Abstract
The combination of chemotherapy and RNA interference is a promising approach for efficient cancer therapy. However, the success of such a strategy is hampered by the lack of suitable vectors to coordinate small interfering RNA (siRNA) and chemotherapeutic drug into one single platform. We herein report a novel triple-layered pH-responsive micelleplex loading siRNA and alkylated cisplatin prodrug for NF-Kappa B targeted treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The micelles were self-assembled from poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(aminolated glycidyl methacrylate)-block-poly(2-(diisopropyl amino) ethyl methacrylate) (PEG-b-PAGA-b-PDPA) triblock copolymers. At pH 7.4, the cisplatin prodrug was encapsulated in the hydrophobic PDPA core and siRNA was loaded on the positively charged PAGA interlayer to form the micelleplexes. The PEG corona can prevent protein absorption during blood circulation, minimize non-specific interaction with the reticuloendothelial system, and prolong the systemic circulation of the micelleplexes. The positively charged PAGA interlayer can facilitate deep tumor penetration of the micelleplexes, which, upon cellular uptake, are dissociated in the early endosomes to release anticancer drug payload due to protonation of the PDPA core. Using a 4T1 breast cancer model, we demonstrate that this novel micelleplex co-loaded with cisplatin prodrug and siRNA-p65 is able to simultaneously inhibit tumor growth and suppress distant metastasis of the cancer cells by downregulating NF-kappa B expression. The results reported in this study suggest that siRNA and anticancer drug co-delivery using pH-responsive micelleplexes is a promising strategy for efficient treatment of metastatic cancer.