Preclinical Antitumor Activity of a Novel Folate-Targeted Dual Drug Conjugate

AbstractCombination chemotherapy is still of great importance as part of the standard clinical care for patients with HER2 positive breast cancer. As an attractive component, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively studied as biosafety nanomaterials, but they are rarely explored as drug nanocarriers for targeted co-delivery of multiple chemotherapeutics. Herein, a novel affibody-DNA hybrid strands modified AuNPs were fabricated for co-loading nucleoside analogue (5-fluorodeoxyuridine, FUdR) and anthracycline (doxorubicin, Dox). FUdRs were integrated into DNA hybrid strands decorated on AuNPs by DNA solid phase synthesis, and Dox molecules were intercalated into their duplex regions. Affibody molecules coupled to the DNA hybrid strands were distributed the surface of AuNPs, giving them targeting for HER2. The new dual-drug-containing affibody-DNA-AuNPs (Dox@affi-F/AuNPs) owned compact and stable spherical nanostructures, and precise drug loading. Cytotoxicity tests demonstrated that these nanoparticles caused a higher inhibition in HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cells, and showed better synergistic antitumor activity than simple mixture of the two drugs. The related mechanistic studies proved that Dox@affi-F/AuNPs achieved a remarkable combined antitumor activity of Dox and FUdR by promoting more cells to enter apoptosis pathway. Our work provided a nanomedicine platform for targeted co-delivery of nucleoside analog therapeutics and anthracycline anticancer drugs to achieve synergistic treatment of HER2+ cancer.

Download Full-text

Rituximab-drug Conjugate Incorporating Auristatin E via A Quaternary Ammonium Linker Inducing Potent Antitumor Activity Against Non-Hodgkin’s B-cells

Letters in Drug Design & Discovery ◽

10.2174/1570180818666211013111014 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

Author(s):

Xin-Yue Hu ◽

Lin-Lin Wang ◽

Yue Sun ◽

A-long Cui

Keyword(s):

Antitumor Activity ◽

B Cell Lymphoma ◽

Antibody Drug Conjugate ◽

Drug Conjugate ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Hydrophilic Drug ◽

Drug Antibody Ratio ◽

Anti Cd20 ◽

Antibody Ratio

Background: Rituximab represents a drug used for standard Non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma therapy; however, it displays limited clinical efficacy. Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) is one of the potential strategies to increase the antitumor activity of an antibody, with improved cytotoxicity directly resulting from the delivery of a molecular warhead. Currently, the warhead monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) has been widely applied in the study of ADCs, conjugated to a carbamate-based linker (MC-VC-PABC). However, the hydrophobic drug-linker (MC-VC-PABC-MMAE) may lead to ADC aggregation, ultimately resulting in decreased activity. Objective: In this study, we developed a hydrophilic drug-linker MC-VC-PABQ-AE linked to rituximab.. If the replacement of the tertiary amine in AE for a secondary amine in MMAE represents a characteristic modification, the change of antitumor activity of two corresponding anti-CD20 ADC is unknown, requiring further verification. Method: The structural elucidation of MC-VC-PAB-AE was displayed by high-resolution mass spectra. The average drug antibody ratio (DAR) of rituximab-VC-AE/MMAE ADCs was performed by HIC-HPLC. The cell cycle arrest analysis of two ADCs was detected by flow cytometry, and the antitumor activity of two ADCs was evaluated in vitro against Ramos and Daudi cells. Results: The average drug antibody ratio (DAR) of two ADCs was approximately 4.0. The activities of rituximab-VC-AE could be increased in CD20 positive B-lymphoma cell lines, most notably due to the higher cell viability inhibitory rates and apoptosis rates compared to rituximab-VC-MMAE. Conclusions: A hydrophilicity linker of ADC was developed and studied. Rituximab-VC-AE may potentially be used against CD20-positive cells, and the therapeutic efficacy and safety bring about further investigations.

Download Full-text