Magnetic Targeting and Penetration for Oncolytic Virus Delivery
Magnetic Targeting and Penetration
Magnetic nanoparticles offer a variety of attractive possibilities in biomedicine. They have controllable sizes (range in nanometer), which places them at dimensions that are smaller than or comparable to cells, viruses, or proteins. The magnetic nanoparticles, which can be manipulated by an external magnetic field gradient, can be combined with the intrinsic penetrability of magnetic fields into human tissue. In magnetically targeted therapy, magnetic drugs are made by involving magnetic particles being loaded with the desired drugs. Moreover, it can be delivered to the targeted sites within the body using a magnetic force. It is an attractive targeting technique as it is noninvasive and magnetic fields can pass through human tissue without attenuation. Magnetic drug targeting may reduce the amount of systemic distribution of the cytotoxic drug and reduce the dosage required by more efficient, localized targeting of the drug. A variety of potential applications are made available in biomedicine as a result of the special physical properties of magnetic nanoparticles, such as the transport and/or immobilization of magnetic targeting drugs.
Fig.1 Magnetic nanoparticle-assembled oncolytic virus. (Zheng, 2019)
Magnetic Targeting and Penetration for Oncolytic Virus Delivery
Oncolytic viruses are the most promising innovative agents in cancer therapy. Magnetically reactive carriers are being increasingly harnessed for oncolytic viral concentration, and drug targeting purposes. In this case, oncolytic viruses are coated onto the magnetic carrier's surface. By holding the magnetic carrier at the target site via external magnetic fields, the oncolytic viruses are in contact with the targeted tissue for a more extended period, increasing the efficiency of gene transfection and expression. Magnetic targeting of virus particles decorated with suitable magnetic nanoparticles can enable the inherent potency of oncolytic viruses, which exploits their inherent potencies without altering their inherent mechanisms of action. These findings lead to propose that magnetic guidance of viral infection can be a suitable tool in oncolytic virotherapy for localizing and reducing the virus dose required for achieving lytic action. This may, in the end, improve the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of oncolytic virotherapy.
The use of magnetic drug targeting of viruses is first reported in infectious retroviral nucleic acid delivery. Streptavidin-conjugated paramagnetic particles in conjunction allow the affinity-mediated magnetic concentration of retroviral vectors. Moreover, paramagnetic retroviral preparations can be used for magnetic field-dependent retroviral infection in vitro to human and murine cells. The result is shown that retroviral vectors captured by paramagnetic particles can be directed by magnetic fields to the required area for infection, this may enable the in vivo administration of formulations that concentrate retroviral infection to the required target tissues and organs.
- Example
The potential of the efficacy of the oncolytic adenovirus dl520 is boosting by associating it with magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic-field-guided infection in cancer cells in vitro and upon intratumoral injection in vivo. The adenovirus dl520 shows a drastic 10-fold increase in transfection efficiency and enhanced oncolysis in tumor cells compared to the nonmagnetic virus when infections are carried out in the presence of a magnetic field. Furthermore, upon intratumoral injection and application of a gradient magnetic field in a murine model, magnetic virus complexes also exhibit a more substantial oncolytic effect than adenovirus alone. All these results demonstrate that the applied magnetic targeting and penetration could become a choice for local gene delivery in vivo because it not only would serve for accumulation purposes but also would boost the infection efficiency.
Delivery and penetration of magnetic agents in vivo are best suited for subcutaneous tumors, such as melanoma. With our enriched experience and well-established OncoVirapy™ platform, Creative Biolabs can offer the best-quality oncolytic virus engineering services to meet all requirements of the customers.
Reference
- Zheng, M.; et al. Oncolytic viruses for cancer therapy: barriers and recent advances. Molecular Therapy-Oncolytics. 2019.