Cholangiocarcinoma therapy with nanoparticles that combine downregulation of MicroRNA-210 with inhibition of cancer cell invasiveness

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the second most common primary liver malignancy with extremely poor therapeutic outcome due to high drug resistance, widespread metastasis and lack of effective treatment options. CCA progression and metastasis are regulated by multiple biological factors including multiple miRNAs and chemokine receptor CXCR4. The goal of this study was to test if nanotherapeutic blockade of CXCR4 by polymeric CXCR4 antagonist (PCX) combined with inhibition of hypoxia-inducible miR-210 cooperatively enhances therapeutic efficacy in CCA through reducing invasiveness, inducing cell killing, and reversing drug resistance.