Dar, G.H., Mendes, C.C., Kuan, W.L., Speciale, A.A., Conceição, M., Görgens, A., Uliyakina, I., Lobo, M.J., Lim, W.F., El Andaloussi, S., Mäger, I., Roberts, T.C., Barker, R.A., Goberdhan, D.C.I., Wilson, C., Wood, M.J.A. (2021). GAPDH controls extracellular vesicle biogenesis and enhances the therapeutic potential of EV mediated siRNA delivery to the brain.  Nat. Commun. 12(1): 6666.

FBrf0251893

Research paper

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biological nanoparticles with important roles in intercellular communication, and potential as drug delivery vehicles. Here we demonstrate a role for the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) in EV assembly and secretion. We observe high levels of GAPDH binding to the outer surface of EVs via a phosphatidylserine binding motif (G58), which promotes extensive EV clustering. Further studies in a Drosophila EV biogenesis model reveal that GAPDH is required for the normal generation of intraluminal vesicles in endosomal compartments, and promotes vesicle clustering. Fusion of the GAPDH-derived G58 peptide to dsRNA-binding motifs enables highly efficient loading of small interfering RNA (siRNA) onto the EV surface. Such vesicles efficiently deliver siRNA to multiple anatomical regions of the brain in a Huntington's disease mouse model after systemic injection, resulting in silencing of the huntingtin gene in different regions of the brain.

PMC8602309 (PMC) (EuropePMC)