An MRI-visible non-viral vector for targeted Bcl-2 siRNA delivery to neuroblastoma

Abstract

Min Shen,1,* Faming Gong,3,* Pengfei Pang,1,* Kangshun Zhu,1 Xiaochun Meng,1 Chun Wu,1 Jin Wang,1 Hong Shan,1,2 Xintao Shuai3,41Molecular Imaging Lab, Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; 2Institute of Intervention Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; 3PCFM Lab of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; 4Center of Biomedical Engineering, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Polyethylene glycol-grafted polyethylenimine (PEG-g-PEI) which was functionalized with a neuroblastoma cell-specific ligand, the GD2 single chain antibody (scAbGD2), was synthesized in order to effectively deliver Bcl-2 siRNA into neuroblastoma cells. This polymer was complexed first with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) to get a MRI-visible targeted non-viral vector (scAbGD2-PEG-g-PEI-SPION) and then with Bcl-2 siRNA to form nanoparticles showing low cytotoxicity. The targeting capacity of scAbGD2-PEG-g-PEI-SPION was successfully verified in vivo and in vitro by magnetic resonance imaging. The single chain antibody encoded targeted polyplex was more effective in transferring Bcl-2 siRNA than the nontargeting one in SK-N-SH cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line, resulting in a 46.34% inhibition in the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA. Consequently, a high level of cell apoptosis up to 50.76% and a significant suppression of tumor growth were achieved, which indicates that scAbGD2-PEG-g-PEI-SPION is a promising magnetic resonance imaging-visible non-viral vector for targeted neuroblastoma siRNA therapy and diagnosis.Keywords: tumor targeting, GD2, non-viral vector, Bcl-2 small interfering RNA, magnetic resonance imaging