Co-delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs with vitamin E TPGS by porous PLGA nanoparticles for enhanced chemotherapy against multi-drug resistance

Targeted Nanotherapy by Vinblastine-Loaded Chitosan-Coated PLA Nanoparticles to Improve the Chemotherapy via Reactive Oxygen Species to Hamper Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Liver cancer is a prevalent and significant cause of death in humans. The use of novel biodegradable materials for various biomedical applications is being recently recommended as complementary as well as alternative solution for traditional chemotherapy. This study focuses on the synthesis of biodegradable nanocarriers [chitosan-coated poly(lactic acid) NPs (Cht-PLA NPs)] for the delivery of an anticancer drug vinblastine (Vbx) and to evaluate its therapeutic potential in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The Cht-PLA NPs were synthesized using the nanoprecipitation method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential techniques. The results showed that the nanoparticle sizes are in the range of 100-200 nm with positive surface charge. The release profile of the synthesized nanoformulation showed controlled release of the Vbx drug for 72 h. The anticancer efficacy of the synthesized nanoformulation was assessed on the HepG2 cell lines. The in vitro cytotoxicity study revealed that the Vbx-loaded Cht-PLA NPs showed higher toxicity with an increase in concentration as compared to the Vbx alone. Additionally, an in vitro cellular uptake study revealed higher internalization as compared to the drug alone due to the chitosan coating. Further, the ability to stimulate the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and variation in mitochondrial membrane potential at the IC50 concentration of Vbx-loaded Cht-PLA NPs was confirmed by using 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and rhodamine 123 dyes, respectively, and were analyzed under fluorescence microscopy. Hence, the results showed that Vbx-loaded Cht-PLA NPs possess high anticancer activity due to its higher cellular toxicity, cellular uptake, increased ROS production, and disruption in mitochondrial membrane potential. All these properties of the synthesized nanoformulation suggest it's potential applications in drug delivery systems, targeting liver cancer.

Polymer nanotherapeutics: A promising approach toward microglial inhibition in neurodegenerative diseases

Nanoparticles (NPs) that target multiple transport mechanisms facilitate targeted delivery of active therapeutic agents to the central nervous system (CNS) and improve therapeutic transport and efficacy across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). CNS nanotherapeutics mostly target neurons and endothelial cells, however, microglial immune cells are the first line of defense against neuronal damage and brain infections. Through triggering release of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and proteases, microglia can however precipitate neurological damage-a significant factor in neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, microglial inhibitory agents are attracting much attention among those researching and developing novel treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. The most established inhibitors of microglia investigated to date are resveratrol, curcumin, quercetin, and minocycline. Thus, there is great interest in developing novel agents that can bypass or easily cross the BBB. One such approach is the use of modified-nanocarriers as, or for, delivery of, therapeutic agents to the brain and wider CNS. For microglial inhibition, polymeric NPs are the preferred vehicles for choice. Here, we summarize the immunologic and neuroinflammatory role of microglia, established microglia inhibitor agents, challenges of CNS drug delivery, and the nanotherapeutics explored for microglia inhibition to date. We also discuss applications of the currently considered "most useful" polymeric NPs for microglial-inhibitor drug delivery in CNS-related diseases.

Co-Delivery of Gemcitabine and Honokiol by Lipid Bilayer-Coated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Enhances Pancreatic Cancer Therapy via Targeting Depletion of Tumor Stroma

Syndecan-1 (SDC1) modified lipid bilayer (LB)-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) to co-deliver gemcitabine (GEM) and honokiol (HNK) were prepared for the targeting treatment of pancreatic cancer. The encapsulation efficiencies of GEM and HNK in SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK were determined to be 60.3 ± 3.2% and 73.0 ± 1.1%. The targeting efficiency of SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK was investigated in BxPC-3 cells in vitro. The fluorescence intensity in the cells treated with SDC1-LB-MSN-Cou6 was 2-fold of LB-MSN-Cou6-treated cells, which was caused by SDC1/IGF1R-mediated endocytosis. As anticipated, its cytotoxicity was significantly increased. Furthermore, the mechanism was verified that SDC1-LB-MSN-HNK induced tumor cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Finally, the biodistribution, tumor growth inhibition, and preliminary safety studies were performed on BALB/c nude mice bearing BxPC-3 tumor models. The tumor growth inhibition index of SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK was 56.19%, which was 1.45-fold and 1.33-fold higher than that of the free GEM/HNK and LB-MSN-GEM/HNK treatment groups, respectively. As a result, SDC1-LB-MSN-GEM/HNK combined advantages of both GEM and HNK and simultaneously targeted and eliminated pancreatic cancerous and cancer-associated stromal cells. In summary, the present study demonstrated a new strategy of synergistic GEM and HNK to enhance the therapeutic effect of pancreatic cancer via the targeting depletion of tumor stroma.

Preparation and In vitro Evaluation of Folated Pluronic F87/TPGS Co-modified Liposomes for Targeted Delivery of Curcumin

BACKGROUND

Using targeted liposomes to encapsulate and deliver drugs has become a hotspot in biomedical research. Folated Pluronic F87/D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) co-modified liposomes (FA-F87/TPGS-Lps) were fabricated for curcumin delivery, and intracellular targeting of liposomal curcumin was investigated.

METHODS

FA-F87 was synthesized and its structural characterization was conducted through dehydration condensation. Then, cur-FA-F87/TPGS-Lps were prepared via thin film dispersion method combined with DHPM technique, and their physicochemical properties and cytotoxicity were determined. Finally, the intracellular distribution of cur-FA-F87/TPGS-Lps was investigated using MCF-7 cells.

RESULTS

Incorporation of TPGS in liposomes reduced their particle size, but increased the negative charge of the liposomes as well as their storage stability, and the encapsulation efficiency of curcumin was improved. While, modification of liposomes with FA increased their particle size, and had no impact on the encapsulation efficiency of curcumin in liposomes. Among all the liposomes (cur-F87-Lps, cur-FA-F87-Lps, cur-FA-F87/TPGS-Lps and cur-F87/TPGS-Lps), cur-FA-F87/TPGS-Lps showed highest cytotoxicity to MCF-7 cells. Moreover, cur-FA-F87/TPGS-Lps was found to deliver curcumin into the cytoplasm of MCF-7 cells.

CONCLUSION

Folate-Pluronic F87/TPGS co-modified liposomes provide a novel strategy for drug loading and targeted delivery.

A review on human cancer and potential role of MXenes in cancer therapy

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and is having a serious impact on the global economy. Various treatment modalities are in use to treat cancer but none of the techniques is risk-free. Recently, various nanomaterials such as gold, boron, and other compounds have been investigated for radiotherapy and as anti-cancer drug carriers with promising results. MXenes are 2D novel nanomaterials and their biomedical and anticancer properties are gaining interest due to their high biomedical activity, less bio-toxicity, and photo-responsive nature. However, the biological properties of MXense have not been studied extensively, therefore, limited data is published on its in-vitro and in-vivo anticancer activities, drug loading efficacy, targeted release, and on its photothermal therapy response. In this review, we have discussed the use of nanoparticles and MXenen nanomaterial in cancer therapy. Furthermore, the role of Mxene as a photothermal agent and drug carrier has also been emphasized, along with the present challenges for the use of nanomaterials in the treatment of cancer.

