Oligoarginine-PEG-lipid particles for gene delivery

SNAC for Enhanced Oral Bioavailability: An Updated Review

The delivery of proteins and peptides via an oral route poses numerous challenges to improve the oral bioavailability and patient compliance. To overcome these challenges, as well as to improve the permeation of proteins and peptides via intestinal mucosa, several chemicals have been studied such as surfactants, fatty acids, bile salts, pH modifiers, and chelating agents, amongst these medium chain fatty acid like C10 (sodium caprate) and Sodium N-[8-(2-hydroxybenzoyl) amino] caprylate (SNAC) and its derivatives that have been well studied from a clinical perspective. This current review enumerates the challenges involved in protein and peptide delivery via the oral route, i.e., non-invasive routes of protein and peptide administration. This review also covers the chemistry behind SNAC and toxicity as well as mechanisms to enhance the oral delivery of clinically proven molecules like simaglutide and other small molecules under clinical development, as well as other permeation enhancers for efficient delivery of proteins and peptides.

β-Cyclodextrin and Oligoarginine Peptide-Based Dendrimer-Entrapped Gold Nanoparticles for Improving Drug Delivery to the Inner Ear

Here, we developed a safe and highly effective nanocarrier using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and oligoarginine peptide (Arg8)-modified dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles (Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8), with a diameter of 5 nm, for improved delivery of dexamethasone (Dex) to the inner ear. The properties and in vivo distribution of the Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8 were assessed in vitro, and a streptomycin (SM) ototoxicity model was used in vivo. Flow cytometry analysis of HEIOC1 cells treated with Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8 and Au @CD-PAMAM at different time intervals indicated that cell uptake efficiency of the drug delivery carrier Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8 was higher than that of Au @CD-PAMAM. Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8 carrying Dex (Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8/Dex) were mainly distributed in hair cells, the spiral ganglion, lateral wall, and nerve fibers and had stronger protective effects on the inner ear than Dex administration alone. In vivo tracer tests revealed that tympanic injection was significantly more effective than posterior ear injection, muscle injection, and tail vein injection, whereas clinical retro-auricular injection could not increase the efficiency of drug delivery into the ear. Electrocochleography results showed that Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8/Dex significantly improved hearing in C57/BL6 mice after SM exposure. These findings indicate that Au@CD-PAMAM-Arg8 may be the useful drug carriers for the treatment of inner ear diseases.

Cationic dynamic covalent polymers for gene transfection

Dynamic covalent polymers have revealed strong potential in gene delivery, thanks to their versatile self-assembly, adaptive and responsive behaviors.

Recent insights in the use of nanocarriers for the oral delivery of bioactive proteins and peptides

Bioactive proteins and peptides have been used with either prophylactic or therapeutic purposes, presenting inherent advantages as high specificity and biocompatibility. Nanocarriers play an important role in the stabilization of proteins and peptides, offering enhanced buccal permeation and protection while crossing the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, preparation of nanoparticles as oral delivery systems for proteins/peptides may include tailored formulation along with functionalization aiming bioavailability enhancement of carried proteins or peptides. Oral delivery systems, namely buccal delivery systems, represent an interesting alternative route to parenteric delivery systems to carry proteins and peptides, resulting in higher comfort of administration and, therefore, compliance to treatment. This paper outlines an extensive overview of the existing publications on proteins/peptides oral nanocarriers delivery systems, with special focus on buccal route. Manufacturing aspects of most commonly used nanoparticles for oral delivery (e.g. polymeric nanoparticles using synthetic or natural polymers and lipid nanoparticles) advantages and limitations and potential applications of nanoparticles as proteins/peptides delivery systems will also be thoroughly addressed.

Liposomes equipped with cell penetrating peptide BR2 enhances chemotherapeutic effects of cantharidin against hepatocellular carcinoma

A main hurdle for the success of tumor-specific liposomes is their inability to penetrate tumors efficiently. In this study, we incorporated a cell-penetrating peptide BR2 onto the surface of a liposome loaded with the anticancer drug cantharidin (CTD) to create a system targeting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells more efficiently and effectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity assay comparing the loaded liposomes’ effects on hepatocellular cancer HepG2 and the control Miha cells showed that CTD-loaded liposomes had a stronger anticancer effect after BR2 modification. The cellular uptake results of HepG2 and Miha cells further confirmed the superior ability of BR2-modified liposomes to penetrate cancer cells. The colocalization study revealed that BR2-modified liposomes could enter tumor cells and subsequently release drugs. A higher efficiency of delivery by BR2 liposomes as compared to unmodified liposomes was evident by evaluation of the HepG2 tumor spheroids penetration and inhibition. The biodistribution studies and anticancer efficacy results in vivo showed the significant accumulation of BR2-modified liposomes into tumor sites and an enhanced tumor inhibition. In conclusion, BR2-modified liposomes improve the anticancer potency of drugs for HCC.

