A recent study published in Biomaterials’s ahead of print issue of June reported in vivo efficacy of p21 saRNA delivered intrarectally to mice bearing orthotopic colorectal cancer. According to a news story published on the website of the Institute of Materia Medica (IMM), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, this study was a collaborative effort among groups of Prof. Jian-Dong Jiang (Pharmacology), Prof. Song Wu (Synthetic Pharmaceutical Chemistry) and Prof. Wen-Sheng Zheng (Pharmaceutical formulation) at IMM.

In this study, the authors creatively developed a saRNA delivery system called tumor-selective lipopolyplex (TSLPP) which consists of a PEI/p21 saRNA polyplex core and HA modulated anionic lipid shell. Results of the study revealed that p21 saRNA encapsulated in TSLPP could be efficiently delivered to colorectal cancer cells in vivo intrarectally and the treatment significantly hampered orthotopic colorectal cancer growth in mice. This study indicates that p21 saRNA coupled with TSLPP could have huge translational potential for treating colorectal cancer in patients.

Reference:

Wang LL, Feng CL, Zheng WS, Huang S, Zhang WX, Wu HN, Zhan Y, Han YX, Wu S,Jiang JD. Tumor-selective lipopolyplex encapsulated small active RNA hampers colorectal cancer growth in vitro and in orthotopic murine. Biomaterials. 2017Oct;141:13-28.