Redox homeostasis modulation using theranostic AIE nanoparticles results in positive-feedback drug accumulation and enhanced drug penetration to combat drug-resistant cancer

Drug-resistant cancers usually have multiple barriers to compromise the effect of therapies, of which multidrug-resistance (MDR) phenotype as the intracellular barrier and dense tumor matrix as the extracellular barrier, significantly contribute to the poor anticancer performance of current drug delivery systems (DDS). Here in this study, we fabricated a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active polymer capable of self-assembling into ultrasmall nanoparticles (∼20 ​nm) with D-alpha Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol Succinate (TPGS), for dual-encapsulating of doxorubicin (Dox) and sulforaphane (SFN) (AT/Dox/SFN). It revealed that redox homeostasis modulation of MDR cells (MCF-7/Adr) using AT/Dox/SFN can trigger mitochondria damage and ATP deficiency, which reverse the MDR phenotype of MCF-7/Adr cells to afford enhanced cellular uptake of both drug and DDS in a positive-feedback manner. The enhanced cellular drug accumulation further initiates the “neighboring effect” for improved drug penetration. Using this strategy, the growth of in vivo MCF-7/Adr tumors can be effectively inhibited at a low dosage (1/5) of doxorubicin (Dox) as compared to free Dox. In summary, we offer a new approach to overcome both the intracellular and extracellular barriers of drug-resistant cancers and elucidate the potential action mechanisms, which are beneficial for better cancer management.

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Redox homeostasis modulation in MDR cancer cell results in positive-feedback drug accumulation and enhanced drug penetration.

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Mitochondria damage and neighboring effect is responsible for MDR reversal and enhanced drug penetration, respectively.

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AT/Dox/SFN effectively inhibits ​in vivo ​MCF-7/Adr tumors at a low dosage (1/5) of doxorubicin (Dox) as compared to free Dox.

Effects of Sorafenib and Quercetin Alone or in Combination in Treating Hepatocellular Carcinoma: In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches

Sorafenib is the first drug approved to treat advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and continues as the gold-standard therapy against HCC. However, acquired drug resistance represents a main concern about sorafenib therapy. The flavanol quercetin found in plants has shown great anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. In this work, quercetin was used as a therapeutic agent alone or in combination with a sorafenib chemotherapy drug to improve the routine HCC treatment with sorafenib. The in vitro and in vivo results presented here confirm that quercetin alone or in combination with sorafenib significantly inhibited HCC growth, induced cell cycle arrest and induced apoptosis and necrosis. Further molecular data shown in this report demonstrate that quercetin alone or combined with sorafenib downregulated key inflammatory, proliferative and angiogenesis-related genes (TNF-α, VEGF, P53 and NF-κB). Combined quercetin/sorafenib treatment markedly improved the morphology of the induced liver damage and showed significant antioxidant and anti-tumor effects. The advantage of combined treatment efficacy reported here can be attributed to quercetin's prominent effects in modulating cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation.

Platelet-promoting drug delivery efficiency for inhibition of tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence

Nanomedicines are considered one of the promising strategies for anticancer therapy; however, the low targeting efficiency of nanomedicines in vivo is a great obstacle to their clinical applications. Camouflaging nanomedicines with either platelet membrane (PM) or platelet would significantly prolong the retention time of nanomedicines in the bloodstream, enhance the targeting ability of nanomedicines to tumor cells, and reduce the off-target effect of nanomedicines in major organs during the anticancer treatment. In the current review, the advantages of using PM or platelet as smart carriers for delivering nanomedicines to inhibit tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence were summarized. The opportunities and challenges of this camouflaging strategy for anticancer treatment were also discussed.

Potential Role of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in the Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Ginger is composed of multiple bioactive compounds, including 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 10-gingerol, gingerdiones, gingerdiols, paradols, 6-dehydrogingerols, 5-acetoxy-6-gingerol, 3,5-diacetoxy-6-gingerdiol, and 12-gingerol, that contribute to its recognized biological activities. Among them, the major active compounds are 6-shogaol and 6-gingerol. Scientific evidence supports the beneficial properties of ginger, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities and in contrast, a specific and less studied bioactivity is the possible neuroprotective effect. The increase in life expectancy has raised the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), which present common neuropathological features as increased oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and protein misfolding. The structure-activity relationships of ginger phytochemicals show that ginger can be a candidate to treat NDs by targeting different ligand sites. Its bioactive compounds may improve neurological symptoms and pathological conditions by modulating cell death or cell survival signaling molecules. The cognitive enhancing effects of ginger might be partly explained via alteration of both the monoamine and the cholinergic systems in various brain areas. Moreover, ginger decreases the production of inflammatory related factors. The aim of the present review is to summarize the effects of ginger in the prevention of major neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Design of red blood cell membrane-cloaked dihydroartemisinin nanoparticles with enhanced antimalarial efficacy

Targeting delivery and prolonging action duration of artemisinin drugs are effective strategies for improving antimalarial treatment outcomes. Here, dihydroartemisinin (DHA) loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (PDNs) were prepared and further cloaked with red blood cell (RBC) membranes via electrostatic interactions to yield RBC membrane-cloaked PDNs (RPDNs). The prepared RPDNs displayed a notable "core-shell" structure, with a negative surface charge of -29.2 ± 4.19 mV, a relatively uniform size distribution (86.4 ± 2.54 nm, polydispersity index of 0.179 ± 0.011), an average encapsulation efficiency (70.1 ± 0.79%), and a 24-h sustained-release behavior in vitro. Compared with PDNs, RPDNs showed markedly decreased phagocytic activity by RAW 264.7 cells and had prolonged blood circulation duration. The Pearson correlation coefficient of RPDNs distribution in infected red blood cells (iRBCs) was 0.7173, suggesting that RPDNs could effectively target Plasmodium-iRBCs. In PyBy265-infected mice, RPDNs showed a higher inhibition ratio (88.39 ± 2.69%) than PDNs (83.13 ± 2.12%) or DHA (58.74 ± 3.78%), at the same dose of 8.8 μmol/kg. The ED₉₀ of RPDNs (8.13 ± 0.18 μmol/kg) was substantially lower than that of PDNs (14.48 ± 0.23 μmol/kg) and DHA (17.67 ± 3.38 μmol/kg). Furthermore, no apparent abnormalities were detected in routine blood examination, liver function indexes, and pathological analysis of tissue sections of PyBy265-infected mice following RPDNs treatment. In conclusion, the prepared RPDNs exhibited enhanced antimalarial efficacy, prolonged circulation, targeted delivery to Plasmodium-iRBCs, and satisfactory biocompatibility.

Antioxidant Enzymes Sequestered within Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticles for the Local Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The local treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by enzyme therapeutics is challenging owing to hostile environments in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to the hydrolysis and enzymatic degradation of labile proteins. In this study, safe and efficient local drug delivery systems were developed by antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) sequestered within lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles through sequential self-assembly processes. Interestingly, we found that the sequestered SOD exhibited long-term enzymatic stability and comparable biological activity to the enzymes in the native form, probably owing to particle encapsulation providing a physical barrier to prevent the enzymolysis of proteins. We demonstrated that nanoparticle-based local drug delivery systems showed excellent mucus-penetrating ability and inflammation-targeting properties, owing to the particle surface with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) coating and folate functionalization, thus improving mucosal retention time and drug delivery efficiency within the colorectal region. Furthermore, SOD-containing lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles could effectively mitigate inflammatory responses by regulating the secretion of inflammation-associated cytokines, thus increasing therapeutic outcomes in colitis mice through intrarectal administration. The findings indicated that antioxidant enzymes sequestered within lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles might be potential enzyme therapeutics for the local treatment of some inflammatory diseases in the near future.

