hTERT-molecular targeted therapy of ovarian cancer cells via folate-functionalized PLGA nanoparticles co-loaded with MNPs/siRNA/wortmannin.

Effective telomerase-molecular targeted cancer therapy might be a promising approach for the efficient treatment of ovarian cancer. Therefore, folate-functionalized PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) were co-loaded with hTERT siRNA, Wortmannin (Wtmn), as a potent PI3K inhibitor, and magnetic nanoparticle (MNPs) as a theranostic agent to gain a multifunctional NPs for targeted drug delivery as well as molecular targeted therapy. HNMR, FTIR, DLS, FE-SEM and TEM were applied to characterize the synthesized NPs. In vitro discharge pattern for siRNA and Wtmn from the dual drug-loaded NPs showed an early fast release followed by a constant release up to 200 h. According to the MRI analysis, by increasing the concentration of FeO in NPs, the weaker T2 signal intensity was enhanced, and a considerable contrast was detected in the MRI images. MTT assay and median-effect analysis showed that the Wtmn/siRNA-loaded MNPs-PLGA-F2 NPs display the most synergistic cytotoxicity on the SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, the Wtmn/siRNA-loaded MNPs-PLGA-FA NPs could significantly reduce the expression of hTERT, AKT, and p-AKT than the single drug-encapsulated NPs (P < 0.05). Taken together, the findings showed that the multifunctional NPs relying on combinatorial therapy might have considerable potential for effective telomerase-molecular targeted therapy of ovarian cancer.