Docetaxel-loaded D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol-1000 succinate liposomes improve lung cancer chemotherapy and reverse multidrug resistance

Advanced Delivery Strategies of Nintedanib for Lung Disorders and Beyond: A Comprehensive Review

Nintedanib, a primary treatment for lung fibrosis, has gathered substantial attention due to its multifaceted potential. A tyrosine kinase inhibitor, nintedanib, inhibits multiple signalling receptors, including endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) and ultimately inhibits fibroblast proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, nintedanib has been studied widely for other ailments like cancers and hepatic fibrosis, apart from lung disorders. Commercially, nintedanib is available as soft gelatin capsules for treatment against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Since it has very low oral bioavailability (4.7%), high doses of a drug, such as 100-150 mg, are administered, which can cause problems of gastrointestinal irritation and hepatotoxicity. The article begins with exploring the mechanism of action of nintedanib, elucidating its complex interactions within cellular pathways that govern fibrotic processes. It also emphasizes the pharmacokinetics of nintedanib, clinical trial insights, and the limitations of conventional formulations. The article mainly focuses on the emerging landscape of nanoparticle-based carriers such as hybrid liposome-exosome, nano liquid crystals, discoidal polymeric, and magnetic systems, offering promising avenues to optimize drug targeting, address its efficacy issues and minimise adverse effects. However, none of these delivery systems are commercialised, and further research is required to ensure safety and effectiveness in clinical settings. Yet, as research progresses, these advanced delivery systems promise to revolutionise the treatment landscape for various fibrotic disorders and cancers, potentially improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

Nanoliposomes as nonviral vectors in cancer gene therapy

Nonviral vectors, such as liposomes, offer potential for targeted gene delivery in cancer therapy. Liposomes, composed of phospholipid vesicles, have demonstrated efficacy as nanocarriers for genetic tools, addressing the limitations of off-targeting and degradation commonly associated with traditional gene therapy approaches. Due to their biocompatibility, stability, and tunable physicochemical properties, they offer potential in overcoming the challenges associated with gene therapy, such as low transfection efficiency and poor stability in biological fluids. Despite these advancements, there remains a gap in understanding the optimal utilization of nanoliposomes for enhanced gene delivery in cancer treatment. This review delves into the present state of nanoliposomes as carriers for genetic tools in cancer therapy, sheds light on their potential to safeguard genetic payloads and facilitate cell internalization alongside the evolution of smart nanocarriers for targeted delivery. The challenges linked to their biocompatibility and the factors that restrict their effectiveness in gene delivery are also discussed along with exploring the potential of nanoliposomes in cancer gene therapy strategies by analyzing recent advancements and offering future directions.

Using nanotechnology to progress the utilization of marine natural products in combating multidrug resistance in cancer: A prospective strategy

Achieving targeted, customized, and combination therapies with clarity of the involved molecular pathways is crucial in the treatment as well as overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer. Nanotechnology has emerged as an innovative and promising approach to address the problem of drug resistance. Developing nano-formulation-based therapies using therapeutic agents poses a synergistic effect to overcome MDR in cancer. In this review, we aimed to highlight the important pathways involved in the progression of MDR in cancer mediated through nanotechnology-based approaches that have been employed to circumvent them in recent years. Here, we also discussed the potential use of marine metabolites to treat MDR in cancer, utilizing active drug-targeting nanomedicine-based techniques to enhance selective drug accumulation in cancer cells. The discussion also provides future insights for developing complex targeted, multistage responsive nanomedical drug delivery systems for effective cancer treatments. We propose more combinational studies and their validation for the possible marine-based nanoformulations for future development.

