Nanovector Assembled from Natural Egg Yolk Lipids for Tumor-Targeted Delivery of Therapeutics

Abstract

Nanomedicine uses nanotechnology-based strategies for precision tumor therapy, including passive and ligand-mediated active tumor targeting by nanocarriers. However, the possible biotoxicity of chemosynthetic nanovectors limits their clinical applications. A novel natural egg yolk lipid nanovector (EYLN) was developed for effective loading and delivery of therapeutic agents. Lipids were extracted from egg yolks and reassembled into nanosized particles. EYLNs’ stability, cellular uptake, toxicity, and delivery capacity for therapeutic agents were evaluated in vitro. The systemic toxicity and biodistribution of EYLNs were analyzed in normal mice, and the therapeutic effects of doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded EYLNs were evaluated in mouse breast cancer and hepatoma models. EYLNs had a particle size of ∼40 nm and a surface ζ-potential of −45 mV and were effectively internalized by tumor cells, without showing toxicity and side effects in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, their excellent permeability and retention effect significantly enhanced the distribution of EYLNs at tumor sites, and EYLN-Dox effectively inhibited the tumor growth in both mouse models. Targeted modification with folic acid further promoted vector-mediated drug distribution in tumors. This study demonstrates that lipids with specific proportions in the egg yolk can be used to construct natural drug vectors, providing a new strategy for nano-oncology research.

<p>Enhanced Antitumor Efficacy of Macrophage-Mediated Egg Yolk Lipid-Derived Delivery System Against Breast Cancer</p>

“…EYLNs and EYLNs-Dox were prepared according to the protocol described in our previous publication. 14 In brief, dried lipids[phosphatidylcholine (PC, 75.5%), sphingomyelin (SM, 12.7%), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC, 6.55%), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE, 4.37%), phosphatidylinositol (PI, 0.54%), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG, 0.34%)] were suspended in distilled water (200-400 μL) and Dox solution (1 mg/mL), respectively, and the suspension was sonicated for 15-20 min using an FS60 bath sonicator (Fisher Scientific). The non-loaded Dox was removed by centrifugation at 100,000 × g for 30 min.…”

“…[11][12][13] In this study, a model anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drug (doxorubicin)-loaded, natural purified egg yolk lipidderived nanovector (EYLNs-Dox) was developed, EYLNs nanovector has been demonstrated a promising drug carrier due to the low toxicity and strong EPR effect. 14 EYLNs-Dox was internalized in macrophages to prepare a macrophage-based biomimetic drug delivery system (Mac/EYLNs-Dox). The tumor penetration and inhibitory effects of Mac/EYLNs-Dox were evaluated in vitro and the tumor targeting ability and anti-tumor efficacy of Mac/ EYLNs-Dox were evaluated using a 4T1 mouse breast cancer model.…”

Avian Egg: A Multifaceted Biomaterial for Tissue Engineering

“…Despite the fact that EY has mostly been investigated for drug delivery applications, , its application to TE has been reported in limited studies. For example, Charbonneau et al investigated the combination of EY plasma with EW hydrogel for salivary gland TE .…”

Recent Progress of Nanocarrier-Based Therapy for Solid Malignancies

“…Application of folic acid (FA)-modified natural egg yolk lipid nanovector (EYLNs) load with DOX (FA-EYLNs-DOX) showed higher encapsulation efficiency and were effectively taken up by cancer cells without obvious toxicity in vitro and in vivo. In addition, FA-EYLNs-DOX showed that FA significantly achieved better tumor targeting of EYLNs-DOX [ 140 ].…”