The rapid development of CRISPR/Cas9 systems has opened up tantalizing prospects to sensitize cancers to chemotherapy using efficient targeted genome editing, but safety concerns and possible off-target effects of viral vectors remain a major obstacle for clinical application. Thus, the construction of novel nonviral tumor-targeting nanodelivery systems has great potential for the safe application of CRISPR/Cas9 systems for gene-chemo-combination therapy. Here, we report a polyamidoamine-aptamer-coated hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticle for the co-delivery of sorafenib and CRISPR/Cas9. The core-shell nanoparticles had good stability, enabled ultrahigh drug loading, targeted delivery, and controlled-release of the gene-drug combination. The nanocomplex showed >60% EGFR-editing efficiency without off-target effects in all nine similar sites, regulating the EGFR-PI3K-Akt pathway to inhibit angiogenesis, and exhibited a synergistic effect on cell proliferation. Importantly, the co-delivery nanosystem achieved efficient EGFR gene therapy and caused 85% tumor inhibition in a mouse model. Furthermore, the nanocomplex showed high accumulation at the tumor site in vivo and exhibited good safety with no damage to major organs. Due to these properties, the nanocomplex provides a versatile delivery approach for efficient co-loading of gene-drug combinations, allowing for precise gene editing and synergistic inhibition of tumor growth without apparent side effects on normal tissues.
Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; HCC treatment; drug delivery; gene editing; nanoparticles.