MC3/SAINT-O-Somes, a novel liposomal delivery system for efficient and safe delivery of siRNA into endothelial cells

Increased understanding of chronic inflammatory diseases and the role of endothelial cell (EC) activation herein, have urged interest in sophisticated strategies to therapeutically intervene in activated EC to treat these diseases. Liposome-mediated delivery of therapeutic siRNA in inflammation-activated EC is such a strategy. In this study, we describe the design and characterisation of two liposomal siRNA delivery systems formulated with the cationic MC3 lipid or MC3/SAINT mixed lipids, referred to as MC3-O-Somes (MOS) and MC3/SAINT-O-Somes (MSS). The two formulations showed comparable physicochemical properties, except for better siRNA encapsulation efficiency in the MSS formulation. Antibody-mediated VCAM-1 targeting (Ab_VCAM-1) increased the association of the targeted MOS and MSS with activated EC, although the targeted MOS showed a significantly higher VCAM-1 specific association than the targeted MSS. Ab_VCAM-1 MSS containing RelA siRNA achieved significant downregulation of RelA expression, while Ab_VCAM-1 MOS containing RelA siRNA did not downregulate RelA expression in activated EC. Additionally, Ab_VCAM-1 MSS containing RelA siRNA showed low cytotoxicity in EC and at the same time prohibited endothelial inflammatory activation by reducing expression of cell adhesion molecules. The Ab_VCAM-1 MSS formulation is a novel siRNA delivery system based on a combination of the cationic lipids MC3 and SAINT, that shows good physicochemical characteristics, enhanced endothelial cell association, improved transfection activity, low toxicity and significant anti-inflammatory effect, thereby complying with the requirements for future in vivo investigations.