WorldWideScience

Sample records for doxorubicin anticancer drug

  1. Tetrathiomolybdate sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to anticancer drugs doxorubicin, fenretinide, 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Kyu Kwang; Lange, Thilo S; Singh, Rakesh K; Brard, Laurent; Moore, Richard G

    2012-01-01

    Our recent study showed that tetrathiomolybdate (TM), a drug to treat copper overload disorders, can sensitize drug-resistant endometrial cancer cells to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating anticancer drug doxorubicin. To expand these findings in the present study we explore TM efficacy in combination with a spectrum of ROS-generating anticancer drugs including mitomycin C, fenretinide, 5-fluorouracil and doxorubicin in ovarian cancer cells as a model system. The effects of TM alone or in combination with doxorubicin, mitomycin C, fenretinide, or 5-fluorouracil were evaluated using a sulforhodamine B assay. Flow cytometry was used to detect the induction of apoptosis and ROS generation. Immunoblot analysis was carried out to investigate changes in signaling pathways. TM potentiated doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity and modulated key regulators of apoptosis (PARP, caspases, JNK and p38 MAPK) in SKOV-3 and A2780 ovarian cancer cell lines. These effects were linked to the increased production of ROS, as shown in SKOV-3 cells. ROS scavenging by ascorbic acid blocked the sensitization of cells by TM. TM also sensitized SKOV-3 to mitomycin C, fenretinide, and 5-fluorouracil. The increased cytotoxicity of these drugs in combination with TM was correlated with the activity of ROS, loss of a pro-survival factor (e.g. XIAP) and the appearance of a pro-apoptotic marker (e.g. PARP cleavage). Our data show that TM increases the efficacy of various anticancer drugs in ovarian cancer cells in a ROS-dependent manner

  2. Enzyme-responsive doxorubicin release from dendrimer nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee SJ

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Sang Joon Lee,1,* Young-Il Jeong,2,* Hyung-Kyu Park,3 Dae Hwan Kang,2,4 Jong-Suk Oh,3 Sam-Gyu Lee,5 Hyun Chul Lee31Department of Biomedical Sciences, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, 2Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, 3Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, 4Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Gyeongnam, 5Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Since cancer cells are normally over-expressed cathepsin B, we synthesized dendrimer-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol (MPEG-doxorubicin (DOX conjugates using a cathepsin B-cleavable peptide for anticancer drug targeting.Methods: Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly peptide was conjugated with the carboxylic acid end groups of a dendrimer, which was then conjugated with MPEG amine and doxorubicin by aid of carbodiimide chemistry (abbreviated as DendGDP. Dendrimer-MPEG-DOX conjugates without Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly peptide linkage was also synthesized for comparison (DendDP. Nanoparticles were then prepared using a dialysis procedure.Results: The synthesized DendGDP was confirmed with 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The DendDP and DendGDP nanoparticles had a small particle size of less than 200 nm and had a spherical morphology. DendGDP had cathepsin B-sensitive drug release properties while DendDP did not show cathepsin B sensitivity. Further, DendGDP had improved anticancer activity when compared with doxorubicin or DendDP in an in vivo CT26 tumor xenograft model, ie, the volume of the CT26 tumor xenograft was significantly inhibited when compared with xenografts treated with doxorubicin or DendDP nanoparticles. The DendGDP nanoparticles were found to be relatively concentrated in the tumor tissue and

  3. Distribution of the anticancer drugs doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and topotecan in tumors and normal tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Krupa J; Trédan, Olivier; Tannock, Ian F

    2013-07-01

    Pharmacokinetic analyses estimate the mean concentration of drug within a given tissue as a function of time, but do not give information about the spatial distribution of drugs within that tissue. Here, we compare the time-dependent spatial distribution of three anticancer drugs within tumors, heart, kidney, liver and brain. Mice bearing various xenografts were treated with doxorubicin, mitoxantrone or topotecan. At various times after injection, tumors and samples of heart, kidney, liver and brain were excised. Within solid tumors, the distribution of doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and topotecan was limited to perivascular regions at 10 min after administration and the distance from blood vessels at which drug intensity fell to half was ~25-75 μm. Although drug distribution improved after 3 and 24 h, there remained a significant decrease in drug fluorescence with increasing distance from tumor blood vessels. Drug distribution was relatively uniform in the heart, kidney and liver with substantially greater perivascular drug uptake than in tumors. There was significantly higher total drug fluorescence in the liver than in tumors after 10 min, 3 and 24 h. Little to no drug fluorescence was observed in the brain. There are marked differences in the spatial distributions of three anticancer drugs within tumor tissue and normal tissues over time, with greater exposure to most normal tissues and limited drug distribution to many cells in tumors. Studies of the spatial distribution of drugs are required to complement pharmacokinetic data in order to better understand and predict drug effects and toxicities.

  4. Sildenafil citrate improves the delivery and anticancer activity of doxorubicin formulations in a mouse model of breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greish, Khaled; Fateel, Maryam; Abdelghany, Sara; Rachel, Nanitha; Alimoradi, Houman; Bakhiet, Moiz; Alsaie, Ahmed

    2017-11-21

    Sildenafil is an approved drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The drug exerts its action through the relaxation of smooth muscles and the modulation of vascular endothelial permeability. In this work, we tested whether the aforementioned effects of sildenafil on tumour vasculatures could result in an improvement of anticancer drug concentration in tumour tissues and hence improves its anticancer effect. Sildenafil when added to doxorubicin showed synergistic anticancer activity against 4T1 breast cancer cells in vitro. Adding 1, 30 and 100 μM of Viagra to 1 μM of doxorubicin resulted in 1.8-fold, 6.2-fold and 21-fold statistically significant increases in its cytotoxic effect, respectively. As a result, 4T1 tumour-bearing mice showed up to 2.7-fold increase in drug concentrations of the fluorescent Dye DiI and doxorubicin in tumour tissues, as well as their nanoformulations. Animals treated with the combinations of both Sildenafil citrate and doxorubicin showed a statistically significant 4.7-fold reduction in tumour size compared to doxorubicin alone. This work highlights the effect of Sildenafil on tumour vasculatures and provides a rational for further testing the combination on breast cancer patients.

  5. Efficacy, safety and anticancer activity of protein nanoparticle-based delivery of doxorubicin through intravenous administration in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kishore Golla

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin is a potent anticancer drug and a major limiting factor that hinders therapeutic use as its high levels of systemic circulation often associated with various off-target effects, particularly cardiotoxicity. The present study focuses on evaluation of the efficacy of doxorubicin when it is loaded into the protein nanoparticles and delivered intravenously in rats bearing Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. The proteins selected as carrier were Apotransferrin and Lactoferrin, since the receptors for these two proteins are known to be over expressed on cancer cells due to their iron transport capacity.Doxorubicin loaded apotransferrin (Apodoxonano and lactoferrin nanoparticles (Lactodoxonano were prepared by sol-oil chemistry. HCC in the rats was induced by 100 mg/l of diethylnitrosamine (DENA in drinking water for 8 weeks. Rats received 5 doses of 2 mg/kg drug equivalent nanoparticles through intravenous administration. Pharmacokinetics and toxicity of nanoformulations was evaluated in healthy rats and anticancer activity was studied in DENA treated rats. The anticancer activity was evaluated through counting of the liver nodules, H & E analysis and by estimating the expression levels of angiogenic and antitumor markers.In rats treated with nanoformulations, the numbers of liver nodules were found to be significantly reduced. They showed highest drug accumulation in liver (22.4 and 19.5 µg/g. Both nanoformulations showed higher localization compared to doxorubicin (Doxo when delivered in the absence of a carrier. Higher amounts of Doxo (195 µg/g were removed through kidney, while Apodoxonano and Lactodoxonano showed only a minimal amount of removal (<40 µg/g, suggesting the extended bioavailability of Doxo when delivered through nanoformulation. Safety analysis shows minimal cardiotoxicity due to lower drug accumulation in heart in the case of nanoformulation.Drug delivery through nanoformulations not only minimizes the cardiotoxicity of

  6. Heterocyclic Scaffolds: Centrality in Anticancer Drug Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Imran; Lone, Mohammad Nadeem; Al-Othman, Zeid A; Al-Warthan, Abdulrahman; Sanagi, Mohd Marsin

    2015-01-01

    Cancer has been cursed for human beings for long time. Millions people lost their lives due to cancer. Despite of the several anticancer drugs available, cancer cannot be cured; especially at the late stages without showing any side effect. Heterocyclic compounds exhibit exciting medicinal properties including anticancer. Some market selling heterocyclic anticancer drugs include 5-flourouracil, methortrexate, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, etc. Besides, some natural products such as vinblastine and vincristine are also used as anticancer drugs. Overall, heterocyclic moeities have always been core parts in the expansion of anticancer drugs. This article describes the importance of heterocyclic nuclei in the development of anticancer drugs. Besides, the attempts have been made to discuss both naturally occurring and synthetic heterocyclic compounds as anticancer agents. In addition, some market selling anticancer heterocyclic compounds have been described. Moreover, the efforts have been made to discuss the mechanisms of actions and recent advances in heterocyclic compounds as anticancer agents. The current challenges and future prospectives of heterocyclic compounds have also been discussed. Finally, the suggestions for syntheses of effective, selective, fast and human friendly anticancer agents are discussed into the different sections.

  7. The lipid lowering drug lovastatin protects against doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henninger, Christian; Huelsenbeck, Johannes; Huelsenbeck, Stefanie; Grösch, Sabine; Schad, Arno; Lackner, Karl J.; Kaina, Bernd; Fritz, Gerhard

    2012-01-01

    Liver is the main detoxifying organ and therefore the target of high concentrations of genotoxic compounds, such as environmental carcinogens and anticancer drugs. Here, we investigated the usefulness of lovastatin, which is nowadays widely used for lipid lowering purpose, as a hepatoprotective drug following the administration of the anthracycline derivative doxorubicin in vivo. To this end, BALB/c mice were exposed to either a single high dose or three consecutive low doses of doxorubicin. Acute and subacute hepatotoxicities were analyzed with or without lovastatin co-treatment. Lovastatin protected the liver against doxorubicin-induced acute pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic stress responses as indicated by an attenuated mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), respectively. Hepatoprotection by lovastatin was due to a reduced induction of DNA damage following doxorubicin treatment. The statin also mitigated subacute anthracycline-provoked hepatotoxicity as shown on the level of doxorubicin- and epirubicin-stimulated CTGF mRNA expression as well as histopathologically detectable fibrosis and serum concentration of marker enzymes of hepatotoxicity (GPT/GLDH). Kidney damage following doxorubicin exposure was not detectable under our experimental conditions. Moreover, lovastatin showed multiple inhibitory effects on doxorubicin-triggered hepatic expression of genes involved in oxidative stress response, drug transport, DNA repair, cell cycle progression and cell death. Doxorubicin also stimulated the formation of ceramides. Ceramide production, however, was not blocked by lovastatin, indicating that hepatoprotection by lovastatin is independent of the sphingolipid metabolism. Overall, the data show that lovastatin is hepatoprotective following genotoxic stress induced by anthracyclines. Based on the data, we hypothesize that statins might be suitable to lower hepatic injury following anthracycline

  8. The lipid lowering drug lovastatin protects against doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henninger, Christian [Institute of Toxicology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Institute of Toxicology, University Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-40225 Duesseldorf (Germany); Huelsenbeck, Johannes; Huelsenbeck, Stefanie [Institute of Toxicology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Grösch, Sabine [Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt, Theodor Stern Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt/Main (Germany); Schad, Arno [Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Lackner, Karl J. [Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Kaina, Bernd [Institute of Toxicology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Fritz, Gerhard, E-mail: fritz@uni-duesseldorf.de [Institute of Toxicology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-55131 Mainz (Germany); Institute of Toxicology, University Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Universitätsstrasse 1, D-40225 Duesseldorf (Germany)

    2012-05-15

    Liver is the main detoxifying organ and therefore the target of high concentrations of genotoxic compounds, such as environmental carcinogens and anticancer drugs. Here, we investigated the usefulness of lovastatin, which is nowadays widely used for lipid lowering purpose, as a hepatoprotective drug following the administration of the anthracycline derivative doxorubicin in vivo. To this end, BALB/c mice were exposed to either a single high dose or three consecutive low doses of doxorubicin. Acute and subacute hepatotoxicities were analyzed with or without lovastatin co-treatment. Lovastatin protected the liver against doxorubicin-induced acute pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic stress responses as indicated by an attenuated mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), respectively. Hepatoprotection by lovastatin was due to a reduced induction of DNA damage following doxorubicin treatment. The statin also mitigated subacute anthracycline-provoked hepatotoxicity as shown on the level of doxorubicin- and epirubicin-stimulated CTGF mRNA expression as well as histopathologically detectable fibrosis and serum concentration of marker enzymes of hepatotoxicity (GPT/GLDH). Kidney damage following doxorubicin exposure was not detectable under our experimental conditions. Moreover, lovastatin showed multiple inhibitory effects on doxorubicin-triggered hepatic expression of genes involved in oxidative stress response, drug transport, DNA repair, cell cycle progression and cell death. Doxorubicin also stimulated the formation of ceramides. Ceramide production, however, was not blocked by lovastatin, indicating that hepatoprotection by lovastatin is independent of the sphingolipid metabolism. Overall, the data show that lovastatin is hepatoprotective following genotoxic stress induced by anthracyclines. Based on the data, we hypothesize that statins might be suitable to lower hepatic injury following anthracycline

  9. Citrate- and Succinate-Modified Carbonate Apatite Nanoparticles with Loaded Doxorubicin Exhibit Potent Anticancer Activity against Breast Cancer Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sultana Mehbuba Hossain

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Biodegradable inorganic apatite-based particle complex is popular for its pH-sensitivity at the endosomal acidic environment to facilitate drug release following cellular uptake. Despite being a powerful anticancer drug, doxorubicin shows severe off-target effects and therefore would need a carrier for the highest effectiveness. We aimed to chemically modify carbonate apatite (CA with Krebs cycle intermediates, such as citrate and succinate in order to control the growth of the resultant particles to more efficiently carry and transport the anticancer drug into the cancer cells. Citrate- or succinate-modified CA particles were synthesized with different concentrations of sodium citrate or sodium succinate, respectively, in the absence or presence of doxorubicin. The drug loading efficiency of the particles and their cellular uptake were observed by quantifying fluorescence intensity. The average diameter and surface charge of the particles were determined using Zetasizer. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Citrate-modified carbonate apatite (CMCA exhibited the highest (31.38% binding affinity for doxorubicin and promoted rapid cellular uptake of the drug, leading to the half-maximal inhibitory concentration 1000 times less than that of the free drug in MCF-7 cells. Hence, CMCA nanoparticles with greater surface area enhance cytotoxicity in different breast cancer cells by enabling higher loading and more efficient cellular uptake of the drug.

  10. Enhanced cytotoxicity of anticancer drug delivered by novel nanoscale polymeric carrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoika, R.; Boiko, N.; Senkiv, Y.; Shlyakhtina, Y.; Panchuk, R.; Finiuk, N.; Filyak, Y.; Bilyy, R.; Kit, Y.; Skorohyd, N.; Klyuchivska, O.; Zaichenko, A.; Mitina, N.; Ryabceva, A.

    2013-04-01

    We compared in vitro action of highly toxic anticancer drug doxorubicin under its delivery to the mammalian tumor cells in free form and after encapsulation in novel bio-functionalized nanoscale polymeric carrier. Such encapsulation was found to enhance significantly drug uptake by the targeted cells, as well as its cytotoxic action. 10 times higher cytotoxicity of the carrier-immobilized doxorubicin comparing to its free form was demonstrated by direct cell counting, and 5 times higher cytotoxicity of encapsulated doxorubicin was shown by FACS analysis. The polymeric carrier itself did not possess significant toxicity in vitro or in vivo (laboratory mice). The carrier protected against negative side effects of doxorubicin in mice with experimental NK/Ly lymphoma. The life duration of tumor-bearing animals treated with doxorubicin-carrier complex was significantly longer than life duration in animals treated with free doxorubicin. Besides, the effective treatment dose of the carrier-delivered doxorubicin in tumor-bearing mice was 10 times lower than such dose of free doxorubicin. Thus, novel nanoscale polymers possess high potential as drug carrier.

  11. Enhanced cytotoxicity of anticancer drug delivered by novel nanoscale polymeric carrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoika, R; Boiko, N; Panchuk, R; Filyak, Y; Senkiv, Y; Finiuk, N; Shlyakhtina, Y; Bilyy, R; Kit, Y; Skorohyd, N; Klyuchivska, O; Zaichenko, A; Mitina, N; Ryabceva, A

    2013-01-01

    We compared in vitro action of highly toxic anticancer drug doxorubicin under its delivery to the mammalian tumor cells in free form and after encapsulation in novel bio-functionalized nanoscale polymeric carrier. Such encapsulation was found to enhance significantly drug uptake by the targeted cells, as well as its cytotoxic action. 10 times higher cytotoxicity of the carrier-immobilized doxorubicin comparing to its free form was demonstrated by direct cell counting, and 5 times higher cytotoxicity of encapsulated doxorubicin was shown by FACS analysis. The polymeric carrier itself did not possess significant toxicity in vitro or in vivo (laboratory mice). The carrier protected against negative side effects of doxorubicin in mice with experimental NK/Ly lymphoma. The life duration of tumor-bearing animals treated with doxorubicin-carrier complex was significantly longer than life duration in animals treated with free doxorubicin. Besides, the effective treatment dose of the carrier-delivered doxorubicin in tumor-bearing mice was 10 times lower than such dose of free doxorubicin. Thus, novel nanoscale polymers possess high potential as drug carrier.

  12. MECHANOMAGNETIC REACTOR FOR ACTIVATION OF ANTICANCER DRUGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orel V. E.

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Mechanomagnetochemical activation can increase the concentration of paramagnetic centers (free radicals in the anticancer drug, for example, doxorubicin that enables to influence its magnetic properties under external electromagnetic field and improve its magnetic sensitivity and antitumor activity. The principles of design and operation of mechanomagnetic reactor for implementation of this technology which includes mechanomagnetochemical activation and electromagnetic radiation of the drug are described in the paper. The methods of vibration magnetometry, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography were used for studying of doxorubicin mechanomagnetic activation effects. The studies have shown that a generator of sinusoidal electromagnetic wave, working chambers from caprolactam, fluoroplastic or organic materials with metal inserts and working bodies made from steel or agate depending on the required doxorubicin magnetic properties are expedient to use in the designed mechanomagnic reactor. Under influence of mechanomagnetochemical activation doxorubicin, which is diamagnetic, acquires the properties of paramagnetic without changing g-factors in the spectra of electron paramagnetic resonance. Mechanomagnetochemical activation of doxorubicin satisfies pharmacopoeia condi tions according to the results of liquid chromatography that points on perspective of this method using in technology of tumor therapy with nanosized structures and external electromagnetic radiation.

  13. Polylactide-based magnetic spheres as efficient carriers for anticancer drug delivery

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mhlanga, N

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available To improve traditional cancer therapies, we synthesized polylactide (PLA) spheres coencapsulating magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs, Fe(sub3)O(sub4)) and an anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX). The synthesis process involves the preparation of Fe(sub3)O...

  14. Impedimetric toxicity assay in microfluidics using free and liposome-encapsulated anticancer drugs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Caviglia, Claudia; Zor, Kinga; Montini, Lucia

    2015-01-01

    In this work, we have developed a microfluidic cytotoxicity assay for a cell culture and detection platform, which enables both fluid handling and electrochemical/optical detection. The cytotoxic effect of anticancer drugs doxorubicin (DOX), oxaliplatin (OX) as well as OX-loaded liposomes, develo...

  15. Gamma irradiation reduces the immunological toxicity of doxorubicin, anticancer drug

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jae-Hun; Sung, Nak-Yun; Raghavendran, H. Balaji; Yoon, Yohan; Song, Beom-Seok; Choi, Jong-il [Team for Radiation Food Science and Biotechnology, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup 580-185 (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Young-Choon [Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon 302-718 (Korea, Republic of); Byun, Myung-Woo [Team for Radiation Food Science and Biotechnology, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup 580-185 (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Young-Jeong [Division of Food Science, International University of Korea, Jinju 660-759 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Ju-Woon [Team for Radiation Food Science and Biotechnology, Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup 580-185 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: sjwlee@kaeri.re.kr

    2009-07-15

    Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used anticancer agent, but exhibits some immunological toxicity to patients during chemotherapy. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the immunological response and the inhibition activity on in vivo tumor mass of DOX. The results showed that DOX irradiated at 10 and 20 kGy reduce the inhibition of mouse peritoneal macrophage proliferation and induce the release of cytokines (TNF-{alpha} and IL-6) when compared with non-irradiated DOX. The cytotoxicity against human breast (MCF-7), murine colon adenocarcinoma (Colon 26) and human monocytic (THP-1) tumor cell were not significantly different between non-irradiated and irradiated DOX (P<0.05). In vivo study on the tumor mass inhibition, gamma-irradiated DOX showed a considerable inhibition of tumor mass and this effect was statistically non-significant as compared with non-irradiated DOX. In conclusion, gamma irradiation could be regarded as a potential method for reducing the immunological toxicity of DOX. Further researches is needed to reveal the formation and activity of radiolysis products by gamma irradiation.

  16. Gamma irradiation reduces the immunological toxicity of doxorubicin, anticancer drug

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae-Hun; Sung, Nak-Yun; Raghavendran, H. Balaji; Yoon, Yohan; Song, Beom-Seok; Choi, Jong-il; Yoo, Young-Choon; Byun, Myung-Woo; Hwang, Young-Jeong; Lee, Ju-Woon

    2009-01-01

    Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used anticancer agent, but exhibits some immunological toxicity to patients during chemotherapy. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the immunological response and the inhibition activity on in vivo tumor mass of DOX. The results showed that DOX irradiated at 10 and 20 kGy reduce the inhibition of mouse peritoneal macrophage proliferation and induce the release of cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) when compared with non-irradiated DOX. The cytotoxicity against human breast (MCF-7), murine colon adenocarcinoma (Colon 26) and human monocytic (THP-1) tumor cell were not significantly different between non-irradiated and irradiated DOX (P<0.05). In vivo study on the tumor mass inhibition, gamma-irradiated DOX showed a considerable inhibition of tumor mass and this effect was statistically non-significant as compared with non-irradiated DOX. In conclusion, gamma irradiation could be regarded as a potential method for reducing the immunological toxicity of DOX. Further researches is needed to reveal the formation and activity of radiolysis products by gamma irradiation.

  17. The importance of drug metabolites synthesis: the case-study of cardiotoxic anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrynchak, Ivanna; Sousa, Emília; Pinto, Madalena; Costa, Vera Marisa

    2017-05-01

    Anticancer drugs are presently guarantying more survivors as a result of more powerful drugs or combinations of drugs used in therapy. Thus, it has become more crucial to study and overcome the side effects of these therapies. Cardiotoxicity is one of the most relevant side effects on the long-term cancer survivors, because of its high social and economic impact. Drug metabolism can result in active metabolites or toxic metabolites that can lead to important side effects. The metabolites of anticancer drugs are possible culprits of cardiotoxicity; however, the cardiotoxicity of many of the metabolites in several drug classes was not yet suitably studied so far. On the other hand, the use of prodrugs that are bioactivated through metabolism can be a good alternative to obtain more cardio safe drugs. In this review, the methods to obtain and study metabolites are summarized and their application to the study of a group of anticancer drugs with acknowledged cardiotoxicity is highlighted. In this group of drugs, doxorubicin (DOX, 1), mitoxantrone (MTX, 2), cyclophosphamide (CTX, 3) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 4) are included, as well as the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as imatinib (5), sunitinib (6) and sorafenib (7). Only with the synthesis and purification of considerable amounts of the metabolites can reliable studies be performed, either in vitro or in vivo that allow accurate conclusions regarding the cardiotoxicity of anticancer drug metabolites and then pharmacological prevention or treatment of the cardiac side effects can be done.

  18. Thiolated pectin-doxorubicin conjugates: Synthesis, characterization and anticancer activity studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheewatanakornkool, Kamonrak; Niratisai, Sathit; Manchun, Somkamol; Dass, Crispin R; Sriamornsak, Pornsak

    2017-10-15

    In this paper, pectin was cross-linked by a coupling reaction with either thioglycolic acid or cystamine dihydrochloride to form thiolated pectins. The thiolated pectins were then coupled with doxorubicin (DOX) derivative to obtain thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates by two different methods, disulfide bond formation and disulfide bond exchange. The disulfide bond exchange method provided a simple, fast, and efficient approach for synthesis of thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates, compared to the disulfide bond formation. Characteristics, physicochemical properties, and morphology of thiolated pectins and thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates were determined. DOX content in thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates using low methoxy pectin was found to be higher than that using high methoxy pectin. The in vitro anticancer activity of thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates was significantly higher than that of free DOX, in mouse colon carcinoma and human bone osteosarcoma cells, but insignificantly different from that of free DOX, in human prostate cancer cells. Due to their promising anticancer activity in mouse colon carcinoma cells, the thiolated pectin-DOX conjugates might be suitable for building drug platform for colorectal cancer-targeted delivery of DOX. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A rapid in vitro screening system for the identification and evaluation of anticancer drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kao, J.W.; Collins, J.L.

    1989-01-01

    We report the development of an in vitro screening system that can be used to identify new anticancer drugs that are specifically cytotoxic for dividing cells. The screening system takes advantage of the potential of many cell lines, including tumor cells, to stop dividing when they are plated at high cell density. The cytotoxic effects of anticancer drugs on dividing (i.e., cells plated at low cell density) and nondividing cells (i.e., cells plated at high cell density) is measured by the incorporation of 51Cr. This in vitro system was evaluated by measuring the cytotoxic effects of the anticancer drugs cisplatin, thiotepa, doxorubicin, methotrexate, and vinblastine on the cell lines B/C-N, ME-180, and MCF-7. In this in vitro system the concentrations of the anticancer drugs that produced significant cytotoxicity on only dividing cells are similar to the concentrations that are used clinically. The fact that this in vitro system is rapid, simple, applicable to many cell types, and able to predict effective concentrations of anticancer drugs should make it useful for the screening of new anticancer drugs and for the design of preclinical studies

  20. Kinetic models for the release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin from biodegradable polylactide/metal oxide-based hybrids

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Mhlanga, N

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For decades, studies on drug-release kinetics have been an important topic in the field of drug delivery because they provide important insights into the mechanism of drug release from carriers. In this work, polylactide (PLA), doxorubicin (DOX...

  1. Anti-cancer effect of HIV-1 viral protein R on doxorubicin resistant neuroblastoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Y Zhao

    Full Text Available Several unique biological features of HIV-1 Vpr make it a potentially powerful agent for anti-cancer therapy. First, Vpr inhibits cell proliferation by induction of cell cycle G2 arrest. Second, it induces apoptosis through multiple mechanisms, which could be significant as it may be able to overcome apoptotic resistance exhibited by many cancerous cells, and, finally, Vpr selectively kills fast growing cells in a p53-independent manner. To demonstrate the potential utility of Vpr as an anti-cancer agent, we carried out proof-of-concept studies in vitro and in vivo. Results of our preliminary studies demonstrated that Vpr induces cell cycle G2 arrest and apoptosis in a variety of cancer types. Moreover, the same Vpr effects could also be detected in some cancer cells that are resistant to anti-cancer drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX. To further illustrate the potential value of Vpr in tumor growth inhibition, we adopted a DOX-resistant neuroblastoma model by injecting SK-N-SH cells into C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J-scid/scid mice. We hypothesized that Vpr is able to block cell proliferation and induce apoptosis regardless of the drug resistance status of the tumors. Indeed, production of Vpr via adenoviral delivery to neuroblastoma cells caused G2 arrest and apoptosis in both drug naïve and DOX-resistant cells. In addition, pre-infection or intratumoral injection of vpr-expressing adenoviral particles into neuroblastoma tumors in SCID mice markedly inhibited tumor growth. Therefore, Vpr could possibly be used as a supplemental viral therapeutic agent for selective inhibition of tumor growth in anti-cancer therapy especially when other therapies stop working.

  2. Targeting doxorubicin encapsulated in stealth liposomes to solid tumors by non thermal diode laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghannam, Magdy M; El Gebaly, Reem; Fadel, Maha

    2016-04-05

    The use of liposomes as drug delivery systems is the most promising technique for targeting drug especially for anticancer therapy. In this study sterically stabilized liposomes was prepared from DPPC/Cholesterol/PEG-PE encapsulated doxorubicin. The effect of lyophilization on liposomal stability and hence expiration date were studied. Moreover, the effect of diode laser on the drug released from liposomesin vitro and in vivo in mice carrying implanted solid tumor were also studied. The results indicated that lyophilization of the prepared liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin led to marked stability when stored at 5 °C and it is possible to use the re-hydrated lyophilized liposomes within 12 days post reconstitution. Moreover, the use of low energy diode laser for targeting anticancer drug to the tumor cells is a promising method in cancer therapy. We can conclude that lyophilization of the liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin lead to marked stability for the liposomes when stored at 5 °C. Moreover, the use of low energy diode laser for targeting anticancer drug to the tumor cells through the use of photosensitive sterically stabilized liposomes loaded with doxorubicin is a promising method. It proved to be applicable and successful for treatment of Ehrlich solid tumors implanted in mice and eliminated toxic side effects of doxorubicin.

