the present preparation example, Comparative Conjugates 1 and 2 were synthesized. The conjugated siRNAs in these conjugates had the sequences as shown in Table 7. The conjugation molecule to be conjugated refers to the (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule as synthesized in step (2-1) below. The conjugates respectively had the same structures as those of Compounds AD-65704 and AD-69535 in WO2016081444A1.
(2-1) Synthesis of (GalNAc)3 Conjugation Molecule
Compound 30, i.e., the conjugation molecule (referred to as (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule) containing the above-mentioned linker -(LA)3-trihydroxymethylaminomethane-LB- and N-acetylgalactosamine molecule as the targeting group (wherein each LA can be linked to one N-acetylgalactosamine molecule so that one linker can be linked to three N-acetylgalactosamine molecules), was synthesized according to the method described in Example 17 of WO2014025805A1. The chemical reaction formulae involved in the synthesis and the structure of (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule were shown below:
(2-2) Preparation of the (GalNAc)3 Conjugation Molecule Linked to a Solid Phase Support
The (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule linked to a solid phase support was prepared by using the same method as that in step (1-1-5) of Preparation Example 1, except that the L-9 conjugation molecule was replaced with the (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule, thereby obtaining the (GalNAc)3 conjugation molecule linked to a solid phase support.
(2-3) Synthesis of Comparative Conjugates 1 and 2
Comparative Conjugates 1 and 2 were prepared by the same methods as those in steps (1-2), (1-3A) and (1-4) of Preparation Example 1, except that 1) the compound obtained in step (2-2) was used to start the synthesis of the sense strand; 2) during the preparation of the antisense strands according to the phosphoramidite solid phase synthesis method, 2′-methoxy modified uracil nucleoside monomer (Um) was linked as the last nucleoside monomer; and 3) the conjugated siRNAs respectively had the sequences as shown by Nos. (GalNAc)3-65704 and (GalNAc)3-69535 in Table 7.
The molecular weight was determined by a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) instrument (purchased from Waters Corp., model: LCT Premier). The fact that the measured values were in conformity with the calculated values confirms that the synthesized conjugates were the designed target compounds having the structures as shown by Formula (305).
In this experimental example, the inhibition efficiencies of Conjugates 1-5 against the expression level of APOC3 mRNA in in vitro Huh 7 cell lines were investigated.
Conjugates 1-5 were transfected to human hepatoma cell lines Huh7 by using Lipofectamine™ 2000. The final concentrations of the siRNA conjugates (based on the amount of the siRNA) were 0.5 nM, 0.125 nM and 0.03125 nM, respectively. The siRNA conjugates were provided in the form of solutions. In particular, prior to the experiment, the siRNA conjugates were dissolved in DEPC water to give solutions with the desired concentrations. The cells not being transfected with the siRNA conjugates were used as a blank control, with two replicate wells per concentration.
The expression levels of APOC3 mRNAs in Huh 7 cells transfected with Conjugates 1-5 at various concentrations were measured by Quantitative Real-Time PCR, respectively. Specific steps were as follows: 24 hours after cultivation of the transfected cells, the total RNA was extracted and obtained by using Trizol (Thermo Fisher) according to the standard procedure for total RNA extraction; 1 μg of the total RNA was taken and reverse transcribed into cDNA by using a reverse transcription kit (Promega, Cat No. A3500) according to the procedures in the instruction thereof. The expression level of APOC3 mRNA was measured by using 2× Ultra SYBR Mixture (with ROX) kit (Beijing Cowin Biosicences Co., Ltd, Cat No. CW0956) with the cDNA as a template according to the procedures in the instruction. Therein, the PCR primers of for amplifying APOC3 and GAPDH as an internal control gene are shown in Table 8.
The expression level of APOC3 mRNA was calculated by the following equation:
The expression level of APOC3 mRNA=(the expression level of APOC3 mRNA in the test group/the expression level of GAPDH mRNA in the test group)/(the expression level of APOC3 mRNA in the control group/the expression level of GAPDH mRNA in the control group)×100%.
The inhibition rates of the conjugates against the expression level of APOC3 mRNA were calculated by the following equation:
The inhibition rate=(1−the expression level of APOC3 mRNA)×100%.
Therein, the test groups are respectively the Huh7 cells treated with Conjugates 1-5 at various concentrations, and the control group is the Huh 7 cells untreated with the conjugates.
As can be seen from
This experimental example determined the IC50 values of Conjugates 6 and 8-11 against APOC3 mRNA in Huh7 cell lines.
