Anti-Cancer Efficacy of Paclitaxel Loaded in pH Triggered Liposomes

Smart liposomes that are responsive to the microenvironment of tumor tissue have been utilized to enhance chemotherapeutic efficiency. Here, we reported a novel liposome called Trojan horse liposome, which has a pH response, to enhance drug accumulation in tumor sites and intercellular uptake. L-lysine was used as a linker to connect 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride (DMA) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DSPE) to yield a DSPE-Lys-DMA (DLD) lipid. The pH-responsive DLD was mixed with other commercially available lipids to form liposomes. The size, morphology and zeta potential of the DLD liposomes (DLD-Lip) were measured. Paclitaxel (PTX) was loaded in the liposomes. The release profile, cellular uptake, in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of the PTX-loaded liposomes were investigated. The results showed that the mean diameter of the liposomes was less than 200 nm. The zeta potential of the liposomes was negative at pH 7.4. However, it was transferred to positive at weak acidic pH values with the cleavage of DMA amide. The charge reversion of DMA in acidic environments facilitated the cellular internalization and endosome escape of DLD-Lip, which inhibited the proliferation of 4T1 cancer cells in vitro. The pH-responsive "Trojan horse"-like liposomes also exhibited efficient anticancer activity in the xenograft breast cancer model in vivo.