296 Towards Nose-to-brain Inhibition of NFB: Activity of a Novel p65 Inhibitor in Glioblastoma and Feasibility of Intranasal Delivery With a Near-infrared Fluorescent HMC-Chitosan Nanoparticle

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Constitutive NFκB inflammatory signaling is a driving force of tumor progression, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance in glioblastoma (GBM). CRL1101 is a novel small molecule inhibitor of RelA (p65), a transcription factor of NFκB-mediated gene expression. Previously, we have shown that heptamethine carbocyanine (HMC) conjugated nanoparticles target GBM tumor sites via organic anion transporter proteins. The activity of CRL1101 in GBM has not been explored. Poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and theoretical toxicities related to p65 inhibition pose challenges to its implementation in vivo. METHODS: GBM transcriptomic analysis was performed using Gene Profiling Interactive Analysis. In vitro cytotoxicity and migration assays were performed in U87 and GL261. Western blot was used to confirm the mechanism of CRL1101. Quantitative PCR was used to assess the relative expression of NFκB-regulated genes. HMC-chitosan-CRL1101 nanoparticles were synthesized by cross-linking chitosan with HMC and their uptake was visualized using immunocytochemistry. For survival analysis, we implanted GL261 cells into immunocompetent mice and treated intranasally with HMC-chitosan-CRL1101. RESULTS: RelA is overexpressed in GBM relative to normal brain tissue. CRL1101 alone effectively kills U87 cells (IC50 = 16.0 uM) and prevents migration in vitro (p < 0.0001) by disabling the nuclear translocation of RelA. Treatment with CRL1101 was associated with a decrease in IL-8 (p = 0.01) and PD-L1 (p = 0.44) expression. HMC-chitosan-CRL1101 demonstrated an IC50 of 25.23 uM in U87. Near-infrared imaging confirmed intranasal delivery of HMC-chitosan-CRL1101 across the BBB in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: RelA-targeted NFκB inhibition with CRL1101 is a promising immunotherapeutic strategy in GBM. Intranasal nanoparticle delivery is a practical route to bypass the BBB and minimize systemic toxicities in mouse models of GBM, with expected survival benefit in vivo.