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Yan Yan, Xue-Qi Li, Jia-Lun Duan, Chun-Jie Bao, Yi-Nuo Cui, Zhan-Bo Su, Jia-Rui Xu, Qian Luo, Ming Chen, Ying Xie, Wan-Liang LuState Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is an effective strategy for improving treatment of breast cancers. However, the efficacy of this treatment strategy is limited for treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Gene therapy may be a more effective strategy for improving the prognosis of TNBC.Methods: A novel 25 nucleotide sense strand of miRNA was designed to treat TNBC by silencing the Slug gene, and encapsulated into DSPE-PEG2000-tLyp-1 peptide-modified functional liposomes. The efficacy of miRNA liposomes was evaluated on invasive TNBC cells and TNBC cancer-bearing nude mice. Furthermore, functional vinorelbine liposomes were constructed to investigate the anticancer effects of combined treatment.Results: The functional miRNA liposomes had a round shape and were nanosized (120 nm). Functional miRNA liposomes were effectively captured by TNBC cells in vitro and were target to mitochondria. Treatment with functional liposomes silenced the expression of Slug and Slug protein, inhibited the TGF-β1/Smad pathway, and inhibited invasiveness and growth of TNBC cells. In TNBC cancer-bearing mice, functional miRNA liposomes exerted a stronger anticancer effect than functional vinorelbine liposomes, and combination therapy with these two formulations resulted in nearly complete inhibition of tumor growth. Preliminary safety evaluations indicated that the functional miRNA liposomes did not affect body weight or cause damage to any major organs. Furthermore, the functional liposomes significantly increased the half-life of the drug in the blood of cancer-bearing nude mice, and increased drug accumulation in breast cancer tissues.Conclusion: In this study, we constructed novel functional miRNA liposomes. These liposomes silenced Slug expression and inhibited the TGF-β1/Smad pathway in TNBC cells, and enhanced anticancer efficacy in mice using combined chemotherapy. Hence, the present study demonstrated a promising strategy for gene therapy of invasive breast cancer.Keywords: functional miRNA liposomes, Slug, TGF-β1/Smad, gene therapy, TNBC

Lei Liu,1,* Hong-Jun Xie,2,* Li-Min Mu,1 Rui Liu,1 Zhan-Bo Su,1 Yi-Nuo Cui,1 Ying Xie,1 Wan-Liang Lu1 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China; 2Department of Medicament, College of Medicine, Tibet University, Lhasa, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The existing chemo/radiotherapy fail to eliminate cancer cells due to the restriction of either drug resistance or radio tolerance. The predicament urges researchers to continuously explore alternative strategy for achieving a potent curative effect. Methods: Functional chlorin gold nanorods (Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP) were fabricated aiming at treating breast cancer by photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT). The nanostructure was developed by synthesizing Au nanorods as the photothermal conversion material, and by coating the pegylated mesoporous SiO2 as the shell for entrapping photosensitizer Ce6 and for linking the D-type cell penetrating peptide (d-CPP). The function of Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP was verified on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and MCF-7 cells xenografts in nude mice. Results: Under combinational treatment of PTT and PDT, Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP demonstrated a strong cytotoxicity and apoptosis inducing effects in breast cancer cells in vitro, and a robust treatment efficacy in breast cancer-bearing nude mice. The uptake mechanism involved the energy-consuming caveolin-mediated endocytosis, and Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP in PTT/PDT mode could induce apoptosis by multiple pathways in breast cancer cells. Conclusion: Ce6-AuNR@SiO2-d-CPP demonstrated a robust efficacy in the treatment of breast cancer by photothermal/photodynamic therapy. Therefore, the present study could offer a new promising strategy to treat the refractory breast cancer. Keywords: functional chlorin gold nanorods, cell penetrating peptide, PTT/PDT, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, apoptosis

Ling-Hui Dian,1,2,* Ying-Jie Hu,1,* Jia-Ye Lin,1 Jing-Ying Zhang,1 Yan Yan,1 Yi-Nuo Cui,1 Zhan-Bo Su,1 Wan-Liang Lu1 1State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 2School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Aim: Oral chemotherapy using anticancer drugs would improve the clinical practice and the life quality of patients. The aim of the present study was to develop paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles for oral administration to treat resistant breast cancer. Methods: Evaluations were performed on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells, drug-resistant breast cancer MCF-7/Adr cells, and in MCF-7/Adr-xenografted BALB/c nude mice. The nanomicelles were composed of the polymer soluplus, d-α-tocopheryl polyethyleneglycol 1000 succinate (TPGS1000), and dequalinium (DQA). The constructed paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles were ~65 nm in size. Results: The nanomicelles improved cellular uptake and anticancer efficacy in the resistant breast cancer cells and induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. The mechanism of the apoptosis-inducing effect was related to the co-localization of the nanomicelles with mitochondria; the activation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, cytochrome C, and apoptotic enzymes caspase 9 and 3; and the inhibition of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Mcl-1. Oral administration of paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles had the same anticancer efficacy as the intravenous injection of taxol in resistant breast cancer-bearing mice. The oral suitability of this formulation was associated with the nanostructure and the actions of TPGS1000 and DQA. Conclusion: The fabricated paclitaxel hybrid nanomicelles could provide a promising oral formulation to treat drug-resistant breast cancer. Keywords: paclitaxel, nanomicelles, oral, drug-resistant breast cancer, mice