Novel polymer-based system for intrauterine delivery of everolimus for anti-cancer applications.

Non-surgical treatment options for low-grade endometrial cancer and precancerous lesions are a critical unmet need for women who wish to preserve fertility or are unable to undergo hysterectomy. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is frequently activated in endometrial cancers and has been associated with resistance to endocrine therapy, making it a compelling target for early stage disease. Oral everolimus, an inhibitor against mTORC1, has shown clinical benefit in advanced or recurrent disease but has severe adverse effects that may lead to treatment interruption or dose reduction. To overcome this, we developed a polymer-based intrauterine delivery system to achieve persistent, local delivery of everolimus without systemic exposure. In vivo studies, using a rat model, showed that a poly(propylene fumarate)-based rod loaded with everolimus achieved everolimus delivery to the endometrium with levels similar to oral administration, but with limited systemic exposure and up to 84 days of release. Biological activity of everolimus delivered with this system was confirmed, measured by reduced lumen epithelial cell height and PI3K pathway biomarkers. This study shows a promising new delivery approach for anti-cancer drugs for non-surgical treatment of low-grade endometrial cancer.

The multiple conformational charge states of zinc(II) coordination by 2His-2Cys oligopeptide investigated by ion mobility-mass spectrometry, density functional theory and theoretical collision cross sections.

Whether traveling wave ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS), B3LYP/LanL2DZ density functional theory, and ion size scaled Lennard-Jones (LJ) collision cross sections (CCS) from the B3LYP optimized structures could be used to determine the type of Zn(II) coordination by the oligopeptide acetyl-His1 -Cys2 -Gly3 -Pro4 -Tyr5 -His6 -Cys7 (amb5 ) was investigated. The IM-MS analyses of a pH titration of molar equivalents of Zn(II):amb5 showed that both negatively and positively charged complexes formed and coordination of Zn(II) increased as the His and Cys deprotonated near their pKa values. The B3LYP method was used to generate a series of alternative coordination structures to compare with the experimental results. The method predicted that the single negatively charged complex coordinated Zn(II) in a distorted tetrahedral geometry via the 2His-2Cys substituent groups, whereas, the double negatively charged and positively charged complexes coordinated Zn(II) via His, carbonyl oxygens and the C-terminus. The CCS of the B3LYP complexes were calculated using the LJ method and compared with those measured by IM-MS for the various charge state complexes. The LJ method provided CCS that agreed with five of the alternative distorted tetrahedral and trigonal bipyramidal coordinations for the doubly charged complexes, but provided CCS that were 15 to 31 Å2 larger than those measured by IM-MS for the singly charged complexes. Collision-induced dissociation of the Zn(II) complexes and a further pH titration study of amb5B , which included amidation of the C-terminus, suggested that the 2His-2Cys coordination was more significant than coordinations that included the C-terminus. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.