Generic and personalized RNAi-based therapeutics for a dominant-negative epidermal fragility disorder

Deena M. Leslie Pedrioli (Lead / Corresponding author), Dun Jack Fu, Emilio Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Christopher H. Contag, Roger L. Kaspar, Frances J. D. Smith, W. H. Irwin McLean

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    38 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma (EPPK) is one of >30 autosomal-dominant human keratinizing disorders that could benefit from RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapy. EPPK is caused by mutations in the keratin 9 (KRT9) gene, which is exclusively expressed in thick palm and sole skin where there is considerable keratin redundancy. This, along with the fact that EPPK is predominantly caused by a few hotspot mutations, makes it an ideal proof-of-principle model skin disease to develop gene-specific, as well as mutation-specific, short interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies. We have developed a broad preclinical RNAi-based therapeutic package for EPPK containing generic KRT9 siRNAs and allele-specific siRNAs for four prevalent mutations. Inhibitors were systematically identified in vitro using a luciferase reporter gene assay and validated using an innovative dual-Flag/Strep-TagII quantitative immunoblot assay. siKRT9-1 and siKRT9-3 were the most potent generic K9 inhibitors, eliciting >85% simultaneous knockdown of wild-type and mutant K9 protein synthesis at picomolar concentrations. The allele-specific inhibitors displayed similar potencies and, importantly, exhibited strong specificities for their target dominant-negative alleles with little or no effect on wild-type K9. The most promising allele-specific siRNA, siR163Q-13, was tested in a mouse model and was confirmed to preferentially inhibit mutant allele expression in vivo.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1627-1635
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Investigative Dermatology
    Volume132
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jun 2012

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