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Brief Article

Liposomal Co-Encapsulation of Doxorubicin with Listeriolysin O Increases Potency via Sub-Cellular Targeting Zachary F. Walls, Henry Gong, and Rebecca J Wilson Mol. Pharmaceutics, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.5b00674 • Publication Date (Web): 11 Jan 2016 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on January 16, 2016

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Liposomal Co-Encapsulation of Doxorubicin with

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Listeriolysin O Increases Potency via Sub-Cellular

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Targeting

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Zachary F. Walls, PhD1,2*, Henry Gong3, Rebecca J. Wilson4

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1

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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2

Center for Inflammation, Infectious Disease and Immunity

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Department of Biomedical Sciences

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Department of Biological Sciences

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East Tennessee State University

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Johnson City, TN, USA

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*Address for correspondence: Zachary F. Walls, Box 70594, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA.

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Tel: (423) 439-6236. Email: [email protected]

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TABLE OF CONTENT/ABSTRACT GRAPHIC

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ABSTRACT

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Liposomal doxorubicin is a clinically important drug formulation indicated for the treatment of

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several different forms of cancer. For doxorubicin to exert a therapeutic effect, it must gain

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access to the nucleus. However, a large proportion of the liposomal doxorubicin dose fails to

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work because it is sequestered within endo-lysosomal organelles following endocytosis of the

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liposomes due to the phenomenon of ion trapping. Listeriolysin O (LLO) is a pore-forming

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protein that can provide a mechanism for endosomal escape. The present study demonstrates that

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liposomal co-encapsulation of doxorubicin with LLO enables a significantly larger percentage of

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the dose to co-localize with the nucleus compared to liposomes containing doxorubicin alone.

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The change in intracellular distribution resulted in a significantly more potent formulation of

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liposomal doxorubicin as demonstrated in both the ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780 and its

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doxorubicin-resistant derivative A2780ADR.

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KEYWORDS

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Cancer, drug-resistance, endosomal escape, pH-sensitive INTRODUCTION

Doxorubicin has been a mainstay of cancer chemotherapy since the 1970s.

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Although its

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exact mechanism of action remains unknown, it has been found that doxorubicin can intercalate

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between DNA base pairs, inhibiting transcription and DNA synthesis. Conceptually, doxorubicin

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is attractive therapy for any type of cancer, since one of the defining aspects of cancer is

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unregulated cell growth requiring accelerated genomic replication. A liposomal formulation of

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doxorubicin that alleviates many of the toxic side effects of the drug has been in routine clinical

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use for over a decade. 3 However, despite the more favorable therapeutic profile of liposomal

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doxorubicin compared to free doxorubicin regarding side effects, clinical studies have

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demonstrated no change in potency, response rate, or time to progression between liposomal and

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free doxorubicin. 4,5

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The unaltered potency of liposomal doxorubicin is thought to be due to the phenomenon of 6,7

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multi-drug resistance (MDR).

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altered intracellular pH gradients is especially germane to the liposomal delivery of weak bases

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such as doxorubicin.

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molecules are uncharged at neutral pH, enabling the drug to freely cross biological membranes.

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However, acidic environments such as endosomes and lysosomes favor conversion of the drug

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into a positively charged molecule, preventing free diffusion across membranes. Since liposomes

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typically enter cells by endocytosis, the pH gradient between endosomes and the cytosol largely

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determines how much of the drug can diffuse into the cell. Many cancer cells exhibit a large pH

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gradient between the cytosol and the endosomal compartments, effectively trapping weak base

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liposomal drugs in intracellular vesicles.

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drug delivery as highlighted by clinical evidence that the intracellular concentration of

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daunorubicin (a weak base similar to doxorubicin) is no different between patients treated with

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free daunorubicin versus liposomal daunorubicin.

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values for various cancer cells and the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, it was calculated that

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67% – 93% of a typical liposomal doxorubicin dose is sequestered endosomally.

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reformulating liposomal doxorubicin to increase endosomal escape would dramatically increase

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the drug’s potency.

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Of the known causes of MDR exist, but the mechanism of

Because the pKa of doxorubicin is 7.34, a substantial fraction of the

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This resistance mechanism influences liposomal

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Using previously reported subcellular pH

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Thus,

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Listeriolysin O (LLO) is a pore-forming protein secreted by Listeria monocytogenes following

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endocytosis that permits the bacteria to escape endosomal vesicles and replicate intracellularly.

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across cellular membranes via co-encapsulation in pH-sensitive liposomes. It does this by

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forming pores in the endosomal membrane that allow the therapeutic payload to diffuse into the

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interior of the cell.

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listeriolysin O-conjugated liposomes for the enhanced delivery of small molecules.

