Liposome-plasmid complexes encoding angiostatin and endostatin inhibit breast cancer in nude mice

Excerpt

Angiogenesis has been shown to be crucial for both tumor growth and metastasis. Preventing angiogenesis with antiangiogenic factors is an obvious therapeutic strategy. Two antiangiogenic factors that have been identified are angiostatin and endostatin. Derived from parent proteins (plasminogen and collagen XVIII respectively) these polypeptides inhibit endothelial cell proliferation while having no obvious toxicity although delivery of these agents is difficult, and usually requires prolonged infusions. An alternative delivery method is gene therapy transfer. Standard gene therapy uses viral vectors; however, there are safety and toxicity issues surrounding the use of viral vectors. This study examined whether liposomes complexed to plasmids encoding angiostatin or endostatin could successfully inhibit angiogenesis and the growth of MDA-MB-435 tumors implanted in the mammary fat pads of nude mice. …