Drug-induced self-assembled nanovesicles for doxorubicin resistance reversal via autophagy inhibition and delivery synchronism

Background: As a classical autophagy inhibitor, CQ has been supposed to increase the sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapeutics. However, there exists a quite huge gap between laboratory research and clinical application, which is related to the distinct pharmacokinetic behavior of CQ to a great extent. Methods: Based on amphiphilic copolymer PPAP, a pH-responsive drug-induced self-assembled nanovesicle, named DC-DIV/C, was constructed to load DOX⋅HCl and CQ. The physicochemical properties of DC-DIV/C were characterized. To validate the cooperative action and delivery synchronism of DOX⋅HCl and CQ, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cellular uptake and autophagy assay were investigated in DOX⋅HCl resistant cancer cells. The pharmacokinetic character and antitumor effect of DC-DIV/C were evaluated on rats and nude mice bearing xenograft drug-resistant K562/ADR tumors, respectively. Results: DC-DIV/C could simultaneously encapsulate DOX·HCl and CQ at the optimal ratio of 1:2. In vitro and in vivo tests confirmed that DC-DIV/C acted as an excellent vehicle for the synchronous delivery of DOX⋅HCl and CQ during the process of blood circulation, cellular uptake and intracellular release. Furthermore, CQ accomplished autophagy inhibition to reduce the IC(50) of DOX⋅HCl resistant cancer cells. Consequently, DC-DIV/C exhibited the extremely improved anti-tumor effect with 84.52% TIR on K562/ADR tumor. Conclusion: This study provides a promising and powerful strategy to achieve enhanced treatment outcomes for the precise combination therapy.