Development and application of ultrasound contrast agents in biomedicine

With the rapid development of molecular imaging, ultrasound (US) medicine has evolved from traditional imaging diagnosis to integrated diagnosis and treatment at the molecular level. Ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) play a crucial role in the integration of US diagnosis and treatment. As the micro-bubbles (MBs) in UCAs can enhance the cavitation effect and promote the biological effect of US, UCAs have also been studied in the fields of US thrombolysis, mediated gene transfer, drug delivery, and high intensity focused US. The application range of UCAs is expanding, and the value of their applications is improving. This paper reviews the development and application of UCAs in biomedicine in recent years, and the existing problems and prospects are pointed out.

Exploring new Horizons in overcoming P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug-resistant breast cancer via nanoscale drug delivery platforms

The high probability (13%) of women developing breast cancer in their lifetimes in America is exacerbated by the emergence of multidrug resistance after exposure to first-line chemotherapeutic agents. Permeation glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated drug efflux is widely recognized as the major driver of this resistance. Initial in vitro and in vivo investigations of the co-delivery of chemotherapeutic agents and P-gp inhibitors have yielded satisfactory results; however, these results have not translated to clinical settings. The systemic delivery of multiple agents causes adverse effects and drug-drug interactions, and diminishes patient compliance. Nanocarrier-based site-specific delivery has recently gained substantial attention among researchers for its promise in circumventing the pitfalls associated with conventional therapy. In this review article, we focus on nanocarrier-based co-delivery approaches encompassing a wide range of P-gp inhibitors along with chemotherapeutic agents. We discuss the contributions of active targeting and stimuli responsive systems in imparting site-specific cytotoxicity and reducing both the dose and adverse effects.

A nanoselenium-coating biomimetic cytomembrane nanoplatform for mitochondrial targeted chemotherapy- and chemodynamic therapy through manganese and doxorubicin codelivery

The cell membrane is widely considered as a promising delivery nanocarrier due to its excellent properties. In this study, self-assembled Pseudomonas geniculate cell membranes were prepared with high yield as drug nanocarriers, and named BMMPs. BMMPs showed excellent biosafety, and could be more efficiently internalized by cancer cells than traditional red cell membrane nanocarriers, indicating that BMMPs could deliver more drug into cancer cells. Subsequently, the BMMPs were coated with nanoselenium (Se), and subsequently loaded with Mn²⁺ ions and doxorubicin (DOX) to fabricate a functional nanoplatform (BMMP-Mn²⁺/Se/DOX). Notably, in this nanoplatform, Se nanoparticles activated superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) expression and subsequently up-regulated downstream H₂O₂ levels. Next, the released Mn²⁺ ions catalyzed H₂O₂ to highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH), inducing mitochondrial damage. In addition, the BMMP-Mn²⁺/Se nanoplatform inhibited glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression and further accelerated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Notably, the BMMP-Mn²⁺/Se/DOX nanoplatform exhibited increased effectiveness in inducing cancer cell death through mitochondrial and nuclear targeting dual-mode therapeutic pathways and showed negligible toxicity to normal organs. Therefore, this nanoplatform may represent a promising drug delivery system for achieving a safe, effective, and accurate cancer therapeutic plan.

Thymopentin alleviates premature ovarian failure in mice by activating YY2/Lin28A and inhibiting the expression of let-7 family microRNAs

Objective

Thymopentin (5TP) significantly improved typical murine premature ovarian failure (POF) symptoms induced by a high‐fat and high‐sugar (HFHS) diet. However, its effect and mechanism remain unclear.

Materials and methods

RNA‐Seq was used to detect the differentially expressed genes among each group. HFHS‐induced POF mouse model was generated and injected with siRNA using Poly (lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) as a carrier.

Results

RNA‐Seq suggested that 5TP promoted the expression of Yin Yang 2 (YY2) in mouse ovarian granulosa cell (mOGC) of HFHS‐POF mice. Luciferase reporter assay indicated that 5TP promoted the binding of YY2 to the specific sequence C(C/T)AT(G/C)(G/T) on the Lin28A promoter and promoted Lin28A transcription and expression. We continuously injected PLGA‐cross‐linked siRNA nanoparticles targeting YY2 into HFHS‐POF mice (siYY2@PLGA), which significantly reduced the therapeutic effect of 5TP. siYY2@PLGA injection also significantly attenuated the upregulation of Lin28a expression in mOGCs induced by 5TP and enhanced the expression of let‐7 family microRNAs, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and division of mOGCs. qPCR results showed that there was a significant difference in the expression levels of exosome‐derived Yy2 mRNAs between POF patients and normal women, and that there was a specific correlation between the expression level of exosome‐derived Yy2 and the peripheral concentrations of the blood hormones pregnenolone, progesterone and oestradiol.

Conclusions

Thymopentin promotes the transcriptional activation of Lin28A via stimulating transcription factor YY2 expression, inhibits the activity of let‐7 family microRNAs and alleviates the ageing of ovarian granulosa cells, ultimately achieving a therapeutic effect on POF in mice.

Enhancement of oral bioavailability of quercetin by metabolic inhibitory nanosuspensions compared to conventional nanosuspensions

Quercetin-loaded nanosuspensions (Que-NSps) added metabolic inhibitors were evaluated as drug delivery system to promote the oral bioavailability of quercetin. Que-NSps were prepared respectively using d-alpha tocopherol acid polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) or Soybean Lecithin (SPC) as stabilizer. On the basis, Piperine (Pip) or sodium oleate (SO) was, respectively, encapsulated in Que-NSps as phase II metabolic inhibitors. The resulting Que-NSps all displayed a mean particle size of about 200 nm and drug loading content was in the range of 22.3–27.8%. The release of quercetin from Que-NSps was slow and sustained. After oral administration of 50 mg/kg different Que-NSps, the levels of free quercetin in plasma were significantly promoted, the concentration of quercetin metabolites (isorhamnetin and quercetin 3-O-β-d-Glucuronide) were decreased. The absolute bioavailability was, respectively 15.55%, 6.93%, 12.38%, and 23.58% for TPGS-Que-NSps, TPGS-SO-Que-NSps, SPC-Que-NSps, and SPC-Pip-Que-NSps, and 3.61% for quercetin water suspension. SPC-Pip-Que-NSps turned out to an ideal nanocarrier combined nano drug delivery system together with metabolic inhibitor to promote oral absorption of quercetin.

Reversing Chemotherapy Resistance by a Synergy between Lysosomal pH-Activated Mitochondrial Drug Delivery and Erlotinib-Mediated Drug Efflux Inhibition

Mitochondrial drug delivery has attracted increasing attention in various mitochondrial dysfunction-associated disorders such as cancer owing to the important role of energy production. Herein, we report a lysosomal pH-activated mitochondrial-targeting polymer nanoparticle to overcome drug resistance by a synergy between mitochondrial delivery of doxorubicin (DOX, an anticancer drug) and erlotinib-mediated inhibition of drug efflux. The obtained nanoparticles, DE-NPs could maintain negative charge and have long blood circulation while undergoing charge reversal at lysosomal pH after internalization by cancer cells. Thereafter, the acidity-activated polycationic and hydrophobic polypeptide domains boost lysosomal escape and mitochondrial-targeting drug delivery, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, ATP suppression, and cell apoptosis. Moreover, the suppressed ATP supply and erlotinib enabled dual inhibition of drug efflux by DOX-resistant MCF-7/ADR cells, leading to significantly augmented intracellular DOX accumulation and a synergistic anticancer effect with a 17-fold decrease of IC50 relative to DOX. In vivo antitumor study demonstrates that DE-NPs efficiently suppressed the tumor burden in MCF-7/ADR tumor-bearing mice and led to negligible toxicity. This work establishes that a combination of mitochondrial drug delivery and drug efflux inhibition could be a promising strategy for combating multidrug resistance.

