The Encapsulation of Febuxostat into Emulsomes Strongly Enhances the Cytotoxic Potential of the Drug on HCT 116 Colon Cancer Cells

Review on novel targeted enzyme drug delivery systems: enzymosomes

The goal of this review is to present enzymosomes as an innovative means for site-specific drug delivery. Enzymosomes make use of an enzyme's special characteristics, such as its capacity to accelerate the reaction rate and bind to a particular substrate at a regulated rate. Enzymosomes are created when an enzyme forms a covalent linkage with a liposome or lipid vesicle surface. To construct enzymosomes with specialized activities, enzymes are linked using acylation, direct conjugation, physical adsorption, and encapsulation techniques. By reducing the negative side effects of earlier treatment techniques and exhibiting efficient medication release, these cutting-edge drug delivery systems improve long-term sickness treatments. They could be a good substitute for antiplatelet medication, gout treatment, and other traditional medicines. Recently developed supramolecular vesicular delivery systems called enzymosomes have the potential to improve drug targeting, physicochemical characteristics, and ultimately bioavailability in the pharmaceutical industry. Enzymosomes have advantages over narrow-therapeutic index pharmaceuticals as focusing on their site of action enhances both their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles. Additionally, it reduces changes in normal enzymatic activity, which enhances the half-life of an enzyme and accomplishes enzyme activity on specific locations.

Andrographolide nanophytosomes exhibit enhanced cellular delivery and pro-apoptotic activities in HepG2 liver cancer cells

Andrographolide (AG), a major active constituent of Andrographis paniculata, is known to hinder proliferation of several types of cancer cells. However, its poor solubility and cellular permeability restrict its use in clinical applications. In this study, AG-loaded phytosomes (AG-PTMs) were formulated and optimized with respect to particle size using l-α-phosphatidylcholine (PC):AG ratio and sonication time (ST) as independent variables. The optimized formula was prepared at 1:2.7 for AG:PC molar ratio and 4.9 min for ST and exhibited a particle size of 243.7 ± 7.3 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.310 and entrapment efficiency of 72.20 ± 4.53. Also, the prepared formula showed a slow release of AG over 24-h period. The antiproliferative activity of AG-PTMs was investigated against the liver cancer cell line HepG2. AG-PTMs significantly repressed the growth of HepG2 cells with an IC50 value of 4.02 ± 0.14 µM. AG uptake by HepG2 cells was significantly enhanced in incubations containing the optimized formula. AG-PTMs also caused G2-M cell cycle phase arrest and increased the fraction of apoptotic cells in pre-G1 phase. These effects were associated with induction of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, AG-PTMs significantly upregulated mRNA expression of BAX and downregulated that of BCL2. Furthermore, AG-PTMs significantly enhanced the concentration of caspase-3 in comparison to raw AG. These data indicate that the phytosomal delivery of AG significantly inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation through enhanced cellular uptake, arresting cell cycle at the G2-M phase and inducing mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis.

Metal Coordination and Biological Screening of a Schiff Base Derived from 8-Hydroxyquinoline and Benzothiazole

Designing new metallodrugs for anticancer therapy is a driving force in the scientific community. Aiming to contribute to this field, we hereby report the development of a Schiff base (H2L) derived from the condensation of 2-carbaldehyde-8-hydroxyquinoline with 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole and its complexation with transition metal ions. All compounds were characterised by analytical and spectroscopic techniques, which disclosed their structure: [Cu(HL)Cl], [Cu(HL)2], [Ni(HL)(acetate)], [Ni(HL)2], [Ru(HL)Cl(DMSO)], [VO(HL)2] and [Fe(HL)2Cl(H2O)]. Different binding modes were proposed, showing the ligand’s coordination versatility. The ligand proton dissociation constants were determined, and the tested compounds showed high lipophilicity and light sensitivity. The stability of all complexes in aqueous media and their ability to bind to albumin were screened. Based on an antiproliferative in vitro screening, [Ni(HL)(acetate)] and [Ru(HL)Cl(DMSO)] were selected for further studies aiming to investigate their mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential towards colon cancer. The complexes displayed IC50 < 21 μM towards murine (CT-26) and human (HCT-116) colon cancer cell lines. Importantly, both complexes exhibited superior antiproliferative properties compared to the clinically approved 5-fluorouracil. [Ni(HL)(acetate)] induced cell cycle arrest in S phase in CT-26 cells. For [Ru(HL)Cl(DMSO)] this effect was observed in both colon cancer cell lines. Additionally, both compounds significantly inhibited cell migration particularly in the human colon cancer cell line, HCT-116. Overall, the therapeutic potential of both metal complexes was demonstrated.

