Dual-targeted cationic liposomes modified with hyaluronic acid and folic acid deliver siRNA Bcl-2 in the treatment of cervical cancer

Backgroud: Gene therapy has attracted widespread attention as a potential method of treating some autoimmune diseases, genetic diseases and cancer. It is critical to discover a new nanocarrier for the effectiveness of gene therapy. Reportedly, the dual-targed nano-delivery system as a novel strategy could improve targeting efficiency and deliver more drugs or genes to tumor sites over current single-targed nano-delivery delivery system. Methods: We synthesized and characterized the hyaluronic acid (HA)-folic acid (FA) polymer, and then prepared the cationic liposomes by ultrasonic dispersion . The liposome was coated with HA-FA to obtain HA-FA-Lip nanoparticles. HA-FA-Lip formed complexes with siRNA Bcl-2 (siBcl-2) through electrostatic adsorption for delivering siBcl-2 to the tumor site. Results: HA-FA-Lip showed stronger tumor accumulation and better targeting efficiency than HA-lip. Meanwhile, HA-FA-Lip delivered more siBcl-2 to tumor cells and played a role in down-regulating Bcl protein levels, thus inducing obvious apoptosis. Conclusions: As a new type of dual-targeted drug delivery system, HA-FA-Lip was expected to be an effective nanocarrier with high transfection efficiency and good biocompatibility.