Optimizing the use of in vitro transcribed SGK1-mRNA as a therapeutic tool to treat female infertility

TL;DR

This paper explores using synthetic mRNA to deliver the SGK1 gene to improve pregnancy outcomes in female infertility.

Contribution

The study demonstrates the use of IVT-mRNA to modulate SGK1 activity in endometrial cells for potential infertility treatment.

Findings

IVT-mRNA showed higher transfection efficiency than plasmid DNA in endometrial cells.

Active SGK1 variants increased protein levels, while inactive variants reduced them.

Modulating SGK1 activity could reprogram endometrial cells to support pregnancy.

Abstract

Gene therapy has emerged as an encouraging therapeutic approach for several diseases. The use of plasmid DNA (pDNA) or viral vectors encoding proteins have yielded low efficacy in recent trials. Synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA), also known as in vitro transcribed mRNA (IVT-mRNA), is a highly potent alternative. However, the use of IVT-mRNA in reproductive conditions remains scarce. Our previous work has demonstrated the involvement of endometrial serum- and glucocorticoid kinase 1 (SGK1), where it influences pregnancy outcomes in murine models. On this basis, we investigated the expression and function of human SGK1 encoded by IVT-mRNA in vitro.

We show using flow cytometry, quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting, that IVT-mRNA has a superior transfection efficiency compared with pDNA. At protein level, we show that the constitutively active SGK1 variant (SGK1S422D) could increase protein levels and that the inactive SGK1 variant (SGK1K127A) could reduce SGK1 levels. This effect of SGK1 activity modulation could contribute to reprogramming endometrial cells and support a conducive environment for pregnancy.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-025-07346-5.

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