Exploring cytotoxicity of cordycepin loaded nanovesicles against (HCT116) colon cancer cells: Optimization and cellular evaluation

Numerous researchers have investigated cordycepin (COR) as an anti-tumor compound. COR has been documented to have cytotoxic effects on several cancer cells. The current work used a Box-Behnken mathematical design to minimize COR's size. The design incorporated COR concentration, phospholipid concentration and sonication time as variables to minimize the vesicles of COR emulsomes (COR-EMLs). To evaluate degree of improvement of COR cytotoxicity against colorectal cancer (HCT116) cells, cell viability, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis have been assessed. In addition, wound scratching and mitochondrial membrane potential were evaluated. Results of Box-Behnken design achieved COR-EMLs sizes in range from 91.54 ± 2.3-343.83 ± 3.7 nm. Moreover, the optimized formula morphology's was evaluated using transmission electron microscope and showed nanospheres in range of 100 nm. COR released from COR-EMLs exceeded 80% after 12 h.The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the refined COR-EML formula was about four times lower than that of COR-raw. The cell cycle study revealed that administration of COR-EML considerably hindered HCT116 cellular propagation in contrast to plain emulsomes (EMLs) and COR-raw with a denser cell compilation in G2/M. Moreover, the optimized formula notably enhanced the proportion of cells in both the initial and late phases of apoptosis. The augmentation of COR cytotoxicity was confirmed by its inhibition of cancer cell wound healing by approximately 40%. The mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly lower than in cells treated with COR-raw and EMLs. Finally, loading COR into the EMLs increased COR's capacity to lower mitochondrial membrane functionality and significantly improved its cytotoxicity.

Surface-tailoring of emulsomes for boosting brain delivery of vinpocetine via intranasal route: in vitro optimization and in vivo pharmacokinetic assessment

Vinpocetine (VNP), a semisynthetic active pharmaceutical ingredient, is used for oral management of cerebrovascular diseases because of its ability to enhance the blood flow to the brain. However, despite that, the therapeutic application of VNP is restricted due to its reduced bioavailability and diminished brain levels that could be attributed to its low aqueous solubility, short half-life, and presystemic metabolism exposure. Accordingly, the goal of this work was to explore the ability of surface-tailored intranasal emulsomes to boost brain delivery of the drug. A 3²2¹ factorial design was implemented to explore the impact of phospholipid (PL) to solid lipid weight ratio, PL to cholesterol molar ratio, and type of solid lipid on vesicle size, zeta potential, drug entrapment, and release efficiency of the new developed VNP emulsomes. Tailoring of the optimized emulsomal surface formulation was performed using either cationization or PEGylation approaches to boost blood–brain barrier penetration. The pharmacokinetic assessment in rats showed significantly improved bioavailability of VNP emulsomal formulations compared to the oral market product. Additionally, surface-tailored emulsomes exhibited significantly higher brain levels compared to the optimized emulsomes. Based on these findings, the proposed surface-tailored emulsomes could be considered as a promising platform for achieving high brain levels of VNP following intranasal administration.

The double faced role of xanthine oxidoreductase in cancer

Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is a critical, rate-limiting enzyme that controls the last two steps of purine catabolism by converting hypoxanthine to xanthine and xanthine to uric acid. It also produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the catalytic process. The enzyme is generally recognized as a drug target for the therapy of gout and hyperuricemia. The catalytic products uric acid and ROS act as antioxidants or oxidants, respectively, and are involved in pro/anti-inflammatory actions, which are associated with various disease manifestations, including metabolic syndrome, ischemia reperfusion injury, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. Recently, extensive efforts have been devoted to understanding the paradoxical roles of XOR in tumor promotion. Here, we summarize the expression of XOR in different types of cancer and decipher the dual roles of XOR in cancer by its enzymatic or nonenzymatic activity to provide an updated understanding of the mechanistic function of XOR in cancer. We also discuss the potential to modulate XOR in cancer therapy.

