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Folate-linked nanoparticle-mediated suicide gene therapy in human prostate cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase

Abstract

For targeted gene delivery to human prostate cancer LNCaP and PC-3 cells and nasopharyngeal cancer KB cells, we developed a folate-linked nanoparticle (NP-F), and evaluated the potential of NP-F-mediated suicide gene therapy in the cells and xenografts with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) and connexin 43 (Cx43). An NP-F-plasmid DNA complex (NP-F nanoplex) showed high DNA transfection efficiency in KB, LNCaP and PC-3 cells. Cell growth inhibition in the presence of ganciclovir (GCV) was enhanced with HSV-tk and Cx43 genes in LNCaP cells. In suicide gene therapy, the tumor growths of KB and LNCaP xenografts were significantly inhibited when an NP-F nanoplex of the HSV-tk gene, and HSV-tk and Cx43 genes, respectively, was injected intratumorally and GCV was administered intraperitoneally. These findings suggested that the NP-F is a potential target vector in prostate and nasopharyngeal cancer for suicide gene therapy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Kazuhiro Kubo (NOF Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) for supplying amino-PEG-DSPE. This project was supported in part by a grant from the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.

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Correspondence to Yoshie Maitani.

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Hattori, Y., Maitani, Y. Folate-linked nanoparticle-mediated suicide gene therapy in human prostate cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase. Cancer Gene Ther 12, 796–809 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cgt.7700844

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