GE11 Modified PLGA/TPGS Nanoparticles Targeting Delivery of Salinomycin to Breast Cancer Cells

Salinomycin (Sal) is a potent inhibitor with effective anti-breast cancer properties in clinical therapy. The occurrence of various side effect of Sal greatly limits its application. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family is a family of receptors highly expressed in most breast cancer cells. GE11 is a dodecapeptide which shows excellent EGFR affinity. A series of nanoparticles derivatives with GE11 peptide conjugated PLGA/TPGS were synthesized. Nanoprecipitation method was used to prepare the Sal loaded nanoparticles at the optimized concentration. The characterization, targeting efficacy, and antitumor activity were detected both in vitro and in vivo. Encapsulation of Sal in GE11 modified PLGA/TPGS nanoparticles shows an improved therapy efficacy and lower systemic side effect. This represents the delivery system a promising strategy to enhance the therapeutic effect against EGFR highly expressed breast cancer.

Alendronate/folic acid-decorated polymeric nanoparticles for hierarchically targetable chemotherapy against bone metastatic breast cancer

To considerably enhance treatment efficacy for bone metastatic breast cancer via dual bone/tumor-targeted chemotherapy, a nanoparticle-based delivery system comprising poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) as the hydrophobic core coated with alendronate-modified d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (ALN-TPGS) and folic acid-conjugated TPGS (FA-TPGS) was developed as a vehicle for paclitaxel (PTX) in this work. The ALN/FA-decorated nanoparticles not only showed superior ALN-mediated binding affinity for hydroxyapatite abundant in bone tissue but also promoted uptake of payloads by folate receptor-overexpressing cancer cells to significantly augment PTX cytotoxicity. Notably, through dual-targetable delivery to the bone matrix and folate receptor-overexpressing 4T1 tumors, the PTX-loaded nanoparticles substantially accumulated in bone metastases in vivo and inhibited 4T1 tumor growth and lung metastasis, leading to significant improvement of the survival rate of treated mice. Upon treatment with the ALN/FA-decorated PTX-loaded nanoparticles, the bone destruction and bone loss of the tumor-bearing mice were appreciably retarded, and the adverse effects on normal tissues were alleviated. These results demonstrate that the ALN/FA-decorated PTX-loaded delivery system developed in this study shows great promise for the effective treatment of bone metastatic breast cancer.

Multifunctional nanoplatforms co-delivering combinatorial dual-drug for eliminating cancer multidrug resistance

Clinically, the primary cause of chemotherapy failure belongs to the occurrence of cancer multidrug resistance (MDR), which directly leads to the recurrence and metastasis of cancer along with high mortality. More and more attention has been paid to multifunctional nanoplatform-based dual-therapeutic combination to eliminate resistant cancers. In addition to helping both cargoes improve hydrophobicity and pharmacokinetic properties, increase bioavailability, release on demand and enhance therapeutic efficacy with low toxic effects, these smart co-delivery nanocarriers can even overcome drug resistance. Here, this review will not only present different types of co-delivery nanocarriers, but also summarize targeted and stimuli-responsive combination nanomedicines. Furthermore, we will focus on the recent progress in the co-delivery of dual-drug using such intelligent nanocarriers for surmounting cancer MDR. Whereas it remains to be seriously considered that there are some knotty issues in the fight against MDR of cancers via using co-delivery nanoplatforms, including limited intratumoral retention, the possible changes of combinatorial ratio under complex biological environments, drug release sequence from the nanocarriers, and subsequent free-drug resistance after detachment from the nanocarriers. It is hoped that, with the advantage of continuously developing nanomaterials, two personalized therapeutic agents in combination can be better exploited to achieve the goal of cooperatively combating cancer MDR, thus advancing the time to clinical transformation.

Recent progress in nanomedicine for enhanced cancer chemotherapy

As one of the most important cancer treatment strategies, conventional chemotherapy has substantial side effects and leads easily to cancer treatment failure. Therefore, exploring and developing more efficient methods to enhance cancer chemotherapy is an urgently important problem that must be solved. With the development of nanotechnology, nanomedicine has showed a good application prospect in improving cancer chemotherapy. In this review, we aim to present a discussion on the significant research progress in nanomedicine for enhanced cancer chemotherapy. First, increased enrichment of drugs in tumor tissues relying on different targeting ligands and promoting tissue penetration are summarized. Second, specific subcellular organelle-targeted chemotherapy is discussed. Next, different combinational strategies to reverse multidrug resistance (MDR) and improve the effective intracellular concentration of therapeutics are discussed. Furthermore, the advantages of combination therapy for cancer treatment are emphasized. Finally, we discuss the major problems facing therapeutic nanomedicine for cancer chemotherapy, and propose possible future directions in this field.

Cascaded amplification of intracellular oxidative stress and reversion of multidrug resistance by nitric oxide prodrug based-supramolecular hydrogel for synergistic cancer chemotherapy

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Supramolecular hydrogel was facilely developed by self-assembly of NO prodrug conjugated hydrogelator sequence.

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The locoregionally sustained NO release from the hydrogel could be triggered by intracellular over-expressed GSH/GST.

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NO could effectively reverse the P-gp mediated MDR effect and facilitate the intracellular accumulation of DOX.

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This type of stimuli-sensitive NO delivery platform holds great potential for combating drug-resistance cancer.

Vitamin E succinate with multiple functions: A versatile agent in nanomedicine-based cancer therapy and its delivery strategies

Vitamin E succinate (VES), a succinic acid ester of vitamin E, is one of the most effective anticancer compounds of the vitamin E family. VES can inhibit tumor growth by multiple pathways mainly involve tumor proliferation inhibition, apoptosis induction, and metastasis prevention. More importantly, the mitochondrial targeting and damaging property of VES endows it with great potential in exhibiting synergetic effect with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs and overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR). Given the lipophilicity of VES that hinders its bioavailability and therapeutic activity, nanotechnology with multiple advantages has been widely explored to deliver VES and opened up new avenues for its in vivo application. This review aims to introduce the anticancer mechanisms of VES and summarize its delivery strategies using nano-drug delivery systems. Specifically, VES-based combination therapy for synergetic anticancer effect, MDR-reversal, and oral chemotherapy improvement are highlighted. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed.

Functional Doxorubicin-Loaded Omega-3 Unsaturated Fatty Acids Nanoparticles in Reversing Hepatocellular Carcinoma Multidrug Resistance

Background

This study investigated a nanoparticle drug delivery system to reverse multidrug resistance (MDR) and assessed its anticancer efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Material/Methods

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was used as the functional excipient and doxorubicin (DOX) as the chemotherapeutic drug to synthesize DOX nanoparticles (DOX-nano). The human HCC cell line HepG2 was used for experiments. HepG2/DOX, HepG2+DOX, HepG2+DOX-nano, HepG2/DOX+DOX, and HepG2/DOX+DOX-nano groups cells were treated with DOX or DOX-nano (5 μg/mL). Nude mice bearing a HepG2/DOX xenograft were divided into model, DOX, vector-nano, and DOX-nano groups and injected with saline, DOX reagent, vector-nano, and DOX-nano (2 mg/kg), respectively. Next, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, cell apoptosis and migration, fluorescence imaging, TUNEL assay, and tumor inhibition effects were assessed in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, expression of MDR-related proteins was also detected using western blotting.

