Person:

Auguste, Debra

Because breast cancer patient survival inversely correlates with metastasis, we engineered vehicles to inhibit both the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and lipocalin-2 (Lcn2) mediated migratory pathways. pH-responsive liposomes were designed to protect and trigger the release of Lcn2 siRNA. Liposomes were modified with anti-CXCR4 antibodies to target metastatic breast cancer (MBC) cells and block migration along the CXCR4-CXCL12 axis. This synergistic approach—coupling the CXCR4 axis blockade with Lcn2 silencing—significantly reduced migration in triple-negative human breast cancer cells (88% for MDA-MB-436 and 92% for MDA-MB-231). The results suggested that drug delivery vehicles engineered to attack multiple migratory pathways may effectively slow progression of MBC.

Inflammation is in part defined by the transient upregulation of cell adhesion molecules on the surface of endothelial cells (ECs) in response to cytokines. We hypothesized that liposomes with a complementary surface presentation of antibodies to the pattern of molecules on the EC surface may enhance targeting. We quantified the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM1) and endothelial leukocyte cell adhesion molecule-1 (E-selectin) on ECs upon exposure to either tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) or interleukin-1α (IL-1α) as a function of time. Liposomes, composed of 95 mol% dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and 5 mol% dodecanyl phosphatidylethanolamine (N-dod-PE), were prepared by conjugating different molar ratios of antibodies against VCAM1 (aVCAM1) and E-selectin (aE-selectin). Increased binding was observed when immunoliposomes complemented the presentation of VCAM1:E-selectin expressed on TNF-α activated ECs. The 1:1 aVCAM1:aE-selectin liposomes had maximal binding at both 6 and 24 h on IL-1α activated ECs due to differences in molecular organization. The results demonstrate that liposomes targeting to inflamed endothelium may be optimized by exploiting the dynamic expression of VCAM1 and E-selectin on the EC surface.