Scorpion Venom-Functionalized Quercetin Phytosomes for Breast Cancer Management: In Vitro Response Surface Optimization and Anticancer Activity against MCF-7 Cells

Breast cancer is a dangerous type of cancer in women. Quercetin (QRT), a naturally occurring flavonoid, has wide biological effects including antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, and antiviral activities. The anticancer activity is considered the most valuable effect of QRT against several types of cancer, including prostate, liver, lung, colon, and breast cancer. Scorpion venom peptides (SV) has been found to induce apoptosis and aggravate cancer cells, making it a promising anticancer agent. QRT, SV, and Phospholipon® 90H (PL) were incorporated in a nano-based delivery platform to assess QRT's cellular uptake and antiproliferative efficacy against a lung cancer cell line derived from human breast cancer cells MCF-7. Several nanovesicles were prepared and optimized, using four-factor Box-Behnken, in an experimental design. The optimized phytosomes showed vesicle size and zeta potential values of 116.9 nm and 31.5 mV, respectively. The IC50 values revealed that MCF-7 cells were significantly more sensitive to the optimized QRT formula than the plain formula and raw QRT. Cell cycle analysis revealed that optimized QRT formula treatment resulted in significant cell cycle arrest at the S phase. The results also indicated that treatment with QRT formula significantly increased caspase-9, Bax, Bcl-2, and p53 mRNA expression, compared with the plain formula and QRT. In terms of the inflammatory markers, the QRT formula significantly reduced the activity of TNF-α and NF-κB, in comparison with the plain formula and QRT only. Overall, the findings from the study proved that a QRT formulation could be a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of breast cancer.

Development and Evaluation of Icariin-Loaded PLGA-PEG Nanoparticles for Potentiation the Proapoptotic Activity in Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Therapeutic efficacy of antineoplastic agents possessing a selective target to the nucleus of the cancer cells could be enhanced through novel formulation approaches. Thus, towards improvement of anticancer potential of icariin (ICA) on pancreatic cancer, the drug was entrapped into the polymeric poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as diblock copolymer. Optimization of the formulation was done using Statgraphics software to standardize percentages of PEG-PLGA and tween 80 (TW80) to obtain the smallest particle size. The optimized formulation was found to be in nanometer size and low PDI (0.321). Optimized formula enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptotic potential, compared with ICA-raw, against pancreatic cancer cell lines (aspc-1). The entrapment efficiency of the polymeric micelles was 72.34 ± 2.3% with 93.1 ± 6.5% release of ICA within 72 h. There was a twofold increase in apoptosis and sevenfold increase in necrosis of aspc-1 cells when incubated with raw ICA compared to control cells. Further, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (⁓50-fold) by the ICA-loaded PMs and free drug compared to control cells was found to be due to the generation of ROS. Findings of cell cycle analysis revealed the significant arrest of G2-M phase of aspc-1 cells when incubated with the optimized formulation. Simultaneously, a significantly increased number of cells in pre-G1 revealed maximum apoptotic potential of the drug when delivered via micellar formulation. Finally, upregulation of caspase-3 established the superiority of the PMs approach against pancreatic cancer. In summary, the acquired results highlighted the potentiality of PMs delivery tool for controlling the growth of pancreatic cancer cells for improved efficacy.

Ceftriaxone and Melittin Synergistically Promote Wound Healing in Diabetic Rats

High glucose levels in diabetic patients are implicated in delay wound healing that could lead to more serious clinical complications. The aim of the present work was to examine the formulation of ceftriaxone (CTX) and melittin (MEL) as nanoconjugate (nanocomplex)-loaded hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) (1.5% w/v)-based hydrogel for healing of acute wounds in diabetic rats. The CTX-MEL nanoconjugate, formulated by ion-pairing at different molar ratio, was characterized for size and zeta potential and investigated by transmission electron microscopy. CTX-MEL nanoconjugate was prepared, and its preclinical efficacy evaluated in an in vivo model of acute wound. In particular, the potential ability of the innovative CTX-MEL formulation to modulate wound closure, oxidative status, inflammatory markers, and hydroxyproline was evaluated by ELISA, while the histopathological examination was obtained by using hematoxylin and eosin or Masson's trichrome staining techniques. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) of the excised tissue to measure collagen, type I, alpha 1 (Col1A1) expression and immunohistochemical assessment of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) were also carried out to shed some light on the mechanism of wound healing. Our results show that the CTX-MEL nanocomplex has enhanced ability to regenerate epithelium, also giving better keratinization, epidermal proliferation, and granulation tissue formation, compared to MEL, CTX, or positive control. The nanocomplex also significantly ameliorated the antioxidant status by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. The treatment of wounded skin with the CTX-MEL nanocomplex also showed a significant reduction in interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) pro-inflammatory cytokines combined with a substantial increase in hydroxyproline, VEFG-A, and TGF-β1 protein expression compared to individual components or negative control group. Additionally, the CTX-MEL nanocomplex showed a significant increase in mRNA expression levels of Col1A1 as compared to individual compounds. In conclusion, the ion-pairing nanocomplex of CTX-MEL represents a promising carrier that can be topically applied to improve wound healing.

