Increasing the antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin-loaded liposomes with peptides anchored via a chelator lipid

J Drug Target. 2011 Sep;19(8):681-9. doi: 10.3109/1061186X.2010.536984. Epub 2010 Dec 9.

Abstract

The therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs like doxorubicin can be significantly increased by their incorporation into liposomes, but an ability to actively target the drug-containing liposomes to tumors could well provide an even greater curative effect. In this work, a commercial preparation of doxorubicin-loaded liposomes (Caelyx) was modified by incorporation of the metal chelator lipid 3(nitrilotriacetic acid)-ditetradecylamine (NTA(3)-DTDA) to enable engraftment of histidine-tagged targeting molecules. Our results show that when engrafted with p15-RGR, a His-tagged peptide containing a sequence purported to bind platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ), NTA(3)-DTDA-containing Caelyx (3NTA-Caelyx) can be targeted to NIH-3T3 cells in vitro, leading to increased cytotoxicity compared with non-targeted 3NTA-Caelyx. PDGFRβ is known to be expressed on pericytes in the tumor vasculature; however, when radiolabeled p15-RGR liposomes were administered to mice bearing subcutaneous B16-F1 tumors, minimal accumulation into tumors was observed. In contrast, an alternative targeting peptide, p46-RGD, was found to actively direct liposomes to tumors (4.7 %ID/g). Importantly, when injected into tumor-bearing mice, p46-RGD-engrafted 3NTA-Caelyx significantly decreased the tumor growth rate compared with controls. These results indicate that the incorporation of NTA(3)-DTDA into liposomal drugs could represent a simple modification to the drug to allow engraftment of targeting molecules and to increase its efficacy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amines / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / administration & dosage
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / pharmacokinetics
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / therapeutic use*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Chelating Agents / chemistry*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Doxorubicin / administration & dosage
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacokinetics
  • Doxorubicin / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry*
  • Drug Compounding
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Melanoma, Experimental / drug therapy
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Nitrilotriacetic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
  • Nitrilotriacetic Acid / chemistry
  • Particle Size
  • Peptide Fragments / chemistry*
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Amines
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Chelating Agents
  • Drug Carriers
  • Peptide Fragments
  • nitrilotriacetic acid ditetradecylamine
  • Doxorubicin
  • Nitrilotriacetic Acid