Abstract 3621: Targeted hyaluronic acid nanoparticles improve treatment response in pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Abstract Pancreatic cancer has poor response to chemotherapy with desmoplastic stroma identified as a delivery barrier. We have developed a nanoparticle (NP) drug system using an engineered ligand of receptor binding region of urokinase plasminogen activator (ATF) and the catalytic domain of metalloprotease (MMP14) carrying SN38 (CPT-11 analog). Hyaluronic acid (HA), a naturally occurring protein was chosen as the backbone to produce a biocompatible NP. HA can also bind to CD44, highly expressed in epithelial cancers. Dual uPAR, CD44 targeting allows for targeted delivery and facilitates receptor mediated endocytosis of NP-drug complex. MMP14 activity degrades extracellular matrix to deplete the stromal barrier. SN38 was encapsulated and recombinant ATFmmp14 conjugated to surface of self-assembled hyaluronic acid spheres (200nm) to form the complete particle (HANP). Cytotoxicity assays were conducted to determine IC50 in cell lines. Patient derived xenograft (PDX) model of a drug resistant pancreatic cancer was used for efficacy studies. Orthotopically implanted tumors were treated with HANP (10mg/kg SN38 dosage) weekly for 6 weeks via tail vein and overall survival compared to conventional therapy. HANP in-vitro cytotoxicity was greater than conventional Irinotecan (>80x) and liposomal irinotecan (>900x) in a PDX derived cell line (Table 1). In-vivo efficacy study demonstrated a significant improvement in survival of PDX bearing mice with HANP (n=9) (median survival 50 days), compared to FOLFIRINOX (n=9) and Gemcitabine-nab-Paclitaxel (n=9) (median survival 37 days each) and no treatment (n=13) (median survival 22 days). Combination of HANP with a modified-FOLFIRINOX regimen (n=9) led to median survival >72 days (p<0.001). HANP alone or in combination with a modified FOLFIRINOX led to significantly improved survival in a pancreatic cancer PDX model. Further studies are underway to evaluate preclinical PD/PK for eventual translation as targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer. In-vitro cytoxicity assay for IC50 determinationDrugIC50 (uM)HANP0.01SN-380.012Irinotecan0.8Liposomal Irinotecan9 Citation Format: Mohammad Raheel Jajja, Lei Zhu, Dazhi Wang, Charles A. Staley, Bassel El-Rayes, David A. Kooby, Lily Yang. Targeted hyaluronic acid nanoparticles improve treatment response in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3621.