Co-delivery of Aurora-A inhibitor XY-4 and Bcl-xl siRNA enhances antitumor efficacy for melanoma therapy

Background The newly synthesized Aurora-A kinase inhibitor XY-4 is a potential anti-cancer agent, but its hydrophobicity and limited efficiency restrict further application. Nanotechnology based combined therapy provides an optimized strategy for solving these issues. Methods In this study, the newly synthesized Aurora-A kinase inhibitor XY-4 and Bcl-xl targeted siRNA were co-delivered by cationic liposomes, creating an injectable co-delivery formulation. The anti-cancer ability and mechanisms of XY-4/Bcl-xl siRNA co-loaded cationic liposomes were studied both in vitro and in vivo. Results The prepared liposomes had a mean particle size of 91.3±4.5 nm with a zeta potential of 38.5±0.5 mV and were monodispersed (Polydispersity index =0.183) in water solution, with high drug loading capacity and stability. Intriguingly, the positive charges of co-delivery liposomes not only facilitated gene delivery, but also obviously enhanced drug uptake. The XY-4/Bcl-xl siRNA co-loaded cationic liposomes demonstrated enhanced anti-cancer effects on B16 melanoma cells in vitro by activation mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Moreover, intratumoral injection of this co-delivery formulation efficiently inhibited the growth of a B16 melanoma xenograft model in vivo. Conclusion By co-delivering Aurora-A kinase inhibitor XY-4 and Bcl-xl targeting siRNA in a nanoformulation, our study supplied a potential combination strategy for melanoma therapy.