Targeting Intracranial Tumours with a Combination of RNA and Chemotherapy

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumour, which remains largely resistant to treatment; the prognosis for patients is poor, with a median survival time of about 12-18 months, post diagnosis. In an effort to bring more efficacious treatments to patients, we targeted the down regulation of ITCH, an E3 ligase that is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, and which inhibits P73, a tumour suppressor gene. 6-O-glycolchitosan (GC) was used to deliver siRNA ITCH (GC60-siRNA-ITCH) and gemcitabine via the nose to brain route in CD-1 nude mice which had previously been implanted intracranially with U87-MG-luc2 cells. Prior to this in vivo study, an in vitro study established the synergistic effect of siRNA-ITCH in combination with a chemotherapy drug-gemcitabine. A downregulation of ITCH, an upregulation of p73 and enhanced apoptosis were observed in vitro in U87-MG cells, using qPCR, Western blot analysis, confocal laser scanning microscopy, flow cytometry and cytotoxicity assays. When GC60-siRNA-ITCH was combined with gemcitabine, there was a resultant decrease in cell proliferation in vitro. In CD1 mice, the administration of siRNA-ITCH (7 doses of 0.081 mg/kg) alone did not significantly affect animal survival (increasing mean survival from 29 to 33 days when compared to untreated animals), whereas intranasal gemcitabine had a significant effect on survival (increasing survival from 29 to 45 days when compared to untreated animals, p < 0.01). The most significant effect was seen with combination therapy (GC60-siRNA-ITCH plus gemcitabine), where survival increased by 89%, increasing from 29 to 54 days (p < 0.01). Our data demonstrate that siRNA chemosensitises brain tumours to gemcitabine and that the nose-to-brain delivery route may be a viable route for the treatment of intracranial tumours.