The lungs represent a frequent target for metastatic
melanoma as they offer a high-
oxygen environment for
tumor development. The overexpression of the
WT1 protein has been associated with the occurrence of
melanoma. In this study, we evaluated the effects of silencing the
WT1 protein by
siRNA in both in vitro in the B16F10
melanoma cell line and in vivo in a murine model of lung metastatic
melanoma. We did this by implementing a novel respiratory delivery strategy of a neutral
DOPC liposomal-
siRNA system (L-
siRNA). In vitro studies showed an effective silencing of the
WT1 protein in the siRNAs' WT1-treated cells when compared with controls, resulting in a loss of the cell's viability and proliferation by inducing G1 arrest, the inhibition of the migration and invasion capacities of the cells, as well as the induction of apoptosis. In vivo, the respiratory administration of L-WT1
siRNA showed an efficient biodistribution on the lungs. After two weeks of treatment, the silencing of the
WT1 protein resulted in an important antitumor activity that reduced the
tumor weight. In the survival study, L-WT1 treatment could significantly delay the death of the animals. This work demonstrates the efficacy of the L-
siRNA respiratory administration as a novel
therapy to reduce pulmonary
tumors and to increase survivability by silencing specific
cancer oncogenes as WT1.