Development of a novel liposomal nanodelivery system for bioluminescence imaging and targeted drug delivery in ErbB2-overexpressing metastatic ovarian carcinoma

Liposomes as targeted drug delivery systems are an emerging strategy in the treatment of cancer to selectively target tumors or genes. In this study, we generated the recombinant protein, EC1-GLuc, by fusing the EC1 peptide, an artificial ligand of ErbB2, with Gaussia luciferase (GLuc). The purified EC1-GLuc was conjugated with a nickel-chelating liposome to construct the EC1-GLuc-liposome. In vitro experiments revealed that the EC1-GLuc-liposome selectively targeted and internalized into ErbB2-overexpressing SKOv3 cells for bioluminescence imaging. A cell-impermeable fluorescence dye (HPTS) encapsulated in the EC-GLuc-liposome was efficiently delivered into the SKOv3 cells. In addition, the EC1-GLuc-liposome also targeted metastatic SKOv3 tumors for bioluminescence imaging and effectively delivered HPTS into metastatic tumors in vivo. Therefore, the present study demonstrates the novel EC1-GLuc-liposome to be an effective theranostic system for monitoring and treating ErbB2-overexpressing metastatic ovarian carcinoma through a combination of targeted molecular imaging and DDS.