Results

Fluorescence imaging showed that the DOX uptake in the DOX-nano-treated group was the strongest in the HCC cells or tumors. Cell apoptosis was significantly increased in DOX-nano-treated HepG2/DOX cells and tumors, and cell migration was significantly inhibited in the DOX-nano-treated HepG2/DOX cells compared with the other groups. The tumor inhibitory rate in DOX-nano-injected tumors was also significantly higher than in other groups. The expression of breast cancer resistance protein, B-cell lymphoma 2, lung resistance protein, multidrug resistance protein, and protein kinase C alpha was significantly decreased in DOX-nano-treated HepG2/DOX cells and xenograft tumors. Significantly better antitumor and MDR-reversing effects were also observed in the HepG2+DOX group compared with the HepG2/DOX group.

Conclusions

This study revealed the potential efficacy of a DOX-nano drug delivery system for the treatment of HCC, using HepG2/DOX cells and nude mice bearing HepG2/DOX xenografts.

MicroRNA-146b-5p overexpression attenuates premature ovarian failure in mice by inhibiting the Dab2ip/Ask1/p38-Mapk pathway and γH2A.X phosphorylation

OBJECTIVE

To examine the role of high-fat and high-sugar (HFHS) diet-induced oxidative stress, which is a risk factor for various diseases, in premature ovarian failure (POF).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ovarian granulosa cells (OGCs) were isolated from mice and cultured in medium supplemented with HFHS and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-cross-linked miR-146b-5p nanoparticles (miR-146@PLGA). RNA and protein expression levels were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. HFHS diet-induced POF model mice were administered miR-146@PLGA.

RESULTS

The ovarian tissue of mice fed a HFHS diet exhibited the typical pathological characteristics of POF. HFHS supplementation induced oxidative stress injury in the mouse OGCs, activation of the Dab2ip/Ask1/p38-Mapk signalling pathway and phosphorylation of γH2A.X in vitro and in vivo. The results of the luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-146 specifically downregulated p38-Mapk14 expression. Meanwhile, co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analyses revealed that HFHS supplementation upregulated nuclear p38-Mapk14 expression and consequently enhanced γH2A.X (Ser139) phosphorylation. The HFHS diet-induced POF mouse model treated with miR-146@PLGA exhibited downregulated p38-Mapk14 expression in the OGCs, mitigated OGC ageing and alleviated the symptoms of POF.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that HFHS supplementation activates the Dab2ip/Ask1/p38-Mapk signalling pathway and promotes γH2A.X phosphorylation by inhibiting the expression of endogenous miR-146b-5p, which results in OGC ageing and POF development.

Improvising anti-leishmanial activity of amphotericin B and paromomycin using co-delivery in d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) tailored nano-lipid carrier system

In the current study, we have focused on the design, development and in-vitro evaluation of d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate modified amphotericin B (AmB) and paromomycin (PM) loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (TPGS-SLNPs) by emulsion-solvent evaporation method. The optimized TPGS-SLNPs had a mean particle size of 199.4 ± 18.9 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.22 ± 0.14 and entrapment efficiency for AmB and PM was found to be 94 ± 1.5 % and 89 ± 0.50 % respectively. The prepared lipid nanoparticles were characterized by Powdered X-ray diffraction study, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to confirm the absence of any interaction between lipids and drugs. The developed formulation showed a sustained drug release over a period of 48 h and were stable at different temperatures. Finally, TPGS-SLNPs (1 μg/mL) was found to significantly (P < 0.001) mitigate the intra-cellular amastigote growth compared to free AmB. The results obtained suggest TPGS-SLNPs could be an efficient carrier for delivering poorly water-soluble drugs and efficiently enhance its therapeutic potential.

Predicting coated-nanoparticle drug release systems with perturbation-theory machine learning (PTML) models

Nanoparticles (NPs) decorated with coating agents (polymers, gels, proteins, etc.) form Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems (DDNS), which are of high interest in nanotechnology and biomaterials science. There have been increasing reports of experimental data sets of biological activity, toxicity, and delivery properties of DDNS. However, these data sets are still dispersed and not as large as the datasets of DDNS components (NP and drugs). This has prompted researchers to train Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that are able to design new DDNS based on the properties of their components. However, most ML models reported up to date predictions of the specific activities of NP or drugs over a determined target or cell line. In this paper, we combine Perturbation Theory and Machine Learning (PTML algorithm) to train a model that is able to predict the best components (NP, coating agent, and drug) for DDNS design. In so doing, we downloaded a dataset of >30 000 preclinical assays of drugs from ChEMBL. We also downloaded an NP data set formed by preclinical assays of coated Metal Oxide Nanoparticles (MONPs) from public sources. Both the drugs and NP datasets of preclinical assays cover multiple conditions of assays that can be listed as two arrays, namely, cjdrug and cjNP. The cjdrug array includes >504 biological activity parameters (c0drug), >340 target proteins (c1drug), >650 types of cells (c2drug), >120 assay organisms (c3drug), and >60 assay strains (c4drug). On the other hand, the cjNP array includes 3 biological activity parameters (c0NP), 40 types of proteins (c1NP), 10 shapes of nanoparticles (c2NP), 6 assay media (c3NP), and 12 coating agents (c4NP). After downloading, we pre-processed both the data sets by separate calculation PT operators that are able to account for changes (perturbations) in the drug, coating agents, and NP chemical structure and/or physicochemical properties as well as for the assay conditions. Next, we carry out an information fusion process to form a final dataset of above 500 000 DDNS (drug + MONP pairs). We also trained other linear and non-linear PTML models using R studio scripts for comparative purposes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first multi-label PTML model that is useful for the selection of drugs, coating agents, and metal or metal-oxide nanoparticles to be assembled in order to design new DDNS with optimal activity/toxicity profiles.

A Multicenter Retrospective Study to Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol Succinate Docetaxel in Various Cancers

In order to overcome the polysorbate induced hypersensitivity reactions with chemotherapy drugs, novel drug-delivery mechanisms have been developed in the last decade. D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) is formed by esterification of alpha-tocopheryl succinate and polyethylene glycol 1000.

This was a real-world retrospective analysis designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of TPGS-docetaxel in various cancers. Patients hospitalized between June 2018 and May 2019 were included in the data set. While the efficacy was assessed by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria, safety was assessed by the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria-adverse event (AE) criteria.

A total of 61 patients who received at least one dose of TPGS-docetaxel were incorporated into the analysis set. The dose of TPGS docetaxel ranged from 20 mg/m2 to 120 mg/m2, commonly prescribed dose being 75 mg/m2. While 25 (40.98%) patients had a partial response, 17 (27.86%) patients had stable disease. Five (8.19%) patients progressed and 4 (6.55%) patients died during the chemotherapy, which was adjudicated to be unrelated to the drug as opined by the treating clinician. AE were reported in 42 patients in the safety data set. There were no AEs pertaining to hypersensitivity reported during the study. One AE of Grade 3 hand foot syndrome was encountered.

The preliminary evidence suggests that the novel TPGS-based docetaxel formulation is efficacious in various cancers, and importantly, it has an enhanced safety profile, as it is devoid of polysorbate 80 induced hypersensitivity reactions.