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on the successful reports of enhanced delivery of therapeutic molecules using LLO-containing

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liposomes, it was hypothesized that co-encapsulation of doxorubicin with LLO in pH-sensitive

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liposomes could improve the drug’s co-localization with the nucleus and enhance the

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cytotoxicity of liposomal doxorubicin. This study reports the subcellular localization of

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doxorubicin and the potency of a co-encapsulated liposomal formulation of doxorubicin with

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LLO compared to liposomal doxorubicin using a cellular model of ovarian carcinoma (A2780)

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and its drug-resistant derivative (A2780ADR).

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EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

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Protein Expression and Purification

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The listeriolysin O expression construct was provided by Professor Kyung-Dall Lee (University

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of Michigan). A hyperactive mutant of LLO containing a single amino acid substitution (C484S)

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described previously by Walls and colleagues was used in all experiments.

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plasmid consisted of the pET29b backbone carrying the gene coding for LLO in frame with a

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polyHis tag. BL21(DE3)pLysS chemically competent E. coli (Invitrogen) were transformed with

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the plasmid and then grown in Terrific Broth (TB) containing 30 µg/mL kanamycin at 37°C with

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shaking at 225 RPM. Once the cells reached sufficient density (A600 > 0.7), protein expression

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was induced by adding IPTG at a final concentration of 1mM. The temperature was reduced to

Recombinantly produced LLO has been used with stunning success to deliver macromolecules

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Further, Kullberg and colleagues have demonstrated the utility of using

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Based

The expression

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30°C and expression continued for 12 – 16 hours. Cells were then pelleted at 4000xg for 20

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minutes at 4°C. The supernatant was decanted and the cell pellet was stored at -70°C.

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LLO was purified by resuspending the frozen cell pellet in wash buffer (50mM NaH2PO4,

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300mM NaCl, 20mM imidazole) with lysozyme (final concentration 1mg/mL) and PMSF (final

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concentration (20µM) using a needle and syringe. The homogeneous slurry was then sonicated

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on ice with 6 10-second bursts. Insoluble debris was removed by centrifugation at 14,000xg for 1

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hour at 4°C. Residual particulate matter was removed from the soluble fraction using a 0.45µm

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syringe filter. The filtered soluble fraction was applied to a column containing Ni-NTA agarose

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(Qiagen) by gravity, and then washed with wash buffer containing 40mM imidazole. LLO was

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eluted from the column with wash buffer containing 250mM imidazole and then exchanged into

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HBSE (10mM HEPES, 140mM NaCl, 1mM EDTA, pH 8.4) using 10DG desalting columns

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(Bio-Rad). Protein concentration was quantified using the BCA assay kit (Pierce).

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Liposome Preparation and Characterization

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Solutions of egg phosphatidylethanolamine (ePE, Avanti) and cholesteryl hemisuccinate

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(CHEMS, Sigma) were combined at a 2:1 molar ratio and then dried under an argon stream to

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remove organic solvents. The resulting lipid films were resuspended by vortexing in a total of

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1mL containing either 0.5mg of doxorubicin or 0.5mg of doxorubicin and 1mg of LLO.

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Resuspended lipids were then subjected to 4 freeze/thaw cycles. Small unilamellar liposomes

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were generated using a Mini-Extruder (Avanti), with 10 passes through a 0.2µm polycarbonate

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filter followed by 10 passes through a 0.1µm polycarbonate filter. Unencapsulated LLO and

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doxorubicin were removed by size exclusion chromatography using a sepharose CL-4B column.

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Doxorubicin concentration of the liposomes was determined by fluorescence using a SpectraMax

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Gemini XS Fluorescence Plate Reader (Molecular Devices). Known doxorubicin concentrations

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were prepared in a black 96-well plate with a clear bottom alongside serial dilutions of the

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liposomes. Equal volumes of 0.2% Triton X-100 were added to all wells and the plate was

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incubated at room temperature for 20 minutes. The plate was then read using 479nm/593nm

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(Ex/Em) wavelengths.

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LLO concentration of the liposomes was determined by SDS-PAGE followed by non-specific

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protein staining. Three different volumes of liposomes were heated at 70°C for 10 minutes and

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then loaded in duplicate against known concentrations of LLO on a 4-12% Bis-Tris gel

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(Invitrogen). Samples were run at 200V in 1xMOPS for 50 minutes and then gels were fixed and

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stained with Krypton (Pierce) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Gels were imaged

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and quantified using a G:Box (Syngene) gel documentation system.

