Polysialic acid-functionalized liposomes for efficient honokiol delivery to inhibit breast cancer growth and metastasis

Xin Li; Shuang Guan; Henan Li; Dong Li; Dan Liu; Jing Wang; Wenquan Zhu; Guihua Xing; Liling Yue; Defu Cai; Qi Zhang

doi:10.1080/10717544.2023.2181746

Polysialic acid-functionalized liposomes for efficient honokiol delivery to inhibit breast cancer growth and metastasis

Drug Deliv. 2023 Dec;30(1):2181746. doi: 10.1080/10717544.2023.2181746.

Authors

Xin Li¹, Shuang Guan¹, Henan Li¹, Dong Li¹, Dan Liu¹, Jing Wang¹, Wenquan Zhu², Guihua Xing³, Liling Yue¹, Defu Cai¹, Qi Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medicine and Drug Research, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, P.R. China.
² College of Pharmacy, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, P.R. China.
³ College of Pathology, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, P.R. China.

Abstract

To improve the anti-metastasis effects of honokiol (HNK) on breast cancer, we designed cationic liposomes (Lip) in which HNK was encapsulated into Lip, and its surface was modified with negatively charged polysialic acid (PSA-Lip-HNK) for efficient treatment of breast cancer. PSA-Lip-HNK possessed a homogeneous spherical shape and high encapsulation efficiency. In vitro 4T1 cell experiments indicated that PSA-Lip-HNK increased cellular uptake and cytotoxicity via the endocytosis pathway mediated by PSA and selectin receptors. Furthermore, the significant antitumor metastasis impact of PSA-Lip-HNK was confirmed by wound healing and cell migration and invasion. Enhanced in vivo tumor accumulation of the PSA-Lip-HNK was observed in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice by living fluorescence imaging. For in vivo antitumor experiments using 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, PSA-Lip-HNK exhibited a higher tumor growth and metastasis inhibition compared with unmodified liposomes. Therefore, we believe that PSA-Lip-HNK well combined biocompatible PSA nano-delivery and chemotherapy, providing a promising drug delivery approach for metastatic breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: Breast cancer; honokiol; liposomes; metastasis; polysialic acid.

MeSH terms

Animals
Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
Cell Line, Tumor
Humans
Liposomes
Mice

Substances

honokiol
liposomal honokiol
Liposomes
polysialic acid

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 81873172, 81972491), Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number JQ2020H004), Scientific Research Fund of Heilongjiang Provincial Education Department, China (grant numbers 2019-KYYWF-1275, 2020-KYYWF-0003), Scientific Research Fund of Qiqihar Academy of Medical Sciences, China (grant numbers QMSI2021M-03, QMSI2022Z-12).