  3. Real time in vitro studies of doxorubicin release from PHEMA nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bajpai AK

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many anticancer agents have poor water solubility and therefore the development of novel delivery systems for such molecules has received significant attention. Nanocarriers show great potential in delivering therapeutic agents into the targeted organs or cells and have recently emerged as a promising approach to cancer treatments. The aim of this study was to prepare and use poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA nanoparticles for the controlled release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin. Results PHEMA nanoparticles have been synthesized and characterized using FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM, particle size analysis and surface charge measurements. We also studied the effects of various parameters such as percent loading of drugs, chemical architecture of the nanocarriers, pH, temperature and nature of the release media on the release profiles of the drug. The chemical stability of doxorubicin in PBS was assessed at a range of pH. Conclusion Suspension polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA results in the formation of swellable nanoparticles of defined composition. PHEMA nanoparticles can potentially be used for the controlled release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin.

  4. Preparation and Application of a Nano α-Fe2O3/SAPO-34 Photocatalyst for Removal of the Anti-cancer Drug Doxorubicin using the Taguchi Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bigtan Mohammad Hosein

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of α-Fe2O3/SAPO-34 nano photocatalyst was the first step of this study. The α-Fe2O3 nanocatalyst was synthesized applying forced hydrolysis and reflux condensation followed by solid-state dispersion that was used for supporting α-Fe2O3 on SAPO-34. The next step was a characterization of the catalyst that was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR. Then, for optimizing the operational parameters in Doxorubicin’s degradation process the effect of Doxorubicin concentration, the amount of α-Fe2O3/SAPO-34 nano photocatalyst, the pH, and H2O2 concentration was studied via the Taguchi method. The AL9 orthogonal array was adjusted and nine crucial runs were conducted. For calculating Signal/Noise ratio, each run was repeated three times. As the results showed, the concentration of Doxorubicin is the most effective parameter. Optimized conditions for removing the anti-cancer drug (based on Signal/Noise ratio were Doxorubicin concentration (20 ppm, H2O2 concentration (3 mol/L, catalyst amount (50 mg/L and pH = 8.

  5. Organic-inorganic hybrid nanoparticles controlled delivery system for anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Martino, Antonio; Guselnikova, Olga A; Trusova, Marina E; Postnikov, Pavel S; Sedlarik, Vladimir

    2017-06-30

    The use of organic-inorganic hybrid nanocarriers for controlled release of anticancer drugs has been gained a great interest, in particular, to improve the selectivity and efficacy of the drugs. In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared then surface modified via diazonium chemistry and coated with chitosan, and its derivative chitosan-grafted polylactic acid. The purpose was to increase the stability of the nanoparticles in physiological solution, heighten drug-loading capacity, prolong the release, reduce the initial burst effect and improve in vitro cytotoxicity of the model drug doxorubicin. The materials were characterized by DLS, ζ-potential, SEM, TGA, magnetization curves and release kinetics studies. Results confirmed the spherical shape, the presence of the coat and the advantages of using chitosan, particularly its amphiphilic derivative, as a coating agent, thereby surpassing the qualities of simple iron oxide nanoparticles. The coated nanoparticles exhibited great stability and high encapsulation efficiency for doxorubicin, at over 500μg per mg of carrier. Moreover, the intensity of the initial burst was clearly diminished after coating, hence represents an advantage of using the hybrid system over simple iron oxide nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity studies demonstrate the increase in cytotoxicity of doxorubicin when loaded in nanoparticles, indirectly proving the role played by the carrier and its surface properties in cell uptake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Sodium alginate-polyvinyl alcohol-bovin serum albumin coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles as anticancer drug delivery vehicle: Doxorubicin loading and in vitro release study and cytotoxicity to HepG2 and L02 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabha, G; Raj, V

    2017-10-01

    The challenging part of this work was to research the potential aspects of sodium alginate (SA)-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-bovin serum albumin (BSA) coated Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-PVA-BSA) as a drug delivery system for doxorubicin (DOX). The anticancer drug doxorubicin was selected as a model drug which is powerful for numerous cancer treatments. Superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation method. The mixture solution of Fe 3 O 4 -sodium alginate (SA) - doxorubicin (DOX) was crosslinked with Ca 2+ to form (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX) nanoparticles and addition of PVA and BSA with (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX) nanoparticles was prepared by coating procedure. Doxorubicin drug loaded NPs were prepared by a simple crosslinking method by calcium chloride solution. The prepared polymer coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-PVA-BSA) were characterized by using SEM, AFM, FT-IR, XRD and VSM. The mean sizes of the obtained drug loaded nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX, Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX-PVA and Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX-PVA-BSA) were between 240±8.3 and 460±8.7nm and zeta potential of the particles also was evaluated using Malvern Zetasizer which ranged between -48.1±2.3 and -22.4±4.1mV. The encapsulation efficiency, was between 36.2±0.01 and 96.45±2.12. Moreover drug loading and drug release properties of the polymer coated magnetic nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX-PVA-BSA) were also studied. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the created nanoparticles was performed by using MTT assay analysis which showed that DOX loaded nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 -SA-DOX-PVA-BSA) were toxic to HepG2 cell lines and non-toxic to L02 cell lines. The in-vitro drug release was studied by using UV-Visible spectrophotometer at acidic environment (pH5.0) and basic environment (pH7.4) as well as at different temperatures (37°C and 42°C). It was found that DOX drug is released much faster in acidic environment (pH5.0) than in the basic environment (pH7

  7. Synergistic effect of pH-responsive folate-functionalized poloxamer 407-TPGS-mixed micelles on targeted delivery of anticancer drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Butt AM

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Adeel Masood Butt, Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin, Haliza Katas Centre for Drug Delivery Research, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Background: Doxorubicin (DOX, an anthracycline anticancer antibiotic, is used for treating various types of cancers. However, its use is associated with toxicity to normal cells and development of resistance due to overexpression of drug efflux pumps. Poloxamer 407 (P407 and vitamin E TPGS (d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate, TPGS are widely used polymers as drug delivery carriers and excipients for enhancing the drug retention times and stability. TPGS reduces multidrug resistance, induces apoptosis, and shows selective anticancer activity against tumor cells. Keeping in view the problems, we designed a mixed micelle system encapsulating DOX comprising TPGS for its selective anticancer activity and P407 conjugated with folic acid (FA for folate-mediated receptor targeting to cancer cells. Methods: FA-functionalized P407 was prepared by carbodiimide crosslinker chemistry. P407-TPGS/FA-P407-TPGS-mixed micelles were prepared by thin-film hydration method. Cytotoxicity of blank micelles, DOX, and DOX-loaded micelles was determined by alamarBlue® assay. Results: The size of micelles was less than 200 nm with encapsulation efficiency of 85% and 73% for P407-TPGS and FA-P407-TPGS micelles, respectively. Intracellular trafficking study using nile red-loaded micelles indicated improved drug uptake and perinuclear drug localization. The micelles show minimal toxicity to normal human cell line WRL-68, enhanced cellular uptake of DOX, reduced drug efflux, increased DOX–DNA binding in SKOV3 and DOX-resistant SKOV3 human ovarian carcinoma cell lines, and enhanced in vitro cytotoxicity as compared to free DOX. Conclusion: FA-P407-TPGS-DOX micelles show potential as a targeted nano-drug delivery system for DOX due to their multiple synergistic factors of selective anticancer

  8. PhytoNanotechnology: Enhancing Delivery of Plant Based Anti-cancer Drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tabassum Khan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Natural resources continue to be an invaluable source of new, novel chemical entities of therapeutic utility due to the vast structural diversity observed in them. The quest for new and better drugs has witnessed an upsurge in exploring and harnessing nature especially for discovery of antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anticancer agents. Nature has historically provide us with potent anticancer agents which include vinca alkaloids [vincristine (VCR, vinblastine, vindesine, vinorelbine], taxanes [paclitaxel (PTX, docetaxel], podophyllotoxin and its derivatives [etoposide (ETP, teniposide], camptothecin (CPT and its derivatives (topotecan, irinotecan, anthracyclines (doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, and others. In fact, half of all the anti-cancer drugs approved internationally are either natural products or their derivatives and were developed on the basis of knowledge gained from small molecules or macromolecules that exist in nature. Three new anti-cancer drugs introduced in 2007, viz. trabectedin, epothilone derivative ixabepilone, and temsirolimus were obtained from microbial sources. Selective drug targeting is the need of the current therapeutic regimens for increased activity on cancer cells and reduced toxicity to normal cells. Nanotechnology driven modified drugs and drug delivery systems are being developed and introduced in the market for better cancer treatment and management with good results. The use of nanoparticulate drug carriers can resolve many challenges in drug delivery to the cancer cells that includes: improving drug solubility and stability, extending drug half-lives in the blood, reducing adverse effects in non-target organs, and concentrating drugs at the disease site. This review discusses the scientific ventures and explorations involving application of nanotechnology to some selected plant derived molecules. It presents a comprehensive review of formulation strategies of phytoconstituents in

  9. Thermo-sensitive liposomes loaded with doxorubicin and lysine modified single-walled carbon nanotubes as tumor-targeting drug delivery system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiali; Xie, Yingxia; Zhang, Yingjie; Huang, Heqing; Huang, Shengnan; Hou, Lin; Zhang, Huijuan; Li, Zhi; Shi, Jinjin; Zhang, Zhenzhong

    2014-11-01

    This report focuses on the thermo-sensitive liposomes loaded with doxorubicin and lysine-modified single-walled carbon nanotube drug delivery system, which was designed to enhance the anti-tumor effect and reduce the side effects of doxorubicin. Doxorubicin-lysine/single-walled carbon nanotube-thermo-sensitive liposomes was prepared by reverse-phase evaporation method, the mean particle size was 232.0 ± 5.6 nm, and drug entrapment efficiency was 86.5 ± 3.7%. The drug release test showed that doxorubicin released more quickly at 42℃ than at 37℃. Compared with free doxorubicin, doxorubicin-lysine/single-walled carbon nanotube-thermo-sensitive liposomes could efficiently cross the cell membranes and afford higher anti-tumor efficacy on the human hepatic carcinoma cell line (SMMC-7721) cells in vitro. For in vivo experiments, the relative tumor volumes of the sarcomaia 180-bearing mice in thermo-sensitive liposomes group and doxorubicin group were significantly smaller than those of N.S. group. Meanwhile, the combination of near-infrared laser irradiation at 808 nm significantly enhanced the tumor growth inhibition both on SMMC-7721 cells and the sarcomaia 180-bearing mice. The quality of life such as body weight, mental state, food and water intake of sarcomaia 180 tumor-bearing mice treated with doxorubicin-lysine/single-walled carbon nanotube-thermo-sensitive liposomes were much higher than those treated with doxorubicin. In conclusion, doxorubicin-lysine/single-walled carbon nanotube-thermo-sensitive liposomes combined with near-infrared laser irradiation at 808 nm may potentially provide viable clinical strategies for targeting delivery of anti-cancer drugs. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  10. Dose critical in-vivo detection of anti-cancer drug levels in blood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Holly H.; Hirschfeld, deceased, Tomas B.

    1991-01-01

    A method and apparatus are disclosed for the in vivo and in vitro detection and measurement of dose critical levels of DNA-binding anti-cancer drug levels in biological fluids. The apparatus comprises a laser based fiber optic sensor (optrode) which utilizes the secondary interactions between the drug and an intercalating fluorochrome bound to a probe DNA, which in turn is attached to the fiber tip at one end thereof. The other end of the optical fiber is attached to an illumination source, detector and recorder. The fluorescence intensity is measured as a function of the drug concentration and its binding constant to the probe DNA. Anticancer drugs which lend themselves to analysis by the use of the method and the optrode of the present invention include doxorubicin, daunorubicin, carminomycin, aclacinomycin, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-uracil, arabinosyl cytosine, mitomycin, cis-platinum 11 diamine dichloride procarbazine, vinblastine vincristine and the like. The present method and device are suitable for the continuous monitoring of the levels of these and other anticancer drugs in biological fluids such as blood, serum, urine and the like. The optrode of the instant invention also enables the measurement of the levels of these drugs from a remote location and from multiple samples.

  11. Spatiotemporal Control of Doxorubicin Delivery from “Stealth-Like” Prodrug Micelles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Li; Schneider, Gregory F.; Campbell, Frederick

    2017-01-01

    In the treatment of cancer, targeting of anticancer drugs to the tumor microenvironment is highly desirable. Not only does this imply accurate tumor targeting but also minimal drug release en route to the tumor and maximal drug release once there. Here we describe high-loading, “stealth-like” doxorubicin micelles as a pro-drug delivery system, which upon light activation, leads to burst-like doxorbicin release. Through this approach, we show precise spatiotemporal control of doxorubicin delivery to cells in vitro. PMID:28937592

  12. Influence of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole on distribution and activity of doxorubicin in solid tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Man; Lee, Carol; Wang, Marina; Tannock, Ian F

    2015-10-01

    Cellular causes of resistance and limited drug distribution within solid tumors limit therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs. Acidic endosomes in cancer cells mediate autophagy, which facilitates survival of stressed cells, and may contribute to drug resistance. Basic drugs (e.g. doxorubicin) are sequestered in acidic endosomes, thereby diverting drugs from their target DNA and decreasing penetration to distal cells. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may raise endosomal pH, with potential to improve drug efficacy and distribution in solid tumors. We determined the effects of the PPI lansoprazole to modify the activity of doxorubicin. To gain insight into its mechanisms, we studied the effects of lansoprazole on endosomal pH, and on the spatial distribution of doxorubicin, and of biomarkers reflecting its activity, using in vitro and murine models. Lansoprazole showed concentration-dependent effects to raise endosomal pH and to inhibit endosomal sequestration of doxorubicin in cultured tumor cells. Lansoprazole was not toxic to cancer cells but potentiated the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and enhanced its penetration through multilayered cell cultures. In solid tumors, lansoprazole improved the distribution of doxorubicin but also increased expression of biomarkers of drug activity throughout the tumor. Combined treatment with lansoprazole and doxorubicin was more effective in delaying tumor growth as compared to either agent alone. Together, lansoprazole enhances the therapeutic effects of doxorubicin both by improving its distribution and increasing its activity in solid tumors. Use of PPIs to improve drug distribution and to inhibit autophagy represents a promising strategy to enhance the effectiveness of anticancer drugs in solid tumors. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.

  13. Highly water-soluble, porous, and biocompatible boron nitrides for anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Qunhong; Wang, Binju; Wang, Xuebin; Hanagata, Nobutaka; Li, Xia; Liu, Dequan; Wang, Xi; Jiang, Xiangfen; Bando, Yoshio; Golberg, Dmitri

    2014-06-24

    Developing materials for "Nano-vehicles" with clinically approved drugs encapsulated is envisaged to enhance drug therapeutic effects and reduce the adverse effects. However, design and preparation of the biomaterials that are porous, nontoxic, soluble, and stable in physiological solutions and could be easily functionalized for effective drug deliveries are still challenging. Here, we report an original and simple thermal substitution method to fabricate perfectly water-soluble and porous boron nitride (BN) materials featuring unprecedentedly high hydroxylation degrees. These hydroxylated BNs are biocompatible and can effectively load anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin, DOX) up to contents three times exceeding their own weight. The same or even fewer drugs that are loaded on such BN carriers exhibit much higher potency for reducing the viability of LNCaP cancer cells than free drugs.

  14. Optimizing anticancer drug treatment in pregnant cancer patients : pharmacokinetic analysis of gestation-induced changes for doxorubicin, epirubicin, docetaxel and paclitaxel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Hasselt, J G C; van Calsteren, K; Heyns, L; Han, S; Mhallem Gziri, M; Schellens, J H M; Beijnen, J H; Huitema, A D R; Amant, F

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Pregnant patients with cancer are increasingly treated with anticancer drugs, although the specific impact of pregnancy-induced physiological changes on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of anticancer drugs and associated implications for optimal dose regimens remains unclear. Our objectives

  15. Improving anticancer activity and reducing systemic toxicity of doxorubicin by self-assembled polymeric micelles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gou Maling; Shi Huashan; Guo Gang; Men Ke; Zhang Juan; Li Zhiyong; Luo Feng; Qian Zhiyong; Wei Yuquan; Zheng Lan; Zhao Xia

    2011-01-01

    In an attempt to improve anticancer activity and reduce systemic toxicity of doxorubicin (Dox), we encapsulated Dox in monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (MPEG-PCL) micelles by a novel self-assembly procedure without using surfactants, organic solvents or vigorous stirring. These Dox encapsulated MPEG-PCL (Dox/MPEG-PCL) micelles with drug loading of 4.2% were monodisperse and ∼ 20 nm in diameter. The Dox can be released from the Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles; the Dox-release at pH 5.5 was faster than that at pH 7.0. Encapsulation of Dox in MPEG-PCL micelles enhanced the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of Dox on the C-26 colon carcinoma cell in vitro, and slowed the extravasation of Dox in the transgenic zebrafish model. Compared to free Dox, Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles were more effective in inhibiting tumor growth in the subcutaneous C-26 colon carcinoma and Lewis lung carcinoma models, and prolonging survival of mice bearing these tumors. Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles also induced lower systemic toxicity than free Dox. In conclusion, incorporation of Dox in MPEG-PCL micelles enhanced the anticancer activity and decreased the systemic toxicity of Dox; these Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles are an interesting formulation of Dox and may have potential clinical applications in cancer therapy.

  16. Improving anticancer activity and reducing systemic toxicity of doxorubicin by self-assembled polymeric micelles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gou Maling; Shi Huashan; Guo Gang; Men Ke; Zhang Juan; Li Zhiyong; Luo Feng; Qian Zhiyong; Wei Yuquan [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Zheng Lan; Zhao Xia, E-mail: anderson-qian@163.com [West China Second University Hospital, West China Women' s and Children' s Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China)

    2011-03-04

    In an attempt to improve anticancer activity and reduce systemic toxicity of doxorubicin (Dox), we encapsulated Dox in monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly({epsilon}-caprolactone) (MPEG-PCL) micelles by a novel self-assembly procedure without using surfactants, organic solvents or vigorous stirring. These Dox encapsulated MPEG-PCL (Dox/MPEG-PCL) micelles with drug loading of 4.2% were monodisperse and {approx} 20 nm in diameter. The Dox can be released from the Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles; the Dox-release at pH 5.5 was faster than that at pH 7.0. Encapsulation of Dox in MPEG-PCL micelles enhanced the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of Dox on the C-26 colon carcinoma cell in vitro, and slowed the extravasation of Dox in the transgenic zebrafish model. Compared to free Dox, Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles were more effective in inhibiting tumor growth in the subcutaneous C-26 colon carcinoma and Lewis lung carcinoma models, and prolonging survival of mice bearing these tumors. Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles also induced lower systemic toxicity than free Dox. In conclusion, incorporation of Dox in MPEG-PCL micelles enhanced the anticancer activity and decreased the systemic toxicity of Dox; these Dox/MPEG-PCL micelles are an interesting formulation of Dox and may have potential clinical applications in cancer therapy.

  17. Intelligent anticancer drug delivery performances of two poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based magnetite nanohydrogels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poorgholy, Nahid; Massoumi, Bakhshali; Ghorbani, Marjan; Jaymand, Mehdi; Hamishehkar, Hamed

    2018-08-01

    This article evaluates the anticancer drug delivery performances of two nanohydrogels composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-itaconic anhydride) [P(NIPAAm-co-IA)], poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles. For this purpose, the magnetite nanohydrogels (MNHGs) were loaded with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) as a universal anticancer drug. The morphologies and magnetic properties of the DOX-loaded MNHGs were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The sizes and zeta potentials (ξ) of the MNHGs and their corresponding DOX-loaded nanosystems were also investigated. The DOX-loaded MNHGs showed the highest drug release values at condition of 41 °C and pH 5.3. The drug-loaded MNHGs at physiological condition (pH 7.4 and 37 °C) exhibited negligible drug release values. In vitro cytotoxic effects of the DOX-loaded MNHGs were extensively evaluated through the assessing survival rate of HeLa cells using the MTT assay, and there in vitro cellular uptake into the mentioned cell line were examined using fluorescent microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) flow cytometry analyses. As the results, the DOX-loaded MNHG1 exhibited higher anticancer drug delivery performance in the terms of cytotoxic effect and in vitro cellular uptake. Thus, the developed MNHG1 can be considered as a promising de novo drug delivery system, in part due to its pH and thermal responsive drug release behavior as well as proper magnetite character toward targeted drug delivery.

  18. Folate-conjugated boron nitride nanospheres for targeted delivery of anticancer drug

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feng S

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Shini Feng,1 Huijie Zhang,1 Ting Yan,1 Dandi Huang,1 Chunyi Zhi,2 Hideki Nakanishi,1 Xiao-Dong Gao1 1Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China Abstract: With its unique physical and chemical properties and structural similarity to carbon, boron nitride (BN has attracted considerable attention and found many applications. Biomedical applications of BN have recently started to emerge, raising great hopes in drug and gene delivery. Here, we developed a targeted anticancer drug delivery system based on folate-conjugated BN nanospheres (BNNS with receptor-mediated targeting. Folic acid (FA was successfully grafted onto BNNS via esterification reaction. In vitro cytotoxicity assay showed that BNNS-FA complexes were non-toxic to HeLa cells up to a concentration of 100 µg/mL. Then, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX, a commonly used anticancer drug, was loaded onto BNNS-FA complexes. BNNS-FA/DOX complexes were stable at pH 7.4 but effectively released DOX at pH 5.0, which exhibited a pH sensitive and sustained release pattern. BNNS-FA/DOX complexes could be recognized and specifically internalized by HeLa cells via FA receptor-mediated endocytosis. BNNS-FA/DOX complexes exhibited greater cytotoxicity to HeLa cells than free DOX and BNNS/DOX complexes due to the increased cellular uptake of DOX mediated by the FA receptor. Therefore, BNNS-FA complexes had strong potential for targeted cancer therapy. Keywords: boron nitride nanospheres, folic acid, doxorubicin, targeted delivery, cancer therapy

  19. Mitochondrial DNA is a direct target of anti-cancer anthracycline drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashley, Neil; Poulton, Joanna

    2009-01-01

    The anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin (DXR), are potent anti-cancer drugs but they are limited by their clinical toxicity. The mechanisms involved remain poorly understood partly because of the difficulty in determining sub-cellular drug localisation. Using a novel method utilising the fluorescent DNA dye PicoGreen, we found that anthracyclines intercalated not only into nuclear DNA but also mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Intercalation of mtDNA by anthracyclines may thus contribute to the marked mitochondrial toxicity associated with these drugs. By contrast, ethidium bromide intercalated exclusively into mtDNA, without interacting with nuclear DNA, thereby explaining why mtDNA is the main target for ethidium. By exploiting PicoGreen quenching we also developed a novel assay for quantification of mtDNA levels by flow-cytometry, an approach which should be useful for studies of mitochondrial dysfunction. In summary our PicoGreen assay should be useful to study drug/DNA interactions within live cells, and facilitate therapeutic drug monitoring and kinetic studies in cancer patients.

  20. Anticancer drugs during pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyamoto, Shingo; Yamada, Manabu; Kasai, Yasuyo; Miyauchi, Akito; Andoh, Kazumichi

    2016-09-01

    Although cancer diagnoses during pregnancy are rare, they have been increasing with the rise in maternal age and are now a topic of international concern. In some cases, the administration of chemotherapy is unavoidable, though there is a relative paucity of evidence regarding the administration of anticancer drugs during pregnancy. As more cases have gradually accumulated and further research has been conducted, we are beginning to elucidate the appropriate timing for the administration of chemotherapy, the regimens that can be administered with relative safety, various drug options and the effects of these drugs on both the mother and fetus. However, new challenges have arisen, such as the effects of novel anticancer drugs and the desire to bear children during chemotherapy. In this review, we outline the effects of administering cytotoxic anticancer drugs and molecular targeted drugs to pregnant women on both the mother and fetus, as well as the issues regarding patients who desire to bear children while being treated with anticancer drugs. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. An overview on the delivery of antitumor drug doxorubicin by carrier proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agudelo, D; Bérubé, G; Tajmir-Riahi, H A

    2016-07-01

    Serum proteins play an increasing role as drug carriers in the clinical settings. In this review, we have compared the binding modalities of anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) to three model carrier proteins, human serum albumin (HSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and milk beta-lactoglobulin (β-LG) in order to determine the potential application of these model proteins in DOX delivery. Molecular modeling studies showed stronger binding of DOX with HSA than BSA and β-LG with the free binding energies of -10.75 (DOX-HSA), -9.31 (DOX-BSA) and -8.12kcal/mol (DOX-β-LG). Extensive H-boding network stabilizes DOX-protein conjugation and played a major role in drug-protein complex formation. DOX complexation induced major alterations of HSA and BSA conformations, while did not alter β-LG secondary structure. The literature review shows that these proteins can potentially be used for delivery of DOX in vitro and in vivo. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Eco-friendly biosynthesis, anticancer drug loading and cytotoxic effect of capped Ag-nanoparticles against breast cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naz, M.; Nasiri, N.; Ikram, M.; Nafees, M.; Qureshi, M. Z.; Ali, S.; Tricoli, A.

    2017-11-01

    The work aimed to prepare silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) from silver nitrate and various concentrations of the seed extract ( Setaria verticillata) by a green synthetic route. The chemical and physical properties of the resulting Ag-NPs were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. Anticancer activity of Ag-NPs (5-20 nm) had dose-dependent cytotoxic effect against breast cancer (MCF7-FLV) cells. The in vitro toxicity was studied on adult earthworms (Lumbricina) resulting in statistically significant ( P < 0.05) inhibition. The prepared NPs were loaded with hydrophilic anticancer drugs (ACD), doxorubicin (DOX) and daunorubicin (DNR), for developing a novel drug delivery carrier having significant adsorption capacity and efficiency to remove the side effects of the medicines effective for leukemia chemotherapy.

  3. Oral delivery of anticancer drugs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thanki, Kaushik; Gangwal, Rahul P; Sangamwar, Abhay T

    2013-01-01

    The present report focuses on the various aspects of oral delivery of anticancer drugs. The significance of oral delivery in cancer therapeutics has been highlighted which principally includes improvement in quality of life of patients and reduced health care costs. Subsequently, the challenges...... incurred in the oral delivery of anticancer agents have been especially emphasized. Sincere efforts have been made to compile the various physicochemical properties of anticancer drugs from either literature or predicted in silico via GastroPlus™. The later section of the paper reviews various emerging...... trends to tackle the challenges associated with oral delivery of anticancer drugs. These invariably include efflux transporter based-, functional excipient- and nanocarrier based-approaches. The role of drug nanocrystals and various others such as polymer based- and lipid based...

  4. Surface modification of graphene oxide nanosheets by protamine sulfate/sodium alginate for anti-cancer drug delivery application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Meng; Zhang, Feng; Liu, Lijiao; Zhang, Yanan; Li, Yeping; Li, Huaming; Xie, Jimin

    2018-05-01

    In order to improve the efficiency of anticancer drug delivery, a graphene oxide (GO) based drug delivery system modificated by natural peptide protamine sulfate (PRM) and sodium alginate (SA) was established via electrostatic attraction at each step of adsorption based on layer-by-layer self-assembly. The nanocomposites were then loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) to estimate the feasibility as drug carriers. The nanocomposites loaded with DOX revealed a remarkable pH-sensitive drug release property. The modification with protamine sulfate and sodium alginate could not only impart the nanocomposites an improved dispersibility and stability under physiological pH, but also suppress the protein adhesion. Due to the high water dispersibility and the small particle size, GO-PRM/SA nanocomposites were able to be uptaken by MCF-7 cells. It was found that GO-PRM/SA nanocomposites exhibited no obvious cytotoxicity towards MCF-7 cells, while GO-PRM/SA-DOX exhibited better cytotoxicity than GO-DOX. Therefore, the GO-PRM/SA nanocomposites were feasible as drug delivery vehicles.

  5. Simultaneous hyperthermia and doxorubicin delivery from polymer-coated magnetite nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iglesias, G.R., E-mail: iglesias@ugr.es [Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Granada 18071 (Spain); Delgado, A.V.; González-Caballero, F. [Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Granada 18071 (Spain); Ramos-Tejada, M.M. [Department of Physics, University of Jaén, Linares 23700 (Spain)

    2017-06-01

    In this work, the hyperthermia response, (i.e., heating induced by an externally applied alternating magnetic field) and the simultaneous release of an anti-cancer drug (doxorubicin) by polymer-coated magnetite nanoparticles have been investigated. After describing the setup for hyperthermia measurements in suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles, the hyperthermia (represented by the rate of suspension heating and, ultimately, by the specific absorption rate or SAR) of magnetite nanoparticles (both bare and polymer-coated as drug nanocarriers) is discussed. The effect of the applied ac magnetic field on doxorubicin release is also studied, and it is concluded that the field does not interfere with the release process, demonstrating the double functionality of the investigated particles. - Highlights: • Magnetite NPs coated with polymers are used for drug delivery and hyperthermia. • The SAR of polyelectrolyte-coated NPs is larger because of their improved stability. • The antitumor drug doxorubicin is adsorbed on the coated particles. • The release rate of the drug is not affected by the ac magnetic field used in hyperthermia.

  6. Studies on the effect of doxorubicin on MDA, NO 2 , NO 3 , Se-GSH ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Doxorubicin, a highly effective anticancer drug, produces cardiotoxicity, which limits its therapeutic potential. The mechanism of this cardiotoxicity has remained elusive. The use of this drug, however, continues to be limited by its dose-related and time interval toxicity. Reactive oxygen species are hypothesized to be a major ...

