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Moles E, Chang DW, Mansfeld FM, Duly A, Kimpton K, Logan A, Howard CB, Thurecht KJ, Kavallaris M. EGFR Targeting of Liposomal Doxorubicin Improves Recognition and Suppression of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Nanomedicine 2024; 19:3623-3639. [PMID: 38660023 PMCID: PMC11042481 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s450534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Despite improvements in chemotherapy and molecularly targeted therapies, the life expectancy of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains less than 1 year. There is thus a major global need to advance new treatment strategies that are more effective for NSCLC. Drug delivery using liposomal particles has shown success at improving the biodistribution and bioavailability of chemotherapy. Nevertheless, liposomal drugs lack selectivity for the cancer cells and have a limited ability to penetrate the tumor site, which severely limits their therapeutic potential. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in NSCLC tumors in about 80% of patients, thus representing a promising NSCLC-specific target for redirecting liposome-embedded chemotherapy to the tumor site. Methods Herein, we investigated the targeting of PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx), a powerful off-the-shelf antitumoral liposomal drug, to EGFR as a therapeutic strategy to improve the specific delivery and intratumoral accumulation of chemotherapy in NSCLC. EGFR-targeting of Caelyx was enabled through its complexing with a polyethylene glycol (PEG)/EGFR bispecific antibody fragment. Tumor targeting and therapeutic potency of our treatment approach were investigated in vitro using a panel of NSCLC cell lines and 3D tumoroid models, and in vivo in a cell line-derived tumor xenograft model. Results Combining Caelyx with our bispecific antibody generated uniform EGFR-targeted particles with improved binding and cytotoxic efficacy toward NSCLC cells. Effects were exclusive to cancer cells expressing EGFR, and increments in efficacy positively correlated with EGFR density on the cancer cell surface. The approach demonstrated increased penetration within 3D spheroids and was effective at targeting and suppressing the growth of NSCLC tumors in vivo while reducing drug delivery to the heart. Conclusion EGFR targeting represents a successful approach to enhance the selectivity and therapeutic potency of liposomal chemotherapy toward NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest Moles
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, Faculty of Science, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - David W Chang
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Friederike M Mansfeld
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Alastair Duly
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Kathleen Kimpton
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Amy Logan
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, Faculty of Science, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Christopher B Howard
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Kristofer J Thurecht
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, ARC Training Centre for Innovation in Biomedical Imaging Technologies, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Maria Kavallaris
- Children’s Cancer Institute, Lowy Cancer Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW Australian Centre for Nanomedicine, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- UNSW RNA Institute, Faculty of Science, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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