Aptamer-functionalized Hybrid Nanoparticles to Enhance the Delivery of Doxorubicin into Breast Cancer Cells by Silencing P-glycoprotein

OBJECTIVE: The MDR of metastatic breast cancer cells is accompanied by the overexpression of P-gp transporter. This study has been focused to determine whether silencing the expression of P-gp by aptamer-labeled siRNA nanoparticles could enhance the delivery of doxorubicin into breast cancer cells in culture. METHODOLOGY: The nanoparticle F-31 was prepared using DOTAP, cholesterol, and PLGA, and then incorporating Mal-PEG to facilitate aptamer-binding. The nanoparticles were surface-functionalized with aptamer A6, which targets Her-2 receptors overexpressed on the surface of breast cancer cells. RESULTS: This study has shown that the uptake of Dox by Dox-resistant 4T1-R is significantly less than Dox-sensitive 4T1-S which is partly attributed to the higher expression of drug-efflux pump P-gp on the surface of the resistant cells. The targeted knockdown of P-gp has been enhanced when the particles carrying P-gp siRNA was labeled with aptamer. Concurrently, the uptake of Dox into the Dox-resistant 4T1-R breast cancer cells has increased significantly when the P-gp was silenced by P-gp siRNA-encapsulated aptamer-labeled nanoparticles. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study concludes that downregulating P-gp expression by targeted delivery of P-gp siRNA using aptamer-labeled lipid-based hybrid nanoparticles could effectively increase the intracellular trafficking of doxorubicin in Dox-resistant mouse breast cancer cells.