An efficient injectable formulation with block copolymer micelles for hydrophobic antitumor candidate-pyridazinone derivatives

Utility of Certain 2-Furanone Derivatives for Synthesis of Different Heterocyclic Compounds and Testing their Anti-cancer Activity

BACKGROUND

2-Furanones attracted great attention due to their biological activities. They also have the ability to convert to several biologically active heterocyclic and non-heterocyclic compounds, especially as anti-cancer agents.

OBJECTIVES

This research aims to assist in the development process of novel cytotoxic agents through synthesizing certain 2-furanone derivatives, using them as starting materials for the preparation of novel heterocyclic and non-heterocyclic compounds, and then testing the synthesized derivatives for their anti-cancer activities.

METHODS

All the newly synthesized compounds were fully characterized by elemental analysis, IR, Mass, and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. 18 synthesized compounds were selected by National Cancer Institute (NCI) for testing against 60 cell lines, and the active compound was tested as MAPK14 and VEGFR2-inhibitor using Staurosporine as standard.

RESULTS

Compound 3a showed higher activity against several cell lines, including leukemia (SR), Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NCI-H460), colon cancer (HCT-116), ovarian cancer (OVCAR-4), renal cancer (786-0, ACHN and UO-31), and finally breast cancer (T-47D). It also had better inhibition activity against MAPK14 than the used reference.

CONCLUSION

Compound 3a has promising anti-cancer activities compared to the used standards and may need further modifications and investigations.

A new pyridazinone exhibits potent cytotoxicity on human cancer cells via apoptosis and poly-ubiquitinated protein accumulation

In the last 15 years, pyridazinone derivatives have acquired extensive attention due to their widespread biological activities and pharmacological applications. Pyridazinones are well known for their anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and cardiovascular activities, among others. In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer activity of a new pyridazinone derivative and propose it as a potential anti-neoplastic agent in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells. Pyr-1 cytotoxicity was assessed on several human cancer and two non-cancerous cell lines by the DNS assay. Pyr-1 demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against 22 human cancer cell lines, exhibiting the most favorable selective cytotoxicity on leukemia (CEM and HL-60), breast (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468), and lung (A-549) cancer cell lines, when compared with non-cancerous breast epithelial MCF-10A cells. Analyses of apoptosis/necrosis pathways, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondria health, caspase-3 activation, and cell cycle profile were performed via flow cytometry. Both hmox-1 RNA and protein expression levels were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting assays, respectively. Pyr-1 induced apoptosis in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells as confirmed by phosphatidylserine externalization, mitochondrial depolarization, caspase-3 activation, DNA fragmentation, and disrupted cell cycle progression. Additionally, it was determined that Pyr-1 generates oxidative and proteotoxic stress by provoking the accumulation of ROS, resulting in the overexpression of the stress-related hmox-1 mRNA transcripts and protein and a marked increase in poly-ubiquitinated proteins. Our data demonstrate that Pyr-1 induces cell death via the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by accumulating ROS and by impairing proteasome activity.

α-Lipoic acid stabilized DTX/IR780 micelles for photoacoustic/fluorescence imaging guided photothermal therapy/chemotherapy of breast cancer

Micellar nanoparticles have unique advantages as carriers for therapeutic or imaging agents, owing to their smaller size and better penetration of tumors. However, some agents, due to their physical or chemical properties, are difficult to load into micelles. IR780 is one of these agents, and is also a promising near-infrared dye for fluorescence imaging (FI)/photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and cancer photothermal therapy (PTT). Its hydrophobic and high crystallization structure results in limited bioavailability in vivo. It is difficult to load into micelles constructed from an amphiphilic block polymer with relatively low molecular weight. In this study, we use computer simulation and introduce another small biomolecule, α-lipoic acid, into the micelles constructed from a mPEG-PCL copolymer, to lower the energy of molecular interaction between MPEG-PCL and IR780, and expect to enhance the loading capacity of the micelles to IR780. The introduction of α-lipoic acid decreases the energy of molecular interaction between MEPG-PCL and IR780 from -46.18 kJ mol-1 to -196.52 kJ mol-1 and increases the loading capacity and stability of the mPEG-PCL micelles to IR780, which also maintains the loading capacity to DTX. We further construct DTX/IR780 co-loaded mPEG-PCL micelles for FI/PAI dual modal imaging guided PTT/chemotherapy of cancer. By FI and PAI evaluation in vitro and in vivo, we demonstrate that the DTX/IR780 co-loaded micelles can be used as FI and PAI probes. By further evaluating the therapeutic outcome of PTT/chemotherapy co-therapy of breast cancer, we demonstrate that the DTX/IR780 co-loaded mPEG-PCL micelles can serve as promising candidates for FI and PAI guided PTT/chemotherapy of breast cancer.

Polymeric micelles of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid to enhance the anticancer potential in vitro and in vivo

AIM

To improve the bioavailability and anticancer potential of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) by developing a drug-loaded polymeric nanomicellar system.

METHODS

SAHA-loaded Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) micelles were developed, and physico-chemically characterized. In vitro cellular uptake, viability and apoptosis-inducing ability of the SAHA-PEG-PCL micelles were investigated. In vivo anticancer activity was evaluated in C57BL/6 mice-bearing tumor.

RESULTS

The SAHA-PEG-PCL micelles had optimum size (∼130 nm) with an entrapment efficiency of approximately 67%. The SAHA-PEG-PCL induced stronger cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase leading to higher rate of apoptosis compared to free SAHA. SAHA-PEG-PCL demonstrated significant tumor suppression compared to free SAHA in vivo.

CONCLUSION

The physicochemical properties and the antitumor efficacy of SAHA were improved by encapsulating in polymeric micelles.

Mild photothermal therapy/photodynamic therapy/chemotherapy of breast cancer by Lyp-1 modified Docetaxel/IR820 Co-loaded micelles

Patients suffering from cancer have benefited from combination therapy. Nanocarriers are the ideal candidates for combination therapy. In this study, we constructed docetaxel (DTX) loaded micellar nanomedicines co-loaded with near infrared (NIR) dye-IR820 for photothermal therapy (PTT)/photodynamic therapy (PDT)/chemotherapy of breast cancer. Lyp-1, a tumor homing peptide, was introduced into the nanosystems to construct the active targeting nanomedicine. In order to deliver IR820 to the tumor site and overcome its short lifetime in vivo, a PEI derivative-PCL-g-PEI was introduced. IR820 with negative charge was formed stable static interaction with the amine groups, meanwhile, the absorption of IR820 in the NIR region was weakened. It indicated that the nanosystem constructed in this study may provide an alternative candidate for mild PTT. By the evaluation of the photothermal conversion in vivo, we can confirm that IR820 has been successfully delivered and effectively accumulated in the tumor site. Furthermore, the tumor cells targeting and anticancer performances of this nanosystem have been studied in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrated Lyp-1 modification has enhanced the tumor targeting delivery of DTX and IR820. By combining PTT and PDT, DTX nanomedicine efficiently inhibited the growth and metastasis of breast cancer in mice. This nanosystem is a promising candidate for combination therapy of breast cancer.

The evaluation of cellular uptake efficiency and tumor-targeting ability of MPEG–PDLLA micelles: effect of particle size

The study reported herein describes the cellular uptake efficiency and tumor-targeting ability of MPEG–PDLLA micelles with two different particle sizes.