Multidrug Delivery Systems Based on Human Serum Albumin for Combination Therapy with Three Anticancer Agents

When administering several anticancer drugs within a single carrier, it is important to regulate their spatial distribution so as to avoid possible mutual interference and to thus enhance the drugs’ selectivity and efficiency. To achieve this, we proposed to develop human serum albumin (HSA)-based multidrug delivery systems for combination anticancer therapy. We used three anticancer agents (an organic drug [5-fluorouracil, or 5FU], a metallic agent [2-benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazide copper II, or BpT], and a gene agent [AS1411]) to treat liver cancer and confirm our hypothesis. The structure of the HSA-palmitic acid (PA)-5FU-BpT complex revealed that 5FU and BpT, respectively, bind to the IB and IIA subdomains of HSA. Our MALDI-TOF-MS spectral data show that one AS1411 molecule is conjugated to Cys-34 of the HSA-5FU-BpT complex via a linker. Compared with unregulated three-drug combination therapy, the HSA-5FU-BpT-AS1411 complex enhances cytotoxicity in Bel-7402 cells approximately 7-fold in vitro; however, in normal cells it does not raise cytotoxicity levels. Importantly, our in vivo results demonstrate that the HSA-5FU-BpT-AS1411 complex is superior to the unregulated three-drug combination in enhancing targeting ability, inhibiting liver tumor growth, and causing fewer side effects.