- Xu, Jieni;
- Sun, Jingjing;
- Ho, Pui Yan;
- Luo, Zhangyi;
- Ma, Weina;
- Zhao, Wenchen;
- Rathod, Sanjay B;
- Fernandez, Christian A;
- Venkataramanan, Raman;
- Xie, Wen;
- Yu, Ai-Ming;
- Li, Song
Metastasis is the major cause for breast cancer related mortality. The combination of miRNA-based therapy and chemotherapy represents a promising approach against breast cancer lung metastasis. The goal of this study is to develop an improved therapy that co-delivers a novel bioengineered miRNA prodrug (tRNA-mir-34a) and doxorubicin (DOX) via a multifunctional nanomicellar carrier that is based on a conjugate of amphiphilic copolymer POEG-VBC backbone with creatine, a naturally occurring cationic molecule. Co-delivery of DOX leads to more effective processing of tRNA-mir-34a into mature miR-34a and down-regulation of target genes. DOX + tRNA-mir-34a/POEG-PCre exhibits potent synergistic anti-tumor and anti-metastasis activity in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, the enhanced immune response contributes to the overall antitumor efficacy. POEG-PCre may represent a safe and effective delivery system for an optimal chemo-gene combination therapy.