  7. Chick chorioallantoic membrane assay as an in vivo model to study the effect of nanoparticle-based anticancer drugs in ovarian cancer

    KAUST Repository

    Vu, Binh Thanh

    2018-05-29

    New therapy development is critically needed for ovarian cancer. We used the chicken egg CAM assay to evaluate efficacy of anticancer drug delivery using recently developed biodegradable PMO (periodic mesoporous organosilica) nanoparticles. Human ovarian cancer cells were transplanted onto the CAM membrane of fertilized eggs, resulting in rapid tumor formation. The tumor closely resembles cancer patient tumor and contains extracellular matrix as well as stromal cells and extensive vasculature. PMO nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin were injected intravenously into the chicken egg resulting in elimination of the tumor. No significant damage to various organs in the chicken embryo occurred. In contrast, injection of free doxorubicin caused widespread organ damage, even when less amount was administered. The lack of toxic effect of nanoparticle loaded doxorubicin was associated with specific delivery of doxorubicin to the tumor. Furthermore, we observed excellent tumor accumulation of the nanoparticles. Lastly, a tumor could be established in the egg using tumor samples from ovarian cancer patients and that our nanoparticles were effective in eliminating the tumor. These results point to the remarkable efficacy of our nanoparticle based drug delivery system and suggests the value of the chicken egg tumor model for testing novel therapies for ovarian cancer.

  8. Current situation and future usage of anticancer drug databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongzhi; Yin, Yuanyuan; Wang, Peiqi; Xiong, Chenyu; Huang, Lingyu; Li, Sijia; Li, Xinyi; Fu, Leilei

    2016-07-01

    Cancer is a deadly disease with increasing incidence and mortality rates and affects the life quality of millions of people per year. The past 15 years have witnessed the rapid development of targeted therapy for cancer treatment, with numerous anticancer drugs, drug targets and related gene mutations been identified. The demand for better anticancer drugs and the advances in database technologies have propelled the development of databases related to anticancer drugs. These databases provide systematic collections of integrative information either directly on anticancer drugs or on a specific type of anticancer drugs with their own emphases on different aspects, such as drug-target interactions, the relationship between mutations in drug targets and drug resistance/sensitivity, drug-drug interactions, natural products with anticancer activity, anticancer peptides, synthetic lethality pairs and histone deacetylase inhibitors. We focus on a holistic view of the current situation and future usage of databases related to anticancer drugs and further discuss their strengths and weaknesses, in the hope of facilitating the discovery of new anticancer drugs with better clinical outcomes.

  9. Polypharmacology of Approved Anticancer Drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amelio, Ivano; Lisitsa, Andrey; Knight, Richard A; Melino, Gerry; Antonov, Alexey V

    2017-01-01

    The major drug discovery efforts in oncology have been concentrated on the development of selective molecules that are supposed to act specifically on one anticancer mechanism by modulating a single or several closely related drug targets. However, a bird's eye view on data from multiple available bioassays implies that most approved anticancer agents do, in fact, target many more proteins with different functions. Here we will review and systematize currently available information on the targets of several anticancer drugs along with revision of their potential mechanisms of action. Polypharmacology of the current antineoplastic agents suggests that drug clinical efficacy in oncology can be achieved only via modulation of multiple cellular mechanisms. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Iron distribution in cancer cells following doxorubicin exposure using proton and X-ray synchrotron radiation microprobes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortega, R.; Deves, G.; Bohic, S.; Simionovici, A.; Menez, B.; Bonnin-Mosbah, M.

    2001-01-01

    Chemical studies have shown that doxorubicin, a well-established anticancer agent, is a powerful iron chelator and the resultant iron-drug complex is an efficient catalyst of the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to the highly reactive hydroxyl radical. However, the intracellular complexation of doxorubicin with iron is still debated. Using nuclear microprobe analysis (NMPA), we previously observed in human ovarian cancer cells exposed to 20 μM iodo-doxorubicin (IDX) that iodine and iron cellular distributions were spatially correlated, suggesting a mechanism of intracellular iron chelation by the anthracycline compound. Because maximal plasma drug concentrations in patients are expected to be around 5 μM, NMPA and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) experiments for iron speciation analysis were performed on cultured cells exposed to pharmacological doses of 2 μM IDX or doxorubicin

  11. Doxorubicin loaded Polymeric Nanoparticulate Delivery System to overcome drug resistance in osteosarcoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Susa, Michiro; Iyer, Arun K; Ryu, Keinosuke; Hornicek, Francis J; Mankin, Henry; Amiji, Mansoor M; Duan, Zhenfeng

    2009-01-01

    Drug resistance is a primary hindrance for the efficiency of chemotherapy against osteosarcoma. Although chemotherapy has improved the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients dramatically after introduction of neo-adjuvant therapy in the early 1980's, the outcome has since reached plateau at approximately 70% for 5 year survival. The remaining 30% of the patients eventually develop resistance to multiple types of chemotherapy. In order to overcome both the dose-limiting side effects of conventional chemotherapeutic agents and the therapeutic failure incurred from multidrug resistant (MDR) tumor cells, we explored the possibility of loading doxorubicin onto biocompatible, lipid-modified dextran-based polymeric nanoparticles and evaluated the efficacy. Doxorubicin was loaded onto a lipid-modified dextran based polymeric nano-system. The effect of various concentrations of doxorubicin alone or nanoparticle loaded doxorubicin on KHOS, KHOS R2 , U-2OS, and U-2OS R2 cells was analyzed. Effects on drug retention, immunofluorescence, Pgp expression, and induction of apoptosis were also analyzed. Dextran nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin had a curative effect on multidrug resistant osteosarcoma cell lines by increasing the amount of drug accumulation in the nucleus via Pgp independent pathway. Nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin also showed increased apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells as compared with doxorubicin alone. Lipid-modified dextran nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin showed pronounced anti-proliferative effects against osteosarcoma cell lines. These findings may lead to new treatment options for MDR osteosarcoma

  12. Cdt1 is differentially targeted for degradation by anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Athanasia Stathopoulou

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Maintenance of genome integrity is crucial for the propagation of the genetic information. Cdt1 is a major component of the pre-replicative complex, which controls once per cell cycle DNA replication. Upon DNA damage, Cdt1 is rapidly targeted for degradation. This targeting has been suggested to safeguard genomic integrity and prevent re-replication while DNA repair is in progress. Cdt1 is deregulated in tumor specimens, while its aberrant expression is linked with aneuploidy and promotes tumorigenesis in animal models. The induction of lesions in DNA is a common mechanism by which many cytotoxic anticancer agents operate, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: In the present study we examine the ability of several anticancer drugs to target Cdt1 for degradation. We show that treatment of HeLa and HepG2 cells with MMS, Cisplatin and Doxorubicin lead to rapid proteolysis of Cdt1, whereas treatment with 5-Fluorouracil and Tamoxifen leave Cdt1 expression unaffected. Etoposide affects Cdt1 stability in HepG2 cells and not in HeLa cells. RNAi experiments suggest that Cdt1 proteolysis in response to MMS depends on the presence of the sliding clamp PCNA. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggest that treatment of tumor cells with commonly used chemotherapeutic agents induces differential responses with respect to Cdt1 proteolysis. Information on specific cellular targets in response to distinct anticancer chemotherapeutic drugs in different cancer cell types may contribute to the optimization of the efficacy of chemotherapy.

  13. A facile doxorubicin-dichloroacetate conjugate nanomedicine with high drug loading for safe drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Conglian; Wu, Tingting; Qin, Yuting; Qi, Yan; Sun, Yu; Kong, Miao; Jiang, Xue; Qin, Xianya; Shen, Yaqi; Zhang, Zhiping

    2018-01-01

    Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent but severe side effects limit its clinical application. Nanoformulations can reduce the toxicity while still have various limitations, such as complexity, low drug loading capability and excipient related concerns. An amphiphilic conjugate, doxorubicin-dichloroacetate, was synthesized and the corresponding nanoparticles were prepared. The in vitro cytotoxicity and intracellular uptake, in vivo imaging, antitumor effects and systemic toxicities of nanoparticles were carried out to evaluate the therapeutic efficiency of tumor. Doxorubicin-dichloroacetate conjugate can self-assemble into nanoparticles with small amount of DSPE-PEG 2000 , leading to high drug loading (71.8%, w/w) and diminished excipient associated concerns. The nanoparticles exhibited invisible systemic toxicity and high maximum tolerated dose of 75 mg DOX equiv./kg, which was 15-fold higher than that of free DOX. It also showed good tumor targeting capability and enhanced antitumor efficacy in murine melanoma model. This work provides a promising strategy to simplify the drug preparation process, increase drug loading content, reduce systemic toxicity as well as enhance antitumor efficiency.

  14. p-Glycoprotein ABCB5 and YB-1 expression plays a role in increased heterogeneity of breast cancer cells: correlations with cell fusion and doxorubicin resistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Ji Yeon; Ha, Seon-Ah; Yang, Yun-Sik; Kim, Jin Woo

    2010-01-01

    Cancer cells recurrently develop into acquired resistance to the administered drugs. The iatrogenic mechanisms of induced chemotherapy-resistance remain elusive and the degree of drug resistance did not exclusively correlate with reductions of drug accumulation, suggesting that drug resistance may involve additional mechanisms. Our aim is to define the potential targets, that makes drug-sensitive MCF-7 breast cancer cells turn to drug-resistant, for the anti-cancer drug development against drug resistant breast cancer cells. Doxorubicin resistant human breast MCF-7 clones were generated. The doxorubicin-induced cell fusion events were examined. Heterokaryons were identified and sorted by FACS. In the development of doxorubicin resistance, cell-fusion associated genes, from the previous results of microarray, were verified using dot blot array and quantitative RT-PCR. The doxorubicin-induced expression patterns of pro-survival and pro-apoptotic genes were validated. YB-1 and ABCB5 were up regulated in the doxorubicin treated MCF-7 cells that resulted in certain degree of genomic instability that accompanied by the drug resistance phenotype. Cell fusion increased diversity within the cell population and doxorubicin resistant MCF-7 cells emerged probably through clonal selection. Most of the drug resistant hybrid cells were anchorage independent. But some of the anchorage dependent MCF-7 cells exhibited several unique morphological appearances suggesting minor population of the fused cells maybe de-differentiated and have progenitor cell like characteristics. Our work provides valuable insight into the drug induced cell fusion event and outcome, and suggests YB-1, GST, ABCB5 and ERK3 could be potential targets for the anti-cancer drug development against drug resistant breast cancer cells. Especially, the ERK-3 serine/threonine kinase is specifically up-regulated in the resistant cells and known to be susceptible to synthetic antagonists

  15. DNA origami as a carrier for circumvention of drug resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Qiao; Song, Chen; Nangreave, Jeanette; Liu, Xiaowei; Lin, Lin; Qiu, Dengli; Wang, Zhen-Gang; Zou, Guozhang; Liang, Xingjie; Yan, Hao; Ding, Baoquan

    2012-08-15

    Although a multitude of promising anti-cancer drugs have been developed over the past 50 years, effective delivery of the drugs to diseased cells remains a challenge. Recently, nanoparticles have been used as drug delivery vehicles due to their high delivery efficiencies and the possibility to circumvent cellular drug resistance. However, the lack of biocompatibility and inability to engineer spatially addressable surfaces for multi-functional activity remains an obstacle to their widespread use. Here we present a novel drug carrier system based on self-assembled, spatially addressable DNA origami nanostructures that confronts these limitations. Doxorubicin, a well-known anti-cancer drug, was non-covalently attached to DNA origami nanostructures through intercalation. A high level of drug loading efficiency was achieved, and the complex exhibited prominent cytotoxicity not only to regular human breast adenocarcinoma cancer cells (MCF 7), but more importantly to doxorubicin-resistant cancer cells, inducing a remarkable reversal of phenotype resistance. With the DNA origami drug delivery vehicles, the cellular internalization of doxorubicin was increased, which contributed to the significant enhancement of cell-killing activity to doxorubicin-resistant MCF 7 cells. Presumably, the activity of doxorubicin-loaded DNA origami inhibits lysosomal acidification, resulting in cellular redistribution of the drug to action sites. Our results suggest that DNA origami has immense potential as an efficient, biocompatible drug carrier and delivery vehicle in the treatment of cancer.

  16. Anti-cancer effect of oncolytic adenovirus-armed shRNA targeting MYCN gene on doxorubicin-resistant neuroblastoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuan; Zhuo, Baobiao; Yin, Yiyu; Han, Tao; Li, Shixian; Li, Zhengwei; Wang, Jian

    2017-09-09

    Chemotherapy is one of the few effective choices for patients with neuroblastoma. However, the development of muti-drug resistance (MDR) to chemotherapy is a major obstacle to the effective treatment of advanced or recurrent neuroblastoma. The muti-drug resistance-associated protein (MRP), which encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein, is a key regulator of MDR. The expression of MRP is a close correlation with MYCN oncogene in neuroblastoma. We have recently shown ZD55-shMYCN (oncolytic virus armed with shRNA against MYCN) can down-regulate MYCN to inhibit tumor cells proliferation and induce apoptosis in neuroblastoma. Here we further report ZD55-shMYCN re-sensitized doxorubicin-resistant cells to doxorubicin (as shown by reduced proliferation, increased apoptosis, and inhibited cell migration), and reduced the in vivo growth rate of neuroblastoma xenografts by down-regulation of MRP expression. Sequential therapy with doxorubicin did not affect the replication of ZD55-shMYCN in doxorubicin-resistant neuroblastoma cells, but decreased the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-X L , MMP-1. Thus, this synergistic effect of ZD55-shMYCN in combination with doxorubicin provides a novel therapy strategy for doxorubicin-resistant neuroblastoma, and is a promising approach for further clinical development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Interaction of celecoxib with different anti-cancer drugs is antagonistic in breast but not in other cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Awady, Raafat A.; Saleh, Ekram M.; Ezz, Marwa; Elsayed, Abeer M.

    2011-01-01

    Celecoxib, an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2, is being investigated for enhancement of chemotherapy efficacy in cancer clinical trials. This study investigates the ability of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors to sensitize cells from different origins to several chemotherapeutic agents. The effect of the drug's mechanism of action and sequence of administration are also investigated. The sensitivity, cell cycle, apoptosis and DNA damage of five different cancer cell lines (HeLa, HCT116, HepG2, MCF7 and U251) to 5-FU, cisplatin, doxorubicin and etoposide ± celecoxib following different incubation schedules were analyzed. We found antagonism between celecoxib and the four drugs in the breast cancer cells MCF7 following all incubation schedules and between celecoxib and doxorubicin in all cell lines except for two combinations in HCT116 cells. Celecoxib with the other three drugs in the remaining four cell lines resulted in variable interactions. Mechanistic investigations revealed that celecoxib exerts different molecular effects in different cells. In some lines, it abrogates the drug-induced G2/M arrest enhancing pre-mature entry into mitosis with damaged DNA thus increasing apoptosis and resulting in synergism. In other cells, it enhances drug-induced G2/M arrest allowing time to repair drug-induced DNA damage before entry into mitosis and decreasing cell death resulting in antagonism. In some synergistic combinations, celecoxib-induced abrogation of G2/M arrest was not associated with apoptosis but permanent arrest in G1 phase. These results, if confirmed in-vivo, indicate that celecoxib is not a suitable chemosensitizer for breast cancer or with doxorubicin for other cancers. Moreover, combination of celecoxib with other drugs should be tailored to the tumor type, drug and administration schedule. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: → Celecoxib may enhance effects of anticancer drugs. → Its combination with four drugs was tested in five cancer cell

  18. Clinical pharmacology of novel anticancer drug formulations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stuurman, F.E.

    2013-01-01

    Studies outlined in this thesis describe the impact of drug formulations on pharmacology of anticancer drugs. It consists of four parts and starts with a review describing the mechanisms of low oral bioavailability of anti-cancer drugs and strategies for improvement of the bioavailability. The

  19. siRNA inhibition of telomerase enhances the anti-cancer effect of doxorubicin in breast cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong, Xuejun; Liu, Anding; Zer, Cindy; Feng, Jianguo; Zhen, Zhuan; Yang, Mingfeng; Zhong, Li

    2009-01-01

    Doxorubicin is an effective breast cancer drug but is hampered by a severe, dose-dependent toxicity. Concomitant administration of doxorubicin and another cancer drug may be able to sensitize tumor cells to the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and lowers the therapeutic dosage. In this study, we examined the combined effect of low-dose doxorubicin and siRNA inhibition of telomerase on breast cancer cells. We found that when used individually, both treatments were rapid and potent apoptosis inducers; and when the two treatments were combined, we observed an enhanced and sustained apoptosis induction in breast cancer cells. siRNA targeting the mRNA of the protein component of telomerase, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), was transfected into two breast cancer cell lines. The siRNA inhibition was confirmed by RT-PCR and western blot on hTERT mRNA and protein levels, respectively, and by measuring the activity level of telomerase using the TRAP assay. The effect of the hTERT siRNA on the tumorigenicity of the breast cancer cells was also studied in vivo by injection of the siRNA-transfected breast cancer cells into nude mice. The effects on cell viability, apoptosis and senescence of cells treated with hTERT siRNA, doxorubicin, and the combined treatment of doxorubicin and hTERT siRNA, were examined in vitro by MTT assay, FACS and SA-β-galactosidase staining. The hTERT siRNA effectively knocked down the mRNA and protein levels of hTERT, and reduced the telomerase activity to 30% of the untreated control. In vivo, the tumors induced by the hTERT siRNA-transfected cells were of reduced sizes, indicating that the hTERT siRNA also reduced the tumorigenic potential of the breast cancer cells. The siRNA treatment reduced cell viability by 50% in breast cancer cells within two days after transfection, while 0.5 μM doxorubicin treatment had a comparable effect but with a slower kinetics. The combination of hTERT siRNA and 0.5 μM doxorubicin killed twice as many

  20. A Novel Submicron Emulsion System Loaded with Doxorubicin Overcome Multi-Drug Resistance in MCF-7/ADR Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, W P; Hua, H Y; Sun, P C; Zhao, Y X

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to develop the Solutol HS15-based doxorubicin submicron emulsion with good stability and overcoming multi-drug resistance. In this study, we prepared doxorubicin submicron emulsion, and examined the stability after autoclaving, the in vitro cytotoxic activity, the intracellular accumulation and apoptpsis of doxorubicin submicron emulsion in MCF-7/ADR cells. The physicochemical properties of doxorubicin submicron emulsion were not significantly affected after autoclaving. The doxorubicin submicron emulsion significantly increased the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin submicron emulsion and enhanced cytotoxic activity and apoptotic effects of doxorubicin. These results may be correlated to doxorubicin submicron emulsion inhibitory effects on efflux pumps through the progressive release of intracellular free Solutol HS15 from doxorubicin submicron emulsion. Furthermore, these in vitro results suggest that the Solutol HS15-based submicron emulsion may be a potentially useful drug delivery system to circumvent multi-drug resistance of tumor cells.

  1. Backbone-hydrazone-containing biodegradable copolymeric micelles for anticancer drug delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Jing; Luan, Shujuan; Qin, Benkai; Wang, Yingying; Wang, Kai; Qi, Peilan; Song, Shiyong, E-mail: pharmsong@henu.edu.cn [Henan University, Institute of Pharmacy (China)

    2016-11-15

    Well-defined biodegradable, pH-sensitive amphiphilic block polymers, poly(ethylene glycol)-Hyd-poly(lactic acid) (mPEG-Hyd-PLA) which have acid-cleavable linkages in their backbones, were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization initiated from hydrazone-containing macroinitiators. Introducing a hydrazone bond onto the backbone of an amphiphilic copolymer will find a broad-spectrum encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy showed that the diblock copolymers self-assembled into stable micelles with average diameters of 100 nm. The mean diameters and size distribution of the hydrazone-containing micelles changed obviously in mildly acidic pH (multiple peaks from 1 to 202 nm appeared under a pH 4.0 condition) than in neutral, while there were no changes in the case of non-sensitive ones. Doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX) were loaded with drug loading content ranging from 2.4 to 3.5 %, respectively. Interestingly, the anticancer drugs released from mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles could also be promoted by the increased acidity. An in vitro cytotoxicity study showed that the DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles have significantly enhanced cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells compared with the non-sensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactic acid) (mPEG-PLA) micelles. Confocal microscopy observation indicated that more DOX were delivered into the nuclei of cells following 6 or 12 h incubation with DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles. In vivo studies on H22-bearing Swiss mice demonstrated the superior anticancer activity of DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles over free DOX and DOX-loaded mPEG-PLA micelles. These hydrazone-containing pH-responsive degradable micelles provide a useful strategy for antitumor drug delivery.

  2. Backbone-hydrazone-containing biodegradable copolymeric micelles for anticancer drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Jing; Luan, Shujuan; Qin, Benkai; Wang, Yingying; Wang, Kai; Qi, Peilan; Song, Shiyong

    2016-01-01

    Well-defined biodegradable, pH-sensitive amphiphilic block polymers, poly(ethylene glycol)-Hyd-poly(lactic acid) (mPEG-Hyd-PLA) which have acid-cleavable linkages in their backbones, were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization initiated from hydrazone-containing macroinitiators. Introducing a hydrazone bond onto the backbone of an amphiphilic copolymer will find a broad-spectrum encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy showed that the diblock copolymers self-assembled into stable micelles with average diameters of 100 nm. The mean diameters and size distribution of the hydrazone-containing micelles changed obviously in mildly acidic pH (multiple peaks from 1 to 202 nm appeared under a pH 4.0 condition) than in neutral, while there were no changes in the case of non-sensitive ones. Doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX) were loaded with drug loading content ranging from 2.4 to 3.5 %, respectively. Interestingly, the anticancer drugs released from mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles could also be promoted by the increased acidity. An in vitro cytotoxicity study showed that the DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles have significantly enhanced cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells compared with the non-sensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactic acid) (mPEG-PLA) micelles. Confocal microscopy observation indicated that more DOX were delivered into the nuclei of cells following 6 or 12 h incubation with DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles. In vivo studies on H22-bearing Swiss mice demonstrated the superior anticancer activity of DOX-loaded mPEG-Hyd-PLA micelles over free DOX and DOX-loaded mPEG-PLA micelles. These hydrazone-containing pH-responsive degradable micelles provide a useful strategy for antitumor drug delivery.

  3. Efficient chemotherapy of rat glioblastoma using doxorubicin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with different stabilizers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Wohlfart

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy of glioblastoma is largely ineffective as the blood-brain barrier (BBB prevents entry of most anticancer agents into the brain. For an efficient treatment of glioblastomas it is necessary to deliver anti-cancer drugs across the intact BBB. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA nanoparticles coated with poloxamer 188 hold great promise as drug carriers for brain delivery after their intravenous injection. In the present study the anti-tumour efficacy of the surfactant-coated doxorubicin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles against rat glioblastoma 101/8 was investigated using histological and immunohistochemical methods. METHODOLOGY: The particles were prepared by a high-pressure solvent evaporation technique using 1% polyvinylalcohol (PLGA/PVA or human serum albumin (PLGA/HSA as stabilizers. Additionally, lecithin-containing PLGA/HSA particles (Dox-Lecithin-PLGA/HSA were prepared. For evaluation of the antitumour efficacy the glioblastoma-bearing rats were treated intravenously with the doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles coated with poloxamer 188 using the following treatment regimen: 3 × 2.5 mg/kg on day 2, 5 and 8 after tumour implantation; doxorubicin and poloxamer 188 solutions were used as controls. On day 18, the rats were sacrificed and the antitumour effect was determined by measurement of tumour size, necrotic areas, proliferation index, and expression of GFAP and VEGF as well as Isolectin B4, a marker for the vessel density. CONCLUSION: The results reveal a considerable anti-tumour effect of the doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles. The overall best results were observed for Dox-Lecithin-PLGA/HSA. These data demonstrate that the poloxamer 188-coated PLGA nanoparticles enable delivery of doxorubicin across the blood-brain barrier in the therapeutically effective concentrations.

  4. A prodrug strategy based on chitosan for efficient intracellular anticancer drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Cheng; Zhou, Jiang-Ling; Han, Xue; Song, Fei; Wang, Xiu-Li; Wang, Yu-Zhong

    2014-01-01

    Doxorubicin (DOX), one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, is restricted in clinical application due to its severe side effects and inefficient cellular uptake. To overcome the drawbacks, herein, an endosomal pH-activated prodrug was designed and fabricated by conjugating DOX with chitosan via an acid-cleavable hydrazone bond. The resulting DOX conjugates can self-assemble into nano-sized particles, which were very stable and presented no burst release of DOX at a neutral pH condition. Notably, the nanoparticles exhibited excellent cell uptake properties and a remarkable drug accumulation in tumor cells. Once internalized into the cells, moreover, DOX can be fast released from the nanoparticles, and the release mechanism changed from the anomalous transport at pH 7.4 to the combination pattern of diffusion- and erosion-controlled release at pH 6.0 or 5.0. The prodrugs showed obvious cytotoxicity for HeLa cells with fairly low IC 50 values, offering a new platform for targeted cancer therapy. (papers)

  5. An amphiphilic graft copolymer-based nanoparticle platform for reduction-responsive anticancer and antimalarial drug delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najer, Adrian; Wu, Dalin; Nussbaumer, Martin G.; Schwertz, Geoffrey; Schwab, Anatol; Witschel, Matthias C.; Schäfer, Anja; Diederich, François; Rottmann, Matthias; Palivan, Cornelia G.; Beck, Hans-Peter; Meier, Wolfgang

    2016-08-01

    Medical applications of anticancer and antimalarial drugs often suffer from low aqueous solubility, high systemic toxicity, and metabolic instability. Smart nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems provide means of solving these problems at once. Herein, we present such a smart nanoparticle platform based on self-assembled, reduction-responsive amphiphilic graft copolymers, which were successfully synthesized through thiol-disulfide exchange reaction between thiolated hydrophilic block and pyridyl disulfide functionalized hydrophobic block. These amphiphilic graft copolymers self-assembled into nanoparticles with mean diameters of about 30-50 nm and readily incorporated hydrophobic guest molecules. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was used to study nanoparticle stability and triggered release of a model compound in detail. Long-term colloidal stability and model compound retention within the nanoparticles was found when analyzed in cell media at body temperature. In contrast, rapid, complete reduction-triggered disassembly and model compound release was achieved within a physiological reducing environment. The synthesized copolymers revealed no intrinsic cellular toxicity up to 1 mg mL-1. Drug-loaded reduction-sensitive nanoparticles delivered a hydrophobic model anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX) to cancer cells (HeLa cells) and an experimental, metabolically unstable antimalarial drug (the serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) inhibitor (+/-)-1) to Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (iRBCs), with higher efficacy compared to similar, non-sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles. These responsive copolymer-based nanoparticles represent a promising candidate as smart nanocarrier platform for various drugs to be applied to different diseases, due to the biocompatibility and biodegradability of the hydrophobic block, and the protein-repellent hydrophilic block.Medical applications of anticancer and antimalarial drugs often suffer from low aqueous

  6. Synergistic Cytotoxicity Effect by Combination Treatment of Polyketide Derivatives from Annona muricata Linn Leaves and Doxorubicin as Potential Anticancer Material on Raji Cell Line

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artanti, A. N.; Astirin, O. P.; Prayito, A.; Fisma, R.; Prihapsara, F.

    2018-03-01

    Nasopharynx cancer is one of the most deadly cancer. The main priority of nasopharynx cancer treatment is the use of chemotherapeutic agents, especially doxorubicin. However, doxorubicin might also lead to diverse side effect. An approach recently develop to overcome side effect of doxorubicin is to used of combined chemotherapeutic agent. One of the compounds found effication as an anticancer agent on nasopharynx cancer is acetogenin, a polyketide compound that is abundant in Annona muricata L. leaves. This study has been done to examine polyketide derivatives was isolated from Annona muricata L. which has potency to induce apoptosis by p53 expression on raji cell line. The determination of cytotoxic combination activity from polyketide derivative and doxorubicin was evaluated using MTT assay to obtain the value of CI (combination index). Data analysis showed that combination of polyketide derivative from Annona muricata L. (14,4 µg/ml) and doxorubicin with all of concentration performed synergistic effect on raji cell line with CI value from 0.13 – 0.65.

