HER2 specific delivery of methotrexate by dendrimer conjugated anti-HER2 mAb.
Herceptin, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to human growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), was covalently attached to a fifth-generation (G5) polyamidoamine dendrimer containing the cytotoxic drug methotrexate. The specific binding and internalization of this conjugate labeled with FITC was clearly demonstrated in cell lines overexpressing HER2 by flow cytometry as well as confocal microscopic analysis. In addition, binding and uptake of antibody conjugated dendrimers was completely blocked by excess non-conjugated herceptin. The dendrimer conjugate was also shown to inhibit the dihydrofolate reductase with similar activity to methotrexate. Co-localization experiments with lysotracker red indicate that antibody conjugate, although internalized efficiently into cells, has an unusually long residence time in the lysosome. Somewhat lower cytotoxicity of the conjugate in comparison to free methotrexate was attributed to the slow release of methotrexate from the conjugate and its long retention in the lysosomal pocket.
Shukla
Rameshwer
R
Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences, University of Michigan, 9220 MSRB III, Box 0648, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Thomas
Thommey P
TP
Desai
Ankur M
AM
Kotlyar
Alina
A
Park
Steve J
SJ
Baker
James R
JR