Pepsin Assisted Doxorubicin Delivery from Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Downsizes Solid Tumor Volume and Enhances Therapeutic Efficacy in Experimental Murine Lymphoma

Nanoscale Diamond-Based Formulation as an Immunomodulator and Potential Therapeutic for Lymphoma

Integrative medicine practices, such as Ayurveda, are popular in India and many South Asian countries, yet basic research to investigate the concepts, procedures, and medical benefits of ayurvedic products has received little attention and is not fully understood. Here, we report a functional nanodiamond-based traditional Ayurvedic herbomineral formulation, Heerak Bhasma (Ayu_ND), for the treatment of solid tumors called Dalton’s lymphoma generated in CD1 mice. Ayu_ND-mediated immunostimulation significantly reduces tumor cell proliferation and induces apoptosis aided by the active participation of dendritic cells. Immunomodulatory Ayu_ND treatment is highly immunostimulatory and drives dendritic cells to produce TNF-α. Treatment with Ayu_ND significantly reduces the tumor volume, inhibits metastasis in distant vascularized organs, and increases the life span of tumor-bearing animals compared with untreated littermates. These events were associated with elevated serum levels of the protective cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α and downregulated the disease, exacerbating TGF-β. Ayu_ND-mediated therapeutic success was also accompanied by the depletion of regulatory T cells and enhanced vaccine-induced T-cell immunity, guided by the restoration of the memory CD8⁺ T-cell pool and prevention of PD-1-mediated T cell exhaustion. The results provide a basis for further evaluation of ayurvedic formulations and drug efficacy in treating cancers.

Redox Stimuli Delivery Vehicle Based on Transferrin-Capped MSNPs for Targeted Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy

Cancer has become one of the major diseases of human health around the world. Conventional antitumor drugs cannot specifically target cancers and result in serious side effects. To achieve better therapy, innovative functional drug delivery platforms that will aid specific targeting for cancer cells need to be developed. In this study, transferrin (Tf), which can target cancer cells, is covalently anchored onto the surface of MSNPs via disulfide linkage, which is used for glutathione-triggered intracellular drug release in tumor cells. The successful functionalization of redox-responsive MSNPs is confirmed by using BET/BJH, TEM, TGA, NMR, and FT-IR (BET, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller; BJH, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda). In addition, polyethylene glycol (PEG) is further grafted onto the surface of MSNPs to improve the biocompatibility and stability under physiological conditions for longer blood circulation. Our in vitro studies demonstrate that DOX-loaded MSNP-SS-Tf@PEG can selectively be internalized into cancer cells via Tf/Tf receptor interactions, and then, DOX is released in HT-29 and MCF-7 cells triggered by high GSH concentration in tumor cells. Remarkably, in vivo studies demonstrate that DOX-loaded MSNP-SS-Tf@PEG can significantly inhibit tumor growth with minimized side effects through cell apoptosis determined by TUNEL assay, whereas MSNP-SS-Tf@PEG revealed no significant inhibition. In conclusion, DOX-MSNP-SS-Tf@PEG with active targeting moieties and a redox-responsive strategy has been demonstrated as a great effective drug carrier for tumor therapy in vitro and in vivo.