Thiol-Triggered Release of Intraliposomal Content from Liposomes Made of Extremophile-Inspired Tetraether Lipids

Bioconjug Chem. 2017 Aug 16;28(8):2041-2045. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00342. Epub 2017 Jul 21.

Abstract

Liposomal drug-delivery systems have been used for delivery of drugs to targeted tissues while reducing unwanted side effects. DOXIL, for instance, is a liposomal formulation of the anticancer agent doxorubicin (DOX) that has been used to address problems associated with nonspecific toxicity of free DOX. However, while this liposomal formulation allows for a more-stable circulation of doxorubicin in the body compared to free drug, the efficacy for cancer therapy is reduced in comparison with systemic injections of free drug. A robust liposomal system that can be triggered to release DOX in cancer cells could mitigate problems associated with reduced drug efficacy. In this work, we present a serum-stable, cholesterol-integrated tetraether lipid comprising of a cleavable disulfide bond, {GcGT(S-S)PC-CH}, that is designed to respond to the reducing environment of the cell to trigger the release intraliposomal content upon cellular uptake by cancer cells. A cell viability assay revealed that DOX- loaded liposomes composed of pure GcGT(S-S)PC-CH lipids were ∼20 times more toxic than DOXIL, with an IC50 value comparable to that of free DOX. The low inherent membrane-leakage properties of GcGT(S-S)PC-CH liposomes in the presence of serum, combined with an intracellular triggered release of encapsulated cargo, represents a promising approach for developing improved drug-delivery formulations for the treatment of cancer and possibly other diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Transport
  • Cholesterol / chemistry
  • Doxorubicin / chemistry
  • Doxorubicin / metabolism
  • Drug Liberation*
  • Extremophiles*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Liposomes / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Phosphorylcholine / chemistry*
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds / chemistry*

Substances

  • Liposomes
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds
  • Phosphorylcholine
  • Doxorubicin
  • Cholesterol