  7. Modulation of DNA damage response and induction of apoptosis mediates synergism between doxorubicin and a new imidazopyridine derivative in breast and lung cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Awady, Raafat A; Semreen, Mohammad H; Saber-Ayad, Maha M; Cyprian, Farhan; Menon, Varsha; Al-Tel, Taleb H

    2016-01-01

    DNA damage response machinery (DDR) is an attractive target of cancer therapy. Modulation of DDR network may alter the response of cancer cells to DNA damaging anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of a newly developed imidazopyridine (IAZP) derivative on the DDR after induction of DNA damage in cancer cells by doxorubicin. Cytotoxicity sulphrhodamine-B assay showed a weak anti-proliferative effect of IAZP alone on six cancer cell lines (MCF7, A549, A549DOX11, HepG2, HeLa and M8) and a normal fibroblast strain. Combination of IAZP with doxorubicin resulted in synergism in lung (A549) and breast (MCF7) cancer cells but neither in the other cancer cell lines nor in normal fibroblasts. Molecular studies revealed that synergism is mediated by modulation of DNA damage response and induction of apoptosis. Using constant-field gel electrophoresis and immunofluorescence detection of γ-H2AX foci, IAZP was shown to inhibit the repair of doxorubicin-induced DNA damage in A549 and MCF7 cells. Immunoblot analysis showed that IAZP suppresses the phosphorylation of the ataxia lelangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) protein, which is an important player in the response of cancer cells to chemotherapy-induced DNA damage. Moreover, IAZP augmented the doxorubicin-induced degradation of p21, activation of p53, CDK2, caspase 3/7 and phosphorylation of Rb protein. These effects enhanced doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in both cell lines. Our results indicate that IAZP is a promising agent that may enhance the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin on some cancer cells through targeting the DDR. It is a preliminary step toward the clinical application of IAZP in combination with anticancer drugs and opens the avenue for the development of compounds targeting the DDR pathway that might improve the therapeutic index of anticancer drugs and enhance their cure rate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. The influence of P-glycoprotein expression and its inhibitors on the distribution of doxorubicin in breast tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patel, Krupa J; Tannock, Ian F

    2009-01-01

    Anti-cancer drugs access solid tumors via blood vessels, and must penetrate tumor tissue to reach all cancer cells. Previous studies have demonstrated steep gradients of decreasing doxorubicin fluorescence with increasing distance from blood vessels, such that many tumor cells are not exposed to drug. Studies using multilayered cell cultures show that increased P-glycoprotein (PgP) is associated with better penetration of doxorubicin, while PgP inhibitors decrease drug penetration in tumor tissue. Here we evaluate the effect of PgP expression on doxorubicin distribution in vivo. Mice bearing tumor sublines with either high or low expression of PgP were treated with doxorubicin, with or without pre-treatment with the PgP inhibitors verapamil or PSC 833. The distribution of doxorubicin in relation to tumor blood vessels was quantified using immunofluorescence. Our results indicate greater uptake of doxorubicin by cells near blood vessels in wild type as compared to PgP-overexpressing tumors, and pre-treatment with verapamil or PSC 833 increased uptake in PgP-overexpressing tumors. However, there were steeper gradients of decreasing doxorubicin fluorescence in wild-type tumors compared to PgP overexpressing tumors, and treatment of PgP overexpressing tumors with PgP inhibitors led to steeper gradients and greater heterogeneity in the distribution of doxorubicin. PgP inhibitors increase uptake of doxorubicin in cells close to blood vessels, have little effect on drug uptake into cells at intermediate distances, and might have a paradoxical effect to decrease doxorubicin uptake into distal cells. This effect probably contributes to the limited success of PgP inhibitors in clinical trials

  9. Electrospinning of doxorubicin loaded silica/poly(ɛ-caprolactone) hybrid fiber mats for sustained drug release

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Gohary, Mohammed I.; El Hady, Bothaina M. Abd; Saeed, Aziza A. Al; Tolba, Emad; El Rashedi, Ahlam M. I.; Saleh, Safaa

    2018-06-01

    Loading of anticancer drugs into electrospun fiber matrices is a portentous approach for clinical treatment of diseased tissues or organs. In this study, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) is added to silica nanoparticles () during the formation of via the sol-gel approach. The obtained nanoparticles are then added to poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blend before electrospinning process via different methods. The effects of DOX addition as a free form or as nanoparticles on physical and chemical properties of obtained PCL-PEO fibers, as well as release profiles are evaluated to give a continual DOX release for several days. The morphology observed with scanning electron microscope (FESEM) revealed significant changes in the average diameter of obtained fibers ranging from 2164 nm to 659 nm and distribution of drug-loaded nanoparticles in the final mats according to the mode of additions. With the same manner, the releasing performances of obtained mats are quite different. Therefore, fabrication of drug loaded mats would offer a powerful approach to minimize serious side effects for clinical patients and allows us to control the drug concentration in the bloodstream.

  10. Stimuli-responsive protamine-based biodegradable nanocapsules for enhanced bioavailability and intracellular delivery of anticancer agents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radhakrishnan, Krishna; Thomas, Midhun B.; Pulakkat, Sreeranjini [Indian Institute of Science, Department of Materials Engineering (India); Gnanadhas, Divya P.; Chakravortty, Dipshikha [Indian Institute of Science, Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (India); Raichur, Ashok M., E-mail: amr@materials.iisc.ernet.in [Indian Institute of Science, Department of Materials Engineering (India)

    2015-08-15

    Enzyme- and pH-responsive polyelectrolyte nanocapsules having diameters in the range of 200 ± 20 nm were fabricated by means of Layer-by-Layer assembly of biopolymers, protamine, and heparin, and then loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin. The incorporation of the FDA-approved peptide drug protamine as a wall component rendered the capsules responsive to enzyme stimuli. The stimuli-responsive drug release from these nanocapsules was evaluated, and further modulation of capsule permeability to avoid premature release was demonstrated by crosslinking the wall components. The interaction of the nanocapsules with cancer cells was studied using MCF-7 breast cancer cells. These capsules were readily internalized and disintegrated inside the cells, culminating in the release of the loaded doxorubicin and subsequent cell death as observed by confocal microscopy and MTT Assay. The bioavailability studies performed using BALB/c mice revealed that the encapsulated doxorubicin exhibited enhanced bioavailability compared to free doxorubicin. Our results indicate that this stimuli-responsive system fabricated from clinically used FDA-approved molecules and exhibiting minimal premature release has great potential for drug-delivery applications.

  11. Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Leeuwen, R. W. F.; Brundel, D. H. S.; Neef, C.; van Gelder, T.; Mathijssen, R. H. J.; Burger, D. M.; Jansman, F. G. A.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment. Methods: A

  12. Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R.W.F. van Leeuwen (Roelof); D.H.S. Brundel (D. H S); C. Neef (Cees); T. van Gelder (Teun); A.H.J. Mathijssen (Ron); D.M. Burger (David); F.G.A. Jansman (Frank)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractBackground: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment.

  13. Nature is the best source of anticancer drugs: Indexing natural products for their anticancer bioactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayan, Anwar; Raiyn, Jamal; Falah, Mizied

    2017-01-01

    Cancer is considered one of the primary diseases that cause morbidity and mortality in millions of people worldwide and due to its prevalence, there is undoubtedly an unmet need to discover novel anticancer drugs. However, the traditional process of drug discovery and development is lengthy and expensive, so the application of in silico techniques and optimization algorithms in drug discovery projects can provide a solution, saving time and costs. A set of 617 approved anticancer drugs, constituting the active domain, and a set of 2,892 natural products, constituting the inactive domain, were employed to build predictive models and to index natural products for their anticancer bioactivity. Using the iterative stochastic elimination optimization technique, we obtained a highly discriminative and robust model, with an area under the curve of 0.95. Twelve natural products that scored highly as potential anticancer drug candidates are disclosed. Searching the scientific literature revealed that few of those molecules (Neoechinulin, Colchicine, and Piperolactam) have already been experimentally screened for their anticancer activity and found active. The other phytochemicals await evaluation for their anticancerous activity in wet lab.

  14. Nanoparticle-mediated combination chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy overcomes tumor drug resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khdair, Ayman; Chen, Di; Patil, Yogesh; Ma, Linan; Dou, Q Ping; Shekhar, Malathy P V; Panyam, Jayanth

    2010-01-25

    Tumor drug resistance significantly limits the success of chemotherapy in the clinic. Tumor cells utilize multiple mechanisms to prevent the accumulation of anticancer drugs at their intracellular site of action. In this study, we investigated the anticancer efficacy of doxorubicin in combination with photodynamic therapy using methylene blue in a drug-resistant mouse tumor model. Surfactant-polymer hybrid nanoparticles formulated using an anionic surfactant, Aerosol-OT (AOT), and a naturally occurring polysaccharide polymer, sodium alginate, were used for synchronized delivery of the two drugs. Balb/c mice bearing syngeneic JC tumors (mammary adenocarcinoma) were used as a drug-resistant tumor model. Nanoparticle-mediated combination therapy significantly inhibited tumor growth and improved animal survival. Nanoparticle-mediated combination treatment resulted in enhanced tumor accumulation of both doxorubicin and methylene blue, significant inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, and increased induction of apoptosis. These data suggest that nanoparticle-mediated combination chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy using doxorubicin and methylene blue has significant therapeutic potential against drug-resistant tumors. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Lovastatin induces apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells and synergizes with doxorubicin: potential therapeutic relevance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martirosyan, Anna; Clendening, James W; Goard, Carolyn A; Penn, Linda Z

    2010-01-01

    Ovarian carcinoma is a rarely curable disease, for which new treatment options are required. As agents that block HMG-CoA reductase and the mevalonate pathway, the statin family of drugs are used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and have been shown to trigger apoptosis in a tumor-specific manner. Recent clinical trials show that the addition of statins to traditional chemotherapeutic strategies can increase efficacy of targeting statin-sensitive tumors. Our goal was to assess statin-induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells, either alone or in combination with chemotherapeutics, and then determine these mechanisms of action. The effect of lovastatin on ovarian cancer cell lines was evaluated alone and in combination with cisplatin and doxorubicin using several assays (MTT, TUNEL, fixed PI, PARP cleavage) and synergy determined by evaluating the combination index. The mechanisms of action were evaluated using functional, molecular, and pharmacologic approaches. We demonstrate that lovastatin induces apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells in a p53-independent manner and synergizes with doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic agent used to treat recurrent cases of ovarian cancer. Lovastatin drives ovarian tumor cell death by two mechanisms: first, by blocking HMG-CoA reductase activity, and second, by sensitizing multi-drug resistant cells to doxorubicin by a novel mevalonate-independent mechanism. This inhibition of drug transport, likely through inhibition of P-glycoprotein, potentiates both DNA damage and tumor cell apoptosis. The results of this research provide pre-clinical data to warrant further evaluation of statins as potential anti-cancer agents to treat ovarian carcinoma. Many statins are inexpensive, off-patent generic drugs that are immediately available for use as anti-cancer agents. We provide evidence that lovastatin triggers apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells as a single agent by a mevalonate-dependent mechanism. Moreover, we also show lovastatin synergizes

  16. Exploring the novel heterocyclic derivatives as lead molecules for design and development of potent anticancer agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azad, Iqbal; Nasibullah, Malik; Khan, Tahmeena; Hassan, Firoj; Akhter, Yusuf

    2018-05-01

    This paper deals with in silico evaluation of newly proposed heterocyclic derivatives in search of potential anticancer activity. Best possible drug candidates have been proposed using a rational approach employing a pipeline of computational techniques namely MetaPrint2D prediction, molinspiration, cheminformatics, Osiris Data warrior, AutoDock and iGEMDOCK. Lazar toxicity prediction, AdmetSAR predictions, and targeted docking studies were also performed. 27 heterocyclic derivatives were selected for bioactivity prediction and drug likeness score on the basis of Lipinski's rule, Viber rule, Ghose filter, leadlikeness and Pan Assay Interference Compounds (PAINS) rule. Bufuralol, Sunitinib, and Doxorubicin were selected as reference standard drug for the comparison of molecular descriptors and docking. Bufuralol is a known non-selective adreno-receptor blocking agent. Studies showed that beta blockers are also used against different types of cancers. Sunitinib is well known Food and Drug administration (FDA) approved pyrrole containing tyrosine kinase inhibitor and our proposed molecules possess similarities with both drug and doxorubicin is another moiety having anticancer activity. All heterocyclic derivatives were found to obey the drug filters except standard drug Doxorubicin. Bioactivity score of the compounds was predicted for drug targets including enzymes, nuclear receptors, kinase inhibitors, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) ligands and ion channel modulators. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and toxicity (ADMET) prediction of all proposed compound showed good Blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration, Human intestinal absorption (HIA), Caco-2 cell permeability except compound-11 and was found to have no AdmetSAR toxicity as well as carcinogenic effect. Compounds 1-9 were slightly mutagenic while compound 2, 11, 20 and 21 showed carcinogenic effect according to Lazar toxicity prediction. Rests of the compounds were predicted to have no side effect

  17. Nature is the best source of anticancer drugs: Indexing natural products for their anticancer bioactivity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anwar Rayan

    Full Text Available Cancer is considered one of the primary diseases that cause morbidity and mortality in millions of people worldwide and due to its prevalence, there is undoubtedly an unmet need to discover novel anticancer drugs. However, the traditional process of drug discovery and development is lengthy and expensive, so the application of in silico techniques and optimization algorithms in drug discovery projects can provide a solution, saving time and costs. A set of 617 approved anticancer drugs, constituting the active domain, and a set of 2,892 natural products, constituting the inactive domain, were employed to build predictive models and to index natural products for their anticancer bioactivity. Using the iterative stochastic elimination optimization technique, we obtained a highly discriminative and robust model, with an area under the curve of 0.95. Twelve natural products that scored highly as potential anticancer drug candidates are disclosed. Searching the scientific literature revealed that few of those molecules (Neoechinulin, Colchicine, and Piperolactam have already been experimentally screened for their anticancer activity and found active. The other phytochemicals await evaluation for their anticancerous activity in wet lab.

  18. Anticancer Activity of Bacterial Proteins and Peptides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karpiński, Tomasz M; Adamczak, Artur

    2018-04-30

    Despite much progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, tumour diseases constitute one of the main reasons of deaths worldwide. The side effects of chemotherapy and drug resistance of some cancer types belong to the significant current therapeutic problems. Hence, searching for new anticancer substances and medicines are very important. Among them, bacterial proteins and peptides are a promising group of bioactive compounds and potential anticancer drugs. Some of them, including anticancer antibiotics (actinomycin D, bleomycin, doxorubicin, mitomycin C) and diphtheria toxin, are already used in the cancer treatment, while other substances are in clinical trials (e.g., p28, arginine deiminase ADI) or tested in in vitro research. This review shows the current literature data regarding the anticancer activity of proteins and peptides originated from bacteria: antibiotics, bacteriocins, enzymes, nonribosomal peptides (NRPs), toxins and others such as azurin, p28, Entap and Pep27anal2. The special attention was paid to the still poorly understood active substances obtained from the marine sediment bacteria. In total, 37 chemical compounds or groups of compounds with antitumor properties have been described in the present article.

  19. Anticancer drugs in Portuguese surface waters - Estimation of concentrations and identification of potentially priority drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Mónica S F; Franquet-Griell, Helena; Lacorte, Silvia; Madeira, Luis M; Alves, Arminda

    2017-10-01

    Anticancer drugs, used in chemotherapy, have emerged as new water contaminants due to their increasing consumption trends and poor elimination efficiency in conventional water treatment processes. As a result, anticancer drugs have been reported in surface and even drinking waters, posing the environment and human health at risk. However, the occurrence and distribution of anticancer drugs depend on the area studied and the hydrological dynamics, which determine the risk towards the environment. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the risk of anticancer drugs in Portugal. This work includes an extensive analysis of the consumption trends of 171 anticancer drugs, sold or dispensed in Portugal between 2007 and 2015. The consumption data was processed aiming at the estimation of predicted environmental loads of anticancer drugs and 11 compounds were identified as potentially priority drugs based on an exposure-based approach (PEC b > 10 ng L -1 and/or PEC c > 1 ng L -1 ). In a national perspective, mycophenolic acid and mycophenolate mofetil are suspected to pose high risk to aquatic biota. Moderate and low risk was also associated to cyclophosphamide and bicalutamide exposition, respectively. Although no evidences of risk exist yet for the other anticancer drugs, concerns may be associated with long term effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. GSH-targeted nanosponges increase doxorubicin-induced toxicity "in vitro" and "in vivo" in cancer cells with high antioxidant defenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daga, Martina; Ullio, Chiara; Argenziano, Monica; Dianzani, Chiara; Cavalli, Roberta; Trotta, Francesco; Ferretti, Carlo; Zara, Gian Paolo; Gigliotti, Casimiro L; Ciamporcero, Eric S; Pettazzoni, Piergiorgio; Corti, Denise; Pizzimenti, Stefania; Barrera, Giuseppina

    2016-08-01

    Several reports indicate that chemo-resistant cancer cells become highly adapted to intrinsic oxidative stress by up-regulating their antioxidant systems, which causes an increase of intracellular GSH content. Doxorubicin is one of the most widely used drugs for tumor treatment, able to kill cancer cells through several mechanisms. However, doxorubicin use is limited by its toxicity and cancer resistance. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies able to reduce doses and to overcome chemo-resistance are needed. A new class of glutathione-responsive cyclodextrin nanosponges (GSH-NS), is able to release anticancer drugs preferentially in cells having high GSH content. Doxorubicin-loaded GSH-NS, in the cancer cells with high GSH content, inhibited clonogenic growth, cell viability, topoisomerase II activity and induced DNA damage with higher effectiveness than free drug. Moreover, GSH-NS reduced the development of human tumor in xenograft models more than free drug. These characteristics indicate that GSH-NS can be a suitable drug delivery carrier for future applications in cancer therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Liposomal Drug Delivery of Anticancer Agents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Palle Jacob

    and retention (EPR) effect. The liposomes consists of sPLA2 IIA sensitive phospholipids having anticancer drugs covalently attached to the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone in the phospholipids, hence drug leakage is avoided from the carrier system. Various known anticancer agents, like chlorambucil, all......) based strategy using a limited number of reaction types. Upon coupling of unsaturated building blocks ring closing metathesis cascades were used to “reprogram” the molecular scaffold and highly diverse structures were obtained. In total 20 novel compounds with a broad structural diversity were prepared...

  2. Enhanced anticancer activity and circumvention of resistance mechanisms by novel polymeric/ phospholipidic nanocarriers of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senkiv, Y; Riabtseva, A; Heffeter, P; Boiko, N; Kowol, C R; Jungwith, U; Shlyakhtina, Y; Garasevych, S G; Mitina, N; Berger, W; Zaichenko, A; Stoika, R

    2014-07-01

    Severe toxic side effects and drug resistance are the major limitations of doxorubicin (Dox), one of the most potent anticancer agents in clinical use. Nanocarrier preparations offer the opportunity to overcome these drawbacks, which is reflected in the clinical approval of two liposomal Dox preparations. Additionally, there are many attempts to enhance the activity of Dox against multi-drug resistant (MDR) cancer cells. However, most of these strategies resulted in the increased uptake of Dox in resistant cells, only, while it remained unchanged in chemo-sensitive cells. Here, we present a new polymeric-phospholipidic hybrid delivery system which distinctly enhanced the accumulation and activity of Dox in all tested cancer cell lines including several MDR cell models. Notably, the resistance levels against Dox were reduced from about 6-fold to about 2-fold. Moreover, the new nanocarriers were shown to rapidly (within 10 min) and effectively transport Dox into resistant as well as sensitive cancer cells. Consequently, treatment with the new Dox-containing nanocarriers resulted in effective cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase and ROS-induced cell death induction. Finally, the new nanocarriers were tested against NK/Ly lymphoma and L1210 leukemia cells in vivo. In both cell models, the nanoformulation of Dox resulted in 100% cured animals already at low concentrations (0.1 mg/kg), while free Dox solely extended survival time. This indicates that the incorporation of phospholipids into PEGylated polymeric nanocarriers is a promising strategy to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity of Dox treatment against both sensitive and resistant cancer models in vitro and in vivo.

  3. In vivo evaluation on the effects of HemoHIM in promoting anticancer activities and reducing the side-effects of anticancer drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Sung Kee; Jung, U Hee; Park, Hae Ran; Ju, Eun Jin; Cho, Eun Hee

    2009-07-01

    In this project, we aimed to obtain the preclinical in vivo evaluation data for the development of the herbal composition (HemoHIM) as the auxiliary agent for the anticancer treatment that can reduce the side-effects of anticancer drugs and enhance their anticancer activities. Firstly, in vitro studies showed that HemoHIM did not show any effects on the tumor cell growth inhibition by 2 anticancer drugs (cisplatin, 5-FU), which indicated that at least HemoHIM does not exert any adverse effects on the activities of anticancer drugs. Next, the in vivo studies with mice implanted with tumor cells(B16F0, LLC1) showed that HemoHIM partially enhanced the anticancer activities of drugs (cisplatin, 5-FU), and improved endogenous anticancer immune activities. Furthermore, in the same animal models, HemoHIM effectively reduced the side-effects of anticancer drugs (liver and renal toxicities by cisplatin, immune and hematopoietic disorders by 5-FU). These results collectively showed that HemoHIM can enhance the activities of anticancer drugs and reduce their side-effects in vitro and in vivo and HemoHIM does not exert any adverse effects on the efficacy of anticancer drugs. The results of this project can be utilized as the basic preclinical data for the development and approval of HemoHIM as the auxiliary agent for the anticancer treatment

  4. In vivo evaluation on the effects of HemoHIM in promoting anticancer activities and reducing the side-effects of anticancer drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jo, Sung Kee; Jung, U Hee; Park, Hae Ran; Ju, Eun Jin; Cho, Eun Hee

    2009-07-15

    In this project, we aimed to obtain the preclinical in vivo evaluation data for the development of the herbal composition (HemoHIM) as the auxiliary agent for the anticancer treatment that can reduce the side-effects of anticancer drugs and enhance their anticancer activities. Firstly, in vitro studies showed that HemoHIM did not show any effects on the tumor cell growth inhibition by 2 anticancer drugs (cisplatin, 5-FU), which indicated that at least HemoHIM does not exert any adverse effects on the activities of anticancer drugs. Next, the in vivo studies with mice implanted with tumor cells(B16F0, LLC1) showed that HemoHIM partially enhanced the anticancer activities of drugs (cisplatin, 5-FU), and improved endogenous anticancer immune activities. Furthermore, in the same animal models, HemoHIM effectively reduced the side-effects of anticancer drugs (liver and renal toxicities by cisplatin, immune and hematopoietic disorders by 5-FU). These results collectively showed that HemoHIM can enhance the activities of anticancer drugs and reduce their side-effects in vitro and in vivo and HemoHIM does not exert any adverse effects on the efficacy of anticancer drugs. The results of this project can be utilized as the basic preclinical data for the development and approval of HemoHIM as the auxiliary agent for the anticancer treatment

  5. Selective Killing of Breast Cancer Cells by Doxorubicin-Loaded Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters: Confocal Microscopy and FRET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattoraj, Shyamtanu; Amin, Asif; Jana, Batakrishna; Mohapatra, Saswat; Ghosh, Surajit; Bhattacharyya, Kankan

    2016-01-18

    Fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) capped with lysozymes are used to deliver the anticancer drug doxorubicin to cancer and noncancer cells. Doxorubicin-loaded AuNCs cause the highly selective and efficient killing (90 %) of breast cancer cells (MCF7) (IC50 =155 nm). In contrast, the killing of the noncancer breast cells (MCF10A) by doxorubicin-loaded AuNCs is only 40 % (IC50 =4500 nm). By using a confocal microscope, the fluorescence spectrum and decay of the AuNCs were recorded inside the cell. The fluorescence maxima (at ≈490-515 nm) and lifetime (≈2 ns), of the AuNCs inside the cells correspond to Au10-13 . The intracellular release of doxorubicin from AuNCs is monitored by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Observation and Analysis of Anti-cancer Drug Use and Dose ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    As all anti-cancer drugs are of narrow therapeutic window so dose individualization is required to be done. A study was conducted to check the use of anti-cancer drugs in the local anti-cancer facility of Bahawalpur i.e. Bahawalpur Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (BINO). In this study, the dose individualization ...

  7. Supramolecular "Trojan Horse" for Nuclear Delivery of Dual Anticancer Drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yanbin; Shen, Haosheng; Zhan, Jie; Lin, Mingliang; Dai, Liuhan; Ren, Chunhua; Shi, Yang; Liu, Jianfeng; Gao, Jie; Yang, Zhimou

    2017-03-01

    Nuclear delivery and accumulation are very important for many anticancer drugs that interact with DNA or its associated enzymes in the nucleus. However, it is very difficult for neutrally and negatively charged anticancer drugs such as 10-hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT). Here we report a simple strategy to construct supramolecular nanomedicines for nuclear delivery of dual synergistic anticancer drugs. Our strategy utilizes the coassembly of a negatively charged HCPT-peptide amphiphile and the positively charged cisplatin. The resulting nanomaterials behave as the "Trojan Horse" that transported soldiers (anticancer drugs) across the walls of the castle (cell and nucleus membranes). Therefore, they show improved inhibition capacity to cancer cells including the drug resistant cancer cell and promote the synergistic tumor suppression property in vivo. We envision that our strategy of constructing nanomaterials by metal chelation would offer new opportunities to develop nanomedicines for combination chemotherapy.

  8. Developments in platinum anticancer drugs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tylkowski, Bartosz; Jastrząb, Renata; Odani, Akira

    2018-01-01

    Platinum compounds represent one of the great success stories of metals in medicine. Following the unexpected discovery of the anticancer activity of cisplatin (Fig. 1) in 1965 by Prof. Rosenberg [1], a large number of its variants have been prepared and tested for their ability to kill cancer cells and inhibit tumor growth. Although cisplatin has been in use for over four decades, new and more effective platinum-based therapeutics are finally on the horizon. A wide introduction to anticancer studies is given by the authors of the previous chapter. This chapter aims at providing the readers with a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of recent developments of platinum anticancer drugs and to review the state of the art. The chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part we present a historical aspect of platinum and its complexes, while in the second part we give an overview of developments in the field of platinum anticancer agents.

  9. Magnetic polymer nanospheres for anticancer drug targeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    JurIkova, A; Csach, K; Koneracka, M; Zavisova, V; Tomasovicova, N; Lancz, G; Kopcansky, P; Timko, M; Miskuf, J [Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 040 01 Kosice (Slovakia); Muckova, M, E-mail: akasard@saske.s [Hameln rds a.s., 900 01 Modra (Slovakia)

    2010-01-01

    Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) polymer (PLGA) nanospheres loaded with biocom-patible magnetic fluid as a magnetic carrier and anticancer drug Taxol were prepared by the modified nanoprecipitation method with size of 200-250 nm in diameter. The PLGA polymer was utilized as a capsulation material due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. Taxol as an important anticancer drug was chosen for its significant role against a wide range of tumours. Thermal properties of the drug-polymer system were characterized using thermal analysis methods. It was determined the solubility of Taxol in PLGA nanospheres. Magnetic properties investigated using SQUID magnetometry showed superparamagnetism of the prepared magnetic polymer nanospheres.

  10. Folate mediated self-assembled phytosterol-alginate nanoparticles for targeted intracellular anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianting; Wang, Ming; Zheng, Mingming; Guo, Qiong; Wang, Yafan; Wang, Heqing; Xie, Xiangrong; Huang, Fenghong; Gong, Renmin

    2015-05-01

    Self-assembled core/shell nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized from water-soluble alginate substituted by hydrophobic phytosterols. Folate, a cancer-cell-specific ligand, was conjugated to the phytosterol-alginate (PA) NPs for targeting folate-receptor-overexpressing cancer cells. The physicochemical properties of folate-phytosterol-alginate (FPA) NPs were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, electrophoretic light scattering, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Doxorubicin (DOX), an anticancer drug, was entrapped inside prepared NPs by dialysis method. The identification of prepared FPA NPs to folate-receptor-overexpressing cancer cells (KB cells) was confirmed by cytotoxicity and folate competition assays. Compared to the pure DOX and DOX/PA NPs, the DOX/FPA NPs had lower IC50 value to KB cells because of folate-receptor-mediated endocytosis process and the cytotoxicity of DOX/FPA NPs to KB cells could be competitively inhibited by free folate. The cellular uptake and internalization of pure DOX and DOX/FPA NPs was confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy image and the higher intracellular uptake of drug for DOX/FPA NPs over pure DOX was observed. The FPA NPs had the potential as a promising carrier to target drugs to cancer cells overexpressing folate receptors and avoid cytotoxicity to normal tissues. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. [The Necessity and the Current Status of Safe Handling of Anticancer Drugs].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanda, Kiyoko

    2017-07-01

    Number of people who handle anticancer drugs in their profession is increasing. Anticancer drugs, which are hazardous drugs(HD), exert cytocidal effects on cancer cells, but many have also been shown to have mutagenicity, teratogenicity and carcinogenicity; therefore, safe handling of anticancer drugs is necessary. In July 2015, the first Japanese guidelines for exposure control measures, namely, the "Joint Guidelines for Safe Handling of Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs", were published jointly by 3 societies. Our guideline is the creation of the Japanese Society of Cancer Nursing(JSCN), Japanese Society of Medical Oncology(JSMO)and Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Oncology(JASPO)and has a historical significance. This paper states the necessity of safe handling of anticancer drugs, Japan's recent movement of safe handling, the introduction of joint guidelines of safe handling of anticancer drugs, and new movement of safe handling of USP chapter 800 in the United States.

  12. Zingiber officinale Roscoe ameliorates anticancer antibiotic doxorubicin-induced acute cardiotoxicity in rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajith, Thekkuttuparambil Ananthanarayanan; Hema, Unnikrishnan; Aswathi, Sreedharan

    2016-07-01

    Oxidative stress (OS) has been suggested in the cardiotoxicity induced by anticancer antibiotic doxorubicin (DXN). The cardioprotective effects of aqueous ethanol extract of Zingiber officinale was evaluated against DXN-induced acute cardiac damage in rat. The results of the study demonstrated that Z. officinale significantly and dose dependently protected the cardiotoxicity induced by DXN. The activities of serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and serum lactate dehydrogenase activity in the DXN alone treated group of animals were significantly (pofficinale (200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o) plus DXN treated groups. The cardiac malondialdehyde was elevated in the DXN alone treated group and declined significantly in the Z. officinale (400 mg/kg) plus DXN treated group. The results concluded that aqueous ethanol extract of Z. officinale ameliorated DXN-induced cardiotoxicity. The protection can be ascribed to the free radical scavenging activity of Z. officinale. This protective effect may suggest the adjuvant role of Z. officinale against OS induced by cancer chemotherapeutants, which warrant further research. © 2016 Old City Publishing, Inc.

