Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) offer significant therapeutic potential; however, extrahepatic applications, particularly to the skin, remain a challenge. Limited work has explored siRNA therapies for the skin, the largest organ in the human body, where dermatological conditions affect over one-third of the population worldwide. The skin's external location makes it easily accessible for direct, local administration. Here, we present the in vivo intradermal delivery of therapeutic siRNAs into a porcine model whose skin structure most closely resembles that of human skin, demonstrating functional, and sustained gene silencing. We characterize two siRNA conjugates in human ex vivo and porcine in vivo skin models, showing that increased hydrophobicity significantly enhances skin retention and efficacy of siRNAs. Using a validated JAK1-targeting compound, we demonstrate that local delivery of siRNA enables accumulation across multiple cell types and suppression of JAK1-dependent inflammatory pathway in human skin ex vivo. In porcine models, intradermal injections result in prolonged skin siRNA retention for more than eight weeks, limited systemic tissue exposure, and sustained gene silencing for at least one month. These results underscore the importance of tailored siRNA conjugate design for achieving optimal skin biodistribution and therapeutic efficacy, providing a foundation for siRNA-based treatments for a broad range of dermatological conditions.
Fakih et al. (Tue,) studied this question.