Effects of D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate-emulsified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles on the absorption, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of salinomycin sodium

Although salinomycin sodium (SS) has shown in-vitro potential to inhibit cancer stem cell growth and development, its low water solubility makes it a poor candidate as an oral chemotherapeutic agent. To improve the bioavailability of SS, SS was encapsulated here using D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS)-emulsified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles and compared with its parent SS in terms of absorption, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy in suppressing nasopharyngeal carcinomas stem cells. The pharmacokinetics of SS and salinomycin sodium-loaded D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate-emulsified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (SLN) prepared by nanoprecipitation were analyzed in-vivo by timed-interval blood sampling and oral administration of SS and SLN to rats. Sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was developed to quantify plasma drug concentrations. SS and SLN transport in Caco-2 cells was also investigated. The therapeutic efficacy of SS and SLN against cancer stem cells was determined by orally administering the drugs to mice bearing CNE1 and CNE2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma xenografts and then evaluating CD133 cell proportions and tumorsphere formation. The in-vivo trial with rats showed that the Cmax, AUC(0-t), and Tmax for orally administered SLN were all significantly higher than those for SS (P<0.05). These findings were corroborated by a Caco-2 cell Transwell assay showing that relative SLN absorption was greater than that of SS on the basis of their apparent permeability coefficients (Papp). Significantly, therapeutic SLN efficacy against nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cells was superior to that of SS. TPGS-emulsified PLGA nanoparticles effectively increase SS solubility and bioavailability. SLN is, therefore, promising as an oral chemotherapeutic agent against cancer stem cells.

Co-Delivery of Paclitaxel and Doxorubicin by pH-Responsive Prodrug Micelles for Cancer Therapy

Background

It is of great significance to develop intelligent co-delivery systems for cancer chemotherapy with improved therapeutic efficacy and few side-effects.

Materials and Methods

Here, we reported a co-delivery system based on pH-sensitive polyprodrug micelles for simultaneous delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX) as a combination chemotherapy with pH-triggered drug release profiles. The physicochemical properties, drug release profiles and mechanism, and cytotoxicity of PTX/DOX-PMs have been thoroughly investigated.

Results and Discussion

The pH-sensitive polyprodrug was used as nanocarrier, and PTX was encapsulated into the micelles with high drug-loading content (25.6%). The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was about 3.16 mg/L, indicating the system could form the micelles at low concentration. The particle size of PTX/DOX-PMs was 110.5 nm, and increased to approximately 140 nm after incubation for 5 days which showed that the PTX/DOX-PMs had high serum stability. With decrease in pH value, the particle size first increased, and thenwas no longer detectable. Similar change trend was observed for CMC values. The zetapotential increased sharply with decrease in pH. These results demonstrated the pHsensitivity of PTX/DOX-PMs. In vitro drug release experiments and study on release mechanism showed that the drug release rate and accumulative release for PTX and DOX were dependent on the pH, showing the pH-triggered drug release profiles. Cytotoxicity assay displayed that the block copolymer showed negligible cytotoxicity, while the PTX/DOX-PMs possessed high cytotoxic effect against several tumor cell lines compared with free drugs and control.

Conclusion

All the results demonstrated that the co-delivery system based on pH-sensitive polyprodrug could be a potent nanomedicine for combination cancer chemotherapy. In addition, construction based on polyprodrug and chemical drug could be a useful method to prepare multifunctional nanomedicine.

In vivo and in vitro evaluation of dihydroartemisinin prodrug nanocomplexes as a nano-drug delivery system: characterization, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics

To develop new, more effective and lower toxicity antitumor dihydroartemisinin (DHA) nanocomplexes, a DHA prodrug synthesized in this study was used to prepare DHA prodrug self-assembled nanocomplexes (DHANPs) by molecular self-assembly technology. The optimization, pharmacokinetics and in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficiency of DHANPs were assessed. The results showed that the entrapment efficiency, drug loading, particle size and zeta potential of the optimized formulation were 92.37 ± 3.68%, 76.98 ± 3.07%, 145.9 ± 2.11 nm and -16.0 ± 0.52 mV, respectively. DHANPs had a uniform size distribution and good stability during storage. The release of DHA prodrugs from DHANPs was slow in a PBS solution (pH 7.4). The pharmacokinetic study indicated that DHANPs could significantly improve the blood concentration of DHA. DHANPs exhibited lower cytotoxicity to 4T1 cells. More importantly, DHANPs could increase the quality life of mice in comparison with that of the DHA solution in 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. In short, the optimized DHA prodrug nanocomplexes show good long-term stability during the experimental time, extend the life-cycle of DHA in rats and can act as a prospective nano-drug delivery system for future artemisinin-based anti-tumor drugs.

Photo-triggered self-destructive ROS-responsive nanoparticles of high paclitaxel/chlorin e6 co-loading capacity for synergetic chemo-photodynamic therapy

To improve the anti-cancer therapeutic effect of nanosystems for chemo-photodynamic therapy, there remain several hurdles to be addressed, e.g., limited co-loading efficiency, insufficient stimulus-responsiveness and lack of synergetic effect. This work reported novel reactive‑oxygen-species (ROS)-responsive chlorin e6 (Ce6) and paclitaxel (PTX) co-encapsulated chondroitin sulfate-g-poly (propylene sulfide) nanoparticles (CP/ChS-g-PPS NPs), wherein the drug loading efficiencies of Ce6 and PTX were as high as 14.93% and 24.31%, respectively. To enlarge the ROS signal at tumor sites thus enhancing the ROS-responsiveness of ChS-g-PPS NPs, near-infrared (NIR) light was utilized to induce Ce6 to produce more ROS to destruct the NPs. Our data showed that the photo-triggered self-destructive property of NPs helped drugs to spread deeper in tumors upon laser irradiation, making the NPs promising to thoroughly remove tumor cells. CP/ChS-g-PPS NPs exhibited a synergetic chemo-photodynamic therapy effect in vitro, which was suggested by the combination indexes of PTX and Ce6 lower than 1 when 20-80% inhibition rates of MCF-7 cells were achieved. As for the in vivo antitumor activity, the tumor inhibition rates of CP/ChS-g-PPS NPs (with laser irradiation) were as high as 92.76% and 88.57% in 4T1 bearing BALB/c mice and MCF-7 bearing BALB/c nude mice, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of other treatment groups. This work provided a simple yet effective strategy to develop photo-triggered ROS-responsive NPs for synergetic chemo-photodynamic therapy with quick ROS-responsive self-destruction, spatiotemporally controllability, reduced off-target toxicity, and desirable therapeutic effect.

Sonication tailored enhance cytotoxicity of naringenin nanoparticle in pancreatic cancer: design, optimization, and in vitro studies

Objective: In vitro, optimization, characterization, and cytotoxic studies of NAR nanoparticles (NPs) to against pancreatic cancer.Method: The sonication tailored Naringenin (NARG)-loaded poly (lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs was fabricated for potential cytotoxic effect against pancreatic cancer. NARG NPs were prepared by emulsion-diffusion evaporation technique applying BoxBehnken experimental design based on three-level and three-factors. The effect of independent variables surfactant concentration (X₁), polymer concentration (X₂), and sonication time (X₃) were studied on responses particle size (Y₁), and drug release % (Y₂). NPs characterized for particles size and size distribution, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Further, the studies was fitted to various drug release kinetic model and cytotoxicity evaluated in vitro.Results: The nanosized particles were spherical, uniform with an average size of 150.45 ± 12.45 nm, PDI value 0.132 ± 0.026, zeta potential -20.5 ± 2.5 mV, and cumulative percentage release 85.67 ± 6.23%. In vitro release of NARG from nanoparticle evaluated initially burst followed by sustained release behavior. The Higuchi was best fitted model to drug release from NARG NPs. The cytotoxicity study of NARG NPs apparently showed higher cytotoxic effect over free NARG (p < 0.05). The stability study of optimized formulation revealed no significant physico-chemical changes during 3 months.Conclusions: Thus, NARG-loaded NPs gave ameliorated anticancer effect over plain NARG.

