miR-1 inhibits progression of high-risk papillomavirus-associated human cervical cancer by targeting G6PD.

Ectopic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) expression may contribute to tumorigenesis in cervical cancer associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV 16 and 18) infections. Here, we demonstrate that microRNA-1 (miR-1) in association with AGO proteins targets G6PD in HR-HPV-infected human cervical cancer cells. miR-1 inhibited expression of a reporter construct containing a putative G6PD 3'-UTR seed region and suppressed endogenous G6PD expression. Down-regulation of miR-1 increased G6PD expression in cervical cancer cells. Regression analysis revealed that miR-1 levels correlate negatively with the clinicopathologic features in HR-HPV 16/18-infected cervical cancer patients. miR-1 overexpression inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in cervical cancer cells and reduced xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. Conversely, sponge-mediated miR-1 knockdown markedly increased viability and reduced apoptosis in cervical cancer cells and supported neoplasm growth. Restoration of G6PD expression partially reversed the effects of miR-1 overexpression both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, co-transfection of G6PD siRNA and miR-1 sponge partially reversed miR-1 sponge-induced reductions in cell viability and neoplasm growth. These results suggest that miR-1 suppresses the development and progression of HR-HPV 16/18-infected cervical cancer by targeting G6PD and may be a promising novel therapeutic candidate.

PEGylated PAMAM dendrimers as a potential drug delivery carrier: in vitro and in vivo comparative evaluation of covalently conjugated drug and noncovalent drug inclusion complex.

To understand more about the influence of the types of interaction between drug and PEGylated PAMAM dendrimers on the in vitro and in vivo behavior of drug, methotrexate (MTX) was coupled to PEGylated or non-PEGylated generation 4 PAMAM (G4) through complexing drug within the dendritic architecture and covalently conjugated onto the surface of the dendrimer, respectively. PAMAM was first modified with PEG(5000) chains at three different degrees of substitution. The ability of PEGylated G4 complexing MTX was higher than that of non-PEGylated one. MTX-G4 and MTX-G4-PEG conjugates were synthesized via amide linkages. MTX was readily released from all complexes in isotonic solution, while the conjugates hardly released MTX in the same medium and keep stable in human plasma and the lysosomal medium. There were no obvious differences between complexes and free MTX in cytotoxicity against KB cell line, whereas the conjugates showed the relatively low activity. In vivo study in rodents found that the MTX-G4-PEG conjugate exhibited significantly prolonged blood residence time and the strongest antitumor effects, as compared with MTX-G4, the complexes and MTX. The results indicated that the covalent attachment of drug to PEGylated PAMAM could be more effective for targeted drug delivery.

[PEGylated polyamidoamine dendrimer/methotrexate complex: pharmacokinetics and anti-tumor activity in normal and tumor-bearing rodents].

Generation 4 polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer was PEGylated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) at an average molecular weight 5 000 via amide bond. PAMAM and PEGylated PAMAM (PAMAM-PEG) dendrimer were used as drug nanocarriers. Methotrexate (MTX), an antineoplastic agent, was selected as a model drug. PAMAM/MTX and PAMAM-PEG/MTX complexes were prepared. The pharmacokinetic characters and anti-tumor activity of the PAMAM-PEG/MTX complex were studied as compared with MTX injection and PAMAM/MTX complex by intravenous injection in rats and S180 tumor bearing mice, separately. The plasma samples from normal rats were analyzed by HPLC method, and concentration-time data were analyzed using a non-compartmental analysis. Their anti-tumor effects in vivo were evaluated against S180 solid tumors in mice by measuring average tumor weight and calculating the inhibitory rate of tumor on day 17 after successive injections. The results showed that both plasma half-life and mean retention time (MRT) of the complexes were longer than that of MTX injection (P<0.01), while the area under the plasma concentration vs time curve (AUC) of PAMAM-PEG/MTX was the largest as compared with that of free drug and PAMAM/MTX complex (P<0.01). The inhibitory rate of tumor of PAMAM-PEG/MTX complex enhanced 2.1 and 1.8 times over that of free drug and PAMAM/MTX complex, respectively, indicating that PAMAM-PEG/MTX exhibited the highest antitumor activity. In summary, PEGylated PAMAM could be useful as a potential drug delivery carrier.