Hepatocyte-targeted delivery using oleanolic acid-loaded liposomes for enhanced hepatocellular carcinoma therapy

Drug-loaded liposomes have been shown to be effective in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the systemic non-specific distribution of drug-loaded liposomes in tumor patients is a critical therapeutic challenge. To address this issue, we developed galactosylated chitosan-modified liposomes (GC@Lipo) that could selectively bind to the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR), which is highly expressed on the membrane surface of HCC cells. Our study demonstrated that the GC@Lipo significantly enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of oleanolic acid (OA) by enabling targeted drug delivery to hepatocytes. Remarkably, treatment with OA-loaded GC@Lipo inhibited the migration and proliferation of mouse Hepa1-6 cells by upregulating E-cadherin expression and downregulating N-cadherin, vimentin, and AXL expressions, compared to a free OA solution and OA-loaded liposomes. Furthermore, using an axillary tumor xenograft mouse model, we observed that OA-loaded GC@Lipo led to a significant reduction in tumor progression, accompanied by concentrated enrichment in hepatocytes. These findings strongly support the clinical translation of ASGPR-targeted liposomes for the treatment of HCC.