Enhanced Antitumoral Activity of Encapsulated BET Inhibitors When Combined with PARP Inhibitors for the Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast and Ovarian Cancers

Simple Summary Poly (adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPis) have demonstrated antitumoral activity in several cancers harbouring germline and somatic BRCA1/2 mutations. The widespread use of these agents in clinical practice is restricted by the development of acquired resistance due to the presence of compensatory pathways. A strategy to deal with this is the use of combination therapies with drugs that act synergistically against the tumour. BETis can completely disrupt the HR pathway by repressing the expression of BRCA1 and could be aimed at generation combination regimes to overcome PARPi resistance and enhance PARPi efficacy. However, this strategy is hampered by the poor pharmacokinetic profile and short half-life of BETis. In this work and as a proof of concept, we discuss the potential preclinical benefit provided by the combination of the PARPi olaparib and the BET inhibitor JQ1 encapsulated into nanoparticles for the treatment of BRCAness tumours. BRCA1/2 protein-deficient or mutated cancers comprise a group of aggressive malignancies. Although PARPis have shown considerably efficacy in their treatment, the widespread use of these agents in clinical practice is restricted by various factors, including the development of acquired resistance due to the presence of compensatory pathways. BETis can completely disrupt the HR pathway by repressing the expression of BRCA1 and could be aimed at generation combination regimes to overcome PARPi resistance and enhance PARPi efficacy. Due to the poor pharmacokinetic profile and short half-life, the first-in-class BETi JQ1 was loaded into newly developed nanocarrier formulations to improve the effectivity of olaparib for the treatment of BRCAness cancers. First, polylactide polymeric nanoparticles were generated by double emulsion. Moreover, liposomes were prepared by ethanol injection and evaporation solvent method. JQ1-loaded drug delivery systems display optimal hydrodynamic radii between 60 and 120 nm, with a very low polydispersity index (PdI), and encapsulation efficiencies of 92 and 16% for lipid- and polymeric-based formulations, respectively. Formulations show high stability and sustained release. We confirmed that all assayed JQ1 formulations improved antiproliferative activity compared to the free JQ1 in models of ovarian and breast cancers. In addition, synergistic interaction between JQ1 and JQ1-loaded nanocarriers and olaparib evidenced the ability of encapsulated JQ1 to enhance antitumoral activity of PARPis.

Automated summary

The encapsulation of PARPi olaparib and BET inhibitor JQ1 into nanoparticles has shown potential preclinical benefits in the treatment of BRCAness tumors. This combination therapy can overcome PARPi resistance and enhance the efficacy of PARPi.