Cationic polyelectrolyte-mediated delivery of antisense morpholino oligonucleotides for exon-skipping in vitro and in mdx mice

In this study, we investigated a series of cationic polyelectrolytes (PEs) with different size and composition for their potential to improve delivery of an antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDAC) polymer series, especially PE-3 and PE-4, improves the delivery efficiency of PMO, comparable with Endoporter-mediated PMO delivery in vitro. The enhanced PMO delivery and targeting to dystrophin exon 23 was further observed in mdx mice, up to fourfold with the PE-4, compared with PMO alone. The cytotoxicity of the PEs was lower than that of Endoporter and polyethylenimine 25,000 Da in vitro, and was not clearly detected in muscle in vivo under the tested concentrations. Together, these results demonstrate that optimization of PE molecular size, composition, and distribution of cationic charge are key factors to achieve enhanced PMO exon-skipping efficiency. The increased efficiency and lower toxicity show this PDDAC series to be capable gene/antisense oligonucleotide delivery-enhancing agents for treating muscular dystrophy and other diseases.

Arginine clustering on calix[4]arene macrocycles for improved cell penetration and DNA delivery

Cell-penetrating peptides are widely used as molecular transporters for the internalization inside cells of various cargo, including proteins and nucleic acids. A special role is played by arginine-rich peptides and oligoarginines covalently linked or simply mixed with the cargo. Here we report cell-penetrating agents in which arginine units are clustered on a macrocyclic scaffold. Instead of using long peptides, four single arginine units were covalently attached to either the upper or lower rim of a calix[4]arene, kept in the cone conformation building a 'parallel' cyclic array. These new macrocyclic carriers show high efficiency in DNA delivery and transfection in a variety of cell lines.

PSA-responsive and PSMA-mediated multifunctional liposomes for targeted therapy of prostate cancer

In the hormone-refractory stage of prostate cancer (PC), the expression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) often remains highly active. Accumulating studies have demonstrated that these two proteins are attractive targets for specific delivery of functional molecules to advanced PC, not merely as potential sensitive markers for PC detection. In this study, we constructed a dual-modified liposome that incorporated PSA-responsive and PSMA-mediated liposomes and potentially offers double selectivity for PC. The folate moiety binds quickly to PSMA-positive tumors, and the PSA-responsive moiety is cleaved by PSA that was enriched in tumor tissues. The activated liposomes (folate and cell-penetrating peptides dual-modifications) are subsequently taken up by the tumor cells via polyarginine's penetrating effects and receptor-mediated endocytosis. To corroborate these assumptions, a series of experiments were conducted, including PSA-responsive peptide hydrolysis kinetics, cellular uptake, internalization mechanism and escape from endosomes in PC-3 and/or 22Rv1 cells, biodistribution and antitumor activity of siRNA-loaded liposomes after systemic administration, gene silencing and cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. The results reveal that multivalent interactions play a key role in enhancing PC cell recognition and uptake while reducing nonspecific uptake. The dual-modified liposomes carrying small interfering RNA (siRNA) have significant advantages over the control liposomes, including single-modified (folate, CPP, PSA-responsive only) and non-modified liposomes. The dual-modified liposomes elevated cellular uptake, downregulated expression of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK-1) and augmented cell apoptosis in prostate tumor cells. The entry of the dual-modified liposomes into 22Rv1 cells occurred via multiple endocytic pathways, including clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis, followed by an effective endosomal escape of the entrapped siRNA into the cytoplasm. In vivo studies conducted on a 22Rv1 xenograft murine model demonstrated that the dual-modified liposomes demonstrated the maximized accumulation, retention and knockdown of PLK-1 in tumor cells, as well as the strongest inhibition of tumor growth and induction of tumor cell apoptosis. In terms of targeting capacity and therapeutic potency, the combination of a PSA-responsive and PSMA-mediated liposome presents a promising platform for therapy and diagnosis of PSMA/PSA-positive PC.

A gene delivery system for insect cells mediated by arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides

Most bioactive macromolecules, such as protein, DNA and RNA, basically cannot permeate into cells freely from outside the plasma membrane. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a group of short peptides that possess the ability to traverse the cell membrane and have been considered as candidates for mediating gene and drug delivery into living cells. In this study, we demonstrate that three arginine-rich CPPs (SR9, HR9 and PR9) are able to form stable complexes with plasmid DNA and deliver DNA into insect Sf9 cells in a noncovalent manner. The transferred plasmid DNA containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) coding regions could be expressed in cells functionally assayed at both the protein and RNA levels. Furthermore, treatment of cells with CPPs and CPP/DNA complexes resulted in a viability of 84-93% indicating these CPPs are not cytotoxic. These results suggest that arginine-rich CPPs appear to be a promising tool for insect transgenesis.

Design of multifunctional non-viral gene vectors to overcome physiological barriers: dilemmas and strategies

Gene-based therapeutics hold great promise for medical advancement and have been used to treat various human diseases with mixed success. However, their therapeutic application in vivo is limited due largely to several physiological barriers. The design of non-viral gene vectors with the ability to overcome delivery obstacles is currently under extensive investigation. These efforts have placed an emphasis on the development of multifunctional vectors able to execute multiple tasks to simultaneously overcome both extracellular and intracellular obstacles. However, the assembly of these different functionalities into a single system to create multifunctional gene vectors faces many conflicts that largely limit the safe and efficient application of lipoplexes and polyplexes in a systemic delivery. In the review, we have described the dilemmas inherent in the design of a viable, non-viral gene vector equipped with multiple functionalities. The strategies directed towards individual delivery barriers are first summarized, followed by a focus on the design of so-called smart multifunctional vectors with the capability to overcome the delivery difficulties of gene medicines, including the so-called the "polycation dilemma", the "PEG dilemma" and the "package and release dilemma".