Formulation and evaluation of a two-stage targeted liposome coated with hyaluronic acid for improving lung cancer chemotherapy and overcoming multidrug resistance

Multidrug resistance (MDR) has emerged as a prominent challenge contributing to the ineffectiveness of chemotherapy in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Currently, mitochondria of cancer cells are identified as a promising target for overcoming MDR due to their crucial role in intrinsic apoptosis pathway and energy supply centers. Here, a two-stage targeted liposome (HA/TT LP/PTX) was successfully developed via a two-step process: PTX-loaded cationic liposome (TT LP/PTX) were formulated by lipid film hydration & ultrasound technique, followed by further coating with natural anionic polysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA). TT, an amphipathic polymer conjugate of triphenylphosphine (TPP)-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS), was used to modify the liposomes for mitochondrial targeting. The average particle size, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency (EE%) of HA/TT LP/PTX were found to be 153 nm, -30.3 mV and 92.1% based on the optimal prescription of HA/TT LP/PTX. Compared to cationic liposome, HA-coated liposomes showed improved stability and safety, including biological stability in serum, cytocompatibility, and lower hemolysis percentage. In drug-resistant A549/T cells, HA was shown to improve the cellular uptake of PTX through CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis and subsequent degradation by hyaluronidase (HAase) in endosomes. Following this, the exposure of TT polymer facilitated the accumulation of PTX within the mitochondria. As a result, the function of mitochondria in A549/T cells was disturbed, leading to an increased ROS level, decreased ATP level, dissipated MMP, and increased G2/M phase arrest. This resulted in a higher apoptotic rate and stronger anticancer efficacy.

Design strategy and research progress of multifunctional nanoparticles in lung cancer therapy

INTRODUCTION

Lung cancer is one of the cancer types with the highest mortality rate, exploring a more effective treatment modality that improves therapeutic efficacy while mitigating side effects is now an urgent requirement. Designing multifunctional nanoparticles can be used to overcome the limitations of drugs and conventional drug delivery systems. Nanotechnology has been widely researched, and through different needs, suitable nanocarriers can be selected to load anti-cancer drugs to improve the therapeutic effect. It is foreseeable that with the rapid development of nanotechnology, more and more lung cancer patients will benefit from nanotechnology. This paper reviews the merits of various multifunctional nanoparticles in the treatment of lung cancer to provide novel ideas for lung cancer treatment.

AREAS COVERED

This review focuses on summarizing various nanoparticles for targeted lung cancer therapy and their advantages and disadvantages, using nanoparticles loaded with anti-cancer drugs, delivered to lung cancer sites, enhancing drug half-life, improving anti-cancer drug efficacy and reducing side effects.

EXPERT OPINION

The delivery mode of nanoparticles with superior pharmacokinetic properties in the in vivo circulation enhances the half-life of the drug, and provides tissue-targeted selectivity and the ability to overcome biological barriers, bringing a revolution in the field of oncology.

Recent advances in access to overcome cancer drug resistance by nanocarrier drug delivery system

Cancer is currently one of the most intractable diseases causing human death. Although the prognosis of tumor patients has been improved to a certain extent through various modern treatment methods, multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumor cells is still a major problem leading to clinical treatment failure. Chemotherapy resistance refers to the resistance of tumor cells and/or tissues to a drug, usually inherent or developed during treatment. Therefore, an urgent need to research the ideal drug delivery system to overcome the shortcoming of traditional chemotherapy. The rapid development of nanotechnology has brought us new enlightenments to solve this problem. The novel nanocarrier provides a considerably effective treatment to overcome the limitations of chemotherapy or other drugs resulting from systemic side effects such as resistance, high toxicity, lack of targeting, and off-target. Herein, we introduce several tumor MDR mechanisms and discuss novel nanoparticle technology applied to surmount cancer drug resistance. Nanomaterials contain liposomes, polymer conjugates, micelles, dendrimers, carbon-based, metal nanoparticles, and nucleotides which can be used to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs, photosensitizers, and small interfering RNA (siRNA). This review aims to elucidate the advantages of nanomedicine in overcoming cancer drug resistance and discuss the latest developments.

TPGS Decorated Liposomes as Multifunctional Nano-Delivery Systems

Liposomes are sphere-shaped vesicles that can capture therapeutics either in the outer phospholipid bilayer or inner aqueous core. Liposomes, especially when surface-modified with functional materials, have been used to achieve many benefits in drug delivery, including improving drug solubility, oral bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and delivery to disease target sites such as cancers. Among the functional materials used to modify the surface of liposomes, the FDA-approved non-ionic surfactant D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) is increasingly being applied due to its biocompatibility, lack of toxicity, applicability to various administration routes and ability to enhance solubilization, stability, penetration and overall pharmacokinetics. TPGS decorated liposomes are emerging as a promising drug delivery system for various diseases and are expected to enter the market in the coming years. In this review article, we focus on the multifunctional properties of TPGS-coated liposomes and their beneficial therapeutic applications, including for oral drug delivery, vaccine delivery, ocular administration, and the treatment of various cancers. We also suggest future directions to optimise the manufacture and performance of TPGS liposomes and, thus, the delivery and effect of encapsulated diagnostics and therapeutics.

