Development of R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes for treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

Presently, there are no few anticancer drugs that have been used clinically due to their poor targeting ability, short half-life period, non-selective distributions, generation of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) channels, high metastasis, and high recurrence rate. This study aimed to explore the effects of R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes that could target non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, destroy VM channels, inhibit tumor metastasis, and explain the possible underlying mechanism. In vitro assays indicated that R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes with ideal physicochemical characteristics could exhibit not only powerful cytotoxicity on A549 cells, but also the effective suppression of VM channels and tumor metastasis. Mechanistic studies manifested that R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes could down-regulate the levels of VE-Cad, TGF-β1, MMP-2, and HIF-1α. In vivo assays indicated that R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes could both increase the selective accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs at tumor sites and show a targeting conspicuous of antitumor efficacy. In conclusion, the R8 modified epirubicin–dihydroartemisinin liposomes prepared in this study provide a treatment strategy with high efficiency for NSCLC.