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PD-1 siRNA-Encapsulated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Downregulate PD-1 Expression by Macrophages and Inhibit Tumor Growth

PD-1 siRNA-Encapsulated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles

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Abstract

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) siRNA can downregulate PD-1 expression in macrophages in culture and in tumor tissues in mice and inhibit tumor growth in a mouse model. PD-1 siRNA was encapsulated in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), and the physical properties of the resultant SLNs were characterized. The ability of the PD-1 siRNA-SLNs to downregulate PD-1 expression was confirmed in J774A.1 macrophages in culture and in tumor tissues in mice. Moreover, the antitumor activity of the PD-1 siRNA-SLNs was evaluated in a mouse model. The PD-1 siRNA-SLNs were roughly spherical, and their particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential were 141 ± 5 nm, 0.17 ± 0.02, and 20.7 ± 4.7 mV, respectively, with an siRNA entrapment efficiency of 98.9%. The burst release of the PD-1 siRNA from the SLNs was minimal. The PD-1 siRNA-SLNs downregulated PD-1 expression on J774A.1 macrophage cell surface as well as in macrophages in B16-F10 tumors pre-established in mice. In mice with pre-established B16-F10 tumors, the PD-1 siRNA-SLNs significantly inhibited the tumor growth, as compared with siRNA-SLNs prepared with non-functional, negative control siRNA. In conclusion, the PD-1 siRNA-SLNs inhibited tumor growth, likely related to their ability to downregulate PD-1 expression by tumor-associated macrophage (TAMs).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by an Egyptian Government Scholarship with bench fees (MSH), the Mannino Fellowship in Pharmacy at UT Austin (ZC), a UT Austin-Portugal CoLab project (ZC), and Via Therapeutics, LLC (through NIH R43AR074360 to JJK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

    Mahmoud S. Hanafy, Stephanie Hufnagel & Zhengrong Cui

  2. Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt

    Mahmoud S. Hanafy & Wedad Sakran

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA

    Andrea N. Trementozzi & Jeanne C. Stachowiak

  4. Via Therapeutics, LLC, Austin, Texas, USA

    John J. Koleng

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  1. Mahmoud S. Hanafy
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Correspondence to Zhengrong Cui.

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ZC declares conflict of interest with Via Therapeutics, LLC, which has been reviewed and approved by UT Austin in accordance with its policy on objectivity in research.

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Hanafy, M.S., Hufnagel, S., Trementozzi, A.N. et al. PD-1 siRNA-Encapsulated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Downregulate PD-1 Expression by Macrophages and Inhibit Tumor Growth. AAPS PharmSciTech 22, 60 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-021-01933-y

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