Role of natural P-gp inhibitor in the effective delivery for chemotherapeutic agents

Multi-drug resistance has shown to be one of the leading threats faced currently in many chemotherapeutic agents. Permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) is an efflux transporter in membrane, an integral part of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters widely distributed in the body for cellular uptake. It is present enormously in cancerous cells and is in charge of generating transporter mediated resistance to treatments of tumorous cells in addition to blocking the entry of chemotherapeutic drugs into the cell. Natural P-gp inhibitors are derived from natural plant sources possessing basic structures like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, saponins, sapogenins, sterols, coumarins and miscellaneous structures acting on P-gp substrate for inhibition of multi-drug resistance via inhibiting the efflux pump. They do not depict their action on the healthy cells and thus it is proven to be more effective and less toxic than synthetic P-gp inhibitor leading to enhancement in bioavailability of chemotherapeutic drugs. The significant objective of the present review is surfing through the impact of natural P-gp inhibitors having basic structures derived from the plant sources and how it inhibits the resistance of chemotherapeutic drugs together with how well it delivers chemotherapy medicines.

Bioavailability enhancement of vitamin E TPGS liposomes of nintedanib esylate: formulation optimization, cytotoxicity and pharmacokinetic studies

Nintedanib esylate is a kinase inhibitor designated for the cure of non-small cell lung cancer suffered from first-pass metabolism which resulted in low oral bioavailability (~ 4.7%). The exploration intended to increase the oral bioavailability of drug by means of D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) liposomes. The nintedanib esylate-loaded TPGS liposomes were prepared by thin-film hydration method by optimizing process parameters like phospholipids:cholesterol ratio, drug loading and sonication time through the design of experiments. The drug's behaviour was studied using a variety of techniques, including physicochemical characterization and in vitro and in vivo studies. TPGS liposomes had a particle size of 125 ± 6.7 nm, entrapment efficiency of 88.6 ± 4.1% and zeta potential of + 46 ± 2.8 mV. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the drug was converted to partially amorphous state, while transmission electron microscope images showed the spherical shape with TPGS on the surface of liposomes. The formulation showed Higuchi kinetics with sustained drug release of 92% in 36 h. Cellular uptake of C-6-labelled liposomes was observed in A-549 cells and cytotoxicity testing revealed that liposomes were more effective than marketed formulation. The preparation was found stable in stability chamber and simulated fluids. Liposomal oral bioavailability was ~ 6.23 times greater in Sprague-Dawley male rats compared to marketed formulation, according to in vivo pharmacokinetic data. Liposomes performed better than marketed capsules upon oral administration because of the prolonged drug release and increased oral bioavailability; as a result, the developed formulation can become a successful strategy in cancer chemotherapy.

Development of D-α-Tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate fabricated nanostructural lipid carrier of sorafenib tosylate for metastatic colorectal targeting application: Stability, physical characterization, cytotoxicity, and apoptotic studies against SW48 cells PTEN

