Biodegradable nanoparticle-mediated K-ras down regulation for pancreatic cancer gene therapy.

RNA interference (RNAi) targeting the K-ras oncogene mutation in pancreatic cancer mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection is a very promising treatment. However, the rapid degradation and negative charge of naked siRNAs restrict their direct delivery into cells. In this contribution, we propose a safe and effective transmembrane transport nanocarrier formulation based on a newly developed biodegradable charged polyester-based vector (BCPV) for K-ras siRNA delivery into pancreatic cancer cells. Our results have shown that these biodegradable and biocompatible vectors are able to transfect siRNAs targeting mutant K-ras into MiaPaCa-2 cells with high transfection and knockdown efficiency. More importantly, the RNAi process initiated a cascade gene regulation of the downstream proteins of K-ras associated with cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. We observed that after the mutant K-ras siRNA transfection, the growth, migration and invasion of the MiaPaCa-2 cells were significantly reduced; also, the apoptosis of the pancreatic cancer cells was promoted. Although in vivo testing data are limited, we propose that the BCPV based nanoparticle formulation could be a promising candidate as non-viral vectors for gene therapy in clinical settings.