Fluvastatin-Loaded Emulsomes Exhibit Improved Cytotoxic and Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells

RETRACTED: Alhakamy et al. Optimized Icariin Phytosomes Exhibit Enhanced Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis-Inducing Activities in Ovarian Cancer Cells. Pharmaceutics 2020, 12, 346

The journal retracts the article, "Optimized Icariin Phytosomes Exhibit Enhanced Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis-Inducing Activities in Ovarian Cancer Cells" [...].

Hybrid nanoparticulate system of Fluvastatin loaded phospholipid, alpha lipoic acid and melittin for the management of colon cancer

As a hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, Fluvastatin (FLV) is used for reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol as well as to prevent cardiovascular problems. FLV showed cell line cytotoxicity and antitumor effect. Melittin (MEL) exhibits antineoplastic activity and is known to be promising as a therapeutic option for cancer patients. The aim of this work was to investigate the combination of FLV with MEL loaded hybrid formula of phospholipid (PL) with alpha lipoic acid (ALA) nanoparticles to maximize anticancer tendencies. This study examines the optimization of the prepared formulation in order to minimize nanoparticles size and maximize zeta potential to potentiate cytotoxic potentialities in colon cancer cells (Caco2), cell viability, cell cycle analysis and annexin V were tested. In addition to biological markers as P53, Bax, bcl2 and Caspase 3 evaluation The combination involving FLV PL ALA MEL showed enhanced cytotoxic potentiality (IC50 = 9.242 ± 0.35 µg/mL), about twofold lower, compared to the raw FLV (IC50 = 21.74 ± 0.82 µg/mL). According to studies analyzing cell cycle, optimized FLV PL ALA MEL was found to inhibit Caco2 colon cancer cells more significantly than other therapeutic treatments, wherein a higher number of cells were found to accumulate over G2/M and pre-G1 phases, whereas G0/G1/S phases witnessed the accumulation of a lower number of cells. The optimized formulation may pave the way for a novel and more efficacious treatment for colon cancer.

Optimized Apamin-Mediated Nano-Lipidic Carrier Potentially Enhances the Cytotoxicity of Ellagic Acid against Human Breast Cancer Cells

Ellagic acid has recently attracted increasing attention regarding its role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Surface functionalized nanocarriers have been recently studied for enhancing cancer cells' penetration and achieving better tumor-targeted delivery of active ingredients. Therefore, the present work aimed at investigating the potential of APA-functionalized emulsomes (EGA-EML-APA) for enhancing cytototoxic activity of EGA against human breast cancer cells. Phospholipon® 90 G: cholesterol molar ratio (PC: CH; X1, mole/mole), Phospholipon® 90 G: Tristearin weight ratio (PC: TS; X2, w/w) and apamin molar concentration (APA conc.; X3, mM) were considered as independent variables, while vesicle size (VS, Y1, nm) and zeta potential (ZP, Y2, mV) were studied as responses. The optimized formulation with minimized vs. and maximized absolute ZP was predicted successfully utilizing a numerical technique. EGA-EML-APA exhibited a significant cytotoxic effect with an IC50 value of 5.472 ± 0.21 µg/mL compared to the obtained value from the free drug 9.09 ± 0.34 µg/mL. Cell cycle profile showed that the optimized formulation arrested MCF-7 cells at G2/M and S phases. In addition, it showed a significant apoptotic activity against MCF-7 cells by upregulating the expression of p53, bax and casp3 and downregulating bcl2. Furthermore, NF-κB activity was abolished while the expression of TNfα was increased confirming the significant apoptotic effect of EGA-EML-APA. In conclusion, apamin-functionalized emulsomes have been successfully proposed as a potential anti-breast cancer formulation.

Overcoming chemoresistance in glioblastoma by fluvastatin via prenylation-dependent inhibition of Ras signaling

The resistance of glioblastoma to chemotherapy remains a significant clinical problem. Targeting alternative pathways such as protein prenylation is known to be effective against many cancers. Fluvastatin is a potent competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl- CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase, thereby inhibits prenylation. We demonstrate that fluvastatin alone effectively inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in multiple human glioblastoma cell lines. The combination index analysis shows that fluvastatin acts synergistically with common chemotherapy drugs for glioblastoma: temozolomide and irinotecan. We further show that fluvastatin acts on glioblastoma through inhibiting prenylation-dependent Ras activation. The combination of fluvastatin and low dose temozolomide resulted in remarkable inhibition of glioblastoma tumor in mice throughout the whole treatment duration without causing toxicity. Such combinatorial effects provide the basis for utilizing these FDA-approved drugs as a potential clinical approach in overcoming resistance and improving glioblastoma treatment.