Mineralocorticoid receptor mediated liposomal delivery system for targeted induction of apoptosis in cancer cells

Mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) are nuclear hormone receptors that are ubiquitously present in all cell types and are known to mediate distinct physiological functions like regulating Na+ and K+ balance and water excretion. MRs are linked to cell proliferation and can be exploited for the targeted control of cell mass in cancer. The present study is aimed towards extending the concept of using MR ligand spironolactone for selective delivery of genes in cancer cells. The lipoplex (SP) has shown MR mediated targeted transfections as indicated by receptor down-regulation studies using MR antagonists and siRNA. SP-targeted delivery of genes resulted in apoptosis in cell-specific manner while free drug was found to be cytotoxic irrespective of the cancerous or non-cancerous nature. In conclusion, this study presents MR as a target for efficiently delivering anticancer genes and thereby treating cancer through MR-mediated pathway. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.