  13. Anticancer Drug-Incorporated Layered Double Hydroxide Nanohybrids and Their Enhanced Anticancer Therapeutic Efficacy in Combination Cancer Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tae-Hyun Kim

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Layered double hydroxide (LDH nanoparticles have been studied as cellular delivery carriers for anionic anticancer agents. As MTX and 5-FU are clinically utilized anticancer drugs in combination therapy, we aimed to enhance the therapeutic performance with the help of LDH nanoparticles. Method. Anticancer drugs, MTX and 5-FU, and their combination, were incorporated into LDH by reconstruction method. Simply, LDHs were thermally pretreated at 400°C, and then reacted with drug solution to simultaneously form drug-incorporated LDH. Thus prepared MTX/LDH (ML, 5-FU/LDH (FL, and (MTX + 5-FU/LDH (MFL nanohybrids were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, zeta potential measurement, dynamic light scattering, and so forth. The nanohybrids were administrated to the human cervical adenocarcinoma, HeLa cells, in concentration-dependent manner, comparing with drug itself to verify the enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Conclusion. All the nanohybrids successfully accommodated intended drug molecules in their house-of-card-like structures during reconstruction reaction. It was found that the anticancer efficacy of MFL nanohybrid was higher than other nanohybrids, free drugs, or their mixtures, which means the multidrug-incorporated LDH nanohybrids could be potential drug delivery carriers for efficient cancer treatment via combination therapy.

  14. Quercetin and doxorubicin co-encapsulated biotin receptor-targeting nanoparticles for minimizing drug resistance in breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Li; Liu, Chunxia; Chen, Chuxiong; Yu, Xiaoxia; Chen, Guanghui; Shi, Yonghui; Qin, Fengchao; Ou, Jiebin; Qiu, Kaifeng; Li, Guocheng

    2016-05-31

    The combination of a chemotherapeutic drug with a chemosensitizer has emerged as a promising strategy for cancers showing multidrug resistance (MDR). Herein we describe the simultaneous targeted delivery of two drugs to tumor cells by using biotin-decorated poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles encapsulating the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin and the chemosensitizer quercetin (BNDQ). Next, the potential ability of BNDQ to reverse MDR in vitro and in vivo was investigated. Studies demonstrated that BNDQ was more effectively taken up with less efflux by doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ADR cells) than by the cells treated with the free drugs, single-drug-loaded nanoparticles, or non-biotin-decorated nanoparticles. BNDQ exhibited clear inhibition of both the activity and expression of P-glycoprotein in MCF-7/ADR cells. More importantly, it caused a significant reduction in doxorubicin resistance in MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo, among all the groups. Overall, this study suggests that BNDQ has a potential role in the treatment of drug-resistant breast cancer.

  15. Quercetin-Based Modified Porous Silicon Nanoparticles for Enhanced Inhibition of Doxorubicin-Resistant Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zehua; Balasubramanian, Vimalkumar; Bhat, Chinmay; Vahermo, Mikko; Mäkilä, Ermei; Kemell, Marianna; Fontana, Flavia; Janoniene, Agne; Petrikaite, Vilma; Salonen, Jarno; Yli-Kauhaluoma, Jari; Hirvonen, Jouni; Zhang, Hongbo; Santos, Hélder A

    2017-02-01

    One of the most challenging obstacles in nanoparticle's surface modification is to achieve the concept that one ligand can accomplish multiple purposes. Upon such consideration, 3-aminopropoxy-linked quercetin (AmQu), a derivative of a natural flavonoid inspired by the structure of dopamine, is designed and subsequently used to modify the surface of thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (PSi) nanoparticles. This nanosystem inherits several advanced properties in a single carrier, including promoted anticancer efficiency, multiple drug resistance (MDR) reversing, stimuli-responsive drug release, drug release monitoring, and enhanced particle-cell interactions. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) is efficiently loaded into this nanosystem and released in a pH-dependent manner. AmQu also effectively quenches the fluorescence of the loaded DOX, thereby allowing the use of the nanosystem for monitoring the intracellular drug release. Furthermore, a synergistic effect with the presence of AmQu is observed in both normal MCF-7 and DOX-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Due to the similar structure as dopamine, AmQu may facilitate both the interaction and internalization of PSi into the cells. Overall, this PSi-based platform exhibits remarkable superiority in both multifunctionality and anticancer efficiency, making this nanovector a promising system for anti-MDR cancer treatment. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Comparative study of magnetic properties and the anticancer effect of superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the nanocomplex with doxorubicin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orel, V.E.; Shevchenko, A.D.; Rikhal's'kij, O.Yu.; Romanov, A.V.; Orel, Yi.V.; Lukyin, S.M.; Burlaka, A.P.; Venger, Je.F.

    2015-01-01

    Mechano-magneto-chemically synthesized magnetic nanocomplex (MNC) of superparamagnetic iron oxide Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NP) and anticancer drug doxorubicin (DR) had significantly lower saturation magnetic moment and magnetic hysteresis loop area as compared to the MNC of ferro- magnetic NP. However, the last was characterized by lower coercivity. MNC of superparamagnetic NP and DR had g-factors of 2.00, 2.30, and 4.00. MNC of ferromagnetic NP and DR had the g-factor of 2.50, and the integrated intensity of electron spin resonance signals was by 61% greater. Superparamagnetic iron oxide Fe 3 O 4 NP in MNC with DR initiated a greater antitumor effect during magnetic nanotherapy of animals with carcinosarcoma Walker-256 as compared to the MNC composed of ferromagnetic NP and DR. In the future, superparamagnetic iron oxide Fe 3 O 4 NP as a part of the nanocomplex with DR can be used in theranostics - a methodology that combines magnetic resonance diagnostics and magnetic nanotherapy using MNC both as therapeutic and diagnostic agents

  17. Role of aldo-keto reductases and other doxorubicin pharmacokinetic genes in doxorubicin resistance, DNA binding, and subcellular localization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heibein, Allan D; Guo, Baoqing; Sprowl, Jason A; MacLean, David A; Parissenti, Amadeo M

    2012-01-01

    Since proteins involved in chemotherapy drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics have a strong impact on the uptake, metabolism, and efflux of such drugs, they likely play critical roles in resistance to chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients. To investigate this hypothesis, we conducted a whole genome microarray study to identify difference in the expression of genes between isogenic doxorubicin-sensitive and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 breast tumour cells. We then assessed the degree of over-representation of doxorubicin pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic genes in the dataset of doxorubicin resistance genes. Of 27,958 Entrez genes on the array, 7.4 per cent or 2,063 genes were differentially expressed by ≥ 2-fold between wildtype and doxorubicin-resistant cells. The false discovery rate was set at 0.01 and the minimum p value for significance for any gene within the “hit list” was 0.01. Seventeen and 43 per cent of doxorubicin pharmacokinetic genes were over-represented in the hit list, depending upon whether the gene name was identical or within the same gene family, respectively. The most over-represented genes were within the 1C and 1B families of aldo-keto reductases (AKRs), which convert doxorubicin to doxorubicinol. Other genes convert doxorubicin to other metabolites or affect the influx, efflux, or cytotoxicity of the drug. In further support of the role of AKRs in doxorubicin resistance, we observed that, in comparison to doxorubicin, doxorubincol exhibited dramatically reduced cytotoxicity, reduced DNA-binding activity, and strong localization to extra nuclear lysosomes. Pharmacologic inhibition of the above AKRs in doxorubicin-resistant cells increased cellular doxorubicin levels, restored doxorubicin cytotoxicity and re-established doxorubicin localization to the nucleus. The properties of doxorubicinol were unaffected. These findings demonstrate the utility of using curated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic knowledge bases to identify

  18. Trial Watch: Immunogenic cell death inducers for anticancer chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pol, Jonathan; Vacchelli, Erika; Aranda, Fernando; Castoldi, Francesca; Eggermont, Alexander; Cremer, Isabelle; Sautès-Fridman, Catherine; Fucikova, Jitka; Galon, Jérôme; Spisek, Radek; Tartour, Eric; Zitvogel, Laurence; Kroemer, Guido; Galluzzi, Lorenzo

    2015-04-01

    The term "immunogenic cell death" (ICD) is now employed to indicate a functionally peculiar form of apoptosis that is sufficient for immunocompetent hosts to mount an adaptive immune response against dead cell-associated antigens. Several drugs have been ascribed with the ability to provoke ICD when employed as standalone therapeutic interventions. These include various chemotherapeutics routinely employed in the clinic (e.g., doxorubicin, epirubicin, idarubicin, mitoxantrone, bleomycin, bortezomib, cyclophosphamide and oxaliplatin) as well as some anticancer agents that are still under preclinical or clinical development (e.g., some microtubular inhibitors of the epothilone family). In addition, a few drugs are able to convert otherwise non-immunogenic instances of cell death into bona fide ICD, and may therefore be employed as chemotherapeutic adjuvants within combinatorial regimens. This is the case of cardiac glycosides, like digoxin and digitoxin, and zoledronic acid. Here, we discuss recent developments on anticancer chemotherapy based on ICD inducers.

  19. Nanoformulation for anticancer drug delivery: Enhanced pharmacokinetics and circulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parekh, Gaurav

    In this study, we have explored the application of the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly technique for improving injectable drug delivery systems of low soluble anticancer drugs (e.g. Camptothecin (CPT), Paclitaxel (PTX) or Doxorubicin (DOX)). For this study, a polyelectrolyte shell encapsulates different types of drug nanocores (e.g. soft core, nanomicelle or solid lipid nanocores).The low soluble drugs tend to crystallize and precipitate in an aqueous medium. This is the reason they cannot be injected and may have low concentrations and low circulation time in the blood. Even though these drugs when present in the cancer microenvironment have high anti-tumor inhibition, the delivery to the tumor site after intravenous administration is a challenge. We have used FDA-approved biopolymers for the process and elaborated formation of 60-90 nm diameter initial cores, which was stabilized by multilayer LbL shells for controlled release and longer circulation. A washless LbL assembly process was applied as an essential advancement in nano-assembly technology using low density nanocore (lipids) and preventing aggregation. This advancement reduced the number of process steps, enhanced drug loading capacity, and prevented the loss of expensive polyelectrolytes. Finally, we elaborated a general nano-encapsulation process, which allowed these three important anticancer drug core-shell nanocapsules with diameters of ca. 100-130 nm (this small size is a record for LbL encapsulation technique) to be stable in the serum and the blood for at least one week, efficient for cancer cell culture studies, injectable to mice with circulation for 4 hrs, and effective in suppressing tumors. This work is divided into three studies. The first study (CHAPTER 4) explores the application of LbL assembly for encapsulating a soft core of albumin protein and CPT anticancer drug. In order to preserve the activity of drug in the core, a unique technique of pH reversal is employed where the first few

  20. The stress granule protein Vgl1 and poly(A)-binding protein Pab1 are required for doxorubicin resistance in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morita, Takahiro; Satoh, Ryosuke; Umeda, Nanae; Kita, Ayako; Sugiura, Reiko

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Stress granules (SGs) as a mechanism of doxorubicin tolerance. ► We characterize the role of stress granules in doxorubicin tolerance. ► Deletion of components of SGs enhances doxorubicin sensitivity in fission yeast. ► Doxorubicin promotes SG formation when combined with heat shock. ► Doxorubicin regulates stress granule assembly independent of eIF2α phosphorylation. -- Abstract: Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic widely used for chemotherapy. Although doxorubicin is effective in the treatment of several cancers, including solid tumors and leukemias, the basis of its mechanism of action is not completely understood. Here, we describe the effects of doxorubicin and its relationship with stress granules formation in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We show that disruption of genes encoding the components of stress granules, including vgl1 + , which encodes a multi-KH type RNA-binding protein, and pab1 + , which encodes a poly(A)-binding protein, resulted in greater sensitivity to doxorubicin than seen in wild-type cells. Disruption of the vgl1 + and pab1 + genes did not confer sensitivity to other anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel. We also showed that doxorubicin treatment promoted stress granule formation when combined with heat shock. Notably, doxorubicin treatment did not induce hyperphosphorylation of eIF2α, suggesting that doxorubicin is involved in stress granule assembly independent of eIF2α phosphorylation. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of fission yeast for elucidating the molecular targets of doxorubicin toxicity and suggest a novel drug-resistance mechanism involving stress granule assembly.

  1. Unique characteristics of regulatory approval and pivotal studies of orphan anticancer drugs in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayama, Hiroki; Tsukamoto, Katsura

    2018-04-17

    The approval of orphan anticancer drugs has increased, with the number exceeding that of non-orphan drugs in Japan in recent years. Although orphan anticancer drugs may have unique characteristics due to their rarity, these have not been fully characterized. We investigated anticancer drugs approved in Japan between April 2004 and November 2017 to reveal the characteristics of regulatory approval and pivotal studies on orphan anticancer drugs compared to non-orphan drugs. The median regulatory review time and number of patients in pivotal studies on orphan anticancer drugs (281.0 days [interquartile range, 263.3-336.0]; 222.5 patients [66.0-454.3]) were significantly lower than those on non-orphan drugs (353.0 days [277.0-535.5]; 521.0 patients [303.5-814.5], respectively) (P < 0.001). Phase II, non-randomized and non-controlled designs were more frequently used in pivotal studies on orphan anticancer drugs (45.9%, 41.9% and 43.2%) than non-orphan drugs (17.2%, 14.1% and 14.1%, respectively). Response rate was more commonly used as a primary endpoint in pivotal studies on orphan anticancer drugs (48.6%) than non-orphan drugs (17.2%). Indications limited by molecular features, second or later treatment line, and accelerated approval in the United States were associated with the use of response rate in orphan anticancer drug studies. In conclusion, we demonstrated that orphan anticancer drugs in Japan have unique characteristics compared to non-orphan drugs: shorter regulatory review and pivotal studies frequently using phase II, non-randomized, or non-controlled designs and response rate as a primary endpoint, with fewer patients.

  2. Inhibition of PKM2 sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer cells to doxorubicin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Feng [Department of Gastroenterology, The Tenth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072 (China); Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030 (United States); Yang, Yong, E-mail: yyang@houstonmethodist.org [Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030 (United States); Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065 (United States)

    2014-11-21

    Highlights: • Suppression of PKM2 sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer cells to doxorubicin. • Repression of PKM2 affects the glycolysis and decreases ATP production. • Downregulation of PKM2 increases the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin. • Inhibition of PKM2 enhances the antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin in vivo. - Abstract: Cancer cells alter regular metabolic pathways in order to sustain rapid proliferation. One example of metabolic remodeling in cancerous tissue is the upregulation of pyruvate kinase isoenzyme M2 (PKM2), which is involved in aerobic glycolysis. Indeed, PKM2 has previously been identified as a tumor biomarker and as a potential target for cancer therapy. Here, we examined the effects of combined treatment with doxorubicin and anti-PKM2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The suppression of PKM2 resulted in changes in glucose metabolism, leading to decreased synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Reduced levels of ATP resulted in the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin, consequently enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of this drug in several triple-negative breast cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the combined effect of PKM2 siRNA and doxorubicin was evaluated in an in vivo MDA-MB-231 orthotopic breast cancer model. The siRNA was systemically administered through a polyethylenimine (PEI)-based delivery system that has been extensively used. We demonstrate that the combination treatment showed superior anticancer efficacy as compared to doxorubicin alone. These findings suggest that targeting PKM2 can increase the efficacy of chemotherapy, potentially providing a new approach for improving the outcome of chemotherapy in patients with TNBC.

  3. A sensitive high performance liquid chromatography assay for the quantification of doxorubicin associated with DNA in tumor and tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, Andrew T; O'Neal, Sara K; Santos, Charlene M; White, Taylor F; Zamboni, William C

    2016-02-05

    Doxorubicin, a widely used anticancer agent, exhibits antitumor activity against a wide variety of malignancies. The drug exerts its cytotoxic effects by binding to and intercalating within the DNA of tumor and tissue cells. However, current assays are unable to accurately determine the concentration of the intracellular active form of doxorubicin. Thus, the development of a sample processing method and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methodology was performed in order to quantify doxorubicin that is associated with DNA in tumors and tissues, which provided an intracellular cytotoxic measure of doxorubicin exposure after administration of small molecule and nanoparticle formulations of doxorubicin. The assay uses daunorubicin as an internal standard; liquid-liquid phase extraction to isolate drug associated with DNA; a Shimadzu HPLC with fluorescence detection equipped with a Phenomenex Luna C18 (2μm, 2.0×100mm) analytical column and a gradient mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid in water or acetonitrile for separation and quantification. The assay has a lower limit of detection (LLOQ) of 10ng/mL and is shown to be linear up to 3000ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision of the assay expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV%) ranged from 4.01 to 8.81%. Furthermore, the suitability of this assay for measuring doxorubicin associated with DNA in vivo was demonstrated by using it to quantify the doxorubicin concentration within tumor samples from SKOV3 and HEC1A mice obtained 72h after administration of PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil(®); PLD) at 6mg/kg IV x 1. This HPLC assay allows for sensitive intracellular quantification of doxorubicin and will be an important tool for future studies evaluating intracellular pharmacokinetics of doxorubicin and various nanoparticle formulations of doxorubicin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Sensitivity test of tumor cell to anticancer drug using diffusion chamber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soejima, S [Hirosaki Univ., Aomori (Japan). School of Medicine

    1978-11-01

    The diffusion chamber method and xenogeneic transplantation of human cancer cells in rats were studied clinically to test the sensitivity of these cells to anticancer drugs. The growth of Hirosaki sarcoma in a diffusion chamber inserted in to Wistar rats was influenced by the difference in tumor cell counts in the chamber. The growth rate in the chamber inserted in to the subcutaneous tissue was more constant than in the abdominal cavity, but the degree of proliferation of tumor cells in the abdominal cavity was more than in the subcutaneous tissue. Sarcoma and solid type sarcoma were affected by mitomycin C (MMC). The effect was greater in dd-mice than in Donryu rats. Solid type Yoshida sarcoma inserted in to the subcutaneous tissue of Donryu rat was not affected by MMC. The degree of sensitivity of methylcholanthrene induced tumor cells, inserted in to the subcutaneous tissue of Donryu rats, to MMC differed according to various conditions of the hosts. Clinically, the influences of anticancer drugs on human cancer cells inserted in to the subcutaneous tissue of /sup 60/Co-irradiated Donryu rats were observed. There were various grades of sensitivity of gastric cancer cells to anticancer drugs. MMC was effective in 53% of the cases, Cyclophosphamide in 40%, 5-FU in 54%, cytosine arabinoside in 32%, and FT-207 in 57%. Twenty-seven percent were not affected by anticancer drugs. On histological examination, tubular adenocarcinoma cells had a high sensitivity to anticancer drugs, while poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma cells had a low sensitive. Anticancer drugs selected according to the sensitivity of human cancer cells had a marked effective on advanced cancer cells. The diffusion chamber method was useful in determining the degree of bone marrow toxicity of anticancer drugs.

  5. pH-sensitive micelles self-assembled from polymer brush (PAE-g-cholesterol-b-PEG-b-(PAE-g-cholesterol for anticancer drug delivery and controlled release

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang X

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Xiangxuan Huang,1 Wenbo Liao,1 Gang Zhang,1 Shimin Kang,1 Can Yang Zhang2 1School of Chemical Engineering and Energy Technology, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA Abstract: A novel amphiphilic pH-sensitive triblock polymer brush (poly(β-amino esters-g-cholesterol-b-poly(ethylene glycol-b-(poly(β-amino esters-g-cholesterol ((PAE-g-Chol-b-PEG-b-(PAE-g-Chol was designed and synthesized successfully through a three-step reaction, and their self-assembled polymeric micelles were used as hydrophobic anticancer drug delivery carriers to realize effectively controlled release. The critical micelle concentrations were 6.8 µg/mL, 12.6 µg/mL, 17.4 µg/mL, and 26.6 µg/mL at pH values of 7.4, 6.5, 6.0, and 5.0, respectively. The trend of critical micelle concentrations indicated that the polymer had high stability that could prolong the circulation time in the body. The hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of the polymeric micelles were influenced significantly by the pH values. As pH decreased from 7.4 to 5.0, the particle size and zeta potential increased from 205.4 nm to 285.7 nm and from +12.7 mV to +47.0 mV, respectively. The pKb of the polymer was confirmed to be approximately 6.5 by the acid–base titration method. The results showed that the polymer had sharp pH-sensitivity because of the protonation of the amino groups, resulting in transformation of the PAE segment from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Doxorubicin-loaded polymeric micelles were prepared with a high loading content (20% and entrapment efficiency (60% using the dialysis method. The in vitro results demonstrated that drug release rate and cumulative release were obviously dependent on pH values. Furthermore, the drug release mechanism was also controlled by the pH values. The polymer had barely any cytotoxicity, whereas the

  6. Review of pharmacological interactions of oral anticancer drugs provided at pharmacy department

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Sánchez Gómez

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Objective: To identify the pharmacologic interactions of oral anti-cancer drugs provided at an outpatient clinic. Material and methods: Anti-cancer drugs included in the Phamacotherapeutic Guideline of the Hospital were identified. A literature search was carried out on the pharmacologic interactions in MEDLINE® and EMBASE® (with the filer language English or Spanish, and the descriptors: “name of the anti-cancer drug” AND (“drug interactions” OR “pharmacokinetic”, Up-to-date®, MICROMEDEX® and the drug information sheet for the EMA and the FDA. Information was also gathered from the abstract presented to European and Spanish scientific meetings for the last 4 years. When an interaction was analyzed and had clinical relevance, the best pharmacotherapeutic interaction-free alternative was sought. Results: Twenty-three drugs were identified, of which Chlorambucil, Fludarabine, Lenalidomide, Melphalan, and Thalidomide were the active compounds with the lowest likelihood of producing a pharmacologic interaction. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (particularly Erlotinib, Imatinib, Lapatinib, and Pazopanib are the drugs with highest number of pharmacologic interactions described, many of them with severe clinical consequences, with increases and decreases of the plasma levels of anti-cancer drugs. The active compounds identified that may have pharmacologic interactions with anticancer drugs were mainly: Allopurinol, Amiodarone, Carbamazepine, Dabigatran, Digoxin, Spironolactone, Phenytoin, Itraconazol, Repaglinide, Silodosin, Tamoxifen, Verapamil, and Warfarin. Pharmacologic interactions through the cytochrome P450 1A2, 2D6, 2C8, 2C9, 3A4 were the most important for tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Other non-pharmacologic compounds, with an important potential of producing relevant pharmacologic interaction were immunomodulators (Echinacea extracts and Hypericum perforatum. Conclusions: Oral anticancer drugs have numerous pharmacologic

  7. Protein-gold clusters-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles for high drug loading, autonomous gemcitabine/doxorubicin co-delivery, and in-vivo tumor imaging

    KAUST Repository

    Croissant, Jonas G.; Zhang, Dingyuan; Alsaiari, Shahad K.; Lu, Jie; Deng, Lin; Tamanoi, Fuyuhiko; Zink, Jeffrey I.; Khashab, Niveen M.

    2016-01-01

    Functional nanocarriers capable of transporting high drug contents without premature leakage and to controllably deliver several drugs are needed for better cancer treatments. To address this clinical need, gold cluster bovine serum albumin (AuNC@BSA) nanogates were engineered on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for high drug loadings and co-delivery of two different anticancer drugs. The first drug, gemcitabine (GEM, 40 wt%), was loaded in positively-charged ammonium-functionalized MSN (MSN-NH3+). The second drug, doxorubicin (DOX, 32 wt%), was bound with negatively-charged AuNC@BSA electrostatically-attached onto MSN-NH3+, affording highly loaded pH-responsive MSN-AuNC@BSA nanocarriers. The co-delivery of DOX and GEM was achieved for the first time via an inorganic nanocarrier, possessing a zero-premature leakage behavior as well as drug loading capacities seven times higher than polymersome NPs. Besides, unlike the majority of strategies used to cap the pores of MSN, AuNC@BSA nanogates are biotools and were applied for targeted red nuclear staining and in-vivo tumor imaging. The straightforward non-covalent combination of MSN and gold-protein cluster bioconjugates thus leads to a simple, yet multifunctional nanotheranostic for the next generation of cancer treatments.

  8. Protein-gold clusters-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles for high drug loading, autonomous gemcitabine/doxorubicin co-delivery, and in-vivo tumor imaging

    KAUST Repository

    Croissant, Jonas G.

    2016-03-23

    Functional nanocarriers capable of transporting high drug contents without premature leakage and to controllably deliver several drugs are needed for better cancer treatments. To address this clinical need, gold cluster bovine serum albumin (AuNC@BSA) nanogates were engineered on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for high drug loadings and co-delivery of two different anticancer drugs. The first drug, gemcitabine (GEM, 40 wt%), was loaded in positively-charged ammonium-functionalized MSN (MSN-NH3+). The second drug, doxorubicin (DOX, 32 wt%), was bound with negatively-charged AuNC@BSA electrostatically-attached onto MSN-NH3+, affording highly loaded pH-responsive MSN-AuNC@BSA nanocarriers. The co-delivery of DOX and GEM was achieved for the first time via an inorganic nanocarrier, possessing a zero-premature leakage behavior as well as drug loading capacities seven times higher than polymersome NPs. Besides, unlike the majority of strategies used to cap the pores of MSN, AuNC@BSA nanogates are biotools and were applied for targeted red nuclear staining and in-vivo tumor imaging. The straightforward non-covalent combination of MSN and gold-protein cluster bioconjugates thus leads to a simple, yet multifunctional nanotheranostic for the next generation of cancer treatments.

  9. Fascaplysin Sensitizes Anti-Cancer Effects of Drugs Targeting AKT and AMPK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taek-In Oh

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Fascaplysin, a natural product isolated from marine sponges, is a potential candidate for the development of anti-cancer drugs. However, the mechanism underlying its therapeutic effect of strengthening anti-cancer efficacy of other drugs is poorly understood. Here, we found that fascaplysin increases phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as AKT, and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK, which are considered therapeutic targets for cancer treatment due to their anti-apoptotic or pro-survival functions in cancer. A cell viability assay revealed that pharmacological suppression of AKT using LY294002 enhanced the anti-cancer effect of fascaplysin in various cancer cells. Similarly, fascaplysin was observed to have improved anti-cancer effects in combination with compound C, a selective AMPK inhibitor. Another challenge showed that fascaplysin increased the efficacy of methotrexate (MTX-mediated cancer therapy by suppressing genes related to folate and purine metabolism. Overall, these results suggest that fascaplysin may be useful for improving the anti-cancer efficacy of targeted anti-cancer drugs, such as inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase AKT signaling, and chemotherapeutic agents, such as MTX.

  10. ZnO nanofluids for the improved cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of doxorubicin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Safoura Soleymani

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective(s: Combination anticancer therapy holds promise for improving the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX as well as decreasing their dose-limiting side effects. Overcoming the side effects of doxorubicin (DOX is a major challenge to the effective treatment of cancer. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs are emerging as potent tools for a wide variety of biomedical applications. The aim of this study was to develop a combinatorial approach for enhancing the anticancer efficacy and cellular uptake of DOX. Materials and Methods: ZnO NPs were synthesized by the solvothermal method and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, dynamic light scattering (DLS and transmission electron microscopy (TEM. ZnO NPs were dispersed in 10% bovine serum albumin (BSA and the cytotoxic effect of the resulting ZnO nanofluids was evaluated alone and in combination with DOX on DU145 cells. The influence of ZnO nanofluids on the cellular uptake of DOX and DOX-induced catalase mRNA expression were investigated by fluorescence microscopy and semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, respectively. Results: The MTT results revealed that ZnO nanofluids decreased the cell viability of DU145 cells in a timeand dose-dependent manner. Simultaneous combination treatment of DOX and ZnO nanofluid showed a significant increase in anticancer activity and the cellular uptake of DOX compared to DOX alone. Also, a time-dependent reduction of catalase mRNA expression was observed in the cells treated with ZnO nanofluids and DOX, alone and in combination with each other. Conclusion: These results indicate the role of ZnO nanofluid as a growth-inhibitory agent and a drug delivery system for DOX in DU145 cells. Thus, ZnO nanofluid could be a candidate for combination chemotherapy.

  11. The stress granule protein Vgl1 and poly(A)-binding protein Pab1 are required for doxorubicin resistance in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morita, Takahiro [Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacogenomics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Kowakae 3-4-1, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502 (Japan); Satoh, Ryosuke [Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacogenomics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Kowakae 3-4-1, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502 (Japan); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 1-8 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8472 (Japan); Umeda, Nanae; Kita, Ayako [Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacogenomics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Kowakae 3-4-1, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502 (Japan); Sugiura, Reiko, E-mail: sugiurar@phar.kindai.ac.jp [Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacogenomics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Kowakae 3-4-1, Higashi-Osaka 577-8502 (Japan)

    2012-01-06

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Stress granules (SGs) as a mechanism of doxorubicin tolerance. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We characterize the role of stress granules in doxorubicin tolerance. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Deletion of components of SGs enhances doxorubicin sensitivity in fission yeast. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Doxorubicin promotes SG formation when combined with heat shock. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Doxorubicin regulates stress granule assembly independent of eIF2{alpha} phosphorylation. -- Abstract: Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic widely used for chemotherapy. Although doxorubicin is effective in the treatment of several cancers, including solid tumors and leukemias, the basis of its mechanism of action is not completely understood. Here, we describe the effects of doxorubicin and its relationship with stress granules formation in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We show that disruption of genes encoding the components of stress granules, including vgl1{sup +}, which encodes a multi-KH type RNA-binding protein, and pab1{sup +}, which encodes a poly(A)-binding protein, resulted in greater sensitivity to doxorubicin than seen in wild-type cells. Disruption of the vgl1{sup +} and pab1{sup +} genes did not confer sensitivity to other anti-cancer drugs such as cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel. We also showed that doxorubicin treatment promoted stress granule formation when combined with heat shock. Notably, doxorubicin treatment did not induce hyperphosphorylation of eIF2{alpha}, suggesting that doxorubicin is involved in stress granule assembly independent of eIF2{alpha} phosphorylation. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of fission yeast for elucidating the molecular targets of doxorubicin toxicity and suggest a novel drug-resistance mechanism involving stress granule assembly.