Folic acid (FA)-conjugated mesoporous silica nanoparticles combined with MRP-1 siRNA improves the suppressive effects of myricetin on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common diagnosed cancer disease worldwide and its management remains a challenge. Synergistic cancer therapeutic strategy is interesting for multiple advantages, such as excellent targeting accuracy, low side effects, and promoted therapeutic efficiency. In the present study, myricetin (Myr)-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) combined with multidrug resistance protein (MRP-1) siRNA was prepared. The surface of the synthesized nanoparticles was modified with folic acid (FA) to promote the therapeutic efficiency of Myr for the treatment of NSCLC. The collected particles were nano-sized and showed a sustained release of Myr in the physiological conditions. FA-conjugated nanoformulations displayed a significant uptake in lung cancer cells compared with that of the non-targeted nanoparticles. The in vitro drug release results suggested a sustained release in FA-conjugated MSN with Myr and MRP-1 nanoparticles compared to the free Myr and MSN combined with MRP-1/Myr. Treatments with FA-conjugated MSN combined with Myr and MRP-1 markedly reduced the cell viability of lung cancer cell lines, including A549 and NCI-H1299, which was accompanied with the decreased number of colony formation. In addition, FA-conjugated MSN loaded with Myr and MRP-1 significantly induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells, along with up-regulated expression levels of cleaved Caspase-3 and PARP. In vivo fluorescence results demonstrated that FA-conjugated MSN with Myr and MRP-1 nanoparticles could specifically accumulate at tumor sites. Compared with free Myr and MSN combined with MRP-1/Myr nanoparticles, FA-conjugated MSN loaded with Myr and MRP-1 nanoparticles could more effectively suppress tumor growth with little side effects. Overall, FA-conjugated nanoparticulate system could provide a novel and effective platform for the treatment of NSCLC.

TPGS-1000 exhibits potent anticancer activity for hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo

D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS1000) is the most active water-soluble derivative of vitamin E and has been widely used as a carrier of solvents, plasticizers, emulsifiers, absorbent agents and refractory drug delivery systems. However, its anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) properties have not been explored. HCC cells were treated with different concentrations of TPGS1000. Cell survival was tested by CCK8 assay, and cell migration was tested by wound healing and Transwell assay. EdU staining verified cell proliferation, and signalling pathway was assayed by Western blot analysis. The BALB/c-nu mouse xenograft model was established to test HCC cell growth in vivo. In vitro TPGS1000 significantly inhibited the viability and mobility of HCC cells (HepG2, Hep3B and Huh7) in a dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis indicated that TPGS1000 treatment arrested the HCC cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, and induction of cell apoptosis was confirmed by TUNEL and Annexin V-7-AAD staining. Further pharmacological analysis indicated that collapse of the transmembrane potential of mitochondria, increased ROS generation, PARP-induced cell apoptosis and FoxM1-p21-mediated cell cycle arresting, were involved in the anti-HCC activity of TPGS1000. Moreover, treatment in vivo with TPGS1000 effectively impaired the growth of HCC xenografts in nude mice.

Combination of Paclitaxel and R-flurbiprofen loaded PLGA nanoparticles suppresses glioblastoma growth on systemic administration

Malignant gliomas are highly lethal. Delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to the brain in sufficient concentration is the major limitation in their treatment due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Drug delivery systems may overcome this limitation and can improve the transportation through the BBB. Paclitaxel is an antimicrotubule agent with effective anticancer activity but limited BBB permeability. R-Flurbiprofen is a nonsteroidal antienflammatory drug and has potential anticancer activity. Accordingly, we designed an approach combining R-flurbiprofen and paclitaxel and positively-charged chitosan-modified poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) and to transport them to glioma tissue. NPs were characterized and, cytotoxicity and cellular uptake studies were carried out in vitro. The in vivo efficacy of the combination and formulations were evaluated using a rat RG2 glioma tumor model. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified and chitosan-coated PLGA NPs demonstrated efficient cytotoxic activity and were internalized by the tumor cells in RG2 cell culture. In vivo studies showed that the chitosan-coated and PEGylated NPs loaded with paclitaxel and R-flurbiprofen exhibited significantly higher therapeutic activity against glioma. In conclusion, PLGA NPs can efficiently carry their payloads to glioma tissue and the combined use of anticancer and anti-inflammatory drugs may exert additional anti-tumor activity.

Transferrin-functionalised microemulsion co-delivery of β-elemene and celastrol for enhanced anti-lung cancer treatment and reduced systemic toxicity

In this study, we developed an intravenously injectable, transferrin-functionalised microemulsion that simultaneously carries β-elemene and celastrol (called Tf-EC-MEs) for enhanced anti-lung cancer treatment and reduced systemic toxicity. These dual-drug-loaded Tf-EC-MEs not only displayed synergistic antiproliferative effects on cultured cells in vitro, but also showed enhanced efficacy in vivo via active tumour targeting. In preparatory experiments, we found that β-elemene was capable of being used as oil phase, which enhanced drug-loading efficiency and allowed the mass ratio of β-elemene and celastrol to be optimised. In cellular studies, Tf-EC-MEs exhibited significantly improved A549 cellular uptake compared with β-elemene+celastrol (conventional combination treatment) and EC-MEs (non-active targeted treatment), demonstrating remarkable synergistic antiproliferative effects and higher rates of cell apoptosis. In A549-bearing xenograft mouse tumour models, Tf-EC-MEs exhibited enhanced antitumour activity compared to all other treatments. More importantly, Tf-EC-MEs did not cause the obvious systemic toxicity commonly found with mono-celastrol treatment. Collectively, these findings suggest that Tf-EC-MEs are a promising strategy for the combination drug treatment of lung cancer.

Ionically Cross-Linked Chitosan Nanoparticles for Sustained Delivery of Docetaxel: Fabrication, Post-Formulation and Acute Oral Toxicity Evaluation

Introduction

Polymeric nanoparticles are potential carriers for the efficient delivery of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs due to their multifaceted applications. Docetaxel is relatively less hydrophobic and twice as potent as paclitaxel. Like other taxane chemotherapeutic agents, docetaxel is not well tolerated and shows toxicity in the patients. Nanoencapsulation of potent chemotherapeutic agents has been shown to improve tolerability and therapeutic outcome. Therefore, the present study was designed to fabricate chitosan and sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) based on ionically cross-linked nanoparticles for sustained release of docetaxel.

Methods

Nanoparticles were prepared by the ionic-gelation method by dropwise addition of the STPP solution into the chitosan solution in different ratios. CNPs were characterized for post-formulation parameters like size, zeta potential, scanning electron microscope (SEM), FTIR, DSC/TGA, pXRD, and in-vitro drug release, as well as for acute oral toxicity studies in Wistar rats.

Results and discussion

The optimized docetaxel loaded polymeric nanoparticles were in the size range (172.6nm–479.65 nm), and zeta potential (30.45–35.95 mV) required to achieve enhanced permeation and retention effect. In addition, scanning electron microscopy revealed rough and porous surface, whereas, FTIR revealed the compatible polymeric nanoparticles. Likewise, the thermal stability was ensured through DSC and TG analysis, and powder X-ray diffraction analysis exhibited solid-state stability of the docetaxel loaded nanoparticles. The in-vitro drug release evaluation in phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4) showed sustained release pattern, i.e. 51.57–69.93% within 24 hrs. The data were fitted to different release kinetic models which showed Fickian diffusion as a predominant release mechanism (R²= 0.9734–0.9786, n= 0.264–0.340). Acceptable tolerability was exhibited by acute oral toxicity in rabbits and no abnormality was noted in growth, behavior, blood biochemistry or histology and function of vital organs.

