Relaxin gene delivery mitigates liver metastasis and synergizes with check point therapy

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 2993 - 13
• Main Authors: Hu, Mengying, Wang, Ying, Xu, Ligeng, An, Sai, Tang, Yu, Zhou, Xuefei, Li, Jingjing, Liu, Rihe, Huang, Leaf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.07.2019; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/31; 13/51; 14/19; 14/28; 14/5; 38; 38/88; 42/109; 631/67/1504/1885/1393; 631/67/322; 631/67/327; 639/925/352/152; 64/60; Animals; B7-H1 Antigen - antagonists & inhibitors; B7-H1 Antigen - immunology; Breast cancer; Calcium; Calcium phosphates; Carbon Tetrachloride - administration & dosage; Carbon Tetrachloride - toxicity; Cell Line, Tumor - transplantation; Deactivation; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Disease Progression; DNA; Female; Fibrosis; Gene expression; Gene therapy; Gene transfer; Gene Transfer Techniques; Genetic Therapy - methods; Genetic Vectors - genetics; Hepatic Stellate Cells - metabolism; Hepatic Stellate Cells - pathology; Hepatocytes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunotherapy; Lipids; Liver; Liver - pathology; Liver cancer; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental - chemically induced; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental - pathology; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental - therapy; Liver Neoplasms - immunology; Liver Neoplasms - secondary; Liver Neoplasms - therapy; Metastases; Metastasis; Mice; multidisciplinary; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - administration & dosage; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - etiology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - pathology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - therapy; Pancreas; Pancreatic cancer; PD-L1 protein; Plasmids; Plasmids - genetics; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled - metabolism; Relaxin; Relaxin - genetics; Relaxin - metabolism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Treatment Outcome; Tumor cells; Tumor Microenvironment - genetics; Up-Regulation
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10893-8

Activated hepatic stellate cell (aHSC)-mediated liver fibrosis is essential to the development of liver metastasis. Here, we discover intra-hepatic scale-up of relaxin (RLN, an anti-fibrotic peptide) in response to fibrosis along with the upregulation of its primary receptor (RXFP1) on aHSCs. The elevated expression of RLN serves as a natural regulator to deactivate aHSCs and resolve liver fibrosis. Therefore, we hypothesize this endogenous liver fibrosis repair mechanism can be leveraged for liver metastasis treatment via enforced RLN expression. To validate the therapeutic potential, we utilize aminoethyl anisamide-conjugated lipid-calcium-phosphate nanoparticles to deliver plasmid DNA encoding RLN. The nanoparticles preferentially target metastatic tumor cells and aHSCs within the metastatic lesion and convert them as an in situ RLN depot. Expressed RLN reverses the stromal microenvironment, which makes it unfavorable for established liver metastasis to grow. In colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer liver metastasis models, we confirm the RLN gene therapy results in significant inhibition of metastatic progression and prolongs survival. In addition, enforced RLN expression reactivates intra-metastasis immune milieu. The combination of the RLN gene therapy with PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy further produces a synergistic anti-metastatic efficacy. Collectively, the targeted RLN gene therapy represents a highly efficient, safe, and versatile anti-metastatic modality, and is promising for clinical translation. Activated hepatic stellate cells are associated with fibrosis and liver metastases. Here, the authors identify an endogenous role of relaxin in regulating the activation of hepatic stellate cells and report nanoparticle-mediated relaxin gene therapy to mitigate fibrosis and liver metastasis.