Reversibly crosslinked hyaluronic acid nanoparticles for active targeting and intelligent delivery of doxorubicin to drug resistant CD44+ human breast tumor xenografts.

The existence of drug resistance poses a major obstacle for the treatment of various malignant human cancers. Here, we report on reduction-sensitive reversibly crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) nanoparticles based on HA-Lys-LA conjugates (Lys: l-lysine methyl ester, LA: lipoic acid) for active targeting delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) to CD44+ breast cancers in vitro and in vivo, effectively overcoming drug resistance (ADR). HA-Lys-LA with degrees of substitution of 5, 10 and 28% formed robust nano-sized nanoparticles (152-219nm) following auto-crosslinking. DOX-loaded crosslinked nanoparticles revealed inhibited DOX release under physiological conditions while fast drug release in the presence of 10mM glutathione (GSH). Notably, MTT assays showed that DOX-loaded crosslinked HA-Lys-LA10 nanoparticles possessed an apparent targetability and a superior antitumor activity toward CD44 receptor overexpressing DOX-resistant MCF-7 human breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ADR). The in vivo pharmacokinetics and biodistribution studies in MCF-7/ADR tumor xenografts in nude mice showed that DOX-loaded crosslinked HA-Lys-LA10 nanoparticles had a prolonged circulation time and a remarkably high accumulation in the tumor (12.71%ID/g). Notably, DOX-loaded crosslinked HA-Lys-LA10 nanoparticles exhibited effective inhibition of tumor growth while continuous tumor growth was observed for mice treated with free drug. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that in contrast to control groups, all mice treated with DOX-loaded crosslinked HA-Lys-LA10 nanoparticles survived over an experimental period of 44days. Importantly, DOX-loaded crosslinked HA nanoparticles caused low side effects. The reversibly crosslinked hyaluronic acid nanoparticles with excellent biocompatibility, CD44-targetability, and effective reversal of drug resistance have a great potential in cancer therapy.

Zhong Y ，Zhang J ，Cheng R ，Deng C ，Meng F ，Xie F ，Zhong Z ... -  《-》

Robust, active tumor-targeting and fast bioresponsive anticancer nanotherapeutics based on natural endogenous materials.

The clinical success of cancer nanomedicines critically depends on availability of simple, safe and highly efficient nanocarriers. Here, we report that robust and multifunctional nanoparticles self-assembled from hyaluronic acid-g-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate)-lipoic acid conjugates achieve a remarkably high loading (up to 25.8wt.%) and active targeted delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) to human breast tumor xenograft in vivo. DOX-loaded nanoparticles following auto-crosslinking (DOX-CLNPs) are highly stable with little drug leakage under physiological conditions while quickly release ca. 92% DOX in 30h under a cytoplasmic-mimicking reductive environment. The in vitro assays reveal that DOX-CLNPs possess a superior selectivity and antitumor activity to clinically used pegylated liposomal doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX-LPs) in CD44 receptor overexpressing MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Strikingly, DOX-CLNPs exhibit a superb tolerated dose of over 100mg DOX equiv./kg, which is more than 5 times higher than DOX-LPs, and an extraordinary breast tumor accumulation of 8.6%ID/g in mice. The in vivo therapeutic studies in MCF-7 human breast tumor-bearing nude mice show that DOX-CLNPs effectively inhibit tumor growth, improve survival rate, and significantly decrease adverse effects as compared to DOX-LPs. DOX-CLNPs based on natural endogenous materials with high drug loading, great stability and CD44-targetability are highly promising for precision cancer chemotherapy. We demonstrate that with rational design, simple and multifunctional anticancer nanotherapeutics can be developed to achieve highly efficient and targeted cancer chemotherapy. Doxorubicin-loaded multifunctional nanoparticles based on hyaluronic acid-g-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate)-lipoic acid conjugates exhibit a high drug loading, superior stability, fast bioresponsivity, high tolerability, and obvious selectivity toward CD44-overexpressing tumors in vivo. These nanotherapeutics achieve effective tumor suppression, drastically improved survival rate and reduced side effects as compared to clinically used pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in MCF-7 human breast tumor-bearing nude mice. Unlike previously reported multifunctional nanomedicines, the present nanotherapeutics primarily based on natural endogenous materials are simple and straightforward to fabricate, which makes them potentially interesting for clinical translation.

Sun B ，Deng C ，Meng F ，Zhang J ，Zhong Z ... -  《-》

Enhanced chemotherapeutic efficacy of the low-dose doxorubicin in breast cancer via nanoparticle delivery system crosslinked hyaluronic acid.

Wang Q ，Zhong Y ，Liu W ，Wang Z ，Gu L ，Li X ，Zheng J ，Du H ，Zhong Z ，Xie F ... -  《-》

Mitochondrial Targeted Doxorubicin-Triphenylphosphonium Delivered by Hyaluronic Acid Modified and pH Responsive Nanocarriers to Breast Tumor: in Vitro and in Vivo Studies.

Liu HN ，Guo NN ，Wang TT ，Guo WW ，Lin MT ，Huang-Fu MY ，Vakili MR ，Xu WH ，Chen JJ ，Wei QC ，Han M ，Lavasanifar A ，Gao JQ ... -  《-》

Hyaluronic acid ion-pairing nanoparticles for targeted tumor therapy.

Hyaluronic acid (HA)-based doxorubicin (DOX) nanoparticles (HA-NPs) were fabricated via ion-pairing between positively charged DOX and negatively charged HA, which displayed near-spherical shapes with an average size distribution of 180.2nm (PDI=0.184). Next, HA-NPs were encapsulated in liposomal carriers to afford HA-based DOX liposomes (HA-LPs), which also showed near-spherical morphology with an average size of 130.5nm (PDI=0.201). HA-NPs and HA-LPs displayed desirable sustained-release profiles compared to free DOX, and moreover, HA-LPs were proven to prevent premature release of DOX from HA-NPs. Cell based studies demonstrated HA-NPs and HA-LPs were selectively taken up by CD44(+) tumor cells, and DOX was released intracellularly to target the cell nuclei. Both HA-NPs and HA-LPs showed comparable levels of penetration efficiency in tumor spheroids. In vivo studies revealed that HA-NPs and HA-LPs significantly prolonged the blood circulation time of DOX, decreased accumulation in the normal tissues and enriched drugs into the tumors. Furthermore, HA-NPs and HA-LPs greatly enhanced therapeutic efficacy of DOX in tumor-bearing mice and minimized systemic toxicity against vital organs. In sum, HA-NPs and HA-LPs represent promising nanocarriers for CD44(+) tumor-targeted delivery.

Li W ，Yi X ，Liu X ，Zhang Z ，Fu Y ，Gong T ... -  《-》