The study aimed to create D-α-Tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) of sorafenib tosylate (ST) as lymphatic delivery systems (LDDS) to fight Metastatic colorectal cancer. Initially, ST-SLN, ST-NLC, and ST-LNE were formulated considering oleic acid (OA), glycerol monolinoleate (GMO), glycerol monolinoleate (GML) as solid lipid and further characterised, and tested for stability. The most stable ST-NLC was fabricated with TPGS to produce ST-TPGS-NLC and evaluated by performing in vitro drug profiling, in vitro cytotoxicity, and apoptotic studies against human female colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines (SW48 Cells PTEN). Stability studies on three lipidic nanoparticles (ST-SLN, ST-NLC, ST-LEN) showed particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential ranging from 165 nm to 298 nm, 0.125 to 0.288, and -31 mV to -16 mV. At 1600 minutes, more than 80% of ST-NLC1 was released, confirming the sustained release pattern of the formulation. ST-NLC and ST-TPGS-NLC have entrapment efficiencies above 50%. Pure ST’s IC50 at 72 hr was 3.45 µg/mL, while 1.56 µg/mL was for ST-TPGS-NLC. The ST-TPGS-NLC reduced the number of livings SW48 Cells PTEN from 91% to 5%, compared to 75% to 8% of pure ST. The ST-TPGS-NLC is a promising LDDS for delivering ST for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Emerging nanotechnology-based therapeutics to combat multidrug-resistant cancer

Cancer often develops multidrug resistance (MDR) when cancer cells become resistant to numerous structurally and functionally different chemotherapeutic agents. MDR is considered one of the principal reasons for the failure of many forms of clinical chemotherapy. Several factors are involved in the development of MDR including increased expression of efflux transporters, the tumor microenvironment, changes in molecular targets and the activity of cancer stem cells. Recently, researchers have designed and developed a number of small molecule inhibitors and derivatives of natural compounds to overcome various mechanisms of clinical MDR. Unfortunately, most of the chemosensitizing approaches have failed in clinical trials due to non-specific interactions and adverse side effects at pharmacologically effective concentrations. Nanomedicine approaches provide an efficient drug delivery platform to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy and improve therapeutic effectiveness. Multifunctional nanomaterials have been found to facilitate drug delivery by improving bioavailability and pharmacokinetics, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs to overcome MDR. In this review article, we discuss the major factors contributing to MDR and the limitations of existing chemotherapy- and nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems to overcome clinical MDR mechanisms. We critically review recent nanotechnology-based approaches to combat tumor heterogeneity, drug efflux mechanisms, DNA repair and apoptotic machineries to overcome clinical MDR. Recent successful therapies of this nature include liposomal nanoformulations, cRGDY-PEG-Cy5.5-Carbon dots and Cds/ZnS core–shell quantum dots that have been employed for the effective treatment of various cancer sub-types including small cell lung, head and neck and breast cancers.

Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effect of Rubus chingii Leaf Extract against Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma A549 Cells

Rubus chingii is a traditional Chinese medicinal herbal that has been used since ancient times for its great dietary and medicinal values. Recent reports have underscored the promising cytotoxic effect of R. chingii extracts against a wide variety of cancer cells. Therefore, in the current study, we aim to explore the anticancer potential of the Rubus chingii ethanolic leaf extract (RcL-EtOH) against non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells. RcL-EtOH efficiently exerted a cytotoxic effect against A549 cells in a dose dependent manner, whilst, it exhibited non-significant toxic effects on normal murine macrophage cells, signifying its safety against normal cells. The reduced viability of A549 cells was reaffirmed by the acridine orange/ethidium bromide double staining, which confirmed the induction of apoptosis in RcL-EtOH-treated A549 cells. In addition, RcL-EtOH instigated the dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) with mutual escalation in ROS generation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, RcL-EtOH increased caspase-3, caspase-9 levels in A549 cells post-exposure to RcL-EtOH, which was concomitantly followed by altered mRNA expression of apoptotic (anti-apoptotic: Bcl-2, BclXL; pro-apoptotic: Bax, Bad). To sum up, the RcL-EtOH-instigated apoptotic cell death within A549 cells was assumed to be accomplished via targeting mitochondria, triggering increased ROS generation, with subsequent activation of caspase cascade and altering the expression of gene regulating apoptosis. Collectively, RcL-EtOH might represent a plausible therapeutic option for the management of lung cancer.

