The adsorption of proteins and their layering onto nanoparticle (NP) surfaces, once in contact with biological fluids, has been termed the ‘protein corona’ and has been postulated as a determinant factor for their pharmacological, toxicological and therapeutic profile. In our recent studies, we developed a protocol to investigate for the first time in vivo protein corona formation and its evolution onto clinically-used liposomes after their recovery from the blood circulation of mice [1, 2]. Although in vivo models can significantly improve our understanding of protein corona formation under a more realistic setting, there is currently no published evidence of the existence of protein corona forming in humans in vivo. We will report for the first time our results from a clinical trial in collaboration Manchester Cancer Research Centre to thoroughly characterise the formation of in vivo protein corona in human patients injected with PEGylated, doxorubicin-encapsulated liposomes. In addition, this study explores the potential exploitation of in vivo protein corona to comprehensively analyse the blood circulatory proteome and facilitate thus the detection of previously unknown disease-specific molecules. Our results demonstrate, that liposomes are able to scavenge the blood pool and capture low molecular weight, low abundant plasma proteins that cannot be detected by plasma proteomic analysis.

Human in vivo protein corona formed onto liposomes in ovarian carcinoma patients: From characterization to potential clinical utilization

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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