Docetaxel conjugate nanoparticles that target α-smooth muscle actin-expressing stromal cells suppress breast cancer metastasis.

Docetaxel-conjugate nanoparticles, known as Cellax, were synthesized by covalently conjugating docetaxel and polyethylene glycol to acetylated carboxymethylcellulose via ester linkages, yielding a polymeric conjugate that self-assembled into 120 nm particles suitable for intravenous administration. In 4T1 and MDA-MB-231 orthotopic breast tumor models, Cellax therapy reduced α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) content by 82% and 70%, respectively, whereas native docetaxel and nab-paclitaxel (albumin-paclitaxel nanoparticle, Abraxane) exerted no significant antistromal activity. In Cellax-treated mice, tumor perfusion was increased by approximately 70-fold (FITC-lectin binding), tumor vascular permeability was enhanced by more than 30% (dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging), tumor matrix was decreased by 2.5-fold (immunohistochemistry), and tumor interstitial fluid pressure was suppressed by approximately 3-fold after Cellax therapy compared with the control, native docetaxel, and nab-paclitaxel groups. The antistromal effect of Cellax treatment corresponded to a significantly enhanced antimetastatic effect: lung nodules were reduced by 7- to 24-fold by Cellax treatment, whereas native docetaxel and nab-paclitaxel treatments were ineffective. Studies of the 4T1 tumor showed that more than 85% of the Cellax nanoparticles were delivered to the α-SMA+ stroma. Significant tumor stromal depletion occurred within 16 hours (∼50% depletion) postinjection, and the α-SMA+ stroma population was almost undetectable (∼3%) by 1 week. The 4T1 tumor epithelial cell population was not significantly reduced in the week after Cellax injection. These data suggest that Cellax targets tumor stroma and performs more efficaciously than docetaxel and nab-paclitaxel.