Novel bioemulsomes for baicalin oral lymphatic targeting: development, optimization and pharmacokinetics

Aim: The aim of this study was to elaborate on 'bioemulsomes,' novel biocompatible lipoprotein analogs for effective lymphatic transport of baicalin (BCL). Methods: BCL bioemulsomes were developed and optimized and in vitro physicochemical characterization performed. The bioavailability of BCL bioemulsomes compared with free BCL was investigated using in vivo pharmacokinetics studies. Finally, BCL lymphatic transport was assessed via cycloheximide blockade assay. Results: Optimized BCL-loaded nanoemulsomes showed promising in vitro characteristics that favor lymphatic targeting. In vivo pharmacokinetics showed a significant improvement in bioavailability over free BCL. A significant decrease in BCL emulsome absorption (33%) was exhibited after chemical blockage of the lymphatic pathway, confirming the lymphatic transport potential. Conclusion: Bioemulsomes could be a promising tool for bypassing BCL oral delivery hurdles as well as lymphatic transport, paving the way for potential treatment of lymphoma.

Lipidic Nano-Sized Emulsomes Potentiates the Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects of Raloxifene Hydrochloride in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells: Factorial Analysis and In Vitro Anti-Tumor Activity Assessment

Raloxifene hydrochloride (RLX), an antiosteoporotic agent, has been utilized for guarding against breast cancer and recently, for the disease management owing to its estrogen antagonist activity. Nevertheless, RLX exhibits poor bioavailability that could be attributed to reduced water solubility and first pass metabolism. To overcome these challenges, this study aimed at formulating and optimizing RLX emulsomes (RLX-EMLs) to enhance the drug antitumor activity. A 4131 factorial design was employed for assessing the effect of lipoid: solid lipid ratio and solid lipid type on the emulsomes characteristics. The anticancer potential of the optimized formulation and apoptotic parameters were assessed. Vesicle size, entrapment, and release efficiency were significantly influenced by both variables, while zeta potential was influenced by lipoid: solid lipid at p < 0.05. The optimal formulation exhibited vesicle size of 236 ± 8.6 nm, zeta potential of -18.6 ± 0.7 mV, drug entrapment of 98.9 ± 4.9%, and release efficiency of 42.7 ± 1.8%. MTT assay showed concentration-dependent inhibition of MCF-7 cells viability. In addition, cells treated with RLX-EMLs showed significant arrest at G2/M phase associated with significant increase in apoptotic and necrotic cells. The enhanced cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effect of RLX-EMLs relative to raw drug was authenticated through increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-9 activation and depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential.

Piceatannol-Loaded Bilosome-Stabilized Zein Protein Exhibits Enhanced Cytostatic and Apoptotic Activities in Lung Cancer Cells

Piceatannol (PIC) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic stilbene, and it has pleiotropic pharmacological properties. Moreover, PIC has cytotoxic actions among various cancer cells. In this work, preparations of PIC-loaded bilosome-zein (PIC-BZ) were designed, formulated, and characterized, and the optimized PIC-BZ cytotoxic activities, measured as half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), against lung cancer cell line was investigated. Box-Behnken design was utilized in order to examine the effect of preparation factors on drug entrapment and particle size. PIC-BZ showed a spherical shape after optimization, and its particle size was determined as 157.45 ± 1.62 nm. Moreover, the efficiency of drug entrapment was found as 93.14 ± 2.15%. The cytotoxic activity evaluation revealed that the adjusted formulation, which is PIC-BZ formula, showed a substantially smaller IC50 versus A549 cells. Cell cycle analysis showed accumulation of cells in the G2-M phase. Moreover, it showed in the sub-G1 phase, a rise of cell fraction suggestion apoptotic improving activity. Increased early and late phases of apoptosis were demonstrated by staining of cells with annexin V. Furthermore, the cellular caspase-3 protein expression was significantly raised by PIC-BZ. In addition, the wound healing experiment confirmed the results. To conclude, compared to pure PIC, PIC-BZ demonstrated a higher cell death-inducing activity against A549 cells.

