Targeted Delivery of siRNA to the Tumor

We have developed a surface-modified LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA) nanoparticle formulation by mixing cationic liposomes, a polycationic peptide and nucleic acids (mixture of DNA and siRNA) at a fixed ratio, followed by post-inserting a PEGylated lipid. This self-assembled nanoparticle formulation was around 100 nm in diameter with 90% encapsulation efficiency for siRNA. The nucleic acid was complexed with the peptide into a compact core, which was coated with two lipid bilayers. The inner lipid bilayer was stabilized by the charge-charge interaction between the cationic lipids and the compact core. Upon addition of a PEGylated lipid, the outer lipid bilayer was stripped off and the lipid anchor was inserted into the outer leaflet of the inner bilayer, resulting in approximately 10.6 mol% modification of PEG (polyethylene glycol) on the surface of the nanoparticles. The high degree of PEGylation completely shielded the charge of the nanoparticles with the zeta potential close to neutral (-5.6 ± 4.5 mV) and abolished the reticuloendothelial uptake in the isolated liver. When i.v. injected into tumor bearing mice (s.c. human lung cancer xenograft model in the nude mice), the nanoparticles delivered 70-80% injected siRNA/g into the tumor, while the normal organs only showed a moderate uptake (10-20% injected siRNA/g). After the conjugation of a targeting ligand, anisamide, at the distal end of the PEG, the intracellular delivery of siRNA into the sigma receptor expressing tumor was significantly enhanced. This led to efficient EGFR silencing, significant apoptosis induction and tumor growth inhibition at the dose of 1.2 mg siRNA/kg for three consecutive injections. The experimental murine lung metastasis model was established by i.v. injecting the mouse melanoma cells, which were stably transduced with a luciferase gene by retrovirus, into the mice. An improved metastatic tumor delivery of siRNA was discovered by using the nanoparticles. When combinatorial siRNA sequences were delivered, the oncogenes (MDM2, c-myc and VEGF) in the lung metastasis were silenced simultaneously, leading to 70-80% tumor load reduction and 30% prolongation in animal lifespan. The nanoparticle formulation showed minimal to no otoxicity in both animal models. The results promise the potential use of this formulation clinically.Doctor of Philosoph

Nanoparticles evading the reticuloendothelial system: Role of the supported bilayer

We have previously shown that the PEGylated LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA) nanoparticles were highly efficient in delivering siRNA to the tumor with low liver uptake. Its mechanism of evading the reticuloendothelial system (RES) is reported here. In LPD, nucleic acids were condensed with protamine into a compact core, which was then coated by two cationic lipid bilayers with the inner bilayer stabilized by charge-charge interaction (also called the supported bilayer). Finally, a detergent-like molecule, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-phospholipid is post-inserted into the lipid bilayer to modify the surface of LPD. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) data showed that LPD had improved stability compared to cationic liposomes after incubation with a high concentration of DSPE-PEG2000, which is known to disrupt the bilayer. LPD prepared with a multivalent cationic lipid, DSGLA, had enhanced stability compared to those containing DOTAP, a monovalent cationic lipid, suggesting that stronger charge-charge interaction in the supported bilayer contributed to a higher stability. Distinct nanoparticle structure was found in the PEGylated LPD by transmission electron microscopy, while the cationic liposomes were transformed into tubular micelles. Size exclusion chromatography data showed that approximately 60% of the total cationic lipids, which were located in the outer bilayer of LPD, were stripped off during the PEGylation; and about 20% of the input DSPE-PEG2000 was incorporated into the inner bilayer with about 10.6 mol% of DSPE-PEG2000 presented on the particle surface. This led to complete charge shielding, low liver sinusoidal uptake, and 32.5% injected dose delivered to the NCI-H460 tumor in a xenograft model

Efficient gene silencing in metastatic tumor by siRNA formulated in surface-modified nanoparticles

We have developed a nanoparticle (NP) formulation for systemically delivering siRNA into metastatic tumors. The NP, composed of nucleic acids, a polycationic peptide and cationic liposome, was prepared in a self-assembling process. The NP was then modified by PEG-lipid containing a targeting ligand, anisamide, and thus was decorated for targeting sigma receptor expressing B16F10 tumor. The activity of the targeted NP was compared with the naked NP (no PEGylation) and non-targeted NP (no ligand). The delivery efficiency of the targeted NP was 4-fold higher than the non-targeted NP and could be competed by excess free ligand. Luciferase siRNA was used to evaluate the gene silencing activity in the B16F10 cells, which were stably transduced with a luciferase gene, in a lung metastasis model. The gene silencing activity of the targeted NP was significantly higher than the other formulations and lasted for 4 days. While confocal microscopy showed the naked NP provided no tissue selectivity and non-targeted NP was ineffective for tumor uptake, the targeted NP effectively penetrated the lung metastasis, but not the liver. It resulted in 70-80% gene silencing in the metastasis model after a single i.v. injection (150 μg siRNA/kg). This effective formulation also showed very little immunotoxicity

Efficient Oncogene Silencing and Metastasis Inhibition via Systemic Delivery of siRNA

The selective delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to metastatic tumors remains a challenging task. We have developed a nanoparticle (NP) formulation composed of siRNA, a carrier DNA, a polycationic peptide, and cationic liposomes. The NP was obtained by a self-assembling process, followed by surface modification with a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated ligand, anisamide. The NP was PEGylated and a ligand was presented to target sigma receptor–expressing murine melanoma cells, B16F10. The lung metastasis model was established by intravenous (IV) injection of the B16F10 cells into C57BL/6 mice. A mixture of siRNA against MDM2, c-myc, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) co-formulated in the targeted NP caused simultaneous silencing of each of the oncogenes in the metastatic nodules. Two consecutive IV injections of siRNA in the targeted NP significantly reduced the lung metastasis (~70–80%) at a relatively low dose (0.45 mg/kg), whereas free siRNA and the nontargeted NP showed little effect. This targeted NP formulation significantly prolonged the mean survival time of the animals by 30% as compared to the untreated controls. At the therapeutic dose, the targeted NP showed little local and systemic immunotoxicity and did not decrease the body weight or damage the major organs

