Self-assembled saRNA delivery system based on rolling circle transcription for aptamer targeting cancer therapy

With the capacity of gene promotion, RNA activation (RNAa) has been supposed to be a powerful technique in field of biomedicine, especially in antitumor aspect. However, one of the pressing challenges for applying in clinic is how to efficiently deliver therapeutic probes to cancer. Herein, we synthesized a carrier through rolling circle transcription (RCT) to deliver p21 saRNA with high loading rate and targeting capacity. This carrier could be condensed from micron dimension to about 200 nm by PEI. In addition, the trait of robust tumor targeting and improved cytotoxicity was demonstrated when aptamer was modified through layer-by-layer self-assembly. Moreover, the 4-fold activation of p21 gene could be obviously detected in targeting group. Meanwhile, the cell apoptosis induced by p21 promotion was also exhibited, which indicated this high-efficient saRNA delivery carrier had a specific anti-tumor effect and could reduce side-effect to normal cells. Therefore, this delivery system had potential to be u...