Conjugates 6 and 8-11 were transfected by the same method as that in Experimental Example 1-1, and the expression level of APOC3 mRNA in each group was measured, except that the final concentrations of the conjugates (calculated based on the concentrations of siRNAs) were from 3 nM to 0.004 nM (three-fold serial dilutions of 7 concentrations). The dose-response curves were plotted by the expression levels of APOC3 mRNA measured at different concentrations of the conjugates, and the curves were fitted using the function log(inhibitor) vs. response-Variable slope of Graphpad 5.0 software. The IC50 of each conjugate was calculated based on the dose-response curve.
wherein:
Y is the expression level of remaining mRNA,
X is the logarithm of the concentration of transfected conjugates,
Bot is the Y value at the bottom of the steady stage,
Top is the Y value at the top of the steady stage,
Log IC50 is the X value at which Y is the median value between the bottom and the top, and
HillSlope is the slope of the curve.
The IC50 values of Conjugates 6 and 8-11 in in vitro Huh 7 cells were measured to be 0.01002 nM, 0.008159 nM, 0.05375 nM, 0.01933 nM, and 0.01949 nM, respectively, indicating that the siRNA conjugates of the present disclosure exhibited higher inhibitory activity against the expression levels of the target mRNA in vitro.
Human APOC3 transgenic mice (B6; CBA-Tg(APOC3)3707Bres/J) with serum TG content >2 mmol/L were randomly divided into groups (7 mice per group) as follows: (1) normal saline control group; (2) Conjugate 2: 3 mg/kg group; (3) Conjugate 2: 1 mg/kg group; (4) Conjugate 4: 3 mg/kg group; (5) Conjugate 4: 1 mg/kg group; (6) Conjugate 5: 3 mg/kg group; and (7) Conjugate 5: 1 mg/kg group. The administration dosages for all animals were calculated according to the body weight and subcutaneously injected as single administration, wherein the siRNA conjugates were provided in 0.9 wt % NaCl aqueous solutions with concentrations of 0.6 mg/ml and 0.2 mg/ml. In particular, prior to the experiments, the siRNA conjugates were dissolved in the 0.9 wt % NaCl aqueous solution to give solutions with the desired concentrations. The administration volumes for normal saline and the siRNA conjugates were 5 mL/kg.
The blood was taken from mouse orbital venous plexus before administration (marked as day 0) and on days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 63, 77, 91, 112, 133, 147, 161, 175, and 189 after administration respectively. The contents of total cholesterol (CHO) and triglyceride (TG) in serum were measured at each time point.
About 100 μl blood was taken from the orbit each time, and the serum was not less than 20 μl after centrifugation. The contents of total cholesterol (CHO) and triglyceride (TG) in serum were further measured by using a PM1P000/3 full-automatic serum biochemical analyzer (SABA).
The normalized blood lipid level=(the blood lipid content in the test group after administration/the blood lipid content in the test group before administration)×100%.
The inhibition rate against blood lipid level=(1−the blood lipid content in the test group after administration/the blood lipid content in the test group before administration)×100%. Blood lipid refers to total cholesterol (CHO) or triglyceride (TG).
As can be seen from
As can be seen from
As can be seen from
As can be seen from
The results of
The measurement was conducted by the same method as that in Experimental Example 2-1, except that each test group included 6 mice; the conjugates to be administered were Conjugate 1 and Comparative Conjugate 2; and the test continued until day 112 after administration.
As can be seen from
The measurement was conducted by the same method as that in Experimental Example 2-1, except that each test group included 6 mice; the conjugate to be administered was Conjugate 3; Conjugate 3 was dissolved in 1×PBS buffer solution in place of normal saline (NS) to give a solution with the desired concentration; 1×PBS buffer solution was used as the blank control in the experiment; and the test continued until day 112 after administration.
As can be seen from
As can be seen from
The results of
The measurement was conducted by the same method as that in Experimental Example 2-1, except that each test group included 8 mice; the conjugate to be administered was Conjugate 4; Conjugate 4 was administered at three doses of 0.3 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg, respectively, while the administration volume remained unchanged; and the test continued until day 133 after administration.
The measurement was conducted by the same method as that in Experimental Example 2-1, except that each test group included 6 mice; the conjugates to be administered were Conjugates 4, 6 and 7 and Comparative Conjugate 2; and the test continued until day 112 after administration.