  12. DNA Tetrahedron Delivery Enhances Doxorubicin-Induced Apoptosis of HT-29 Colon Cancer Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guiyu; Zhang, Zhiyong; Yang, Junen

    2017-08-01

    As a nano-sized drug carrier with the advantage of modifiability and proper biocompatibility, DNA tetrahedron (DNA tetra) delivery is hopeful to enhance the inhibitory efficiency of nontargeted anticancer drugs. In this investigation, doxorubicin (Dox) was assembled to a folic acid-modified DNA tetra via click chemistry to prepare a targeted antitumor agent. Cellular uptake efficiency was measured via fluorescent imaging. Cytotoxicity, inhibition efficiency, and corresponding mechanism on colon cancer cell line HT-29 were evaluated by MTT assay, cell proliferation curve, western blot, and flow cytometry. No cytotoxicity was induced by DNA tetra, but the cellular uptake ratio increased obviously resulting from the DNA tetra-facilitated penetration through cellular membrane. Accordingly, folic acid-DNA tetra-Dox markedly increased the antitumor efficiency with increased apoptosis levels. In details, 100 μM was the effective concentration and a 6-h incubation period was needed for apoptosis induction. In conclusion, nano-sized DNA tetrahedron was a safe and effective delivery system for Dox and correspondingly enhanced the anticancer efficiency.

  13. Trichostatin A accentuates doxorubicin-induced hypertrophy in cardiac myocytes

    OpenAIRE

    Karagiannis, Tom C; Lin, Ann JE; Ververis, Katherine; Chang, Lisa; Tang, Michelle M; Okabe, Jun; El-Osta, Assam

    2010-01-01

    Histone deacetylase inhibitors represent a new class of anticancer therapeutics and the expectation is that they will be most effective when used in combination with conventional cancer therapies, such as the anthracycline, doxorubicin. The dose-limiting side effect of doxorubicin is severe cardiotoxicity and evaluation of the effects of combinations of the anthracycline with histone deacetylase inhibitors in relevant models is important. We used a well-established in vitro model of doxorubic...

  14. Localized sequence-specific release of a chemopreventive agent and an anticancer drug in a time-controllable manner to enhance therapeutic efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wen-Yu; Lin, Kun-Ju; Huang, Chieh-Cheng; Chiang, Wei-Lun; Lin, Yu-Jung; Lin, Wei-Chih; Chuang, Er-Yuan; Chang, Yen; Sung, Hsing-Wen

    2016-09-01

    Combination chemotherapy with multiple drugs commonly requires several injections on various schedules, and the probability that the drug molecules reach the diseased tissues at the proper time and effective therapeutic concentrations is very low. This work elucidates an injectable co-delivery system that is based on cationic liposomes that are adsorbed on anionic hollow microspheres (Lipos-HMs) via electrostatic interaction, from which the localized sequence-specific release of a chemopreventive agent (1,25(OH)2D3) and an anticancer drug (doxorubicin; DOX) can be thermally driven in a time-controllable manner by an externally applied high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF). Lipos-HMs can greatly promote the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tumor cells by reducing their cytoplasmic expression of an antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase) by 1,25(OH)2D3, increasing the susceptibility of cancer cells to the cytotoxic action of DOX. In nude mice that bear xenograft tumors, treatment with Lipos-HMs under exposure to HFMF effectively inhibits tumor growth and is the most effective therapeutic intervention among all the investigated. These empirical results demonstrate that the synergistic anticancer effects of sequential release of 1,25(OH)2D3 and DOX from the Lipos-HMs may have potential for maximizing DOX cytotoxicity, supporting more effective cancer treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singh Baljit

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Nanoparticles hold tremendous potential as an effective drug delivery system. In this review we discussed recent developments in nanotechnology for drug delivery. To overcome the problems of gene and drug delivery, nanotechnology has gained interest in recent years. Nanosystems with different compositions and biological properties have been extensively investigated for drug and gene delivery applications. To achieve efficient drug delivery it is important to understand the interactions of nanomaterials with the biological environment, targeting cell-surface receptors, drug release, multiple drug administration, stability of therapeutic agents and molecular mechanisms of cell signalling involved in pathobiology of the disease under consideration. Several anti-cancer drugs including paclitaxel, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil and dexamethasone have been successfully formulated using nanomaterials. Quantom dots, chitosan, Polylactic/glycolic acid (PLGA and PLGA-based nanoparticles have also been used for in vitro RNAi delivery. Brain cancer is one of the most difficult malignancies to detect and treat mainly because of the difficulty in getting imaging and therapeutic agents past the blood-brain barrier and into the brain. Anti-cancer drugs such as loperamide and doxorubicin bound to nanomaterials have been shown to cross the intact blood-brain barrier and released at therapeutic concentrations in the brain. The use of nanomaterials including peptide-based nanotubes to target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF receptor and cell adhesion molecules like integrins, cadherins and selectins, is a new approach to control disease progression.

  16. PEGylated polylysine dendrimers increase lymphatic exposure to doxorubicin when compared to PEGylated liposomal and solution formulations of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Gemma M; Kaminskas, Lisa M; Bulitta, Jürgen B; McIntosh, Michelle P; Owen, David J; Porter, Christopher J H

    2013-11-28

    Improved delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the lymphatic system has the potential to augment outcomes for cancer therapy by enhancing activity against lymph node metastases. Uptake of small molecule chemotherapeutics into the lymphatic system, however, is limited. Nano-sized drug carriers have the potential to promote access to the lymphatics, but to this point, this has not been examined in detail. The current study therefore evaluated the lymphatic exposure of doxorubicin after subcutaneous and intravenous administration as a simple solution formulation or when formulated as a doxorubicin loaded PEGylated poly-lysine dendrimer (hydrodynamic diameter 12 nm), a PEGylated liposome (100 nm) and various pluronic micellar formulations (~5 nm) to thoracic lymph duct cannulated rats. Plasma and lymph pharmacokinetics were analysed by compartmental pharmacokinetic modelling in S-ADAPT, and Berkeley Madonna software was used to predict the lymphatic exposure of doxorubicin over an extended period of time. The micelle formulations displayed poor in vivo stability, resulting in doxorubicin profiles that were similar to that observed after administration of the doxorubicin solution formulation. In contrast, the dendrimer formulation significantly increased the recovery of doxorubicin in the thoracic lymph after both intravenous and subcutaneous dosing when compared to the solution or micellar formulation. Dendrimer-doxorubicin also resulted in increases in lymphatic doxorubicin concentrations when compared to the liposome formulation, although liposomal doxorubicin did increase lymphatic transport when compared to the solution formulation. Specifically, the dendrimer formulation increased the recovery of doxorubicin in the lymph up to 30 h post dose by up to 685 fold and 3.7 fold when compared to the solution and liposomal formulations respectively. Using the compartmental model to predict lymphatic exposure to longer time periods suggested that doxorubicin exposure to

  17. Effect of doxorubicin and daunorubicin on the activity of acetylcholinesterase in acute lymphoblastic leukamia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Din, I.U.; Ali, A.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Our study was based on the alteration in the Michaelis Mentin parameters Apparent Michaelis Constant (aKm) and Apparent Maximum Velocity (aVm), which reflects activity of actyl cholinesterase (AChE). This activity decreases in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). This decrease in aKm and aVm values shows bad prognosis. Similarly the anticancer drugs like Daunorubicin and Doxorubicin further decreases the aKm and aVm values which worsen the prognosis. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the extent of inhibition of Acetylcholine Esterase by Daunorubicin and Doxorubicin in ALL. Methods: Study of 100 patients including both male and female children who's age ranged from 4 to 8 years and were advised doxorubicin and daunorubicin separately were tested by Ellman's method using acetylcholine iodide as substrate and 5,5-dithiobis 2-nitrobenzine as a colour reagent regardless of dose regimen i.e. (once in 3 week, small dose per week or a continuous infusion for 72 to 96 hours. Results: In this study the Michaelis Mentin parameters Apparent Michaelis Constant (aKm) and Apparent Maximum Velocity (aVm) of the enzyme were estimated both in normal individuals and in the patients and also during treatment with daunorubicin and doxorubicin. The value of Michaelis Mentin parameters, aKm, aVm and percentage activity of the enzyme in normal individual are 23, 70, and 100 respectively. The values of aKm, aVm and percentage activity of the enzyme were also estimated in the patients before and after treatment. The values of aKm and aVm in patients of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and percentage activity of enzyme is decreased. After the treatment with daunorubicin and doxorubicin the values and activity is further decreased. Conclusion: We conclude that the drugs under study both decrease the enzyme activity but daunorubicin inhibits the enzyme more than doxorubicin. (author)

  18. Application of radioimmunoassay for virus and anticancer drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toyoshima, S. (Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine)

    1980-05-01

    Recent progress in RIA for virus and anticancer drugs was described. DNA and RNA virus and antivirus antibody which could be detected by RIA were mentioned, and then causes of arteriosclerosis, Paget's disease, multiple sclerosis, and diabetus mellitus were analysed virologically. Diagnostic significance of RIA was also described. Application of RIA to the measurement of interferon and carcinogenic virus at substantial level and recent information of viral hepatitis obtained by RIA were stated. Finally, application of RIA to the measurement of anticancer drugs acting on protective mechanism of the living body and measurement range by RIA were stated.

  19. Application of radioimmunoassay for virus and anticancer drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toyoshima, S [Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). School of Medicine

    1980-05-01

    Recent progress in RIA for virus and anticancer drugs was described. DNA and RNA virus and antivirus antibody which could be detected by RIA were mentioned, and then causes of arteriosclerosis, Paget's disease, multiple sclerosis, and diabetus mellitus were analysed virologically. Diagnostic significance of RIA was also described. Application of RIA to the measurement of interferon and carcinogenic virus at substantial level and recent information of viral hepatitis obtained by RIA were stated. Finally, application of RIA to the measurement of anticancer drugs acting on protective mechanism of the living body and measurement range by RIA were stated.

  20. Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors as Anticancer Drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckschlager, Tomas; Plch, Johana; Stiborova, Marie; Hrabeta, Jan

    2017-07-01

    Carcinogenesis cannot be explained only by genetic alterations, but also involves epigenetic processes. Modification of histones by acetylation plays a key role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression and is controlled by the balance between histone deacetylases (HDAC) and histone acetyltransferases (HAT). HDAC inhibitors induce cancer cell cycle arrest, differentiation and cell death, reduce angiogenesis and modulate immune response. Mechanisms of anticancer effects of HDAC inhibitors are not uniform; they may be different and depend on the cancer type, HDAC inhibitors, doses, etc. HDAC inhibitors seem to be promising anti-cancer drugs particularly in the combination with other anti-cancer drugs and/or radiotherapy. HDAC inhibitors vorinostat, romidepsin and belinostat have been approved for some T-cell lymphoma and panobinostat for multiple myeloma. Other HDAC inhibitors are in clinical trials for the treatment of hematological and solid malignancies. The results of such studies are promising but further larger studies are needed. Because of the reversibility of epigenetic changes during cancer development, the potency of epigenetic therapies seems to be of great importance. Here, we summarize the data on different classes of HDAC inhibitors, mechanisms of their actions and discuss novel results of preclinical and clinical studies, including the combination with other therapeutic modalities.

  1. Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors as Anticancer Drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomas Eckschlager

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Carcinogenesis cannot be explained only by genetic alterations, but also involves epigenetic processes. Modification of histones by acetylation plays a key role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression and is controlled by the balance between histone deacetylases (HDAC and histone acetyltransferases (HAT. HDAC inhibitors induce cancer cell cycle arrest, differentiation and cell death, reduce angiogenesis and modulate immune response. Mechanisms of anticancer effects of HDAC inhibitors are not uniform; they may be different and depend on the cancer type, HDAC inhibitors, doses, etc. HDAC inhibitors seem to be promising anti-cancer drugs particularly in the combination with other anti-cancer drugs and/or radiotherapy. HDAC inhibitors vorinostat, romidepsin and belinostat have been approved for some T-cell lymphoma and panobinostat for multiple myeloma. Other HDAC inhibitors are in clinical trials for the treatment of hematological and solid malignancies. The results of such studies are promising but further larger studies are needed. Because of the reversibility of epigenetic changes during cancer development, the potency of epigenetic therapies seems to be of great importance. Here, we summarize the data on different classes of HDAC inhibitors, mechanisms of their actions and discuss novel results of preclinical and clinical studies, including the combination with other therapeutic modalities.

  2. Proteomics of anti-cancer drugs

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kovářová, Hana; Martinková, Jiřina; Hrabáková, Rita; Skalníková, Helena; Novák, Petr; Hajdůch, M.; Gadher, S. J.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 276, Supplement 1 (2009), s. 84-84 E-ISSN 1742-4658. [34th FEBS Congress. 04.07.2009-09.07.2009, Praha] R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC07017 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50450515; CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : proteomics * anti-cancer drugs * biomarkers Subject RIV: FD - Oncology ; Hematology

  3. Doxorubicin-conjugated bacteriophages carrying anti-MHC class I chain-related A for targeted cancer therapy in vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phumyen A

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Achara Phumyen,1–3 Siriporn Jantasorn,1 Amonrat Jumnainsong,1 Chanvit Leelayuwat1–4 1The Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories (CMDL, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, 2The Liver Fluke and Cholangiocarcinoma Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, 3Research Cluster: Specific Health Problem of Grater Maekong Subregion (SHeP-GMS, 4Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Sciences, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand Background: Cancer therapy by systemic administration of anticancer drugs, besides the effectiveness shown on cancer cells, demonstrated the side effects and cytotoxicity on normal cells. The targeted drug-carrying nanoparticles may decrease the required drug concentration at the site and the distribution of drugs to normal tissues. Overexpression of major histocompatibility complex class I chain–related A (MICA in cancer is useful as a targeted molecule for the delivery of doxorubicin to MICA-expressing cell lines. Methods: The application of 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl] carbodiimide (EDC chemistry was employed to conjugate the major coat protein of bacteriophages carrying anti-MICA and doxorubicin in a mildly acid condition. Doxorubicin (Dox on phages was determined by double fluorescence of phage particles stained by M13-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC and drug autofluorescence by flow cytometry. The ability of anti-MICA on phages to bind MICA after doxorubicin conjugation was evaluated by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One cervical cancer and four cholangiocarcinoma cell lines expressing MICA were used as models to evaluate targeting activity by cell cytotoxicity test. Results: Flow cytometry and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay demonstrated that most of the phages (82% could be conjugated with doxorubicin, and the Dox-carrying phage-displaying anti-MICA (Dox-phage remained the binding activity against MICA

  4. AlgiMatrix™ based 3D cell culture system as an in-vitro tumor model for anticancer studies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandraiah Godugu

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D in-vitro cultures are recognized for recapitulating the physiological microenvironment and exhibiting high concordance with in-vivo conditions. Taking the advantages of 3D culture, we have developed the in-vitro tumor model for anticancer drug screening.Cancer cells grown in 6 and 96 well AlgiMatrix™ scaffolds resulted in the formation of multicellular spheroids in the size range of 100-300 µm. Spheroids were grown in two weeks in cultures without compromising the growth characteristics. Different marketed anticancer drugs were screened by incubating them for 24 h at 7, 9 and 11 days in 3D cultures and cytotoxicity was measured by AlamarBlue® assay. Effectiveness of anticancer drug treatments were measured based on spheroid number and size distribution. Evaluation of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic markers was done by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. The 3D results were compared with the conventional 2D monolayer cultures. Cellular uptake studies for drug (Doxorubicin and nanoparticle (NLC were done using spheroids.IC(50 values for anticancer drugs were significantly higher in AlgiMatrix™ systems compared to 2D culture models. The cleaved caspase-3 expression was significantly decreased (2.09 and 2.47 folds respectively for 5-Fluorouracil and Camptothecin in H460 spheroid cultures compared to 2D culture system. The cytotoxicity, spheroid size distribution, immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and nanoparticle penetration data suggested that in vitro tumor models show higher resistance to anticancer drugs and supporting the fact that 3D culture is a better model for the cytotoxic evaluation of anticancer drugs in vitro.The results from our studies are useful to develop a high throughput in vitro tumor model to study the effect of various anticancer agents and various molecular pathways affected by the anticancer drugs and formulations.

  5. Characterization of the interaction forces in a drug carrier complex of doxorubicin with a drug-binding peptide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gocheva, Gergana; Ilieva, Nina; Peneva, Kalina; Ivanova, Anela

    2018-04-01

    Polypeptide-based materials are used as building blocks for drug delivery systems aimed at toxicity decrease in chemotherapeutics. A molecular-level approach is adopted for investigating the non-covalent interactions between doxorubicin and a recently synthesized drug-binging peptide as a key part of a system for delivery to neoplastic cells. Molecular dynamics simulations in aqueous solution at room and body temperature are applied to investigate the structure and the binding modes within the drug-peptide complex. The tryptophans are outlined as the main chemotherapeutic adsorption sites, and the importance of their placement in the peptide sequence is highlighted. The drug-peptide binging energy is evaluated by density functional theory calculations. Principal component analysis reveals comparable importance of several types of interaction for the binding strength. π-Stacking is dominant, but other factors are also significant: intercalation, peptide backbone stacking, electrostatics, dispersion, and solvation. Intra- and intermolecular H-bonding also stabilizes the complexes. The influence of solvent molecules on the binding energy is mild. The obtained data characterize the drug-to-peptide attachment as a mainly attractive collective process with interactions spanning a broad range of values. These results explain with atomistic detail the experimentally registered doxorubicin-binging ability of the peptide and outline the complex as a prospective carrying unit that can be employed in design of drug delivery systems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  6. In vivo enhancement of anticancer therapy using bare or chemotherapeutic drug-bearing nanodiamond particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Y

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Yingqi Li,1,2 Yaoli Tong,1 Ruixia Cao,1 Zhimei Tian,2 Binsheng Yang,2 Pin Yang2 1Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Molecular Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, People's Republic of China Background: This study investigated the use of nanodiamond particles (NDs as a promising material for drug delivery in vivo and in vitro. Methods: HepG2 cells (a human hepatic carcinoma cell line were used to determine the characteristics of a nanodiamond-doxorubicin complex (ND-DOX when taken up by cells in vitro using laser scanning confocal microscopy and dialysis experiments. We also compared the survival rate and histopathology of tumor-bearing mice after treatment with NDs or ND-DOX in vivo. Results: In vitro investigation showed that ND-DOX has slow and sustained drug release characteristics compared with free doxorubicin. In vivo, the survival rate of tumor-bearing mice treated with ND-DOX was four times greater than that of mice treated with free doxorubicin. Interestingly, the survival rate in mice treated with NDs alone was close to that of mice treated with free doxorubicin. This indicates that treatment with ND-DOX can prolong the lifespan of tumor-bearing mice significantly compared with conventional doxorubicin and that NDs can have this effect as well. Histopathological analysis showed that neither the NDs nor ND-DOX were toxic to the kidney, liver, or spleen in contrast with the well-known toxic effects of free doxorubicin on the kidney and liver. Further, both the bare NDs and ND-DOX could suppress tumor growth effectively. Conclusion: NDs can potentially prolong survival, and ND-DOX may act as a nanodrug with promising chemotherapeutic efficacy and safety.  Keywords: nanodiamond, drug delivery, sustained release, survival rate, cancer, treatment

  7. Macrophage inflammatory protein-3α influences growth of K562 leukemia cells in co-culture with anticancer drug-pretreated HS-5 stromal cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Y.C.; Chiou, T.-J.; Tzeng, W.-F.; Chu, S.T.

    2008-01-01

    Stromal cell monolayers have been an important means of studying the regulation of hematopoiesis, because they produce cytokines. Cytosine arabinoside, vincristine, daunorubicin, and doxorubicin are common drugs for hematological cancer therapy, and they may have some effects on bone marrow stroma during chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to elucidate interactions between the bone marrow stromal microenvironment and leukemic cells after drug treatment. We tested the hypothesis that human HS-5 stromal cells, pretreated with anticancer drugs, affected the growth of leukemic K562 cells by changing the cytokines in the culture microenvironment. Thereafter, proliferation of K562 cells increased nearly 2.5-fold compared the co-cultivation with drugs-pretreated HS-5 stromal cells and drugs-untreated HS-5 stromal cells. The results indicated that co-cultivation with HS-5 stromal cells pretreated with drugs caused significant K562 cell proliferation. Cytokines in the microenvironment were detected via the RayBio Human Cytokine Antibody Array Membrane. The levels of the cytokines CKβ, IL-12, IL-13, IGFBP-2, MCP-1, MCP-3, MCP-4, MDC, MIP-1β and MIP-1δ were decreased, with a particularly marked decrease in MIP-3α. In co-culture medium, there was a 20-fold decrease in MIP-3α in daunorubicin-pretreated HS-5 cells and at least a 3-fold decrease in Ara-C-pretreated cells. This indicated a significant effect of anticancer drugs on the stromal cell line. Using phosphorylated Erk and pRb proteins as cell proliferation markers, we found that phosphorylation of these markers in K562 cells was inhibited during co-cultivation with drug-pretreated stromal cells in MIP-3α-supplemented medium and restored by MIP-3α antibody supplement. In conclusion, anticancer drug pretreatment suppresses the negative control exerted by HS-5 cells on leukemic cell proliferation, via modulation of cytokines in the microenvironment, especially at the level of MIP-3α

  8. [Different effects of anticancer drugs on two human thyroid cell lines with different stages of differentiation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamanaka, T; Hishinuma, A

    1995-01-20

    We established two human thyroid tumor cell lines. One cell line (hPTC) was established from the tissue of a papillary thyroid carcinoma surgically excised from a 27-year-old female patient. The other cell line (hAG) was established from the tissue of an adenomatous goiter excised from a 59-year old female patient. Synthesis of cAMP by hPTC and hAG increased when they were stimulated by TSH. hPTC and hAG continued to divide as a monolayer in a tissue culture for three years and two years, respectively. We assessed the efficacy of anticancer drugs (doxorubicin:ADR, cisplatin:CDDP, nimustine:ACNU, bleomycin:BLM, cyclophosphamide:CPA, aclarubicin:ACR) with resard to hPTC. The hPTC cells were cultured in 24-well plates in the presence of the anticancer drugs for 48 hours, and the cellular DNA of the live cells was measured with diaminobenzoic acid. ADR had the lowest ED50 (0.029 mu g/ml) and the clinical blood concentration was 13.8 times that of the ED50. The clinical blood concentration divided by ED50 for the other anticancer drugs are, in order of higher values, 2.3 for CPA, 1.7 for BLM, 1.2 for CDDP, 0.5 for ACR, and less than 0.1 for ACNU. ADR showed time-independent effects since a 2-hour exposure of ADR to the hPTC cells resulted in the significant reduction of the cellular DNA content of the live cells even after 48 hours. The effects of the other anticancer drugs were time-dependent. We then studied the difference of the effects of ADR on hPTC and hAG. ED50 for hPTC was significantly low (0.035 mu g/ml) compared to that for hAG (0.460 mu g/ml). Since free radical formation is one of the major anticancer mechanisms of ADR the effects of free radicals on ED50's for hPTC and hAG were measured by adding glutathione (GSH), N-acetylcystein (NAC), buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), and alpha-tocopherol (alpha-toco) into the culture media. GSH catches up with free radicals in the extracellular fluid. NAC promotes production of GSH in the cytoplasm, but BSO interferes with

  9. Alkaloids as Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors in Anticancer Drug Discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashmi, Muhammad Ali; Khan, Afsar; Farooq, Umar; Khan, Sehroon

    2018-01-01

    Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide and anticancer drug discovery is a very hot area of research at present. There are various factors which control and affect cancer, out of which enzymes like cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) play a vital role in the growth of tumor cells. Inhibition of this enzyme is a very useful target for the prevention of various types of cancers. Alkaloids are a diverse group of naturally occurring compounds which have shown great COX-2 inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo. In this mini-review, we have discussed different alkaloids with COX-2 inhibitory activities and anticancer potential which may act as leads in modern anticancer drug discovery. Different classes of alkaloids including isoquinoline alkaloids, indole alkaloids, piperidine alkaloids, quinazoline alkaloids, and various miscellaneous alkaloids obtained from natural sources have been discussed in detail in this review. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Consensus-based evaluation of clinical significance and management of anticancer drug interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansman, F.G.A.; Reyners, A.K.L.; van Roon, E.N.; Smorenburg, C.H.; Helgason, H.H.; le Comte, M.; Wensveen, B.M.; van den Tweel, A.M.A.; de Blois, M.; Kwee, W.; Kerremans, A.L.; Brouwers, J.R.B.J.

    Background: Anticancer drug interactions can affect the efficacy and toxicity of anticancer treatment and that of the interacting drugs. However, information on the significance, prevention, and management of these interactions is currently lacking. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess

  11. Normalization of doxorubicin release from graphene oxide: New approach for optimization of effective parameters on drug loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashemi, Mohadeseh; Yadegari, Amir; Yazdanpanah, Ghasem; Omidi, Meisam; Jabbehdari, Sayena; Haghiralsadat, Fatemeh; Yazdian, Fatemeh; Tayebi, Lobat

    2017-05-01

    Graphene oxide (GO) has been recently introduced as a suitable anticancer drug carrier, which could be loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) as a general chemotherapy agent. Herein, the attempts were made to optimize the effective parameters on both loading and release of DOX on GO. GO and GO-DOX were characterized using transition electron microscopy , zeta potential, Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, loading and releasing behaviors of DOX on GO were studied in terms of different temperature and pH values. The primary optimized values of pH and temperature for best-loaded amount of DOX were 8.9 and 309 K, respectively. Moreover, we found that the smallest amount of released DOX, in pH of cancer microenvironment (5.4), occurs when DOX had been previously loaded in pH 7.8 and 310 K. Although the highest amount of loaded DOX was in basic pH, the results of efficient release of DOX from the GO-DOX complex and also cellular toxicity assay revealed that the best pH for loading of DOX on GO was 7.8. Therefore, in addition to optimization of parameters for efficient loading of DOX on GO, this study suggested that normalization of a released drug compared with the amount of a loaded drug could be a new approach for optimization of drug loading on nanocarriers. © 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  12. Chemotherapeutic Drugs and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Focus on Doxorubicin, Trastuzumab, and Sunitinib

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Gorini

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Many cancer therapies produce toxic side effects whose molecular mechanisms await full elucidation. The most feared and studied side effect of chemotherapeutic drugs is cardiotoxicity. Also, skeletal muscle physiology impairment has been recorded after many chemotherapeutical treatments. However, only doxorubicin has been extensively studied for its side effects on skeletal muscle. Chemotherapeutic-induced adverse side effects are, in many cases, mediated by mitochondrial damage. In particular, trastuzumab and sunitinib toxicity is mainly associated with mitochondria impairment and is mostly reversible. Vice versa, doxorubicin-induced toxicity not only includes mitochondria damage but can also lead to a more robust and extensive cell injury which is often irreversible and lethal. Drugs interfering with mitochondrial functionality determine the depletion of ATP reservoirs and lead to subsequent reversible contractile dysfunction. Mitochondrial damage includes the impairment of the respiratory chain and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential with subsequent disruption of cellular energetic. In a context of increased stress, AMPK has a key role in maintaining energy homeostasis, and inhibition of the AMPK pathway is one of the proposed mechanisms possibly mediating mitochondrial toxicity due to chemotherapeutics. Therapies targeting and protecting cell metabolism and energy management might be useful tools in protecting muscular tissues against the toxicity induced by chemotherapeutic drugs.

  13. Trichostatin A accentuates doxorubicin-induced hypertrophy in cardiac myocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagiannis, Tom C; Lin, Ann J E; Ververis, Katherine; Chang, Lisa; Tang, Michelle M; Okabe, Jun; El-Osta, Assam

    2010-10-01

    Histone deacetylase inhibitors represent a new class of anticancer therapeutics and the expectation is that they will be most effective when used in combination with conventional cancer therapies, such as the anthracycline, doxorubicin. The dose-limiting side effect of doxorubicin is severe cardiotoxicity and evaluation of the effects of combinations of the anthracycline with histone deacetylase inhibitors in relevant models is important. We used a well-established in vitro model of doxorubicin-induced hypertrophy to examine the effects of the prototypical histone deacetylase inhibitor, Trichostatin A. Our findings indicate that doxorubicin modulates the expression of the hypertrophy-associated genes, ventricular myosin light chain-2, the alpha isoform of myosin heavy chain and atrial natriuretic peptide, an effect which is augmented by Trichostatin A. Furthermore, we show that Trichostatin A amplifies doxorubicin-induced DNA double strand breaks, as assessed by γH2AX formation. More generally, our findings highlight the importance of investigating potential side effects that may be associated with emerging combination therapies for cancer.

  14. Preclinical and clinical pharmacology of oral anticancer drugs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oostendorp, R.L.