An efficient and low immunostimulatory nanoparticle formulation for systemic siRNA delivery to the tumor

We have developed a nanoparticle formulation [liposomes-protamine-hyaluronic acid nanoparticle (LPH-NP)] for systemically delivering siRNA into the tumor. The LPH-NP was prepared in a self-assembling process. Briefly, protamine and a mixture of siRNA and hyaluronic acid were mixed to prepare a negatively charged complex. Then, cationic liposomes were added to coat the complex with lipids via charge-charge interaction to prepare the LPH-NP. The LPH-NP was further modified by DSPE-PEG or DSPE-PEG-anisamide by the post-insertion method. Anisamide is a targeting ligand for the sigma receptor over-expressed in the B16F10 melanoma cells. The particle size, zeta potential and siRNA encapsulation efficiency of the formulation were approximately 115 nm, +25 mV and 90%, respectively. Luciferase siRNA was used to evaluate the gene silencing activity in the B16F10 cells, which were stably transduced with a luciferase gene. The targeted LPH-NP (PEGylated with ligand) silenced 80% of luciferase activity in the metastatic B16F10 tumor in the lung after a single i.v. injection (0.15 mg siRNA/kg). The targeted LPH-NP also showed very little immunotoxicity in a wide dose range (0.15 – 1.2 mg siRNA/kg), while the previously published formulation, LPD-NP (liposome-protamine-DNA nanoparticle), had a much narrow therapeutic window (0.15–0.45 mg/kg)

Tumor-targeted Delivery of siRNA by Self-assembled Nanoparticles

We have developed a self-assembled nanoparticle (NP) that efficiently delivers small interfering RNA (siRNA) to the tumor by intravenous (IV) administration. The NP was obtained by mixing carrier DNA, siRNA, protamine, and lipids, followed by post-modification with polyethylene glycol and a ligand, anisamide. Four hours after IV injection of the formulation into a xenograft model, 70–80% of injected siRNA/g accumulated in the tumor, ~10% was detected in the liver and ~20% recovered in the lung. Confocal microscopy showed that fluorescent-labeled siRNA was efficiently delivered into the cytoplasm of the sigma receptor expressing NCI-H460 xenograft tumor by the targeted NPs, whereas free siRNA and non-targeted NPs showed little uptake. Three daily injections (1.2 mg/kg) of siRNA formulated in the targeted NPs silenced the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the tumor and induced ~15% tumor cell apoptosis. Forty percent tumor growth inhibition was achieved by treatment with targeted NPs, while complete inhibition lasted for 1 week when combined with cisplatin. The serum level of liver enzymes and body weight monitoring during the treatment indicated a low level of toxicity of the formulation. The carrier itself also showed little immunotoxicity (IMT)

Anti-tumor activity of splice-switching oligonucleotides

Alternative splicing has emerged as an important target for molecular therapies. Splice-switching oligonucleotides (SSOs) modulate alternative splicing by hybridizing to pre-mRNA sequences involved in splicing and blocking access to the transcript by splicing factors. Recently, the efficacy of SSOs has been established in various animal disease models; however, the application of SSOs against cancer targets has been hindered by poor in vivo delivery of antisense therapeutics to tumor cells. The apoptotic regulator Bcl-x is alternatively spliced to express anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and pro-apoptotic Bcl-xS. Bcl-xL is upregulated in many cancers and is associated with chemoresistance, distinguishing it as an important target for cancer therapy. We previously showed that redirection of Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing from Bcl-xL to -xS induced apoptosis in breast and prostate cancer cells. In this study, the effect of SSO-induced Bcl-x splice-switching on metastatic melanoma was assessed in cell culture and B16F10 tumor xenografts. SSOs were delivered in vivo using lipid nanoparticles. Administration of nanoparticle with Bcl-x SSO resulted in modification of Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing in lung metastases and reduced tumor load, while nanoparticle alone or formulated with a control SSO had no effect. Our findings demonstrate in vivo anti-tumor activity of SSOs that modulate Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing

Hyperthermia-induced drug targeting

Introduction: Specific delivery of a drug to a target site is a major goal of drug delivery research. Using temperature-sensitive liposomes (TSLs) is one way to achieve this; the liposome acts as a protective carrier, allowing increased drug to flow through the bloodstream by minimizing clearance and non-specific uptake. On reaching microvessels within a heated tumor, the drug is released and quickly penetrates. A major advance in the field is ThermoDox® (Celsion), demonstrating significant improvements to the drug release rates and drug uptake in heated tumors (∼ 41°C). Most recently, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) has been combined with TSL drug delivery to provide localized chemotherapy with simultaneous quantification of drug release within the tumor. Areas covered: In this article the field of hyperthermia-induced drug delivery is discussed, with an emphasis on the development of TSLs and their combination with hyperthermia (both mild and ablative) in cancer therapy. State-of-the-art image-guided heating technologies used with this combination strategy will also be presented, with examples of real-time monitoring of drug delivery and prediction of efficacy. Expert opinion: The specific delivery of drugs by combining hyperthermia with TSLs is showing great promise in the clinic and its potential will be even greater as the use of image-guided focused ultrasound becomes more widespread-a technique capable of penetrating deep within the body to heat a specific area with improved control. In conjunction with this, it is anticipated that multifunctional TSLs will be a major topic of study in this field.</p