Evaluation of the Antiviral Activity of Sitagliptin-Glatiramer Acetate Nano-Conjugates against SARS-CoV-2 Virus

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China has become an urgent health and economic challenge. There is a current race for developing strategies to treat and/or prevent COVID-19 worldwide. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the efficacy of the combined complex (nano-conjugates) of two FDA-approved drugs, sitagliptin (SIT) and glatiramer acetate (GA), against a human isolate of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. SIT-GA nano-conjugates were prepared according to a full three-factor bilevel (23) factorial design. The SIT concentration (mM, X1), GA concentration (mM, X2), and pH (X3) were selected as the factors. The particle size (nm, Y1) and zeta potential (mV, Y2) were assessed as responses. Characterization of the optimized formula for the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was carried out. In addition, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in Vero-E6 epithelial cells previously infected with the virus was investigated. The results revealed that the optimized formula of the prepared complex was a 1:1 SIT:GA molar ratio at a pH of 10, which met the required criteria with a desirability value of 0.878 and had a particle size and zeta potential at values of 77.42 nm and 27.67 V, respectively. The SIT-GA nano-complex showed antiviral potential against an isolate of SARS-CoV-2 with IC50 values of 16.14, 14.09, and 8.52 µM for SIT, GA, and SIT-GA nano-conjugates, respectively. Molecular docking has shown that the formula's components have a high binding affinity to the COVID 3CL protease, essential for coronavirus replication, paralleled by 3CL protease inhibition (IC50 = 2.87 µM). An optimized formulation of SIT-GA could guarantee both enhanced deliveries to target cells and improved cellular uptake. Further clinical studies are being carried out to validate the clinical efficacy of the optimized formulation against SARS-CoV-2.

Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects of a Sub-Toxic Concentration of Fluvastatin on OVCAR3 Ovarian Cancer Cells After its Optimized Formulation to Melittin Nano-Conjugates

Fluvastatin (FLV) is a hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor often used to lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and for the prevention of adverse cardiovascular events. This drug as well as melittin (MEL), the major component of honeybee venom (Apis mellifera), has shown antineoplastic activity, then representing promising approaches for cancer therapy. However, adverse effects related to the use of FLV and MEL have been reported and very few studies have been carried out to obtain an optimized formulation allowing for combining the two drugs and then maximizing the anticancer activity, then minimizing the needed dosage. In the present study, an optimized formulation in terms of minimized particle size and maximized zeta potential was investigated for its cytotoxic potential in human OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cells. FLV-MEL nano-conjugates, containing a sub-toxic concentration of drug, demonstrated an improved cytotoxic potential (IC50 = 2.5 µM), about 18-fold lower, compared to the free drug (IC50 = 45.7 µM). Cell cycle analysis studies demonstrated the significant inhibition of the OVCAR3 cells proliferation exerted by FLV-MEL nano-conjugates compared to all the other treatments, with a higher percentage of cells accumulating on G2/M and pre-G1 phases, paralleled by lower percentage of cells in G0/G1 and S phases. The synergistic antineoplastic activity of FLV and MEL combined in the optimized formula was also showed by the marked pronecrotic and pro-apoptotic activities, the latter mediated by the modulation of BAX/BCL-2 ratio in favor of BAX. Our optimized FLV-MEL formulation might therefore represents a novel path for the development of specific and more effective antineoplastic drugs directed against ovarian cancer.

Optimized Icariin Cubosomes Exhibit Augmented Cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 Ovarian Cancer Cells

Clinical application of icariin (ICA) is limited, despite its activity against cancer growth, because of the low solubility of ICA in an aqueous environment. Therefore, the present study attempted to develop and optimize ICA-loaded cubosome delivery and to explore its efficacy and possible mechanism of action against ovarian cancer. The optimization of the cubosome formulation was performed using the Box‒Behnken statistical design; during the characterization, the particle sizes were in the range of 73 to 183 nm and the entrapment efficiency was 78.3% to 97.3%. Optimized ICA-loaded cubosomes (ICA-Cubs) exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptotic potential, compared with ICA-raw, against ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3 and Caov 3). The optimized ICA-Cubs showed a relatively non-cytotoxic effect on normal EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Further analysis of cell cycle arrest suggested a potential role in the pre-G1 and G2/M phases for ICA-Cubs in comparison with ICA-raw. ICA-Cubs increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the overexpression of p53 and caspase-3 in the SKOV-3 cell line. In conclusion, the cubosomal delivery of ICA might provide a prospective approach towards the superior control of ovarian cancer cell growth. Its improved efficacy compared with that of the free drug might be due to the improved solubility and cellular permeability of ICA.