    2009-01-01

    Nowadays, more than 25% of all anticancer drugs are developed as oral formulations. Oral administration of drugs has several advantages over intravenous (i.v.) administration. It will on average be more convenient for patients, because they can take oral medication themselves, there is no need for

  15. Nanomedicine-based combination anticancer therapy between nucleic acids and small-molecular drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wei; Chen, Liqing; Kang, Lin; Jin, Mingji; Sun, Ping; Xin, Xin; Gao, Zhonggao; Bae, You Han

    2017-06-01

    Anticancer therapy has always been a vital challenge for the development of nanomedicine. Repeated single therapeutic agent may lead to undesirable and severe side effects, unbearable toxicity and multidrug resistance due to complex nature of tumor. Nanomedicine-based combination anticancer therapy can synergistically improve antitumor outcomes through multiple-target therapy, decreasing the dose of each therapeutic agent and reducing side effects. There are versatile combinational anticancer strategies such as chemotherapeutic combination, nucleic acid-based co-delivery, intrinsic sensitive and extrinsic stimulus combinational patterns. Based on these combination strategies, various nanocarriers and drug delivery systems were engineered to carry out the efficient co-delivery of combined therapeutic agents for combination anticancer therapy. This review focused on illustrating nanomedicine-based combination anticancer therapy between nucleic acids and small-molecular drugs for synergistically improving anticancer efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. PEGylated Silk Nanoparticles for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Uhlmann, Petra; Urquhart, Andrew J; Seib, F Philipp

    2015-11-09

    Silk has a robust clinical track record and is emerging as a promising biopolymer for drug delivery, including its use as nanomedicine. However, silk-based nanomedicines still require further refinements for full exploitation of their potential; the application of "stealth" design principals is especially necessary to support their evolution. The aim of this study was to develop and examine the potential of PEGylated silk nanoparticles as an anticancer drug delivery system. We first generated B. mori derived silk nanoparticles by driving β-sheet assembly (size 104 ± 1.7 nm, zeta potential -56 ± 5.6 mV) using nanoprecipitation. We then surface grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the fabricated silk nanoparticles and verified the aqueous stability and morphology of the resulting PEGylated silk nanoparticles. We assessed the drug loading and release behavior of these nanoparticles using clinically established and emerging anticancer drugs. Overall, PEGylated silk nanoparticles showed high encapsulation efficiency (>93%) and a pH-dependent release over 14 days. Finally, we demonstrated significant cytotoxicity of drug loaded silk nanoparticles applied as single and combination nanomedicines to human breast cancer cells. In conclusion, these results, taken together with prior silk nanoparticle data, support a viable future for silk-based nanomedicines.

  17. A Novel Insight into the Cardiotoxicity of Antineoplastic Drug Doxorubicin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zbynek Heger

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin is a commonly used antineoplastic agent in the treatment of many types of cancer. Little is known about the interactions of doxorubicin with cardiac biomolecules. Serious cardiotoxicity including dilated cardiomyopathy often resulting in a fatal congestive heart failure may occur as a consequence of chemotherapy with doxorubicin. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exposure to doxorubicin on the changes in major amino acids in tissue of cardiac muscle (proline, taurine, glutamic acid, arginine, aspartic acid, leucine, glycine, valine, alanine, isoleucine, threonine, lysine and serine. An in vitro interaction study was performed as a comparison of amino acid profiles in heart tissue before and after application of doxorubicin. We found that doxorubicin directly influences myocardial amino acid representation even at low concentrations. In addition, we performed an interaction study that resulted in the determination of breaking points for each of analyzed amino acids. Lysine, arginine, β-alanine, valine and serine were determined as the most sensitive amino acids. Additionally we compared amino acid profiles of myocardium before and after exposure to doxorubicin. The amount of amino acids after interaction with doxorubicin was significantly reduced (p = 0.05. This fact points at an ability of doxorubicin to induce changes in quantitative composition of amino acids in myocardium. Moreover, this confirms that the interactions between doxorubicin and amino acids may act as another factor most likely responsible for adverse effects of doxorubicin on myocardium.

  18. Nanoporous capsules of block co-polymers of [(MeO-PEG-NH)-b-(L-GluA)]-PCL for the controlled release of anticancer drugs for therapeutic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amgoth, Chander; Dharmapuri, Gangappa; Kalle, Arunasree M.; Paik, Pradip

    2016-03-01

    Herein, new nanoporous capsules of the block co-polymers of MeO-PEG-NH-(L-GluA)10 and polycaprolactone (PCL) have been synthesized through a surfactant-free cost-effective self-assembled soft-templating approach for the controlled release of drugs and for therapeutic applications. The nanoporous polymer capsules are designed to be biocompatible and are capable of encapsulating anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and imatinib mesylate (ITM)) with a high extent (˜279 and ˜480 ng μg-1, respectively). We have developed a nanoformulation of porous MeO-PEG-NH-(L-GluA)10-PCL capsules with DOX and ITM. The porous polymer nanoformulations have been programmed in terms of the release of anticancer drugs with a desired dose to treat the leukemia (K562) and human carcinoma cells (HepG2) in vitro and show promising IC50 values with a very high mortality of cancer cells (up to ˜96.6%). Our nanoformulation arrests the cell divisions due to ‘cellular scenescence’ and kills the cancer cells specifically. The present findings could enrich the effectiveness of idiosyncratic nanoporous polymer capsules for use in various other nanomedicinal and biomedical applications, such as for killing cancer cells, immune therapy, and gene delivery.

  19. Nanoporous capsules of block co-polymers of [(MeO-PEG-NH)-b-(L-GluA)]-PCL for the controlled release of anticancer drugs for therapeutic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amgoth, Chander; Paik, Pradip; Dharmapuri, Gangappa; Kalle, Arunasree M

    2016-01-01

    Herein, new nanoporous capsules of the block co-polymers of MeO-PEG-NH-(L-GluA) 10 and polycaprolactone (PCL) have been synthesized through a surfactant-free cost-effective self-assembled soft-templating approach for the controlled release of drugs and for therapeutic applications. The nanoporous polymer capsules are designed to be biocompatible and are capable of encapsulating anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and imatinib mesylate (ITM)) with a high extent (∼279 and ∼480 ng μg −1 , respectively). We have developed a nanoformulation of porous MeO-PEG-NH-(L-GluA) 10 -PCL capsules with DOX and ITM. The porous polymer nanoformulations have been programmed in terms of the release of anticancer drugs with a desired dose to treat the leukemia (K562) and human carcinoma cells (HepG2) in vitro and show promising IC 50 values with a very high mortality of cancer cells (up to ∼96.6%). Our nanoformulation arrests the cell divisions due to ‘cellular scenescence’ and kills the cancer cells specifically. The present findings could enrich the effectiveness of idiosyncratic nanoporous polymer capsules for use in various other nanomedicinal and biomedical applications, such as for killing cancer cells, immune therapy, and gene delivery. (paper)

  20. Heparin modified graphene oxide for pH-sensitive sustained release of doxorubicin hydrochloride

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Baomei; Yang, Xiaoye; Wang, Yang; Zhai, Guangxi, E-mail: professorgxzhai@126.com

    2017-06-01

    A novel nanocarrier of heparin (Hep) modified graphene oxide (GO) was fabricated via a linker (adipic dihydrazide) and used as a pH-sensitive drug delivery system for controlling the release of anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) for anti-tumor therapy. The finally obtained nanocarrier was GO-ADH-Hep with better stability, blood compatibility and biocompatibility confirmed by the hemolytic test and in vitro cytotoxicity study. Its safety issue was greatly improved via Hep modification. The amount of DOX loaded onto GO-ADH-Hep was significantly high and dependent on pH value. The release rate of DOX from GO- ADH-Hep/DOX was pH-sensitive and much-slower than that of free DOX solution suggesting the sustained drug-release capacity of this prepared nanocomplexes. In addition, the results of cytotoxicity study illustrated that this fabricated nanocomplexes displayed effective cytotoxicity to MCF-7 and HepG2 cells. What's more, the results of the in vivo pharmacokinetic study was also indicated that the GO-ADH-Hep/DOX nanocomplexes could significantly prolong the retention time of DOX in vivo and this was consistent with the in vitro drug release performance. And finally, according to the biodistribution study, DOX delivered by GO-ADH-Hep could reduce cardiotoxicity deriving from DOX solution and also decrease the pulmonary toxicity deriving from unmodified GO. Based on the in vitro and in vivo investigations, the fabricated GO-ADH-Hep could be a promising candidate as an ideal nano-carrier for drug delivery and anti-cancer therapy. - Highlights: • Firstly, a novel nanocarrier-GO-ADH-Hep was fabricated with improved stability, little cytotoxicity and little hemolysis ratio. • Secondly, GO-ADH-Hep was used to load the anticancer drug (DOX) with high drug loading and pH-sensitive sustained drug release. • Thirdly, the anti-cancer efficacy of GO-ADH-Hep/DOX was dose- and time-dependent in vitro. • Finally, according to the in vivo studies, this synthesized nano

  1. Enhanced sensitivity of A549 cells to the cytotoxic action of anticancer drugs via suppression of Nrf2 by procyanidins from Cinnamomi Cortex extract

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ohnuma, Tomokazu; Matsumoto, Takashi; Itoi, Ayano; Kawana, Ayako; Nishiyama, Takahito; Ogura, Kenichiro [Department of Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0392 (Japan); Hiratsuka, Akira, E-mail: hiratuka@toyaku.ac.jp [Department of Drug Metabolism and Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0392 (Japan)

    2011-10-07

    Highlights: {yields} We found a novel inhibitor of Nrf2 known as a chemoresistance factor. {yields} Overexpressed Nrf2 in lung cancer cells was suppressed by Cinnamomi Cortex extract. {yields} Cytotoxic action of anticancer drugs in cells treated with the extract was enhanced. {yields} Procyanidin tetramers and pentamers were active components in suppressing Nrf2. -- Abstract: Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an important cytoprotective transcription factor because Nrf2-regulated enzymes play a key role in antioxidant and detoxification processes. Recent studies have reported that lung cancer cells overexpressing Nrf2 exhibit increased resistance to chemotherapy. Suppression of overexpressed Nrf2 is needed for a new therapeutic approach against lung cancers. In the present study, we found that Cinnamomi Cortex extract (CCE) has an ability to suppress Nrf2-regulated enzyme activity and Nrf2 expression in human lung cancer A549 cells with high Nrf2 activity. Moreover, we demonstrated that CCE significantly enhances sensitivity of A549 cells to the cytotoxic action of doxorubicin and etoposide as well as increasing the intracellular accumulation of both drugs. These results suggest that CCE might be an effective concomitant agent to reduce anticancer drug resistance derived from Nrf2 overexpression. Bioactivity-guided fractionation revealed that procyanidin tetramers and pentamers contained in CCE were active components in suppressing Nrf2.

  2. Multilayer sodium alginate beads with porous core containing chitosan based nanoparticles for oral delivery of anticancer drug.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Jiang, Changqing; Lang, Xuqian; Kong, Ming; Cheng, Xiaojie; Liu, Ya; Feng, Chao; Chen, Xiguang

    2016-04-01

    To develop efficient and safe anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) delivery system for oral chemotherapy, chitosan based nanoparticles (CS/CMCS-NPs) composed of chitosan (CS) and o-carboxymeymethy chitosan (CMCS) were immobilized in multilayer sodium alginate beads (NPs-M-Beads). Two kinds of NPs-M-Beads, with or without porous core, were respectively prepared by internal or external ionic gelation method. In the small intestine, the intact CS/CMCS-NPs were able to escape from porous-beads and sustained release the loading DOX. In vivo results showed that the DOX could be efficiently absorbed by small intestine of SD rat and the higher concentration of the DOX in major organs of rats were found after oral administration of Porous-Beads, which were about 2-4 folds higher than that of non-porous-beads. These results suggested that the NPs-M-Beads with porous core to be exciting and promising for oral delivery of DOX. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Acacetin enhances the therapeutic efficacy of doxorubicin in non-small-cell lung carcinoma cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reenu Punia

    Full Text Available Anthracyclines are efficient and potent agents to treat broad range of cancers but cytotoxicity induced by them limits their use in therapeutics. Use of plant-derived agents help to prevent or delay the process of cancer progression and their combination increases the anti-cancer potential of mainstream compound. However, multidrug resistance is major cause of treatment failure in cancer patients.In this study, combination treatments of fisetin or acacetin with doxorubicin were explored for their potential synergistic effect on non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC cells.During this study, NSCLC model cell lines A549 and H1299 were used to determine the combinatorial effect of phytochemicals namly acacetin and fisetin with doxorubicin.The effects of individual compounds and their combination on cell viability, clonogenic potential and cell cycle progression were studied. Efflux of doxorubicin was measured by spectrofluorophotometer, whereas accumulation inside the cells was analyzed by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Expression of MDR1 was checked by semi-quantitative PCR.The results showed that the cell viability of A549 and H1299 cells were significantly decreased in time- and dose-dependent manner, although A549 cells showed more sensitivity toward doxorubicin than H1299 cells. Mostly, combination of doxorubicin showed good synergy with acacetin in both the cell lines whereas, fisetin exerted synergistic effect only at 72 h of treatment in H1299 cells. Acacetin with doxorubicin caused G2/M arrest by downregulating CDK-cyclin complex in A549 cells. Acacetin-doxorubicin combination decreased the clonogenic potential of A549 and H1299 cells upto 82% and 59%, respectively, as compared to control. Acacetin also decreased efflux of doxorubicin by 59% after 30 mins of exposure to A549 cells and further increased accumulation of doxorubicin inside the cells upto 55% in 2 h. The modulatory effect of acacetin-doxorubicin combination on

  4. A Near-Infrared Photothermal Effect-Responsive Drug Delivery System Based on Indocyanine Green and Doxorubicin-Loaded Polymeric Micelles Mediated by Reversible Diels-Alder Reaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Li, Junjie; Ke, Wendong; Ge, Zhishen

    2015-10-01

    Near-infrared light (NIR) possesses great advantages for light-responsive controllable drug release, such as deep tissue penetration and low damage to healthy tissues. Herein, a NIR-responsive drug delivery system is developed based on a NIR dye, indocyanine green (ICG), and anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded thermoresponsive block copolymer micelles, in which the drug release can be controlled via NIR irradiation. First, block copolymers, poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate)-block-poly(furfuryl methacrylate) (POEGMA-b-PFMA), are synthesized by sequential reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization, followed by modification with N-octyl maleimide through Diels-Alder (DA) reaction to produce POEGMA-b-POMFMA. The self-assembly of POEGMA-b-POMFMA by nano-precipitation in aqueous solution affords the polymeric micelles which are used to simultaneously encapsulate ICG and DOX. Upon irradiation by NIR light (805 nm), the loaded DOX is released rapidly from the micelles due to partial retro DA reaction and local temperature increase-induced faster drug diffusion by the photothermal effect. Cytotoxicity evaluation and intracellular distribution observation demonstrate significant synergistic effects of NIR-triggered drug release, photothermal, and chemotherapy toward cancer cells under NIR irradiation. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Synthesis and Properties of Star HPMA Copolymer Nanocarriers Synthesised by RAFT Polymerisation Designed for Selective Anticancer Drug Delivery and Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chytil, Petr; Koziolová, Eva; Janoušková, Olga; Kostka, Libor; Ulbrich, Karel; Etrych, Tomáš

    2015-06-01

    High-molecular-weight star polymer drug nanocarriers intended for the treatment and/or visualisation of solid tumours were synthesised, and their physico-chemical and preliminary in vitro biological properties were determined. The water-soluble star polymer carriers were prepared by the grafting of poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers by hetero-telechelic N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers, synthesised by the controlled radical Reversible Addition Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. The well-defined star copolymers with Mw values ranging from 2 · 10(5) to 6 · 10(5) showing a low dispersity (approximately 1.2) were prepared in a high yield. A model anticancer drug, doxorubicin, was bound to the star polymer through a hydrazone bond, enabling the pH-controlled drug release in the target tumour tissue. The activated polymer arm ends of the star copolymer carrier enable a one-point attachment for the targeting ligands and/or a labelling moiety. In this study, the model TAMRA fluorescent dye was used to prove the feasibility of the polymer carrier visualisation by optical imaging in vitro. The tailor-made structure of the star polymer carriers should facilitate the synthesis of targeted polymer-drug conjugates, even polymer theranostics, for simultaneous tumour drug delivery and imaging. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Cellular robustness conferred by genetic crosstalk underlies resistance against chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin in fission yeast.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoey Tay

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic that is among one of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents in the clinical setting. The usage of doxorubicin is faced with many problems including severe side effects and chemoresistance. To overcome these challenges, it is important to gain an understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms with regards to the mode of action of doxorubicin. To facilitate this aim, we identified the genes that are required for doxorubicin resistance in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We further demonstrated interplay between factors controlling various aspects of chromosome metabolism, mitochondrial respiration and membrane transport. In the nucleus we observed that the subunits of the Ino80, RSC, and SAGA complexes function in the similar epistatic group that shares significant overlap with the homologous recombination genes. However, these factors generally act in synergistic manner with the chromosome segregation regulator DASH complex proteins, possibly forming two major arms for regulating doxorubicin resistance in the nucleus. Simultaneous disruption of genes function in membrane efflux transport or the mitochondrial respiratory chain integrity in the mutants defective in either Ino80 or HR function resulted in cumulative upregulation of drug-specific growth defects, suggesting a rewiring of pathways that synergize only when the cells is exposed to the cytotoxic stress. Taken together, our work not only identified factors that are required for survival of the cells in the presence of doxorubicin but has further demonstrated that an extensive molecular crosstalk exists between these factors to robustly confer doxorubicin resistance.

  7. Liposomal Doxorubicin in the Treatment of Breast Cancer Patients: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Lao

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Drug delivery systems can provide enhanced efficacy and/or reduced toxicity for anticancer agents. Liposome drug delivery systems are able to modify the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of cytostatic agents, increasing the concentration of the drug released to neoplastic tissue and reducing the exposure of normal tissue. Anthracyclines are a key drug in the treatment of both metastatic and early breast cancer, but one of their major limitations is cardiotoxicity. One of the strategies designed to minimize this side effect is liposome encapsulation. Liposomal anthracyclines have achieved highly efficient drug encapsulation and they have proven to be effective and with reduced cardiotoxicity, as a single agent or in combination with other drugs for the treatment of either anthracyclines-treated or naïve metastatic breast cancer patients. Of particular interest is the use of the combination of liposomal anthracyclines and trastuzumab in patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. In this paper, we discuss the different studies on liposomal doxorubicin in metastatic and early breast cancer therapy.

  8. Unusual anti-leukemia activity of nanoformulated naproxen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Raj [School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005 (India); Advanced Material Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005 (India); Siril, Prem Felix, E-mail: prem@iitmandi.ac.in [School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005 (India); Advanced Material Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005 (India); Javid, Farideh [School of Applied Science, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH (United Kingdom)

    2016-12-01

    The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most widely used pharmaceuticals worldwide. Interestingly, many of them have significant anticancer properties too. However, the poor water solubility of certain NSAIDs limits their application for cancer treatment. Nanosizing of such drugs can help to improve the solubility and this may result in enhanced anticancer activities too. Moreover, over dosages and the accompanying side effects of NSAIDs can be minimized by improving their solubility and bioavailability. Successful nanoformulation of three NSAIDs: ibuprofen (IBP), ketoprufen (KP) and naproxen (NAP) using a novel evaporation assisted solvent-antisolvent interaction (EASAI) method is reported here. Three water soluble and biocompatible polymers: polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were used to stabilize the drug nanoparticles. Particles having spherical morphology with average size below 30 nm were thoroughly characterized using dynamic light scattering and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) imaging. The nanoformulation resulted in ten to fifteen fold improvements in the solubility and significant enhancement in the in-vitro drug release profiles of the NSAIDs. Anticancer screening of the nanoformulated NSAIDs against five different cancer cell lines such as MCF-7 (Human breast cancer cell line), (Human pancreatic cancer cell line) MIA-PA-CA-2, (Human colon cancer cell line) HT-29, (Human leukemia cell line) Jurkat and (human ovarian carcinoma cell line) A2780 was performed. All the nanoformulated samples showed improved anticancer activity against the Leukemia cancer cell line, out of which NAP-PVP showed the highest anti-cancer activity. The anti-Leukemia activity of NAP-PVP was more than twice that of doxorubicin which is a standard anticancer drug. - Highlights: • Nanoparticles of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were prepared. • Particle sizes were

  9. Unusual anti-leukemia activity of nanoformulated naproxen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Raj; Siril, Prem Felix; Javid, Farideh

    2016-01-01

    The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most widely used pharmaceuticals worldwide. Interestingly, many of them have significant anticancer properties too. However, the poor water solubility of certain NSAIDs limits their application for cancer treatment. Nanosizing of such drugs can help to improve the solubility and this may result in enhanced anticancer activities too. Moreover, over dosages and the accompanying side effects of NSAIDs can be minimized by improving their solubility and bioavailability. Successful nanoformulation of three NSAIDs: ibuprofen (IBP), ketoprufen (KP) and naproxen (NAP) using a novel evaporation assisted solvent-antisolvent interaction (EASAI) method is reported here. Three water soluble and biocompatible polymers: polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) were used to stabilize the drug nanoparticles. Particles having spherical morphology with average size below 30 nm were thoroughly characterized using dynamic light scattering and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) imaging. The nanoformulation resulted in ten to fifteen fold improvements in the solubility and significant enhancement in the in-vitro drug release profiles of the NSAIDs. Anticancer screening of the nanoformulated NSAIDs against five different cancer cell lines such as MCF-7 (Human breast cancer cell line), (Human pancreatic cancer cell line) MIA-PA-CA-2, (Human colon cancer cell line) HT-29, (Human leukemia cell line) Jurkat and (human ovarian carcinoma cell line) A2780 was performed. All the nanoformulated samples showed improved anticancer activity against the Leukemia cancer cell line, out of which NAP-PVP showed the highest anti-cancer activity. The anti-Leukemia activity of NAP-PVP was more than twice that of doxorubicin which is a standard anticancer drug. - Highlights: • Nanoparticles of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were prepared. • Particle sizes were

  10. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer between ZnSe ZnS quantum dots and bovine serum albumin in bioaffinity assays of anticancer drugs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Chang; Ding, Li; Zhong, Wenying

    2014-10-01

    In the current work, using ZnSe ZnS quantum dots (QDs) as representative nanoparticles, the affinities of seven anticancer drugs for bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The FRET efficiency of BSA-QD conjugates can reach as high as 24.87% by electrostatic interaction. The higher binding constant (3.63 × 107 L mol-1) and number of binding sites (1.75) between ZnSe ZnS QDs and BSA demonstrated that the QDs could easily associate to plasma proteins and enhance the transport efficacy of drugs. The magnitude of binding constants (103-106 L mol-1), in the presence of QDs, was between drugs-BSA and drugs-QDs in agreement with common affinities of drugs for serum albumins (104-106 L mol-1) in vivo. ZnSe ZnS QDs significantly increased the affinities for BSA of Vorinostat (SAHA), Docetaxel (DOC), Carmustine (BCNU), Doxorubicin (Dox) and 10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT). However, they slightly reduced the affinities of Vincristine (VCR) and Methotrexate (MTX) for BSA. The recent work will not only provide useful information for appropriately understanding the binding affinity and binding mechanism at the molecular level, but also illustrate the ZnSe ZnS QDs are perfect candidates for nanoscal drug delivery system (DDS).

  11. Drug Release from Phase-Changeable Nanodroplets Triggered by Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Yang; Chen, Yuli; Yu, Tao; Guo, Yuan; Liu, Fengqiu; Yao, Yuanzhi; Li, Pan; Wang, Dong; Wang, Zhigang; Chen, Yu; Ran, Haitao

    2018-01-01

    Background: As one of the most effective triggers with high tissue-penetrating capability and non-invasive feature, ultrasound shows great potential for controlling the drug release and enhancing the chemotherapeutic efficacy. In this study, we report, for the first time, construction of a phase-changeable drug-delivery nanosystem with programmable low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) that could trigger drug-release and significantly enhance anticancer drug delivery. Methods: Liquid-gas phase-changeable perfluorocarbon (perfluoropentane) and an anticancer drug (doxorubicin) were simultaneously encapsulated in two kinds of nanodroplets. By triggering LIFU, the nanodroplets could be converted into microbubbles locally in tumor tissues for acoustic imaging and the loaded anticancer drug (doxorubicin) was released after the microbubble collapse. Based on the acoustic property of shell materials, such as shell stiffness, two types of nanodroplets (lipid-based nanodroplets and PLGA-based nanodroplets) were activated by different acoustic pressure levels. Ultrasound irradiation duration and power of LIFU were tested and selected to monitor and control the drug release from nanodroplets. Various ultrasound energies were introduced to induce the phase transition and microbubble collapse of nanodroplets in vitro (3 W/3 min for lipid nanodroplets; 8 W/3 min for PLGA nanodroplets). Results: We detected three steps in the drug-releasing profiles exhibiting the programmable patterns. Importantly, the intratumoral accumulation and distribution of the drug with LIFU exposure were significantly enhanced, and tumor proliferation was substantially inhibited. Co-delivery of two drug-loaded nanodroplets could overcome the physical barriers of tumor tissues during chemotherapy. Conclusion: Our study provides a new strategy for the efficient ultrasound-triggered chemotherapy by nanocarriers with programmable LIFU capable of achieving the on-demand drug release. PMID:29507623

  12. The different expression of TRPM7 and MagT1 impacts on the proliferation of colon carcinoma cells sensitive or resistant to doxorubicin

    OpenAIRE

    Cazzaniga, Alessandra; Moscheni, Claudia; Trapani, Valentina; Wolf, Federica I.; Farruggia, Giovanna; Sargenti, Azzurra; Iotti, Stefano; Maier, Jeanette A. M.; Castiglioni, Sara

    2017-01-01

    The processes leading to anticancer drug resistance are not completely unraveled. To get insights into the underlying mechanisms, we compared colon carcinoma cells sensitive to doxorubicin with their resistant counterpart. We found that resistant cells are growth retarded, and show staminal and ultrastructural features profoundly different from sensitive cells. The resistant phenotype is accompanied by the upregulation of the magnesium transporter MagT1 and the downregulation of the ion chann...

  13. Recent insights in nanotechnology-based drugs and formulations designed for effective anti-cancer therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piktel, Ewelina; Niemirowicz, Katarzyna; Wątek, Marzena; Wollny, Tomasz; Deptuła, Piotr; Bucki, Robert

    2016-05-26

    The rapid development of nanotechnology provides alternative approaches to overcome several limitations of conventional anti-cancer therapy. Drug targeting using functionalized nanoparticles to advance their transport to the dedicated site, became a new standard in novel anti-cancer methods. In effect, the employment of nanoparticles during design of antineoplastic drugs helps to improve pharmacokinetic properties, with subsequent development of high specific, non-toxic and biocompatible anti-cancer agents. However, the physicochemical and biological diversity of nanomaterials and a broad spectrum of unique features influencing their biological action requires continuous research to assess their activity. Among numerous nanosystems designed to eradicate cancer cells, only a limited number of them entered the clinical trials. It is anticipated that progress in development of nanotechnology-based anti-cancer materials will provide modern, individualized anti-cancer therapies assuring decrease in morbidity and mortality from cancer diseases. In this review we discussed the implication of nanomaterials in design of new drugs for effective antineoplastic therapy and describe a variety of mechanisms and challenges for selective tumor targeting. We emphasized the recent advantages in the field of nanotechnology-based strategies to fight cancer and discussed their part in effective anti-cancer therapy and successful drug delivery.

  14. Doxorubicin-loaded QuadraSphere microspheres: plasma pharmacokinetics and intratumoral drug concentration in an animal model of liver cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kwang-Hun; Liapi, Eleni A; Cornell, Curt; Reb, Philippe; Buijs, Manon; Vossen, Josephina A; Ventura, Veronica Prieto; Geschwind, Jean-Francois H

    2010-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate, in vitro and in vivo, doxorubicin-loaded poly (vinyl alcohol-sodium acrylate) copolymer microspheres [QuadraSphere microspheres (QSMs)] for transcatheter arterial delivery in an animal model of liver cancer. Doxorubicin loading efficiency and release profile were first tested in vitro. In vivo, 15 rabbits, implanted with a Vx-2 tumor in the liver, were divided into three groups of five rabbits each, based on the time of euthanasia. Twenty-five milligrams of QSMs was diluted in 10 ml of a 10 mg/ml doxorubicin solution and 10 ml of nonionic contrast medium for a total volume of 20 ml. One milliliter of a drug-loaded QSM solution containing 5 mg of doxorubicin was injected into the tumor feeding artery. Plasma doxorubicin and doxorubicinol concentrations, and intratumoral and peritumoral doxorubicin tissue concentrations, were measured. Tumor specimens were pathologically evaluated to record tumor necrosis. As a control, one animal was blandly embolized with plain QSMs in each group. In vitro testing of QSM doxorubicin loadability and release over time showed 82-94% doxorubicin loadability within 2 h and 6% release within the first 6 h after loading, followed by a slow release pattern. In vivo, the doxorubicin plasma concentration declined at 40 min. The peak doxorubicin intratumoral concentration was observed at 3 days and remained detectable till the study's end point (7 days). Mean percentage tumor cell death in the doxorubicin QSM group was 90% at 7 days and 60% in the bland QSM embolization group. In conclusion, QSMs can be efficiently loaded with doxorubicin. Initial experiments with doxorubicin-loaded QSMs show a safe pharmacokinetic profile and effective tumor killing in an animal model of liver cancer.

  15. Doxorubicin-Loaded QuadraSphere Microspheres: Plasma Pharmacokinetics and Intratumoral Drug Concentration in an Animal Model of Liver Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kwang-Hun; Liapi, Eleni A.; Cornell, Curt; Reb, Philippe; Buijs, Manon; Vossen, Josephina A.; Ventura, Veronica Prieto; Geschwind, Jean-Francois H.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate, in vitro and in vivo, doxorubicin-loaded poly (vinyl alcohol-sodium acrylate) copolymer microspheres [QuadraSphere microspheres (QSMs)] for transcatheter arterial delivery in an animal model of liver cancer. Doxorubicin loading efficiency and release profile were first tested in vitro. In vivo, 15 rabbits, implanted with a Vx-2 tumor in the liver, were divided into three groups of five rabbits each, based on the time of euthanasia. Twenty-five milligrams of QSMs was diluted in 10 ml of a 10 mg/ml doxorubicin solution and 10 ml of nonionic contrast medium for a total volume of 20 ml. One milliliter of a drug-loaded QSM solution containing 5 mg of doxorubicin was injected into the tumor feeding artery. Plasma doxorubicin and doxorubicinol concentrations, and intratumoral and peritumoral doxorubicin tissue concentrations, were measured. Tumor specimens were pathologically evaluated to record tumor necrosis. As a control, one animal was blandly embolized with plain QSMs in each group. In vitro testing of QSM doxorubicin loadability and release over time showed 82-94% doxorubicin loadability within 2 h and 6% release within the first 6 h after loading, followed by a slow release pattern. In vivo, the doxorubicin plasma concentration declined at 40 min. The peak doxorubicin intratumoral concentration was observed at 3 days and remained detectable till the study's end point (7 days). Mean percentage tumor cell death in the doxorubicin QSM group was 90% at 7 days and 60% in the bland QSM embolization group. In conclusion, QSMs can be efficiently loaded with doxorubicin. Initial experiments with doxorubicin-loaded QSMs show a safe pharmacokinetic profile and effective tumor killing in an animal model of liver cancer.

