Pulmonary Codelivery of Doxorubicin and siRNA by pH-Sensitive Nanoparticles for Therapy of Metastatic Lung Cancer

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 11; no. 34; pp. 4321 - 4333
• Main Authors: Xu, Caina, Wang, Ping, Zhang, Jingpeng, Tian, Huayu, Park, Kinam, Chen, Xuesi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Anhydrides - chemical synthesis; Anhydrides - chemistry; Animals; anticancer therapy; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; antitumor effect; Apoptosis - drug effects; Cancer; Cell Survival - drug effects; codelivery; Doxorubicin; Doxorubicin - chemistry; Doxorubicin - pharmacology; Doxorubicin - therapeutic use; Drug Delivery Systems; Drugs; Endocytosis - drug effects; Gene Silencing - drug effects; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intracellular Space - metabolism; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lungs; Male; Metastasis; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanotechnology; Neoplasm Metastasis; Organ Size - drug effects; Particle Size; pH-sensitive; Polyethyleneimine - chemical synthesis; Polyethyleneimine - chemistry; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 - metabolism; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; pulmonary delivery; RNA, Small Interfering - metabolism; Rodents; Static Electricity; Strategy; Tissue Distribution - drug effects; Tumors; anticancer therapy; pH-sensitive; pulmonary delivery; antitumor effect; codelivery
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201501034
• ISSN: 1613-6810

A pulmonary codelivery system that can simultaneously deliver doxorubicin (DOX) and Bcl2 siRNA to the lungs provides a promising local treatment strategy for lung cancers. In this study, DOX is conjugated onto polyethylenimine (PEI) by using cis‐aconitic anhydride (CA, a pH‐sensitive linker) to obtain PEI‐CA‐DOX conjugates. The PEI‐CA‐DOX/siRNA complex nanoparticles are formed spontaneously via electrostatic interaction between cationic PEI‐CA‐DOX and anionic siRNA. The drug release experiment shows that DOX releases faster at acidic pH than at pH 7.4. Moreover, PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles show higher cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction in B16F10 cells than those treated with either DOX or Bcl2 siRNA alone. When the codelivery systems are directly sprayed into the lungs of B16F10 melanoma‐bearing mice, the PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles exhibit enhanced antitumor efficacy compared with the single delivery of DOX or Bcl2 siRNA. Compared with systemic delivery, most drug and siRNA show a long‐term retention in the lungs via pulmonary delivery, and a considerable number of the drug and siRNA accumulate in tumor tissues of lungs, but rarely in normal lung tissues. The PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA complex nanoparticles are promising for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer by pulmonary delivery with low side effects on the normal tissues. A codelivery system (PEI‐CA‐DOX/Bcl2 siRNA) is successfully constructed for pulmonary delivery. The pulmonary codelivery system has high cytotoxicity in vitro, significantly inhibits the tumor growth in vivo, prolongs residence time in lungs, and results in increased accumulation in the tumor tissues in lungs. Pulmonary codelivery of DOX and Bcl2 siRNA is a promising strategy for treating the metastatic lung cancer.