Treating Loss-of-Function Mutations with Messenger RNA

Methylmalonic Acidemia is a rare metabolic disease caused by a genetic mutation affecting an enzyme essential for digesting certain amino acids. The loss of enzyme function leads to brain disease and developmental delays. Moderna Therapeutics, an mRNA therapeutics company have published a proof of concept for restoring enzyme function. Their approach involved encoding the enzyme in an mRNA, encapsulating it into an LNP using NanoAssemblr technology and delivering the formulation systemically. Functional proteins are then produced in the liver, thus restoring metabolic function while demonstrating impressive safety.

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CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing for Lasting Treatment of Amyloid Disease

Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis is a rare disease where a mutation in the protein transthyretin (TTR) causes it to misfold into amyloid plaques that present a wide range of symptoms, mostly neurological. Intellia Therapeutics, a biotech focused on gene editing treatments, reported a single treatment with CRISPR components resulted in over 97% knockdown of TTR that lasted at least 12 months. They used NanoAssemblr technology to simultaneously package both mRNA encoding the Cas9 endonuclease and sgRNAs targeting TTR into lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). These advances offer a promising glimpse into the lasting power of gene editing approaches for treating inherited diseases.

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