Abstract
The Asn-Gly-Arg (NGR) motif has previously been demonstrated to specifically bind to CD13, which is selectively overexpressed in tumor vasculature and some tumor cells (e.g. HT1080). It was reported that NGR-modified stealth liposomes (NGR-SL) could be prepared with different lipid composition, such as 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), hydrogenated soy posphatidylcholine (HSPC) and soy posphatidylcholine (SPC). In the present study, NGR-modified liposomes were prepared with DPPC, HSPC, SPC or the mixture of HSPC and SPC. The resultant liposomes with different lipid composition were compared in terms of cell uptake, antitumor efficacy and targeted drug delivery efficiency using HT1080 tumor model. It was found that NGR-SL composed of the mixture of HSPC and SPC was able to improve targeted drug delivery efficiency to tumor producing the most significant antitumor activity. Collectively, the NGR-modified liposomes composed of the mixture of HSPC and SPC are promising carriers for the treatment of tumor. Besides NGR ligand, lipid composition could also significantly affect the targeted delivery efficiency to the tumor.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 81001644), Guangdong Nature Science Foundation (No. 10451040701004643), Research project of Jingchu University of Technology (No. ZR201505) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.