Nicotine-induced miR-21-3p promotes chemoresistance in lung cancer by negatively regulating FOXO3a

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide and cigarette smoking is reported to contribute to the lung cancer-related mortality. The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism underlying nicotine-induced chemoresistance in lung cancer. The expression of microRNA (miR)-21-3p and its predicted target FOXO3a in lung cancer cells was detected via reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, in the presence or absence of nicotine. The regulatory effect of miR-21-3p and FOXO3a on lung cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis induced by docetaxel or cisplatin treatment was evaluated by performing Cell Counting Kit-8 and Annexin V/PI staining assays, respectively. The interaction between miR-21-3p and FOXO3a was analyzed by performing luciferase reporter assays and western blotting. FOXO3a overexpression rescue experiments were conducted in vitro and in vivo using a xenograft mouse model to assess the function of miR-21-3p/FOXO3a in lung cancer. Nicotine induced miR-21-3p expression in lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. miR-21-3p downregulated FOXO3a expression by directly binding to the 3′-untranslated region of FOXO3a. Moreover, miR-21-3p knockdown sensitized lung cancer cells to docetaxel or cisplatin treatment. Mechanistically, FOXO3a was predicted as a direct target of miR-21-3p. FOXO3a overexpression promoted the chemosensitivity of lung cancer cells to docetaxel or cisplatin treatment. Furthermore, FOXO3a overexpression antagonized the regulatory function of miR-21-3p on docetaxel- or cisplatin-treated lung cancer cells. In the docetaxel- or cisplatin-treated lung cancer xenograft mouse model, miR-21-3p promoted chemoresistance via negatively regulating FOXO3a. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that nicotine-induced miR-21-3p promoted chemoresistance to docetaxel or cisplatin treatment via negatively regulating FOXO3a, which may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with chemoresistant lung cancer.

How docetaxel entrapment, vesicle size, zeta potential and stability change with liposome composition-A formulation screening study

Limitations of the anticancer drug product Taxotere® have encouraged researchers to entrap the active ingredient docetaxel (DTX) into nanocarriers such as liposomes. However, until now no DTX-liposome formulation has reached the clinic. Hence, in the present study, different Soy-PC based DTX-liposome formulations were screened in an attempt to identify lipid-compositions with promising DTX-entrapment (DTX-EE). Various other quality attributes, such as vesicle size and morphology, poly dispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), stability and in vitro drug release were also investigated. In an initial study, the inclusion of charged lipids within the liposome bilayer was observed to have a positive effect on DTX-EE. Thus, cationic DOTAP (1,2-Dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane) and anionic DMPG (1,2-Dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol) lipids were selected for further investigations. With anionic DMPG, only a temporary rise in EE was gained with ≥ 20% (w/w) DMPG in Soy-PC lipid-based liposomes, whereas a concentration-dependent increase in EE was observed with cationic DOTAP. A DTX-EE > 95% was obtained with only 5% (w/w) DOTAP in Soy-PC, while neutral liposomes formed from Soy-PC alone, gave 41.5% DTX-EE. In the stability study, a DOTAP concentration > 10% (w/w) in Soy-PC was found to facilitate a stable DTX-EE > 90% after 12 weeks storage. The positive effect of cationic lipids on the EE was confirmed when replacing cholesterol (CHOL), initially shown to suppress DTX-entrapment, with cationic 3ß-[N-(N',N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl]Cholesterol (DC-CHOL). Here, DTX-EE was improved from 29.8% to 92.0% (w/w) with 10% (w/w) CHOL and DC-CHOL in Soy-PC, respectively. Finally, PEGylation of DOTAP-liposomes with DSPE-PEG2000 and DSPE-PEG750 reduced the DTX-EE relative to DOTAP-liposome with no PEGylation. As with the DMPG-liposomes, a temporarily raised affinity between DTX and liposomes was obtained with anionic DSPE-PEGylation of Soy-PC liposomes, however, this effect was not maintained after 4 weeks storage. However, in a dialysis set-up, cationic DOTAP-liposomes released DTX to a higher extent than PEGylated liposomes. Thus, the optimal formulation with regard to storage stability and in vivo performance need to be investigated further, applying conditions that are closer to mimic the in vivo-situation. Applying the Dual Asymmetric Centrifugation (DAC) method in liposome production appears favourable due to its good reproducibility. The observed increase in DTX entrapment with cationic lipids or PEGylation appears scalable into pilot manufacturing scale.

