Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai picks up NIH funding for mRNA-lipid nanoparticle rotator cuff therapy

[Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai](https://app.allsci.com/organization/ASC-OH-0000000000862-1.0-1764853177) has received a [USD 2.06 million NIH R01 grant](https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11295150) to develop an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle therapy targeting muscle degeneration following rotator cuff injury — a complication that current surgical approaches largely fail to address. Rotator cuff tears affect more than 250,000 people annually, yet re-tear rates following surgical repair can reach 90%, driven primarily by irreversible fatty infiltration and muscle atrophy rather than failures at the bone-tendon interface. The award, funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and running through May 2030, targets this gap directly by applying mRNA delivery technology — validated through COVID-19 vaccines — to a musculoskeletal regeneration context. The approach centers on lipid nanoparticles encapsulating WNT7a mRNA, designed for intramuscular injection at the injury site. WNT7a is a signaling protein known to promote muscle stem cell expansion, increase muscle mass, and suppress fatty infiltration by inhibiting fibro/adipogenic progenitor differentiation. Recombinant WNT7a protein has shown limited clinical utility due to poor bioavailability and manufacturing costs; the mRNA formulation aims to circumvent both by enabling localized, transient WNT7a expression within muscle tissue. Preliminary data reported by the investigators indicated reduced adipogenesis in both in vitro and in vivo models. Principal investigator [Woojin Han](https://app.allsci.com/researcher/ASC-PR-0000026014494-1.0-1722655597) will lead three study arms: optimizing nanoparticle delivery and characterizing expression kinetics; testing preventive administration at the time of injury using a delayed tendon repair model; and evaluating whether the therapy can reverse established degeneration, including in combination with mechanical loading. Few competing approaches directly target rotator cuff muscle pathology. Platelet-rich plasma and biologics have been evaluated at the tendon-bone junction with inconsistent results, and no approved therapy addresses the muscle compartment. The mRNA-LNP strategy is mechanistically distinct and draws on manufacturing infrastructure already established for nucleic acid therapeutics. The grant reflects a broader NIAMS interest in applying nucleic acid delivery platforms to musculoskeletal indications beyond bone and cartilage, where the therapeutic target has historically been structural rather than cellular. *** This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by the AllSci editorial team Explore more at AllSci News: [https://allsci.com/news/](https://allsci.com/news/) --- Spot something wrong? [Report an issue with this article](https://newsgen-prod.reframedata.com/feedback/mrna-rotator-cuff-therapy-icahn-school-of)