Nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery to tumor vasculature suppresses metastasis

EA Murphy, BK Majeti, LA Barnes… - Proceedings of the …, 2008 - National Acad Sciences
EA Murphy, BK Majeti, LA Barnes, M Makale, SM Weis, K Lutu-Fuga, W Wrasidlo…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008National Acad Sciences
Integrin ανβ3 is found on a subset of tumor blood vessels where it is associated with
angiogenesis and malignant tumor growth. We designed an ανβ3-targeted nanoparticle
(NP) encapsulating the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin (Dox) for targeted drug delivery to the
ανβ3-expressing tumor vasculature. We observed real-time targeting of this NP to tumor
vessels and noted selective apoptosis in regions of the ανβ3-expressing tumor vasculature.
In clinically relevant pancreatic and renal cell orthotopic models of spontaneous metastasis …
Integrin ανβ3 is found on a subset of tumor blood vessels where it is associated with angiogenesis and malignant tumor growth. We designed an ανβ3-targeted nanoparticle (NP) encapsulating the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin (Dox) for targeted drug delivery to the ανβ3-expressing tumor vasculature. We observed real-time targeting of this NP to tumor vessels and noted selective apoptosis in regions of the ανβ3-expressing tumor vasculature. In clinically relevant pancreatic and renal cell orthotopic models of spontaneous metastasis, targeted delivery of Dox produced an antimetastatic effect. In fact, ανβ3-mediated delivery of this drug to the tumor vasculature resulted in a 15-fold increase in antimetastatic activity without producing drug-associated weight loss as observed with systemic administration of the free drug. These findings reveal that NP-based delivery of cytotoxic drugs to the ανβ3-positive tumor vasculature represents an approach for treating metastatic disease.
National Acad Sciences