Enhanced Survival of High-Risk Medulloblastoma-Bearing Mice after Multimodal Treatment with Radiotherapy, Decitabine, and Abacavir

Children with high-risk SHH/TP53-mut and Group 3 medulloblastoma (MB) have a 5-year overall survival of only 40%. Innovative approaches to enhance survival while preventing adverse effects are urgently needed. We investigated an innovative therapy approach combining irradiation (RT), decitabine (DEC), and abacavir (ABC) in a patient-derived orthotopic SHH/TP53-mut and Group 3 MB mouse model. MB-bearing mice were treated with DEC, ABC and RT. Mouse survival, tumor growth (BLI, MRT) tumor histology (H/E), proliferation (Ki-67), and endothelial (CD31) staining were analyzed. Gene expression was examined by microarray and RT-PCR (Ki-67, VEGF, CD31, CD15, CD133, nestin, CD68, IBA). The RT/DEC/ABC therapy inhibited tumor growth and enhanced mouse survival. Ki-67 decreased in SHH/TP53-mut MBs after RT, DEC, RT/ABC, and RT/DEC/ABC therapy. CD31 was higher in SHH/TP53-mut compared to Group 3 MBs and decreased after RT/DEC/ABC. Microarray analyses showed a therapy-induced downregulation of cell cycle genes. By RT-PCR, no therapy-induced effect on stem cell fraction or immune cell invasion/activation could be shown. We showed for the first time that RT/DEC/ABC therapy improves survival of orthotopic SHH/TP53-mut and Group 3 MB-bearing mice without inducing adverse effects suggesting the potential for an adjuvant application of this multimodal therapy approach in the human clinic.

Polyethylenimine Nanoparticle-Mediated siRNA Delivery to Reduce α-Synuclein Expression in a Model of Parkinson's Disease

RNA interference (RNAi)-based strategies that mediate the specific knockdown of target genes by administration of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) could be applied for treatment of presently incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. However, inefficient delivery of siRNA into neurons hampers in vivo application of RNAi. We have previously established the 4–12 kDa branched polyethylenimine (PEI) F25-LMW with superior transfection efficacy for delivery of siRNA in vivo. Here, we present that siRNA complexed with this PEI extensively distributes across the CNS down to the lumbar spinal cord after a single intracerebroventricular infusion. siRNA against α-synuclein (SNCA), a pre-synaptic protein that aggregates in Parkinson’s disease, was complexed with PEI F25-LMW and injected into the lateral ventricle of mice overexpressing human wild-type SNCA (Thy1-aSyn mice). Five days after the single injection of 0.75 μg PEI/siRNA, SNCA mRNA expression in the striatum was reduced by 65%, accompanied by reduction of SNCA protein by ∼50%. Mice did not show signs of toxicity or adverse effects. Moreover, ependymocytes and brain parenchyma were completely preserved and free of immune cell invasion, astrogliosis, or microglial activation. Our results support the efficacy and safety of PEI nanoparticle-mediated delivery of siRNA to the brain for therapeutic intervention.