Chemotherapy is a vital option for cancer treatment; however, its therapeutic outcomes are limited by dose-dependent toxicity and the occurrence of chemoresistance. siRNAs have emerged as an attractive therapeutic option enabling specific interference with target genes. Combination therapy using chemotherapeutic agents along with gene therapy could be a potential strategy for cancer management, which not only improves therapeutic efficacy but also decreases untoward effects from dose reduction. In this study, a cationic niosome containing plier-like cationic lipid B was used to convey siRNA against anti-apoptotic mRNA into MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Mcl-1 silencing markedly decreased the viability of MCF-7 cells and triggered apoptosis. Moreover, computer modeling suggested that the combination of doxorubicin (Dox) and Mcl-1 siRNA exhibited a synergistic relationship and enabled a dose reduction of each agent at 1.71 and 3.91 folds, respectively, to reach a 90% inhibitory effect when compared to single-agent treatments. Synergistic antitumor activity was further verified in a 3D spheroid culture which revealed, in contrast to single-agent treatment, the combination markedly decreased spheroid volume over time. Together, the combination therapy between Mcl-1 silencing and Dox exhibits a synergistic effect that may be exploited for novel breast cancer treatment.
Chitosan (CS) combined with poly-L-arginine (PLA) was formulated and evaluated for its performance to deliver siRNA to HeLa cells expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Compared with the formulations using single polymer in which the polyplexes were completely formed at the weight ratio of >20 : 1 for CS/siRNA or 1 : 1 for PLA/siRNA, the combination of CS and PLA could reduce the amounts of the polymers required for the complete complexation with siRNA, thereby forming positively charged, nanosized polyplex at the weight ratio of CS/PLA/siRNA of 5 : 0.5: 1. In addition, while the transfection efficiency of CS/siRNA and PLA/siRNA was very low at physiological pH (7.4), CS/PLA/siRNA at the optimal weight ratio of 5 : 0.5 : 1 satisfactorily silenced the endogenous EGFP gene at pH 7.4 as well as at pH 6.4 without the deterrent effect from serum. The combined polymers could protect siRNA from RNase degradation over a period of at least 6 h. Furthermore, MTT assay results demonstrated that CS/PLA/siRNA complexes showed acceptably low cytotoxicity with 75% cell viability. Therefore, CS combined with PLA is easy to prepare, safe, and promising for use as an efficient siRNA delivery vehicle.
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