ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Effects of various mRNA-LNP vaccine doses on neuroinflammation in BALB/c mice

Kirshina AS1, Kazakova AA1, Kolosova ES1, Imasheva EA1, Vasileva OO1, Zaborova OV1,2, Terenin IM1,3, Muslimov AR1,4, Reshetnikov VV1,5
About authors

1 Research Center for Translational Medicine, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sirius, Russia

2 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

3 Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

4 St. Petersburg Pavlov State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia

5 Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Novosibirsk, Russia

Correspondence should be addressed: Vasily V. Reshetnikov
Olimpiyskiy prospekt, 1, Sochi, 354340, Russia; ur.hepsuitnalat@vv.vokintehser

About paper

Funding: the study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (agreement № 075-10-2021-113, project ID RF-193021X0001).

Author contribution: Kirshina AS — RNA extraction, conducting PCR; Kazakova AA, Кolosova ES, Imasheva EA, Vasileva ОО — generating genetic constructs, RNA extraction, manuscript writing; Zaborova ОV — RNA formulation in LNP, manuscript writing; Terenin IM — RNA synthesis, manuscript writing; Muslimov AR — animal experiment, manuscript editing; Reshetnikov VV — animal experiment, data analysis, preparing illustrations, manuscript wr.

Compliance with ethical standards: the study was appoved by the Ethics Committee of Pavlov First St.Petersburg State Medical University (protocol № 83 of 21 September 2022); it was conducted in accordance with the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes (ETS No. 123, Strasbourg, 1986, with the 2006 Appendix), international convention on the humane treatment of animals (1986), Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th ed. (2010); Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (2010), Principles of Good Laboratory Practice (2016).

Received: 2022-12-01 Accepted: 2022-12-15 Published online: 2022-12-30
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It has been proven that mRNA vaccines are highly effective against the COVID-19 outbreak, and low prevalence of side effects has been shown. However, there are still many gaps in our understanding of the biology and biosafety of nucleic acids as components of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) most often used as a system for inctracellular delivery of mRNA-based vaccines. It is known that LNPs cause severe injection site inflammation, have broad biodistribution profiles, and are found in multiple tissues of the body, including the brain, after administration. The role of new medications with such pharmacokinetics in inflammation developing in inaccessible organs is poorly understood. The study was aimed to assess the effects of various doses of mRNA-LNP expressing the reporter protein (0, 5, 10, and 20 μg of mRNA encoding the firefly luciferase) on the expression of neuroinflammation markers (Tnfα, Il1β, Gfap, Aif1) in the prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus of laboratory animals 4, 8, and 30 h after the intramuscular injection of LNP nanoemulsion. It was shown that mRNA-LNP vaccines in a dose of 10–20 μg of mRNA could enhance Aif1 expression in the hypothalamus 8 h after vaccination, however, no such differences were observed after 30 h. It was found that the Gfap, l11β, Tnfα expression levels in the hypothalamus observed at different times in the experimental groups were different. According to the results, mRNA-LNPs administered by the parenteral route can stimulate temporary activation of microglia in certain time intervals in the dose-dependent and site specific manner.

Keywords: neuroinflammation, mRNA vaccine, lipid nanoparticles, Aif1, Gfap

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