Glioblastoma, formerly known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is refractory to existing adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We successfully synthesized a complex, Au-OMV, with two specific nanoparticles: gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) from E. coli. Au-OMV, when combined with radiotherapy, produced radiosensitizing and immuno-modulatory effects that successfully suppressed tumor growth in both subcutaneous G261 tumor-bearing and in situ (brain) tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice. Longer survival was also noted with in situ tumor-bearing mice treated with Au-OMV and radiotherapy. The mechanisms for the successful treatment were evaluated. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) greatly increased in response to Au-OMV in combination with radiotherapy in G261 glioma cells. Furthermore, with a co-culture of G261 glioma cells and RAW 264.7 macrophages, we found that GL261 cell viability was related to chemotaxis of macrophages and TNF-α production.
Keywords: glioblastoma; gold nanoparticles; immunotherapy; outer membrane vesicles; radioenhancer.