Inhibition of CD73 using folate targeted nanoparticles carrying anti-CD73 siRNA potentiates anticancer efficacy of Dinaciclib.

Conventional therapeutic methods against cancer, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and combination therapy, have exhibited different toxicity levels due to their unspecific mechanism of action. To overcome the challenges facing conventional cancer therapies, newly developed methods are being investigated. Significant levels of specificity, remarkable accumulation at the tumor site, limited side effects, and minimal off-target effects enable the newly synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) to become the preferred drug delivery method in anticancer therapeutic approaches. According to the literature, CD73 has a pivotal role in cancer progression and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Therefore, CD73 has attracted considerable attention among scientists to target this molecule. Accordingly, FDA approved CDK inhibitors such as Dinaciclib that blocks CDK1, 2, 5, and 9, and exhibits significant anticancer activity. So in this study, we intended to simultaneously suppress CD73 and CDKs in cancer cells by using the folic acid (FA)-conjugated chitosan-lactate (CL) NPs loaded with anti-CD73 siRNA and Dinaciclib to control tumor progression and metastasis. The results showed that NPs could effectively transfect cancer cells in a FA receptor-dependent manner leading to suppression of proliferation, survival, migration, and metastatic potential. Moreover, the treatment of tumor-bearing mice with this combination strategy robustly inhibited tumor growth and enhanced survival time in mice. These findings imply the high potential of FA-CL NPs loaded with anti-CD73 siRNA and Dinaciclib for use in cancer treatment shortly.