Journal
BIOMATERIALS
Volume 271, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.120754
Keywords
Targeted drug delivery; ?v?3; ?v?6; ?5?1; Reactive oxygen species; Tumor ce l l cytotoxicity; Ferrocene
Funding
- MIUR [AIM1873131-2, PRIN 2017PHRC8X]
- Regione Campania - POR Campania FESR [B61G18000470007]
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [Ke 147/42-1]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study demonstrates the potential of conjugating ferrocene (Fc) to tumor-targeted molecules to enhance therapeutic efficacy, reduce systemic toxicity, and show significant anti-tumor effects, indicating the promise of tumor-specific delivery and improved therapeutic window compared to currently used non-selective anticancer drugs.
High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tumors have been shown to exert anti-tumor activity, leading to the concept of ROS induction as therapeutic strategy. The organometallic compound ferrocene (Fc) generates ROS through a reversible one-electron oxidation. Incorporation of Fc into a tumor-targeting, bioactive molecule can enhance its therapeutic activity and enable tumor specific delivery. Therefore, we conjugated Fc to five synthetic, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-based integrin binding ligands to enable targeting of the cell adhesion and signaling receptor integrin subtypes ?v?3, ?5?1, or ?v?6, which are overexpressed in various, distinct tumors. We designed and synthesized a library of integrin-ligand-ferrocene (ILF) derivatives and showed that ILF conjugates maintained the high integrin affinity and selectivity of their parent ligands. A thorough biological characterization allowed us to identify the two most promising ligands, an ?v?3 (L2b) and an ?v?6 (L3b) targeting ILF, which displayed selective integrin-dependent cell uptake and pronounced ferrocene-mediated anti-tumor effects in vitro, along with increased ROS production and DNA damage. Hence, ILFs are promising candidates for the selective, tumor-targeted delivery of ferrocene to maximize its anti-cancer efficacy and minimize systemic toxicity, thereby improving the therapeutic window of ferrocene compared to currently used non-selective anticancer drugs.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available