SUMMARY The generation of human induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells holds great promise for development of regenerative medicine therapies to treat a wide range of human diseases. However, the generation of iPS cells in the absence of integrative DNA vectors remains problematic. Here we report a simple, highly reproducible RNA-based iPS generation approach that utilizes a single, synthetic self-replicating VEE-RF RNA replicon that expresses four reprogramming factors, OCT4, KLF4, SOX2 with c-MYC or GLIS1 at consistent high levels prior to regulated RNA degradation. A single VEE-RF RNA transfection into newborn or adult human fibroblasts resulted in efficient generation of iPS cells with all the hallmarks of stem cells, including cell surface markers, global gene expression profiles and in vivo pluripotency to differentiate into all three germ layers. The VEE-RF RNA-based approach has broad applicability for the generation of iPS cells for ultimate use in human stem cell therapies in regenerative medicine.

The development of therapeutic peptides and proteins is limited by the poor permeability and the selectivity of the cell membrane. The discovery of protein transduction domains has given a new hope for administration of large proteins and peptides in vivo. We have developed a non-covalent strategy for protein transduction based on an amphipathic peptide, Pep-1, that consists of a hydrophobic domain and a hydrophilic lysine-rich domain. Pep-1 efficiently delivers a variety of fully biologically active peptides and proteins into cells, without the need for prior chemical cross-linking or chemical modifications. The mechanism through which Pep-1 delivers active macromolecules does not involve the endosomal pathway and the dissociation of the Pep-1/macromolecule particle occurs immediately after it crosses the cell membrane. Pep-1 has been successfully applied to the screening of therapeutic peptides in vivo and presents several advantages: stability in physiological buffer, lack of toxicity and of sensitivity to serum. In conclusion, Pep-1 technology could contribute significantly to the development of fundamental and therapeutic applications and be an alternative to covalent protein transduction domain-based technologies.

RNA interference (RNAi) has great potential to treat human disease1–3. However, in vivo delivery of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which are negatively charged double-stranded RNA macromolecules, remains a major hurdle4–9. Current siRNA delivery has begun to move away from large lipid and synthetic nanoparticles to more defined molecular conjugates9. Here we address this issue by synthesis of short interfering ribonucleic neutrals (siRNNs) whose phosphate backbone contains neutral phosphotriester groups, allowing for delivery into cells. Once inside cells, siRNNs are converted by cytoplasmic thioesterases into native, charged phosphodiester-backbone siRNAs, which induce robust RNAi responses. siRNNs have favorable drug-like properties, including high synthetic yields, serum stability and absence of innate immune responses. Unlike siRNAs, siRNNs avidly bind serum albumin to positively influence pharmacokinetic properties. Systemic delivery of siRNNs conjugated to a hepatocyte-specific targeting domain induced extended dose-dependent in vivo RNAi responses in mice. We believe that siRNNs represent a technology that will open new avenues for development of RNAi therapeutics.

The dramatic acceleration in identification of new nucleic-acid-based therapeutic molecules has provided new perspectives in pharmaceutical research. However, their development is limited by their poor cellular uptake and inefficient trafficking. Here we describe a short amphipathic peptide, Pep-3, that combines a tryptophan/phenylalanine domain with a lysine/arginine-rich hydrophilic motif. Pep-3 forms stable nano-size complexes with peptide-nucleic acid analogues and promotes their efficient delivery into a wide variety of cell lines, including primary and suspension lines, without any associated cytotoxicity. We demonstrate that Pep-3-mediated delivery of antisense-cyclin B1-charged-PNA blocks tumour growth in vivo upon intratumoral and intravenous injection. Moreover, we show that PEGylation of Pep-3 significantly improves complex stability in vivo and consequently the efficiency of antisense cyclin B1 administered intravenously. Given the biological characteristics of these vectors, we believe that peptide-based delivery technologies hold a true promise for therapeutic applications of DNA mimics.