CD44 targeted delivery of siRNA by using HA-decorated nanotechnologies for KRAS silencing in cancer treatment

Tirella, A; Kloc-Muniak, K; Good, L; Ridden, J; Ashford, M; Puri, S; Tirelli, N

Abstract

KRAS is a small GTPase that regulates cell proliferation and survival. In tumors, the KRAS gene is mutated, and leading to unregulated tumor growth. Despite the recognized importance of KRAS in cancer, attempts to develop small molecule inhibitors have proved unsuccessful. An alternative strategy is gene silencing and the use of small nucleic acid sequences (e.g. siRNA, shRNA), has been reported to successfully downregulate KRAS. In this study we developed ternary nanocomplexes to deliver an anti-KRAS siRNA to colorectal cancer cells, exploiting the interaction of hyaluronic acid (HA) with CD44 as a means to achieve selective targeting of CD44-positive cancer cells. Two different polycations, poly(hexamethylene biguanide) and chitosan, were complexed with siRNA and coated with HA. Physico-chemical properties and stability of nanoparticles were characterized, including size, surface charge, and degree of siRNA protection. We demonstrate nanoparticle internalization (flow cytometry), siRNA cytosolic release (confocal microscopy) and KRAS silencing (RT-qPCR) in CD44+/KRAS+ colorectal cancer cell line, HCT-116. Further we demonstrate that the uptake of HA-decorated nanoparticles in cancer cells is higher when co-cultured with fibroblasts.

Citation

Tirella, A., Kloc-Muniak, K., Good, L., Ridden, J., Ashford, M., Puri, S., & Tirelli, N. (2019). CD44 targeted delivery of siRNA by using HA-decorated nanotechnologies for KRAS silencing in cancer treatment. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 561, 114-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.02.032

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 18, 2019
• Publication Date: Feb 26, 2019
• Deposit Date: Mar 30, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 1, 2020
• Journal: International Journal of Pharmaceutics
• Print ISSN: 0378-5173
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 561
• Pages: 114-123
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.02.032
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1383333