Synergistic intravesical instillation for bladder cancer: CRISPR-Cas13a and fenbendazole combination therapy

Abstract

Abstract Background CRISPR-Cas13a is renowned for its precise and potent RNA editing capabilities in cancer therapy. While various material systems have demonstrated efficacy in supporting CRISPR-Cas13a to execute cellular functions in vitro efficiently and specifically, the development of CRISPR-Cas13a-based therapeutic agents for intravesical instillation in bladder cancer (BCa) remains unexplored. Methods In this study, we introduce a CRISPR-Cas13a nanoplatform, which effectively inhibits PDL1 expression following intravesical instillation. This system utilizes a fusion protein CAST, created through the genetic fusion of CRISPR-Cas13 and the transmembrane peptide TAT. CAST acts as a potent transmembrane RNA editor and is assembled with the transepithelial delivery carrier fluorinated chitosan (FCS). Upon intravesical administration into the bladder, the CAST-crRNAa/FCS nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit remarkable transepithelial capabilities, significantly suppressing PDL1 expression in tumor tissues.To augment immune activation within the tumor microenvironment, we integrated a fenbendazole (FBZ) intravesical system (FBZ@BSA/FCS NPs). This system is formulated through BSA encapsulation followed by FCS coating, positioning FBZ as a powerful chemo-immunological agent. Results In an orthotropic BCa model, the FBZ@BSA/FCS NPs demonstrated pronounced tumor cell apoptosis, synergistically reduced PDL1 expression, and restructured the immune microenvironment. This culminated in an enhanced synergistic intravesical instillation approach for BCa. Consequently, our study unveils a novel RNA editor nanoagent formulation and proposes a potential synergistic therapeutic strategy. This approach significantly bolsters therapeutic efficacy, holding promise for the clinical translation of CRISPR-Cas13-based cancer perfusion treatments.