Cancer cell membrane-coated biomimetic platform for targeted therapy of breast cancer in an orthotopic mouse model

The long circulation time and targeting drug delivery at tumor sites are still the main challenges of nanodrug delivery systems for antitumor activity. Herein, a cancer cell membrane-coated biomimetic nanodrug delivery system was fabricated. The paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanoparticles (PPNs) were used as the inner cores and 4T1 cancer cell membranes were coated on the surface of PPNs as the outer shells. The biomimetic platform was noted as CPPNs. The CPPNs exhibited proper sizes for the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and could maintain stability in a simulated physiological environment. The CPPNs exhibited a better antitumor effect than PPNs and free PTX in vitro. Moreover, due to the immune escape and homologous targeting abilities endowed by the cancer cell membrane coating, the CPPNs could efficiently accumulate and long-term exist at tumor sites. In the orthotopic 4T1 breast cancer mouse model, the CPPNs effectively inhibited the progression of tumor by increasing the apoptosis and necrosis areas within tumor tissues. In addition, the toxic side effects of PTX was also alleviated in the CPPNs group. As a result, CPPNs can be a promising biomimetic nanodrug delivery system for the enhanced and targeted therapy of breast cancer.