Angiopoietin-2 inhibition using siRNA or the peptide antagonist L1–10 results in antitumor activity in human neuroblastoma

Angiogenesis regulation by nanocarriers bearing RNA interference

Since the approval of bevacizumab as anti-angiogenic therapy in 2004 by the FDA, an array of angiogenesis inhibitors have been developed and approved. However, results were disappointing with regard to their therapeutic efficacy. RNA interference approaches offer the possibility of rational design with high specificity, lacking in many current drug treatments for various diseases including cancer. However, in vivo delivery issues still represent a significant obstacle for widespread clinical applications. In the current review, we summarize the advances in the last decade in the field of angiogenesis-targeted RNA interference approaches, with special emphasis on oncology applications. We present pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors as potential targets, experimental evidence and clinical trials data on angiogenesis regulation by RNA interference. Consequent challenges and opportunities are discussed.

Angiopoietin-2 promotes ER+ breast cancer cell survival in bone marrow niche

In estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, it is recognized that metastases may develop after a long period of dormancy. Bone marrow (BM) vascular niche is where the dormant tumor cells are most likely to reside. So far, it is not fully understood why the dormant tumor cells become proliferative and eventually generate tumor. We hypothesized that therapeutic or menopause-related estrogen depletion may be the switch behind dormant ER+ tumor cell awakening in BM. We utilized an existing experimental model of BM endothelial niche that can simulate ER+ tumor cell dormancy to test our hypothesis. In results, estrogen depletion paradoxically promoted ER+ tumor cell proliferation in the BM endothelial niche, and their molecular phenotype shifted from dormant to awaken. Following estrogen depletion, the BM niche cells produced angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2), which destabilized niche endothelium by interfering ANGPT1/Tie2 signaling, and promoted ER+ tumor cell survival under estrogen deficiency via cell surface integrin &1. Knockdown of ANGPT2 completely negated ER+ tumor cell awakening in the niche. Furthermore, ANGPT2 expression in ER+ tumor human samples was associated with increased risk of distant metastasis only in those who underwent adjuvant estrogen depletion therapy, not in those who did not undergo adjuvant therapy. In conclusion, we demonstrate that ANGPT2 signaling activated after estrogen depletion paradoxically triggers ER+ tumor cell awakening from dormancy in their BM niche, partly indirectly via endothelial Tie2 receptor and partly directly via tumor cell surface integrin &1.

Long chain microRNA conjugates in calcium phosphate nanoparticles for efficient formulation and delivery

A long chain microRNA-34a conjugate (lc-miRNA) was prepared by chemical crosslinking in order to improve entrapment efficiency into calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaPs) and intracellular delivery. Thiol-modified miRNA at both terminal ends was chemically conjugated using crosslinkers to form lc-miRNA which was encapsulated within CaPs by a conventional co-precipitation method. Encapsulation efficiencies, physicochemical properties, and in vitro intracellular delivery efficiencies of the prepared linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI)-coated CaPs (LPEI-CaP) containing common miRNA and lc-miRNA were comparatively evaluated. The prepared lc-miRNA exhibited noticeably enhanced encapsulation efficiency during the CaP formulation process when compared to common miRNA. LPEI-CaP/lc-miRNAs consisted of nano-sized particles with great homogeneity and were observed to be successfully delivered into PC-3 cells. Fabricated LPEI-CaPs with duplex form of lc-miRNA (lc-miRNA-d) suppressed cancer cell proliferation as well as migration much more efficiently than those with duplex form of miRNA (miRNA-d). In addition, LPEI-CaP/lc-miRNA-d conferred negligible cytotoxicity on PC-3 cells. Chemical crosslinking of therapeutic miRNAs via a reducible linkage may allow more efficient encapsulation within CaPs as well as homogeneous particle formulation due to a higher spatial charge density than common miRNAs. The well-formulated LPEI-CaPs with lc-miRNA-d have the potential to provide superior miRNA transfection efficiency and inhibition of cancer proliferation.