Retro-inverso d-peptide-modified hyaluronic acid/bioreducible hyperbranched poly(amido amine)/pDNA core-shell ternary nanoparticles for the dual-targeted delivery of short hairpin RNA-encoding plasmids

The active targeting of gene carriers is a powerful strategy for improving tumour-specific delivery and therapy. Although numerous l-peptide ligands play significant roles in the active targeting of nanomedicine, retro-inverso d-peptides have been explored as targeting ligands due to their superior stability and bioactivity in vivo. In this study, retro-inverso d-peptide (RIF7)-modified hyaluronic acid (HA)/bioreducible hyperbranched poly(amido amine) (RHB)/plasmid DNA (pDNA) ternary nanoparticles were successfully developed using the layer-by-layer method for the CD44-positive tumour-specific delivery of short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-encoding pDNA through the combination of the Anxa1 (tumour vasculature) and CD44 (tumour cell-surface) receptors, which mediated the dual targeting. The potential of these newly designed nanoparticles was evaluated by examining the efficacy of their cellular uptake and transfection in cell monolayers, tumour spheroids, and malignant xenograft animal models. With negligible cytotoxicity, the spherical-shaped RIF7-HA/RHB/pDNA nanoparticles were the direct result of an electrostatic complex that had efficiently targeted CD44-positive tumour delivery, penetration, and cellular uptake in vitro. The nanoparticles showed excellent target-specific gene transfection even in the presence of serum. The in vivo therapeutic effect of RIF7-HA/RHB/pDNA-shRNA nanoparticle-mediated shRNA targeting of the Cyclin gene (shCyclin) was evaluated in tumour-bearing mice. The RIF7-HA/RHB/pDNA-shCyclin nanoparticles significantly increased the survival time of tumour-bearing mice and substantially reduced tumour growth due to their extremely specific tumour-targeting activity. These results suggested that the combination of HA and retro-inverso peptide RIF7 significantly increased the therapeutic effect of pDNA-shCyclin-loaded nanoparticles for CD44-positive tumours. Thus, RIF7-HA-mediated multi-target ternary gene vectors are an efficient and promising strategy for the delivery of pDNA-shRNA in the targeted treatment of malignant and metastatic cancers. Statement of significance Although l-peptide ligands play significant roles in the active targeting of nanomedicine, retro-inverso d-peptides have been explored as targeting ligands due to their superior stability and bioactivity in vivo. Retro-inverso peptide RIF7 was designed as a ligand of Anxa1 receptor. The resultant peptide, RIF7, displayed high binding efficiency within Anxa1 receptor, which is highly expressed tumour vasculature cells and some tumour cells such as B16F10 and U87MG cells. The most important feature of RIF7 is its high stability in the blood, which is suitable and promising for application in vivo. Multifunctional RIF7-HA was then synthesized by conjugating the RIF7 peptide to HA, which was used to modify the surface of RHB/pDNA nanoparticles to prepare RIF7-HA/RHB/pDNA core-shell ternary nanoparticles for the dual-targeted delivery of shRNA-encoding plasmids in vitro and in vivo.