Development of a transferrin receptor-targeting HVJ-E vector

The development of more effective cancer treatments is anticipated. Tumor-targeted drug delivery is an important strategy in cancer therapy. We have developed an HVJ (hemagglutinating virus of Japan; Sendai virus) envelope (HVJ-E) vector using inactivated Sendai virus. The HVJ-E vector has been observed to target a number of cell lines since its hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein recognizes the sialic acids of host cells. Thus, to reduce non-specific binding of the HVJ-E vector, we eliminated HN protein using HN-specific short interfering RNA (siRNA). Then, to further increase its tumor-targeting ability, we constructed HN-depleted HVJ containing the F-transferrin chimeric protein. The modified vectors containing Q-dots demonstrated 32-fold greater tumor-targeting efficiency than wild-type HVJ-E.