Immune Cell-Mediated Intercellular Delivery Of Biomolecules

Patent Status

Patent Pending

Brief Description

Tissue targeting and cargo packaging limitations are two of the most challenging barriers to in-vivo therapeutic delivery. Overcoming both of these issues, UC Berkeley researchers have developed engineered immune cells that produce enveloped delivery vehicles (EDVs) capable of encapsulating protein and/or RNA therapeutics that can be delivered to a target cell with a predetermined trigger. Triggers can either be the presence of a small molecule, or recognition of a specific antigen on the target cell. The researchers showed that delivery can be achieved in a co-cultured system using various strategies and that the system is compatible with multiple cargo proteins of interest including Cre recombinase and RNA-complexed Cas proteins. This technology opens possibilities for broader and safer in-vivo therapeutic delivery.

Suggested uses

• Gene therapy: Cell therapies with intracellular delivery of nucleic acids and/or protein for in-vivo gene editing
• Drug Delivery: Allowing for more targeted delivery of protein and nucleic acid therapies
• Immunotherapies: Reprogramming immune cells to target therapies to diseased cells

Advantages

• In-vivo: EDVs can be used inside the body, rather than extracting cells and applying the therapy ex-vivo
• More cargo: EDVs are not limited by cargo size, unlike other delivery methods such as AAV capsids
• Versatility: EDVs can be programmed to target a wide variety of cells and package a broad set of protein and nucleic acid therapies
• Control: EDVs target specific immune cell types