As can be seen from the results of
The measurement was conducted by the same method as that in Experimental Example 2-1, except that each test group included 8 mice; the conjugates to be administered were Conjugates 8 and 9; the conjugates were administered at five doses of 0.1 mg/kg, 0.3 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, and 9 mg/kg, respectively; and the administration volume remained unchanged while the concentrations of the conjugate solutions were correspondingly adjusted; and the test continued until day 147 after administration.
As can be seen from the results of
Further, ED50 values of Conjugates 8 and 9 for inhibiting TG level at different time points in human APOC3 transgenic mice were measured based on the inhibition rates of the conjugates at different doses against TG at different time points.
The dose-response curves were plotted according to the serum TG levels measured at different time points when using Conjugates 8 and 9 at different doses, and the curves were fitted using the function log(inhibitor) vs. response Variable slope of Graphpad 5.0 software. The ED50 value of each conjugate was calculated based on the dose-response curve.
wherein:
Y is the measured serum TG level (normalized relative to the TG level on day D0),
X is the logarithm of the dose of transfected conjugates at the same time point,
Bot is the Y value at the bottom of the steady stage,
Top is the Y value at the top of the steady stage,
Log ED50 is the X value at which Y is the median value between the bottom and the top, and
HillSlope is the slope of the curve.
The calculated ED50 values of Conjugates 8 and 9 for inhibiting TG at different time points after single administration were shown in Table 9.
According to the results shown in Table 9, it can be seen that for human APOC3 transgenic mouse, even half a month after administration, a single subcutaneous injection of 0.16 mg/kg Conjugate 8 or 0.11 mg/kg Conjugate 9 could still realize the efficacy of reducing half of the TG content; and even one month after administration, a single subcutaneous injection of less than 1 mg/kg of the conjugates of the present disclosure could still realize the effect of reducing half of the TG content.
Prior to the experiments, the serum triglyceride (TG) contents in human APOC3 transgenic mice (B6; CBA-Tg(APOC3)3707Bres/J) were measured. Transgenic mice with serum TG content >2 mmol/L were selected and randomly divided into groups. Each of the test groups included 5 mice; and the blank control group (administered with NS) included 4 mice. Conjugate 4 and normal saline (NS) were respectively administered to the mice in groups. The administration dosages for all animals were calculated according to the body weight and subcutaneously injected as single administration. The siRNA conjugate was administered at two doses of 1 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg (based on the amount of the siRNA), wherein the siRNA conjugates were provided in 0.9 wt % NaCl aqueous solutions with concentrations of 0.2 mg/ml and 0.02 mg/ml concentration and the administration volume is 5 mL/kg. The mice were sacrificed on day 14 after administration and the liver tissues were collected and stored in RNA later (Sigma Aldrich). Subsequently, the liver tissues were homogenized with a tissue homogenizer, and then the total RNAs in the liver tissues were extracted and obtained by using Trizol (Thermo Fisher) according to the standard procedure for total RNA extraction.
The expression levels of APOC3 mRNA in liver tissues were measured by the same Quantitative Real-Time PCR method as that used in Experimental Example 1-1, except that in this fluorescent qPCR method, 3-actin gene was used as an internal control gene, and the expression levels of APOC3 and 3-actin were determined by using the primers for APOC3 and β-actin, respectively.
The sequences of the primers for detection were shown in Table 10.
The expression levels of APOC3 mRNA in liver and the inhibition rate of the conjugate against APOC3 mRNA were calculated by the same methods as those used in Experimental Example 1-1. In this experiment, the mice in the control group were administered with normal Saline (NS); and the mice in the test groups were administered with the siRNA conjugate at different concentrations, respectively.
The results shows that single administration of 1 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg of Conjugate 4 could have significantly inhibitory effect on human APOC3 gene in transgenic mice. In particular, 1 mg/kg Conjugate 4 shows an inhibition rate of up to 82.0% against APOC3 mRNA, and 0.1 mg/kg Conjugate 4 shows an inhibition rate of 40.4% against APOC3 mRNA.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Various simple variations to the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be made within the scope of the technical concept of the present disclosure, and these simple variations are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
It is to be noted that each of the specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner provided that no contradiction is caused. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, various possible combination manners are no longer described in the present disclosure.
In addition, various different embodiments of the present disclosure may also be combined as long as it does not deviate from the idea of the present disclosure, which should also be regarded as the disclosure of the present disclosure.
All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this description are incorporated herein by reference to the extent as if each publication, patent and patent application were specifically and separately incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201811622633.0 | Dec 2018 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2019/129016 | 12/27/2019 | WO | 00 |
