Effective treatment of cancer metastasis using a dual-ligand nanoparticle

PLoS One. 2019 Jul 29;14(7):e0220474. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220474. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Metastasis is responsible for the majority of deaths of breast cancer patients. While cytotoxic drugs are available with high potency to kill breast cancer cells, they are not designed to specifically seek and navigate in the dynamic and continuously changing microenvironment of metastatic disease. To effectively delivery chemotherapeutic agents to metastasis, we designed a dual-ligand nanoparticle loaded with doxorubicin by using two different types of ligands targeting EGFR and αvβ3 integrin. Metastatic cancer cells continuously change resulting in heterogeneity even across adjacent micrometastatic regions with variable expression of these targetable receptors. Using a mouse model of breast cancer metastasis, in vivo and ex vivo imaging showed that both EGFR and αvβ3 integrin-targeting were required to reliably direct the nanoparticle to metastasis and capture the spread and exact topology of the disease. Survival studies compared the anticancer efficacy of the standard drug, EGFR-targeting nanoparticle, αvβ3 integrin-targeting nanoparticle and the dual-ligand nanoparticle. While all the other treatments produced moderate therapeutic outcomes, treatment with the dual-ligand nanoparticle yielded significant improvement and event-free survival in a mouse model of breast cancer metastasis.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / chemistry
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / pharmacology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Doxorubicin / chemistry
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacology*
  • ErbB Receptors / chemistry
  • ErbB Receptors / metabolism
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Integrin alphaVbeta3 / chemistry
  • Integrin alphaVbeta3 / metabolism*
  • Ligands
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Lung Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Lung Neoplasms / secondary
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Nanoparticles / administration & dosage*
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Integrin alphaVbeta3
  • Ligands
  • Doxorubicin
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors