Dual targeting mesoporous silica nanoparticles for inhibiting tumour cell invasion and metastasis.

The invasion and metastasis of tumour cells are closely correlated with poor prognosis of cancer patients. In this study, a CD44 and N-cadherin dual targeting drug delivery system based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) has been successfully constructed for inhibiting tumour cell invasion and metastasis. Amino modified MSN (MSN/NH) was first synthesized and then functionalized with hyaluronic acid (HA) and ADH-1, constructing the carrier ADH-1-HA-MSN. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) was selected as a model anticancer drug. The prepared vector had a spherical shape with a narrow distribution of particle size. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy studies showed that the modification with HA significantly enhanced CD44-mediated cellular uptake of this nanocarrier. ADH-1-HA-MSN/DOX exhibited higher cytotoxicity compared to non-ADH-1 modified counterparts. Of note, a transwell chamber assay demonstrated that the migration and invasion of tumour cells were markedly inhibited by ADH-1-HA-MSN/DOX. Furthermore, Western blotting analysis revealed that ADH-1-HA-MSN/DOX inhibited tumour cell invasion and metastasis by down-regulating N-cadherin expression. Taken together, these results indicated that ADH-1-HA-MSN might be a promising targeted drug delivery system for inhibiting cancer invasion and metastasis.