Preparation and targeted delivery of immunoliposomes bearing poly(ethylene glycol)-coupled humanized anti-hepatoma disulfide-stabilized Fv (hdsFv25) in vitro

Abstract

Peptides in bee venom (PBV) have attracted considerable attention for anti-cancer therapy. In this study, sterically stabilized liposomal PBV (PBV-SL) was prepared using Soybean phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and the cholesterol derivatives of PEG with terminal COOH groups. The humanized anti-hepatoma disulfide-stabilized Fv (hdsFv25) was coupled to sterically stabilized liposomes. The hdsFv25-immunoliposome has strong affinity and specificity to SMMC-7721 cells in vitro. PBV-loaded sterically stabilized liposomes modified with the hdsFv25 can kill SMMC-7721 cells in vitro with higher efficiency than non-targeted liposomes. These results demonstrate that this strategy should also be applicable to immunotherapy for other cancers.