ABSTRACT
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks expressed protein targets, making therapy development challenging. Hydrogels offer a promising new route in this regard by improving the chemotherapeutic efficacy through increased solubility and sustained release. Moreover, subcutaneous hydrogel administration reduces patient burden by requiring less therapy and shorter treatment times. We recently established the design principles for the supramolecular assembly of single-domain coiled-coils into hydrogels. Using a modified computational design algorithm, we designed Q8, a hydrogel with rapid assembly for faster therapeutic hydrogel preparation. Q8 encapsulates and releases doxorubicin (Dox), enabling localized sustained release via subcutaneous injection. Remarkably, a single subcutaneous injection of Dox-laden Q8 (Q8â¢Dox) significantly suppresses tumors within just 1 week. This work showcases the bottom-up engineering of a fully protein-based drug delivery vehicle for improved TBNC treatment via noninvasive localized therapy.
Subject(s)
Delayed-Action Preparations , Doxorubicin , Hydrogels , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms , Doxorubicin/pharmacology , Doxorubicin/administration & dosage , Doxorubicin/chemistry , Doxorubicin/therapeutic use , Hydrogels/chemistry , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Female , Humans , Animals , Delayed-Action Preparations/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Protein Engineering , Mice , Drug Liberation , Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/administration & dosage , Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/pharmacology , Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/therapeutic use , Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/chemistryABSTRACT
The development of targeted anti-cancer therapeutics offers the potential for increased efficacy of drugs and diagnostics. Utilizing modalities agnostic to tumor type, such as the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME), may assist in the development of universal tumor targeting agents. The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), in particular HIF1, plays a key role in tumor adaptation to hypoxia, and inhibiting its interaction with p300 has been shown to provide therapeutic potential. Using a multivalent assembled protein (MAP) approach based on the self-assembly of the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein coiled-coil (COMPcc) domain fused to the critical residues of the C-terminal transactivation domain (C-TAD) of the α subunit of HIF1 (HIF1α), we generate HIF1α-MAP (H-MAP). The resulting H-MAP demonstrates picomolar binding affinity to p300, the ability to downregulate hypoxia-inducible genes, and in vivo tumor targeting capability.