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Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

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A2780 and A2780ADR cells (Sigma) were plated on cover slips placed in 6-well plates at a

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concentration of 200,000 cells/mL and grown in McCoy’s 5a media supplemented with 10%

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FBS and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. 24 hours later, cells were treated with either liposomal

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doxorubicin or liposomal doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO at a doxorubicin concentration

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of 5 µg/mL diluted in serum-free media. 8 hours following treatment, cells were washed once

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with PBS warmed to 37°C and then fixed with 4% formaldehyde for 15 minutes at 37°C. Cells

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were washed twice with room temperature PBS and then permeabilized with 0.2% Triton X-100

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for 5 minutes at room temperature. Cells were washed twice with PBS and then blocked with

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10% heat-inactivated normal goat serum for 30 minutes at room temperature. The cover slips

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were then inverted onto 100 µL drops containing a 1:1000 dilution of α-LAMP-2 antibody

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(CD107b, BioLegend) for one hour at room temperature. Following the incubation, cells were

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washed three times in blocking solution and then incubated with a 1:1000 dilution of goat α-

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mouse antibody conjugated to Alexa Fluor 790 (Invitrogen) for 30 minutes at room temperature.

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Cells were washed three times with PBS and mounted onto slides with ProLong Gold with DAPI

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(Invitrogen). Images were acquired using an epifluorescent microscope (DMI 6000, Leica) using

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a 63 x 1.4 NA oil immersion objective.

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The co-localization rate was calculated by plotting the arbitrary fluorescent units of two different

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fluorophores for each pixel of the image. After setting thresholds for each fluorophore and

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excluding background fluorescence, the percentage of pixels containing significant fluorescence

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from each fluorophore was reported as the co-localization rate.

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Cellular Viability Assay

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A2780 and A2780ADR cells were plated in 96-well plates at a concentration of 200,000

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cells/mL and grown in McCoy’s 5a media supplemented with 10% FBS and 1 %

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penicillin/streptomycin. 24 hours later, cells were treated with either liposomal doxorubicin or

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liposomal doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO at a range of doxorubicin concentrations (100

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– 0.02 µg/mL) diluted in serum-free media. 48 hours after treatment, the media was changed and

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12mM MTT (Invitrogen) was added. 4 hours later, an equal volume of 10% SDS in 0.01M HCl

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was added. 4 hours later, absorbance was measured using a SpectraMax Plus (Molecular

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Devices) absorbance plate reader at 570nm.

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TUNEL Assay

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A2780 cells were plated on cover slips in 6-well plates at a density of 200,000 cells/mL. At 24

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hours, they were treated with either liposomal doxorubicin or liposomes co-encapsulated with

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doxorubicin and listeriolysin o at a doxorubicin concentration of 0.5 µg/mL. 72 hours after

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treatment, the cells were fixed and stained according to the Click-IT TUNEL AF647 Imaging

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Assay Kit (Invitrogen) protocol. The cover slips were mounted onto slides, cured overnight, and

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then imaged using an EVOS FL AUTO Cell Imaging System.

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In vivo pH Measurements

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A2780 and A2780ADR cells were plated at a density of 200,000 cells/mL in an 8-well

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chambered coverslip (ibidi µ-slide). 24 hours after plating, the media was aspirated and cells

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were exposed to a 2µM solution of SNARF-5F 5-(and-6)-carboxylic acid (Invitrogen). After a 25

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minute incubation at room temperature, a 2µM solution of LysoSensor Yellow/Blue DND-160

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(Invitrogen) was added to the cells. After a 5 minute incubation at room temperature, both

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solutions were aspirated and Live Cell Imaging Solution (Invitrogen) was added. Cells were

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imaged using an epifluorescent microscope (DMI 6000, Leica) at the following wavelengths: Ex:

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405nm, Em: 440nm ± 25nm and Em: 540nm ± 25nm; Ex: 552nm, Em: 580nm ± 25nm and Em:

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640nm ± 25nm. Fluorescence intensity was measured across 3 cells for each sample. The

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following ratios were then calculated for each pixel: Em540nm/Em440nm and

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Em640nm/Em580nm. The ratios from all 3 cells were averaged and compared using the two-

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tailed paired t-test.

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Statistical Analysis

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All statistical tests were performed in Prism 6 for Mac OS X (GraphPad). Wilcoxon rank-sum

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(Mann-Whitney) was used to determine the significance of differences between encapsulation

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efficiencies. MTT assay data was fit to sigmoidal dose-response (variable slope) curves and then

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the best-fit logEC50 values were compared for significance using the sum-of-squares F test.

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RESULTS

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Liposome Preparation and Characterization

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Recombinant LLO expression and purification, as well as pH-sensitive liposome construction

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were accomplished by the methods established by Provoda and colleagues. 20 These methods

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have been used for the co-encapsulation of LLO with many different macromolecules and

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involve the passive encapsulation of water-soluble molecules in the core of PE:CHEMS::2:1

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liposomes. LLO encapsulation efficiency, as determined by SDS-PAGE, was found to be 9.8 ±

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3.6 % (average ± SEM). This value was consistent with previous reports of LLO encapsulation

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efficiency. 21 Doxorubicin encapsulation efficiency was determined by measuring the intrinsic

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fluorescence of the drug in purified formulations. It was found that the encapsulation efficiency

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of liposomal doxorubicin was 43.4 ± 3.2 % and the encapsulation efficiency of liposomal

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doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO was 40.8 ± 5.6 % (average ± SEM). Although the

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encapsulation efficiency was generally lower for the co-encapsulated formulations, the

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difference was not statistically significant (Mann Whitney test, p > 0.99).

