Assessment of the Efficacy of the Combination of RNAi of lncRNA DANCR with Chemotherapy to Treat Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Magnetic Resonance Molecular Imaging

Abstract

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) differentiation antagonizing noncoding RNA (DANCR) is overexpressed in human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and promotes cell migration and proliferation. TNBC is limited in treatment options relative to hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer and is commonly treated with chemotherapy, which is often compromised by acquired resistance. DANCR has been implicated in the development of chemoresistance across multiple cancer types. Here, we applied magnetic resonance molecular imaging (MRMI) with a targeted contrast agent, MT218, specific to extradomain-B fibronectin (EDB-FN), a marker for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, to assess the therapeutic efficacy of the combination of paclitaxel and ZD2-PEG-ECO/siDANCR nanoparticles (ZD2-siDANCR-ELNP) to treat TNBC. The treatment of orthotopic MDA-MB-231 TNBC in mice with paclitaxel significantly suppressed tumor growth but with a significant increase of EDB-FN in the tumor, as revealed by MRMI and immunohistochemistry. Combining ZD2-siDANCR-ELNP with paclitaxel further reduced tumor sizes, along with reduced EDB-FN expression. Interestingly, MT218-MRMI revealed a lower reduction of tumor signal enhancement with the combination treatment than that with the siDANCR treatment alone, which was supported by higher cell density in the tumors treated with the combination therapy, as shown by histochemical analysis. MT218-MRMI clearly revealed the changes of the tumor microenvironment in response to various therapies and is effective to noninvasively assess the response of TNBC tumors to the therapies. Regulating oncogenic lncRNA DANCR is an effective strategy for improving the outcomes of chemotherapy in TNBC.