Nanotherapeutics approaches to overcome P-glycoprotein-mediated multi-drug resistance in cancer

Multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer chemotherapy is a growing concern for medical practitioners. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) overexpression is one of the major reasons for multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy. The P-gp overexpression in cancer cells depends on several factors like adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), and drug physicochemical properties such as lipophilicity, molecular weight, and molecular size. Further multiple exposures of anticancer drugs to the P-gp efflux protein cause acquired P-gp overexpression. Unique structural and functional characteristics of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems provide opportunities to circumvent P-gp mediated MDR. The primary mechanism behind the nanocarrier systems in P-gp inhibition includes: bypassing or inhibiting the P-gp efflux pump to combat MDR. In this review, we discuss the role of P-gp in MDR and highlight the recent progress in different nanocarriers to overcome P-gp mediated MDR in terms of their limitations and potentials.

Progress in the study of D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) reversing multidrug resistance

Currently, multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major reasons for failure in clinical cancer chemotherapy. Overexpression of the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which significantly increases the efflux of anticancer drugs from tumor cells, enhances MDR. In the past few decades, four generations of P-gp inhibitors have appeared. However, they are limited in clinical application due to their severe toxic side effects. As a P-gp inhibitor and carrier for loading chemotherapy agents, TPGS has received increasing attention due to its advantages and unique properties of reversing MDR. TPGS is an amphipathic agent that increases the solubility of most chemotherapy drugs and decreases severe side effects. In addition, TPGS is an excellent carrier with P-gp-inhibiting ability. In this review, we summarize the latest articles on TPGS-based nanodelivery systems to prevent MDR.

Novel redox-sensitive thiolated TPGS based nanoparticles for EGFR targeted lung cancer therapy

Novel glutathione (GSH) redox-sensitive thiolated vitaminE-PEG1000-succinate (TPGH-SH) was synthesized by conjugating TPGS with 4-amino thiophenol (4-ATP) and confirmed by FTIR and NMR studies. Following, docetaxel (DTX) loaded, cetuximab (CTB) conjugated redox sensitive TPGS-SH nanoparticles (TPGS-SH NP) were prepared by dialysis method and screened for size, charge, DTX entrapment, which revealed that size, surface charge and percent entrapment are in the range of 183-227 nm, +18 to +26 mV and 68-71%. SEM, TEM, AFM have reflected the spherical and uniform size of NP with a smooth surface. In-vitro release studies were performed in media containing different concentrations of GSH to study their effect on drug release and drug release of up to 94.5%, at pH 5.5, GSH 20 mM, is observed within 24 h. The pH/redox sensitivity studies revealed the better stability of NP at higher pH and lower GSH concentrations. In-vitro cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, migration and apoptotic assays, performed on A549 cells, have proved that targeted formulation produced higher cytotoxicity (significantly less IC50 value) and uptake and also prevented cell migration. Pharmacokinetic and histopathological screening were performed on CF rats, which demonstrated promising results. The in-vivo efficacy studies on benzo(a)pyrene induced mice lung cancer model showed that targeted TPGS-SH NP has significantly reduced the cell number than the model control.

Versatile role of curcumin and its derivatives in lung cancer therapy

Lung cancer is a main cause of death all over the world with a high incidence rate. Metastasis into neighboring and distant tissues as well as resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy demand novel strategies in lung cancer therapy. Curcumin is a naturally occurring nutraceutical compound derived from Curcuma longa (turmeric) that has great pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antidiabetic. The excellent antitumor activity of curcumin has led to its extensive application in the treatment of various cancers. In the present review, we describe the antitumor activity of curcumin against lung cancer. Curcumin affects different molecular pathways such as vascular endothelial growth factors, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), mammalian target of rapamycin, PI3/Akt, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs in treatment of lung cancer. Curcumin also can induce autophagy, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest to reduce the viability and proliferation of lung cancer cells. Notably, curcumin supplementation sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapy and enhances chemotherapy-mediated apoptosis. Curcumin can elevate the efficacy of radiotherapy in lung cancer therapy by targeting various signaling pathways, such as epidermal growth factor receptor and NF-κB. Curcumin-loaded nanocarriers enhance the bioavailability, cellular uptake, and antitumor activity of curcumin. The aforementioned effects are comprehensively discussed in the current review to further direct studies for applying curcumin in lung cancer therapy.