Conclusion

Ionically cross-linked chitosan nanoparticles are non-toxic and biocompatible drug delivery systems for sustained release of chemotherapeutic agents, such as docetaxel.

Co-Delivery of Docetaxel and Salinomycin to Target Both Breast Cancer Cells and Stem Cells by PLGA/TPGS Nanoparticles

PURPOSE

Conventional chemotherapy is hampered by the presence of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs). It is crucial to eradicating both the bulky breast cancer cells and BCSCs, using a combination of conventional chemotherapy and anti-CSCs drugs. However, the synergistic ratio of drug combinations cannot be easily maintained in vivo. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that the simultaneous delivery of two drugs via nanoliposomes could maintain the synergistic drug ratio for 12 h in vivo. However, nanoliposomes have the disadvantage of quick drug release, which makes it difficult to maintain the synergistic drug ratio for a long time. Herein, we developed a co-delivery system for docetaxel (DTX)-a first-line chemotherapy drug for breast cancer-and salinomycin (SAL)-an anti-BCSCs drug-in rigid nanoparticles constituted of polylactide-co-glycolide/D-alpha-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (PLGA/TPGS).

METHODS

Nanoparticles loaded with SAL and DTX at the optimized ratio (NSD) were prepared by the nanoprecipitation method. The characterization, cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles were investigated in vitro, and the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, antitumor and anti-CSCs activity of nanoparticles were evaluated in vivo.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that a SAL/DTX molar ratio of 1:1 was synergistic in MCF-7 cells and MCF-7-MS. Moreover, the enhanced internalization of nanoparticles was observed in MCF-7 cells and MCF-7-MS. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of NSD against both MCF-7 cells and MCF-7-MS was stronger than the cytotoxicity of any single treatment in vitro. Significantly, NSD could prolong the circulation time and maintain the synergistic ratio of SAL to DTX in vivo for 24 h, thus exhibiting superior tumor targeting and anti-tumor activity compared to other treatments.

CONCLUSION

Co-encapsulation of SAL and DTX in PLGA/TPGS nanoparticles could maintain the synergistic ratio of drugs in vivo in a better manner; thus, providing a promising strategy for synergistic inhibition of breast cancer.

Iron Transport Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol Succinate in Animal Health and Diseases

Gut health is the starting place for maintaining the overall health of an animal. Strategies to maintain gut health are, thus, an important part in achieving the goal of improving animal health. A new strategy to do this involves two molecules: the iron transport protein ovotransferrin (IT) and α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS), which result in the novel formulation of ITPGS. These molecules help reduce gut pathogens, while enhancing the absorption and bioavailability of therapeutic drugs, phytomedicines, and nanomedicines. This, in turn, helps to maintain normal health in animals. Maintaining the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) in its normal condition is key for successful absorption and efficacy of any nutrient. A compromised GIT, due to an imbalance (dysbiosis) in the GIT microbiome, can lead to an impaired GI barrier system with impaired absorption and overall health of the animal. The molecules in ITPGS may address the issue of poor absorption by keeping the GI system healthy by maintaining the normal microbiome and improving the absorption of nutrients through multiple mechanisms involving antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial activities. The ITPGS technology can allow the dose of active pharmaceutical or herbal medicine to be significantly reduced in order to attain equal or better efficacy. With complimentary actions between IT and TPGS, ITPGS presents a novel approach to increase the bioavailability of drugs, phytoconstituents, nutrients, and nanomedicines by enhanced transport to the tissues at the site of action, while reducing gut pathogen load. The ITPGS approach appears to be a novel strategy for maintaining the health of animals by manipulation of microbiota.

Designing nanoparticle release systems for drug-vitamin cancer co-therapy with multiplicative perturbation-theory machine learning (PTML) models

Nano-systems for cancer co-therapy including vitamins or vitamin derivatives have showed adequate results to continue with further research studies to better understand them. However, the number of different combinations of drugs, vitamins, nanoparticle types, coating agents, synthesis conditions, and system types (nanocapsules, micelles, etc.) to be tested is very large generating a high cost in experimentations. In this context, there are reports of large datasets of preclinical assays of compounds (like in the ChEMBL database) and increasing but yet limited reports of experimental measurements of nano-systems per se. On the other hand, Machine Learning is gaining momentum in Nanotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences as a tool for rational design of new drugs and drug-release nano-systems. In this work, we propose to combine Perturbation Theory principles and Machine Learning to develop a PTML model for rational selection of the components of cancer co-therapy drug-vitamin release nano-systems (DVRNs). In doing so, we apply information fusion techniques with 2 data sets: (1) a large ChEMBL dataset of >36 000 preclinical assays of vitamin derivatives and a new dataset of >1000 outcomes of DVRNs, collected herein from the literature for the first time. The ChEMBL dataset used covers a considerable number of assay conditions (cjvit) each one with multiple levels. These conditions included >504 biological activity parameters (c0vit), >340 types of proteins (c1vit), >650 types of cells (c2vit), >120 assay organisms (c3vit), >60 assay strains (c4vit). Regarding the DVRNs, there are 25 different types of nano-systems (njn), with up to 16 conditions (cjn) including also different levels such as 8 biological activity parameters (c0n), 9 raw nanomaterials (c4n), 15 assay cells (c11n), etc. In the first stage, we used Moving Average operators to quantify the perturbations (deviations) in all input variables with respect to the conditions. After that, we used multiplicative PT operators to carry out data fusion, and dimension reduction, and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to seek the PTML model. The best PTML model found showed values of specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy in the range of 83-88% in training and external validation series for >130 000 cases (DVRNs vs. ChEMBL data pairs) formed after data fusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first general purpose model for the rational design of DVRNs for cancer co-therapy.

High-effective reactive oxygen species inducer based on Mn-tetraphenylporphyrin loaded PLGA nanoparticles in binary catalyst therapy

The mechanisms of binary catalyst therapy (BCT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are based on the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This ROS formation results from specific chemical reactions. In BCT, light exposure does not necessarily initiate ROS formation and BCT application is not limited to regions of tissues that are accessible to illumination like photodynamic therapy (PDT). The principle of BCT is electron transition, resulting in the interaction of a transition metal complex (catalyst) and substrate molecule. Mn^III- tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (MnClTPP) in combination with an ascorbic acid (AA) has been proposed as an appropriate candidate for cancer treatment regarding the active agents in BCT. The goal of this study was to determine whether MnClTPP in combination with AA would be a promising agent for BCT. The problem of used MnClTPP's, low solubility in water, was solved by MnClTPP loading into PLGA matrix. H₂O₂ produced during AA decomposition oxidized MnClTPP to high-reactive oxo-Mn^V species. MnClTPP in presence AA leads to the production of excessive ROS levels in vitro. ROS are mainly substrates of catalase and superoxide dismutase (H₂O₂ and O₂^●-). SOD1 and catalase were identified as the key players of the MnClTPP ROS-induced cell defense system. The cytotoxicity of MnClTPP-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) was greatly increased in the presence of specific catalase inhibitor (3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3AT)) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) inhibitor (diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC)). Cell death resulted from the combined activation of caspase-dependent (caspase 3/9 system) and independent pathways, namely the AIF translocation to nuclei. Preliminary acute toxicity and in vivo anticancer studies have been revealed the safe and potent anticancer effect of PLGA-entrapped MnClTPP in combination with AA. The findings indicate that MnClTPP-loaded PLGA NPs are promising agents for BCT.