Tumor cells and neovasculature dual targeting delivery for glioblastoma treatment

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most common primary malignant brain tumors, was characterized by angiogenesis and tumor cells proliferation. Antiangiogenesis and antitumor combination treatment gained much attention because of the potency in dual inhibition of both the tumor proliferation and the tumor invasion. In this study, a neovasculature and tumor cell dual targeting delivery system was developed through modification of nanoparticles with interleukin-13 peptide and RGD (IRNPs), in which interleukin-13 peptide was targeting GBM cells and RGD was targeting neovasculature. To evaluate the potency in GBM treatment, docetaxel was loaded into IRNPs. In vitro, interleukin-13 peptide and RGD could enhance the corresponding cells (C6 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells) uptake and cytotoxicity. In combination, IRNPs showed high uptake in both cells and increased the cytotoxicity on both cells. In vivo, IRNPs could effectively deliver cargoes to GBM with higher intensity than mono-modified nanoparticles. Correspondingly, docetaxel-IRNPs displayed best anti-tumor effect with a median survival time of 35 days, which was significantly longer than that of mono-modified and unmodified nanoparticles. Importantly, treatment with docetaxel-IRNPs could avoid the accumulation of HIF1α in GBM site, which was crucial for the tumor invasion. After the treatment, there was no obvious change in normal organs of mice.