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Fluorescence Microscopy and Co-localization

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To determine whether co-encapsulation of doxorubicin with LLO could improve the co-

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localization of the drug with the nucleus, confocal fluorescence microscopy was performed on

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cells treated with the two different formulations. A2780 ovarian carcinoma cells showed a stark

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contrast in doxorubicin localization between the two formulations. Liposomal doxorubicin was

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primarily sequestered in the lysosomes (identified by LAMP-2 staining, Figure 1A). However,

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when doxorubicin was delivered by liposomes co-encapsulated with LLO, there was a high

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proportion of co-localization with the nucleus (identified by DAPI staining, Figure 1B).

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In order to quantify the increase in nuclear doxorubicin localization due to LLO co-

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encapsulation, line scans of fluorescence intensity through individual cells were made and

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separated by channel. These quantitative measurements showed a high correlation between

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intensity for the LAMP-2 and doxorubicin channels in cells treated with liposomal doxorubicin

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(Figure 2A), and a high correlation between intensity for the DAPI and doxorubicin channels in

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cells treated with the co-encapsulated formulation (Figure 2B).

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For a more comprehensive quantitative measurement of doxorubicin subcellular localization,

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scatter plots were generated for the entire field of view. For cells treated with liposomal

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doxorubicin, the co-localization rate between doxorubicin and DAPI fluorescence was 3.2%

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(Figure 3A, left), and the co-localization rate between LAMP-2 and doxorubicin fluorescence

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was 100.0% (Figure 3A, right). For cells treated with the co-encapsulated formulation, the co-

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localization rate between doxorubicin and DAPI fluorescence was 99.6% (Figure 3B, left), and

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the co-localization rate between LAMP-2 and doxorubicin was 2.1% (Figure 3B, right).

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Fluorescence microscopy performed on A2780ADR cells treated with the two different

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doxorubicin formulations showed trends similar to those observed for the A2780 cells

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(Supplementary Figure 1). The co-localization rate between LAMP-2 and doxorubicin decreased

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from 72.7% for cells treated with liposomal doxorubicin to 1.23% for cells treated with

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liposomal doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO. The co-localization rate between doxorubicin

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and DAPI increased from 65.6% for cells treated with liposomal doxorubicin to 78.6% for cells

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treated with liposomal doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO. In addition to the observed

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nuclear localization of doxorubicin in A2780ADR cells treated with the co-encapsulated

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formulation, punctate staining was also seen throughout the cytoplasm. These areas did not,

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however, overlap with LAMP-2 staining.

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Effect of Co-encapsulated Formulation on Cellular Viability

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The effect of liposomal doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO on cellular viability was

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determined by treating cells with serial dilutions of either liposomal doxorubicin or liposomal

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doxorubicin co-encapsulated with LLO. After a 48-hour treatment period, cells were assayed for

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viability with MTT. Data was fit to sigmoidal dose-response curves with variable slopes by

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constraining the top and bottom best fit values (Prism 6, GraphPad Software, Figure 4). It was

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found that co-encapsulation of doxorubicin with LLO significantly lowered the EC50 for both

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cell lines compared to liposomes containing doxorubicin alone (extra sum-of-squares F test, p
0.05, Supplementary

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Figure 3).

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The pore-forming activity of LLO is pH-dependent and thus the protein is thought to only exert

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an effect in the acidic environment of endolysosomal organelles. 22 Other studies have shown that

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liposomes containing LLO alone result in limited cellular toxicity. 20 In agreement with these

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reports, it was found that the dose-response curves for liposomal LLO and liposomal doxorubicin

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co-encapsulated with LLO were statistically different (Supplementary Figure 2, p < 0.0001),

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with only the highest concentrations of liposomal LLO causing a reduction in cellular viability.

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In vivo pH Measurement

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To determine whether the magnitude of reduction in EC50 corresponded to the pH-gradient in

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each cell line, live cells were exposed to pH-sensitive ratiometric fluorophores and then imaged

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using a confocal microscope. LysoSensor Yellow/Blue DND-160 was used to measure the

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lysosomal pH while SNARF 5F 5-(and-6)-carboxylic acid was used to measure the cytosolic pH

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of A2780 and A2780ADR cells. No significant difference in lysosomal pH was observed

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between the two cell lines, but a statistically significant difference in cytosolic pH was observed

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(Figure 5, p