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Kiani BH, Kayani WK, Khayam AU, Dilshad E, Ismail H, Mirza B. Artemisinin and its derivatives: a promising cancer therapy. Mol Biol Rep 2020; 47:6321-6336. [PMID: 32710388 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-020-05669-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The world is experiencing a cancer epidemic and an increase in the prevalence of the disease. Cancer remains a major killer, accounting for more than half a million deaths annually. There is a wide range of natural products that have the potential to treat this disease. One of these products is artemisinin; a natural product from Artemisia plant. The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded in 2015 for the discovery of artemisinin in recognition of the drug's efficacy. Artemisinin produces highly reactive free radicals by the breakdown of two oxygen atoms that kill cancerous cells. These cells sequester iron and accumulate as much as 1000 times in comparison with normal cells. Generally, chemotherapy is toxic to both cancerous cells and normal cells, while no significant cytotoxicity from artemisinin to normal cells has been found in more than 4000 case studies, which makes it far different than conventional chemotherapy. The pleiotropic response of artemisinin in cancer cells is responsible for growth inhibition by multiple ways including inhibition of angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. It is very encouraging that artemisinin and its derivatives are anticipated to be a novel class of broad-spectrum antitumor agents based on efficacy and safety. This review aims to highlight these achievements and propose potential strategies to develop artemisinin and its derivatives as a new class of cancer therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bushra Hafeez Kiani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan.
| | - Waqas Khan Kayani
- Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Växtskyddsvägen 1, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Asma Umer Khayam
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
| | - Erum Dilshad
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biosciences, Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Hammad Ismail
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan
| | - Bushra Mirza
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan
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Moghimipour E, Rezaei M, Kouchak M, Ramezani Z, Amini M, Ahmadi Angali K, Saremy S, Abedin Dorkoosh F, Handali S. A mechanistic study of the effect of transferrin conjugation on cytotoxicity of targeted liposomes. J Microencapsul 2018; 35:548-558. [PMID: 30445885 DOI: 10.1080/02652048.2018.1547325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
This study was performed to prepare 5-fluorouracil (5FU) containing targeted liposomes for the safety and efficacy enhancement. Liposomes were prepared using thin layer method and transferrin (Tf) was employed as the targeting ligand. Morphology of 5FU-loaded liposomes was assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The in vitro cytotoxicity was investigated via MTT assay on HT-29, CT26 and fibroblast cells. Mitochondrial membrane and cell death evaluations were also investigated. Resulted showed that the encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and particle size of the liposomes were 40.12% and 130 nm, respectively. TEM image implied that liposomes were spherical in shape. In cancer cells, targeted liposomes triggered the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway by lower production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (63.58 vs 84.95 fluorescence intensity), reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and releasing of cytochrome c (68.66 vs 51.13 ng/mL). The results of this study indicated that Tf-targeted 5FU liposomes can be employed as promising nanocarrier for the delivery of drugs to cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eskandar Moghimipour
- a Nanotechnology Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran.,b Cellular and Molecular Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
| | - Mohsen Rezaei
- c Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Medical Sciences , Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran , Iran
| | - Maryam Kouchak
- a Nanotechnology Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
| | - Zahra Ramezani
- a Nanotechnology Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
| | - Mohsen Amini
- d Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy , Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Kambiz Ahmadi Angali
- e Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
| | - Sadegh Saremy
- b Cellular and Molecular Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
| | - Farid Abedin Dorkoosh
- f Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy , Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran.,g Medical Biomaterial Research Centre (MBRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran
| | - Somayeh Handali
- a Nanotechnology Research Center , Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences , Ahvaz , Iran
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Tian L, Liu J, Jia Q, Ying Y, Yang Z, Huang G. Preparation and Evaluation of Artemether Liposomes for Enhanced Anti-Tumor Therapy. AAPS PharmSciTech 2018; 19:512-521. [PMID: 29038986 DOI: 10.1208/s12249-017-0896-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study was to design liposomes (Lips) of artemether (ARM), a plant-derived drug for treatment of metastatic tumors, for the intravenous delivery. The ARM-Lips were prepared using ethanol injection method. Based on the optimization of formulation with single-factor experiments, ARM-Lips were spherical with a uniform particle size (187.3 ± 1.83) nm and its EE and DL were (94.49 ± 1.18)% and (10.94 ± 0.10)%, respectively. The in vitro drug release characteristics of ARM-Lips possessed a sustained release characteristic, and their behavior was in accordance with the first-order kinetics equation. In vivo, after intravenous injection to mice, the t1/2β, MRT, and AUC of ARM-Lips were 8.38-, 3.38-, and 3.11-fold those of ARM solution (ARM-Sol), respectively. In the pharmacodynamics studies, the tumor doubling time, growth inhibition rate, and specific growth rate of tumor of ARM-Lips were 1.97 times, 1.54 times, and 0.51 times those of ARM-Sol, respectively, which indicated that the anti-tumor effect of ARM-Lips was significantly stronger than that of ARM-Sol. These encouraging results revealed that ARM-Lips would serve as an efficient carrier for ARM for increasing therapeutic efficacy on tumor.
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Li L, Hu X, Zhang M, Ma S, Yu F, Zhao S, Liu N, Wang Z, Wang Y, Guan H, Pan X, Gao Y, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Yang Y, Tang X, Li M, Liu C, Li Z, Mei X. Dual Tumor-Targeting Nanocarrier System for siRNA Delivery Based on pRNA and Modified Chitosan. MOLECULAR THERAPY-NUCLEIC ACIDS 2017; 8:169-183. [PMID: 28918019 PMCID: PMC5503097 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2017.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Highly specific and efficient delivery of siRNA is still unsatisfactory. Herein, a dual tumor-targeting siRNA delivery system combining pRNA dimers with chitosan nanoparticles (CNPPs) was designed to improve the specificity and efficiency of siRNA delivery. In this dual delivery system, folate-conjugated and PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles encapsulating pRNA dimers were used as the first class of delivery system and would selectively deliver intact pRNA dimers near or into target cells. pRNA dimers simultaneously carrying siRNA and targeting aptamer, the second class of delivery system, would specifically deliver siRNA into the target cells via aptamer-mediated endocytosis or proper particle size. To certify the delivering efficiency of this dual system, CNPPs, pRNA dimers alone, chitosan nanoparticles containing siRNA with folate conjugation and PEGylation (CNPS), and chitosan nanoparticles containing pRNA dimers alone (CN) were first prepared. Then, we observed that treatment with CNPPs resulted in increased cellular uptake, higher cell apoptosis, stronger cell cytotoxicity, and more efficacious gene silencing compared to the other three formulations. Higher accumulation of siRNA in the tumor site, stronger tumor inhibition, and longer circulating time were also observed with CNPPs compared to other formulations. In conclusion, this dual nanocarrier system showed high targeting and favorable therapeutic efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. Thereby, a new approach is provided in this study for specific and efficient delivery of siRNA, which lays a foundation for the development of pRNA hexamers, which can simultaneously carry six different substances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Xiaoqin Hu
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Min Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Siyu Ma
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Fanglin Yu
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Shiqing Zhao
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Nan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Zhiyuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Hua Guan
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Xiujie Pan
- Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Yue Gao
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Xuemei Tang
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Mingyuan Li
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Cheng Liu
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
| | - Zhiping Li
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China.
| | - Xingguo Mei
- Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing 100850, China
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