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Handl V, Waldherr L, Arbring Sjöström T, Abrahamsson T, Seitanidou M, Erschen S, Gorischek A, Bernacka-Wojcik I, Saarela H, Tomin T, Honeder SE, Distl J, Huber W, Asslaber M, Birner-Grünberger R, Schäfer U, Berggren M, Schindl R, Patz S, Simon DT, Ghaffari-Tabrizi-Wizsy N. Continuous iontronic chemotherapy reduces brain tumor growth in embryonic avian in vivo models. J Control Release 2024; 369:668-683. [PMID: 38548064 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.03.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Local and long-lasting administration of potent chemotherapeutics is a promising therapeutic intervention to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy of hard-to-treat tumors such as the most lethal brain tumors, glioblastomas (GBM). However, despite high toxicity for GBM cells, potent chemotherapeutics such as gemcitabine (Gem) cannot be widely implemented as they do not efficiently cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). As an alternative method for continuous administration of Gem, we here operate freestanding iontronic pumps - "GemIPs" - equipped with a custom-synthesized ion exchange membrane (IEM) to treat a GBM tumor in an avian embryonic in vivo system. We compare GemIP treatment effects with a topical metronomic treatment and observe that a remarkable growth inhibition was only achieved with steady dosing via GemIPs. Daily topical drug administration (at the maximum dosage that was not lethal for the embryonic host organism) did not decrease tumor sizes, while both treatment regimes caused S-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. We hypothesize that the pharmacodynamic effects generate different intratumoral drug concentration profiles for each technique, which causes this difference in outcome. We created a digital model of the experiment, which proposes a fast decay in the local drug concentration for the topical daily treatment, but a long-lasting high local concentration of Gem close to the tumor area with GemIPs. Continuous chemotherapy with iontronic devices opens new possibilities in cancer treatment: the long-lasting and highly local dosing of clinically available, potent chemotherapeutics to greatly enhance treatment efficiency without systemic side-effects. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Iontronic pumps (GemIPs) provide continuous and localized administration of the chemotherapeutic gemcitabine (Gem) for treating glioblastoma in vivo. By generating high and constant drug concentrations near the vascularized growing tumor, GemIPs offer an efficient and less harmful alternative to systemic administration. Continuous GemIP dosing resulted in remarkable growth inhibition, superior to daily topical Gem application at higher doses. Our digital modelling shows the advantages of iontronic chemotherapy in overcoming limitations of burst release and transient concentration profiles, and providing precise control over dosing profiles and local distribution. This technology holds promise for future implants, could revolutionize treatment strategies, and offers a new platform for studying the influence of timing and dosing dependencies of already-established drugs in the fight against hard-to-treat tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Handl
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Linda Waldherr
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Austria, Auenbruggerplatz 30, 8036 Graz, Austria
| | - Theresia Arbring Sjöström
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Tobias Abrahamsson
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Maria Seitanidou
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Sabine Erschen
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Astrid Gorischek
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Iwona Bernacka-Wojcik
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Helena Saarela
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Tamara Tomin
- Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Technische Universität Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sophie Elisabeth Honeder
- Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Technische Universität Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria; Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Joachim Distl
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Waltraud Huber
- Otto Loewi Research Center, Division of Immunology, Research Unit CAM Lab, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Martin Asslaber
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Ruth Birner-Grünberger
- Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Technische Universität Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria; Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Ute Schäfer
- Research Unit for Experimental Neurotraumatology, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Magnus Berggren
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden
| | - Rainer Schindl
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center - Medical Physics and Biophysics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Austria, Auenbruggerplatz 30, 8036 Graz, Austria.
| | - Silke Patz
- Research Unit for Experimental Neurotraumatology, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Daniel T Simon
- Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, 60174 Norrköping, Sweden.
| | - Nassim Ghaffari-Tabrizi-Wizsy
- Otto Loewi Research Center, Division of Immunology, Research Unit CAM Lab, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria.
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