Description

Edward Guzman, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, will present his paper entitled "Activation of the coagulation cascade as a mechanism for selective nanoparticle-mediated RNA delivery to the endothelium in vivo,” published in Science Advances. Here is a link to the paper being discussed: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ady2738

Abstract: In this manuscript, we describe the mechanism by which cationic lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) deliver RNA to the endothelium in-vivo. We demonstrate that these nanoparticles recruit coagulating proteins upon entering the bloodstream and activate the coagulation cascade -- a mechanism that promotes their uptake by endothelial cells. Our findings further reveal that generic LNPs -- such as those typically designed for RNA delivery to hepatocytes -- can be re-directed to target the endothelium of diverse tissues in-vivo, simply by pre-incubating them with pro-coagulant proteins like collagen or thrombin. This approach provides a straightforward strategy for engineering LNPs for extra-hepatic RNA delivery.