Therapy of cervical cancer using ¹³¹I-labeled nanoparticles

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of two kinds of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-targeted ¹³¹I-containing nanoliposomes for the treatment of cervical cancer in vitro and in vivo. Methods The nanoparticle liposomes designated RGD-¹³¹I-tyrosine peptide chain (TPC)-L and ¹³¹I-RGD-L were prepared. The emulsion solvent evaporation method was used to encapsulate the polypeptide into liposomes. The quantity of entrapped polypeptide was measured using UV spectrophotometry. The labeling rates, radiochemical purities, and total radioactivities were measured using paper chromatography. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTS assay and flow cytometry. Therapeutic efficacy was monitored using a mouse xenograft model of cervical cancer. Results The labeling efficiency, radiochemical purity, and specific radioactivity of RGD-¹³¹I-TPC-L were greater than those of ¹³¹I-RGD-L. The cytotoxicity test indicated that late apoptosis of cells treated with RGD-¹³¹I-TPC-L and ¹³¹I-RGD-L was higher than that of cells treated with Na¹³¹I. The therapeutic effect of RGD-¹³¹I-TPC-L was better than that of ³¹I-RGD-L in the mouse model. Conclusions The specific activity of liposome-encapsulated RGD-¹³¹I-TPC-L was higher than that of ¹³¹I-RGD-L, which labeled liposomes directly. Moreover, the RGD-¹³¹I-TPC-L liposomes were more effective for killing xenografted tumor cells.