Abstract 4607: Targeted nanoparticle delivery of irinotecan and Ewing sarcoma-specific siRNA is an effective combination therapy for Ewing sarcoma
Authors: Mitra Sheetal A. , Parmentier Jean-Hugues , Kang Hyung-Gyoo , Triche Timothy J. 
Published: March 2024

Background: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive bone and soft tissue tumor affecting children and adolescents with an overall survival rate of 50%. Irinotecan (IR) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent but is associated with significant toxicity. Using an anti-CD99 targeted hybrid polymerized lipid nanoparticle containing IR, NV103, in pre-clinical mouse xenograft model of the disease, tumor ablation was achieved at 2mg/kg of IR versus 50mg/kg for free IR. All ES harbor a chromosomal translocation resulting in expression of a fusion EWS-FLI1 protein or equivalent. This chimeric gene is a transcriptional regulator that upregulates the FEZF1 and FEZF1-AS1 genes. Both EWS-FLI1 and FEZF1-AS1 genes are unique to ES and are not expressed in normal adult tissues. EWS-FLI1 promotes cell growth while the FEZF1-AS1 complex promotes tumor metastasis, a hallmark of ES. In vitro RNAi targeting of EF and FEZF1-AS1 results in tumor cell death. We hypothesized that combining EWS-FLI1 and/or FEZF1-AS1 targeted RNAi therapy with NV103 cytotoxic therapy would be more effective than any single modality therapy.

Methods: NV103 was provided by NanoValent Pharmaceuticals. siRNA containing lipid nanoparticles (LNP-siRNA) were generated using PreciGenome NanoGenerator. siRNA was quantified using the ribogreen assay. Nanoparticles were analyzed for size and particle numbers by NanoSight. siRNA was used to target the following genes- EWS-FLI1, FEZF1, FEZF1-AS1, or GFP. A673 cells expressing GFP were used for this in vitro study. Various doses of IR and siRNA were used in combination and cell growth/death was imaged live using Incucyte. ATP assay was used to confirm live cells and to determine minimum effective dose (MED) over 72 hours of treatment.

Results: LNP-siRNA, mean diameter 70nm and PDI&lt;0.2, encapsulated 90% of the siRNA in solution. LNP are stable at 4°C for at least 4 weeks with minimal-to-no loss of activity. NV103 had a MED of 1µM. MED of various siRNA was 30 to 50nM. Combination of NV103 and LNP-siRNA reduced MED of IR to 250nM. One treatment dose of LNP-siRNA followed by NV103 treatment three days later maintained significant cell death over 10 days post treatment initiation. Control cells were 97% more confluent than NV103/EWS-FLI1 siRNA treated ones, 85% more than NV103/FEZF1 siRNA cells and 92% more than NV103/FEZF1-AS1 treated cells. siRNA combinations of EWS-FLI1 and FEZF1 or FEZF1-AS1 along with NV103 added no further benefit.

Conclusion: Combination nanoparticle therapy of IR and ES-specific siRNA reduces IR MED by four-fold. LNP delivery of siRNA enables tumor-specific gene targeting. Most have no available small molecule therapy. Targeting ES cells with both a low dose (250nM) of IR and 30-50nM of siRNA against unique tumor biomarkers results in increased cell death with no IR toxicity. Further animal studies are required to determine the effectiveness of such therapy in vivo.

Citation Format: Sheetal A. Mitra, Jean-Hugues Parmentier, Hyung-Gyoo Kang, Timothy J. Triche. Targeted nanoparticle delivery of irinotecan and Ewing sarcoma-specific siRNA is an effective combination therapy for Ewing sarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4607.