  16. Ethnobotany and ethnopharmacy--their role for anti-cancer drug development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, Michael; Bremner, Paul

    2006-03-01

    Local and traditional knowledge has been the starting point for many successful drug development projects over the last decades. Here we discuss some examples of anti-cancer drugs which have had enormous impact as anti-cancer agents (camptothecan, taxol and derivatives) and a few examples of drugs currently under various stages of preclinical development. Ethnobotanists investigate the relationship between humans and plants in all its complexity, and such research is generally based on a detailed observation and study of the use a society makes of plants. The requirements of modern research on natural products as, for example, outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio Convention) and the overall approach in ethnobotanical research are also discussed. Selected phytochemical-pharmacological studies based on traditional plant use are used to highlight the potential of ethnobotany driven anti-cancer research. The link between traditionally used plants and targets of the NF-kappaB pathway is discussed using on an EU-funded, multidisciplinary project as an example. Lastly the potential of chemopreventive agents derived from traditional food plants is briefly addressed.

  17. Redox-responsive microbeads containing thiolated pectin-doxorubicin conjugate inhibit tumor growth and metastasis: An in vitro and in vivo study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheewatanakornkool, Kamonrak; Niratisai, Sathit; Dass, Crispin R; Sriamornsak, Pornsak

    2018-07-10

    The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo anticancer efficacy of redox-responsive microbeads containing thiolated pectin-doxorubicin (DOX) conjugate. Oral microbeads were coated with an enteric polymer to protect the drug from release in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and allow redox-triggered drug release in the colon. Morphology, particle size, drug content, and in vitro drug release behavior of the microbeads were characterized; in vitro cytotoxicity was tested on mouse colon carcinoma, human colorectal adenocarcinoma, and human bone osteosarcoma cell lines. In vivo anticancer efficacy of coated microbeads was examined in BALB/c mice with murine colon carcinoma. These coated microbeads significantly inhibited the growth of all cell lines. The in vivo study confirmed delivery of DOX to the colorectal tumor site, redox-responsiveness, and anticancer efficacy of coated microbeads. Coated microbeads also effectively inhibited primary tumor growth and suppressed tumor metastases without gross toxicity to the non-target tissue. No noticeable damage was found in mouse GI tissues, indicating lack of DOX toxicity. These novel coated microbeads containing thiolated pectin-DOX conjugate may be a promising vehicle for targeted clinical delivery of DOX to the colorectal cancer site by oral administration. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Nanostructured surfaces for analysis of anticancer drug and cell diagnosis based on electrochemical and SERS tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Said, Waleed A.; Yoon, Jinho; Choi, Jeong-Woo

    2018-04-01

    Discovering new anticancer drugs and screening their efficacy requires a huge amount of resources and time-consuming processes. The development of fast, sensitive, and nondestructive methods for the in vitro and in vivo detection of anticancer drugs' effects and action mechanisms have been done to reduce the time and resources required to discover new anticancer drugs. For the in vitro and in vivo detection of the efficiency, distribution, and action mechanism of anticancer drugs, the applications of electrochemical techniques such as electrochemical cell chips and optical techniques such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) have been developed based on the nanostructured surface. Research focused on electrochemical cell chips and the SERS technique have been reviewed here; electrochemical cell chips based on nanostructured surfaces have been developed for the in vitro detection of cell viability and the evaluation of the effects of anticancer drugs, which showed the high capability to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of several chemicals at low concentrations. SERS technique based on the nanostructured surface have been used as label-free, simple, and nondestructive techniques for the in vitro and in vivo monitoring of the distribution, mechanism, and metabolism of different anticancer drugs at the cellular level. The use of electrochemical cell chips and the SERS technique based on the nanostructured surface should be good tools to detect the effects and action mechanisms of anticancer drugs.

  19. Anticancer drugs from marine flora: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sithranga Boopathy, N; Kathiresan, K

    2010-01-01

    Marine floras, such as bacteria, actinobacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, microalgae, seaweeds, mangroves, and other halophytes are extremely important oceanic resources, constituting over 90% of the oceanic biomass. They are taxonomically diverse, largely productive, biologically active, and chemically unique offering a great scope for discovery of new anticancer drugs. The marine floras are rich in medicinally potent chemicals predominantly belonging to polyphenols and sulphated polysaccharides. The chemicals have displayed an array of pharmacological properties especially antioxidant, immunostimulatory, and antitumour activities. The phytochemicals possibly activate macrophages, induce apoptosis, and prevent oxidative damage of DNA, thereby controlling carcinogenesis. In spite of vast resources enriched with chemicals, the marine floras are largely unexplored for anticancer lead compounds. Hence, this paper reviews the works so far conducted on this aspect with a view to provide a baseline information for promoting the marine flora-based anticancer research in the present context of increasing cancer incidence, deprived of the cheaper, safer, and potent medicines to challenge the dreadful human disease.

  20. Anticancer Drugs from Marine Flora: An Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Sithranga Boopathy

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Marine floras, such as bacteria, actinobacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, microalgae, seaweeds, mangroves, and other halophytes are extremely important oceanic resources, constituting over 90% of the oceanic biomass. They are taxonomically diverse, largely productive, biologically active, and chemically unique offering a great scope for discovery of new anticancer drugs. The marine floras are rich in medicinally potent chemicals predominantly belonging to polyphenols and sulphated polysaccharides. The chemicals have displayed an array of pharmacological properties especially antioxidant, immunostimulatory, and antitumour activities. The phytochemicals possibly activate macrophages, induce apoptosis, and prevent oxidative damage of DNA, thereby controlling carcinogenesis. In spite of vast resources enriched with chemicals, the marine floras are largely unexplored for anticancer lead compounds. Hence, this paper reviews the works so far conducted on this aspect with a view to provide a baseline information for promoting the marine flora-based anticancer research in the present context of increasing cancer incidence, deprived of the cheaper, safer, and potent medicines to challenge the dreadful human disease.

  1. PEGylated lipid bilayer-wrapped nano-graphene oxides for synergistic co-delivery of doxorubicin and rapamycin to prevent drug resistance in cancers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thapa, Raj Kumar; Byeon, Jeong Hoon; Choi, Han-Gon; Yong, Chul Soon; Kim, Jong Oh

    2017-07-01

    Nano-graphene oxide (nGO) is a carbon allotrope studied for its potential as carrier for chemotherapeutic delivery and its photoablation effects. However, interaction of nGO with blood components and the subsequent toxicities warrant a hybrid system for effective cancer drug delivery. Combination chemotherapy aids in effective cancer treatment and prevention of drug resistance. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to prepare polyethylene glycosylated (PEGylated) lipid bilayer-wrapped nGO co-loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and rapamycin (RAPA), GOLDR, for the prevention and treatment of resistant cancers. Our results revealed a stable GOLDR formulation with appropriate particle size (∼170 nm), polydispersity (∼0.19) and drug loading. Free drug combination (DOX and RAPA) presented synergistic anticancer effects in MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and BT474 cells. Treatment with GOLDR formulation maintained this synergism in treated cancer cells, which was further enhanced by the near infrared (NIR) laser irradiation-induced photothermal effects of nGO. Higher chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation, and enhanced protein expression of apoptosis-related markers (Bax, p53, p21, and c-caspase 3) following GOLDR treatment in the presence of NIR laser treatment clearly suggests its superiority in effective chemo-photothermal therapy of resistant cancers. The hybrid nanosystem that we developed provides a basis for the effective use of GOLDR treatment in the prevention and treatment of resistant cancer types.

  2. Doxorubicin conjugation and drug linker chemistry alter the intravenous and pulmonary pharmacokinetics of a PEGylated Generation 4 polylysine dendrimer in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leong, Nathania J; Mehta, Dharmini; McLeod, Victoria M; Kelly, Brian D; Pathak, Rashmi; Owen, David J; Porter, Christopher Jh; Kaminskas, Lisa M

    2018-05-28

    PEGylated polylysine dendrimers have demonstrated potential as inhalable drug delivery systems that can improve the treatment of lung cancers. Their treatment potential may be enhanced by developing constructs that display prolonged lung retention, together with good systemic absorption, the capacity to passively target lung tumours from the blood and highly selective, yet rapid liberation in the tumour microenvironment. This study sought to characterise how the nature of cathepsin B cleavable peptide linkers, used to conjugate doxorubicin to a PEGylated (PEG570) G4 polylysine dendrimer, affect drug liberation kinetics and intravenous and pulmonary pharmacokinetics in rats. The construct bearing a self-emolative diglycolic acid-V-Citrulline linker exhibited faster doxorubicin release kinetics compared to constructs bearing self emolative diglycolic acid-GLFG, or non-self emolative glutaric acid-GLFG linkers. The V-Citrulline construct exhibited slower plasma clearance, but faster absorption from the lungs than a GLFG construct, although mucociliary clearance and urinary elimination were unchanged. Doxorubicin-conjugation enhanced localisation in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid compared to lung tissue, suggesting that projection of doxorubicin from the dendrimer surface reduced tissue uptake. These data show that the linker chemistry employed to conjugate drugs to PEGylated carriers can affect drug release profiles and systemic and lung disposition. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. The same drug but a different mechanism of action: comparison of free doxorubicin with two different N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide copolymer-bound doxorubicin conjugates in EL-4 cancer cell line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovár, Lubomír; Strohalm, Jirí; Chytil, Petr; Mrkvan, Tomás; Kovár, Marek; Hovorka, Ondrej; Ulbrich, Karel; Ríhová, Blanka

    2007-01-01

    Doxorubicin is one of the most potent anti-tumor drugs with a broad spectrum of use. To reduce its toxic effect and improve its pharmacokinetics, we conjugated it to an HPMA copolymer carrier that enhances its passive accumulation within solid tumors via the EPR effect and decreases its cytotoxicity to normal, noncancer cells. In this study, we compared the antiproliferative, pro-survival, and death signals triggered in EL-4 cancer cells exposed to free doxorubicin and doxorubicin conjugated to a HPMA copolymer carrier via either enzymatically (PK1) or hydrolytically (HYD) degradable bonds. We have previously shown that the intracellular distribution of free doxorubicin, HYD, and PK1 is markedly different. Here, we demonstrated that these three agents greatly differ also in the antiproliferative effect and cell death signals they trigger. JNK phosphorylation sharply increased in cells treated with HYD, while treatment with free doxorubicin moderately decreased and treatment with PK1 even strongly decreased it. On the other hand, treatment with free doxorubicin greatly increased p38 phosphorylation, while PK1 and HYD increased it slightly. PK1 also significantly increased ERK phosphorylation, while both the free doxorubicin and HYD conjugate slightly decreased it. Long-term inhibition of JNK significantly increased both proliferation and viability of EL-4 cells treated with free doxorubicin, showing that the JNK signaling pathway could be critical for mediating cell death in EL-4 cells exposed to free doxorubicin. Both activation of caspase 3 and decreased binding activity of the p50 subunit of NFkappaB were observed in cells treated with free doxorubicin and HYD, while no such effects were seen in cells incubated with PK1. Analysis of the expression of genes involved in apoptosis and regulation of the cell cycle demonstrated that free doxorubicin and HYD have very similar mechanisms of action, while PK1 has very different characteristics.

  4. Discovery of a new function of curcumin which enhances its anticancer therapeutic potency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagahama, Koji; Utsumi, Tomoya; Kumano, Takayuki; Maekawa, Saeko; Oyama, Naho; Kawakami, Junji

    2016-08-01

    Curcumin has received immense attention over the past decades because of its diverse biological activities and recognized as a promising drug candidate in a large number of diseases. However, its clinical application has been hindered due to extremely low aqueous solubility, chemical stability, and cellular uptake. In this study, we discovered quite a new function of curcumin, i.e. pH-responsive endosomal disrupting activity, derived from curcumin’s self-assembly. We selected anticancer activity as an example of biological activities of curcumin, and investigated the contribution of pH-responsive property to its anticancer activity. As a result, we demonstrated that the pH-responsive property significantly enhances the anticancer activity of curcumin. Furthermore, we demonstrated a utility of the pH-responsive property of curcumin as delivery nanocarriers for doxorubicin toward combination cancer therapy. These results clearly indicate that the smart curcumin assemblies act as promising nanoplatform for development of curcumin-based therapeutics.

  5. Liposome-based drug delivery in breast cancer treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, John W

    2002-01-01

    Drug delivery systems can in principle provide enhanced efficacy and/or reduced toxicity for anticancer agents. Long circulating macromolecular carriers such as liposomes can exploit the 'enhanced permeability and retention' effect for preferential extravasation from tumor vessels. Liposomal anthracyclines have achieved highly efficient drug encapsulation, resulting in significant anticancer activity with reduced cardiotoxicity, and include versions with greatly prolonged circulation such as liposomal daunorubicin and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin. Pegylated liposomal doxorubucin has shown substantial efficacy in breast cancer treatment both as monotherapy and in combination with other chemotherapeutics. Additional liposome constructs are being developed for the delivery of other drugs. The next generation of delivery systems will include true molecular targeting; immunoliposomes and other ligand-directed constructs represent an integration of biological components capable of tumor recognition with delivery technologies

  6. Aptamer-Mediated Codelivery of Doxorubicin and NF-κB Decoy Enhances Chemosensitivity of Pancreatic Tumor Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Porciani

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Aptamers able to bind efficiently cell-surface receptors differentially expressed in tumor and in healthy cells are emerging as powerful tools to perform targeted anticancer therapy. Here, we present a novel oligonucleotide chimera, composed by an RNA aptamer and a DNA decoy. Our assembly is able to (i target tumor cells via an antitransferrin receptor RNA aptamer and (ii perform selective codelivery of a chemotherapeutic drug (Doxorubicin and of an inhibitor of a cell-survival factor, the nuclear factor κB decoy oligonucleotide. Both payloads are released under conditions found in endolysosomal compartments (low pH and reductive environment. Targeting and cytotoxicity of the oligonucleotidic chimera were assessed by confocal microscopy, cell viability, and Western blot analysis. These data indicated that the nuclear factor κB decoy does inhibit nuclear factor κB activity and ultimately leads to an increased therapeutic efficacy of Doxorubicin selectively in tumor cells.

  7. Artemisinin–Second Career as Anticancer Drug?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Efferth

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Artemisinin represents a showcase example not only for the activity of medicinal herbs deriving from traditional chinese medicine, but for phytotherapy in general. Its isolation from Sweet Wormwood (qinhao, Artemisia annua L. represents the starting point for an unprecedent success story in the treatment of malaria worldwide. Beyond the therapeutic value against Plasmodium parasites, it turned out in recent years that the bioactivity of artemisinin is not restricted to malaria. We and others found that this sesquiterpenoid also exerts profound anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. Artemisinin-type drugs exert multi-factorial cellular and molecular actions in cancer cells. Ferrous iron reacts with artemisinin, which leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species and ultimately to a plethora anticancer effects of artemisinins, e.g. expression of antioxidant response genes, cell cycle arrest (G1 as well as G2 phase arrests, DNA damage that is repaird by base excision repair, homogous recombination and non-homologous end-joining, as well as different modes of cell death (intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, necroptosis, oncosis, and ferroptosis. Furthermore, artemisinins inhibit neoangiogenesis in tumors. The signaling of major transcription factors (NF-κB, MYC/MAX, AP-1, CREBP, mTOR etc. and signaling pathways are affected by artemisinins (e.g. Wnt/β-catenin pathway, AMPK pathway, metastatic pathways, nitric oxide signaling, and others. Several case reports on the compassionate use of artemisinins as well as clinical Phase I/II pilot studies indicate the clinical activity of artemisinins in veterinary and human cancer patients. Larger scale of Phase II and III clinical studies are required now to further develop artemisinin-type compounds as novel anticancer drugs.

  8. Chitosan capped nanoscale Fe-MIL-88B-NH2 metal-organic framework as drug carrier material for the pH responsive delivery of doxorubicin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivakumar, P.; Priyatharshni, S.; Nagashanmugam, K. B.; Thanigaivelan, A.; Kumar, K.

    2017-08-01

    In recent years nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) are contributing as an effective material for use in drug delivery and imaging applications due to their porous surfaces and easy surface modifications. In this work, Fe-MIL-88B-NH2 NMOFs were successfully synthesized on facile hydrothermal route and 2-aminoterephthalic acid (NH2-BDC) was employed as a bridging ligand to activate amine functional groups on the surface. Amine functional groups not only serve as a structure stabilizing agent but also enhance the loading efficiency of the doxorubicin (DOX) anticancer drug. A pH responsive DOX release was realized by introducing a positively charged chitosan (Chi) capping layer. Upon Chi-coating, cleavage was observed in the Fe-MIL-88B-NH2 structure at acidic pH, while gel-like insoluble structure was formed at basic pH. By utilizing this phenomenon, a pH responsive DOX release system was developed by using Chi capped Fe-MIL-88B-NH2 NMOFs under the designed pH (4.0-8.0). The results suggest the Chi capped Fe-MIL-88B-NH2 can be a promising candidate for future pH responsive drug delivery systems.

  9. Amifostine reduces the seminiferous epithelium damage in doxorubicin-treated prepubertal rats without improving the fertility status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miraglia Sandra M

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Amifostine is an efficient cytoprotector against toxicity caused by some chemotherapeutic drugs. Doxorubicin, a potent anticancer anthracycline, is known to produce spermatogenic damage even in low doses. Although some studies have suggested that amifostine does not confer protection to doxorubicin-induced testicular damage, schedules and age of treatment have different approach depending on the protocol. Thus, we proposed to investigate the potential cytoprotective action of amifostine against the damage provoked by doxorubicin to prepubertal rat testes (30-day-old by assessing some macro and microscopic morphometric parameters 15, 30 and 60 days after the treatment; for fertility evaluation, quantitative analyses of sperm parameters and reproductive competence in the adult phase were also carried out. Methods Thirty-day-old male rats were distributed into four groups: Doxorubicin (5 mg/kg, Amifostine (400 mg/kg, Amifostine/Doxorubicin (amifostine 15 minutes before doxorubicin and Sham Control (0.9% saline solution. "Standard One Way Anova" parametric and "Anova on Ranks" non-parametric tests were applied according to the behavior of the obtained data; significant differences were considered when p Results The rats killed 30 and 60 days after doxorubicin treatment showed diminution of seminiferous epithelium height and reduction on the frequency of tubular sections containing at least one type of differentiated spermatogonia; reduction of sperm concentration and motility and an increase of sperm anomalous forms where observed in doxorubicin-treated animals. All these parameters were improved in the Amifostine/Doxorubicin group only when compared to Doxorubicin group. Such reduction, however, still remained below the values obtained from the Sham Control group. Nevertheless, the reproductive competence of doxorubicin-treated rats was not improved by amifostine pre-administration. Conclusions These results suggest that

  10. Stem cells as anticancer drug carrier to reduce the chemotherapy side effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salehi, Hamideh; Al-Arag, Siham; Middendorp, Elodie; Gergley, Csilla; Cuisinier, Frederic

    2017-02-01

    Chemotherapy used for cancer treatment, due to the lack of specificity of drugs, is associated to various damaging side effects that have severe impact on patients' quality of life. Over the past 30 years, increasing efforts have been placed on optimizing chemotherapy dosing with the main goal of increasing antitumor efficacy while reducing drug-associated toxicity. A novel research shows that stem cells may act as a reservoir for the anticancer agent, which will subsequently release some of the drug's metabolites, or even the drug in its original form, in vicinity of the cancer cells. These cells may play a dual role in controlling drug toxicity depending on their capacity to uptake and release the chemotherapeutic drug. In our study, we show that Dental Pulp Stem Cells DPSCs are able to rapidly uptake Paclitaxel PTX, and to release it in the culture medium in a time-dependent manner. This resulting conditioned culture medium is to be transferred to breast cancer cells, the MCF-7. By applying Confocal Raman Microscopy, the anticancer drug uptake by the MCF-7 was measured. Surprisingly, the cancer cells -without any direct contact with PTX- showed a drug uptake. This proves that the stem cells carried and delivered the anticancer drug without its modification. It could be a revolution in chemotherapy to avoid the drug's side effects and increase its efficacy.

  11. Hydrolytically degradable polymer micelles for anticancer drug delivery to solid tumors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chytil, Petr; Etrych, Tomáš; Kostka, Libor; Ulbrich, Karel

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 213, č. 8 (2012), s. 858-867 ISSN 1022-1352 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAAX00500803; GA ČR GAP301/11/0325 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : HPMA copolymers * drug delivery systems * doxorubicin Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 2.386, year: 2012

  12. Glutamic acid and its derivatives: candidates for rational design of anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Imran; Wani, Waseem A; Haque, Ashanul; Saleem, Kishwar

    2013-05-01

    Throughout the history of human civilizations, cancer has been a major health problem. Its treatment has been interesting but challenging to scientists. Glutamic acid and its derivative glutamine are known to play interesting roles in cancer genesis, hence, it was realized that structurally variant glutamic acid derivatives may be designed and developed and, might be having antagonistic effects on cancer. The present article describes the state-of-art of glutamic acid and its derivatives as anticancer agents. Attempts have been made to explore the effectivity of drug-delivery systems based on glutamic acid for the delivery of anticancer drugs. Moreover, efforts have also been made to discuss the mechanism of action of glutamic acid derivatives as anticancer agents, clinical applications of glutamic acid derivatives, as well as recent developments and future perspectives of glutamic acid drug development have also been discussed.

  13. Injectable Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Formed by Alginate-g-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) That Releases Doxorubicin-Encapsulated Micelles as a Smart Drug Delivery System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Min; Song, Xia; Wen, Yuting; Zhu, Jing-Ling; Li, Jun

    2017-10-18

    In this work, we have synthesized a thermoresponsive copolymer, alginate-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (alginate-g-PNIPAAm) by conjugating PNIPAAm to alginate, where PNIPAAm with different molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distribution was synthesized by atomic transfer radical polymerization. The copolymer dissolved in water or phosphate-buffered saline buffer solution at room temperature and formed self-assembled micelles with low critical micellization concentrations when the temperature increased to above their critical micellization temperatures. At higher concentration, that is, 7.4 wt % in water, the copolymer formed solutions at 25 °C and turned into thermosensitive hydrogels when temperature increased to the body temperature (37 °C). Herein, we hypothesized that the thermoresponsive hydrogels could produce self-assembled micelles with the dissolution of the alginate-g-PNIPAAm hydrogels in a biological fluid or drug release medium. If the drug was hydrophobic, the hydrogel eventually could release and produce drug-encapsulated micelles. In our experiments, we loaded the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) into the alginate-g-PNIPAAm hydrogels and demonstrated that the hydrogels released DOX-encapsulated micelles in a sustained manner. The slowly released DOX-loaded micelles enhanced the cellular uptake of DOX in multidrug resistant AT3B-1 cells, showing the effect of overcoming the drug resistance and achieving better efficiency for killing the cancer cells. Therefore, the injectable thermoresponsive hydrogels formed by alginate-g-PNIPAAm and loaded with DOX turned into a smart drug delivery system, releasing DOX-encapsulated micelles in a sustained manner, showing great potential for overcoming the drug resistance in cancer therapy.

  14. Enhancement of anticancer activity in antineovascular therapy is based on the intratumoral distribution of the active targeting carrier for anticancer drugs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, Noriyuki; Miyazawa, Souichiro; Shimizu, Kosuke; Asai, Tomohiro; Yonezawa, Sei; Oku, Naoto; Kitazawa, Sadaya; Namba, Yukihiro; Tsukada, Hideo

    2006-01-01

    We previously observed the enhanced anticancer efficacy of anticancer drugs encapsulated in Ala-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-polyethyleneglycol-modified liposome (APRPG-PEG-Lip) in tumor-bearing mice, since APRPG peptide was used as an active targeting tool to angiogenic endothelium. This modality, antineovascular therapy (ANET), aims to eradicate tumor cells indirectly through damaging angiogenic vessels. In the present study, we examined the in vivo trafficking of APRPG-PEG-Lip labeled with [2- 18 F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy- D -glucose ([2- 18 F]FDG) by use of positron emission tomography (PET), and observed that the trafficking of this liposome was quite similar to that of non-targeted long-circulating liposome (PEG-Lip). Then, histochemical analysis of intratumoral distribution of both liposomes was performed by use of fluorescence-labeled liposomes. In contrast to in vivo trafficking, intratumoral distribution of both types of liposomes was quite different: APRPG-PEG-Lip was colocalized with angiogenic endothelial cells that were immunohistochemically stained for CD31, although PEG-Lip was localized around the angiogenic vessels. These results strongly suggest that intratumoral distribution of drug carrier is much more important for therapeutic efficacy than the total accumulation of the anticancer drug in the tumor, and that active delivery of anticancer drugs to angiogenic vessels is useful for cancer treatment. (author)

  15. Clinical practice guidelines for translating pharmacogenomic knowledge to bedside. Focus on anticancer drugs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A G Agúndez

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The development of clinical practice recommendations or guidelines for the clinical use of pharmacogenomics data is an essential issue for improving drug therapy, particularly for drugs with high toxicity and/or narrow therapeutic index such as anticancer drugs. Although pharmacogenomic-based recommendations have been formulated for over 40 anticancer drugs, the number of clinical practice guidelines available is very low. The guidelines already published indicate that pharmacogenomic testing is useful for patient selection, but final dosing adjustment should be carried out on the basis of clinical or analytical parameters rather than on pharmacogenomic information.Patient selection may seem a modest objective, but it constitutes a crucial improvement with regard to the pre-pharmacogenomics situation and it saves patients’ lives. However we should not overstate the current power of pharmacogenomics. At present the pharmacogenomics of anticancer drugs is not sufficiently developed for dose adjustments based on pharmacogenomics only, and no current guidelines recommend such adjustments without considering clinical and/or analytical parameters.

  16. Co-delivery of doxorubicin and arsenite with reduction and pH dual-sensitive vesicle for synergistic cancer therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lu; Xiao, Hong; Li, Jingguo; Cheng, Du; Shuai, Xintao

    2016-06-01

    Drug resistance is the underlying cause for therapeutic failure in clinical cancer chemotherapy. A prodrug copolymer mPEG-PAsp(DIP-co-BZA-co-DOX) (PDBD) was synthesized and assembled into a nanoscale vesicle comprising a PEG corona, a reduction and pH dual-sensitive hydrophobic membrane and an aqueous lumen encapsulating doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX.HCl) and arsenite (As). The dual stimulation-sensitive design of the vesicle gave rise to rapid release of the physically entrapped DOX.HCl and arsenite inside acidic lysosomes, and chemically conjugated DOX inside the cytosol with high glutathione (GSH) concentration. In the optimized concentration range, arsenite previously recognized as a promising anticancer agent from traditional Chinese medicine can down-regulate the expressions of anti-apoptotic and multidrug resistance proteins to sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy. Consequently, the DOX-As-co-loaded vesicle demonstrated potent anticancer activity. Compared to the only DOX-loaded vesicle, the DOX-As-co-loaded one induced more than twice the apoptotic ratio of MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells at a low As concentration (0.5 μM), due to the synergistic effects of DOX and As. The drug loading strategy integrating chemical conjugation and physical encapsulation in stimulation-sensitive carriers enabled efficient drug loading in the formulation.Drug resistance is the underlying cause for therapeutic failure in clinical cancer chemotherapy. A prodrug copolymer mPEG-PAsp(DIP-co-BZA-co-DOX) (PDBD) was synthesized and assembled into a nanoscale vesicle comprising a PEG corona, a reduction and pH dual-sensitive hydrophobic membrane and an aqueous lumen encapsulating doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX.HCl) and arsenite (As). The dual stimulation-sensitive design of the vesicle gave rise to rapid release of the physically entrapped DOX.HCl and arsenite inside acidic lysosomes, and chemically conjugated DOX inside the cytosol with high glutathione (GSH) concentration. In the

  17. Roles of oxidative stress and Akt signaling in doxorubicin cardiotoxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ichihara, Sahoko; Yamada, Yoshiji; Kawai, Yoshichika; Osawa, Toshihiko; Furuhashi, Koichi; Duan Zhiwen; Ichihara, Gaku

    2007-01-01

    Cardiotoxicity is a treatment-limiting side effect of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). We have now investigated the roles of oxidative stress and signaling by the protein kinase Akt in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity as well as the effects on such toxicity both of fenofibrate, an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α, and of polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD), an antioxidant. Mice injected intraperitoneally with DOX were treated for 4 days with fenofibrate or PEG-SOD. Fenofibrate and PEG-SOD each prevented the induction of cardiac dysfunction by DOX. Both drugs also inhibited the activation of the transcription factor NF-κB and increase in lipid peroxidation in the left ventricle induced by DOX, whereas only PEG-SOD inhibited the DOX-induced activation of Akt and Akt-regulated gene expression. These results suggest that fenofibrate and PEG-SOD prevented cardiac dysfunction induced by DOX through normalization of oxidative stress and redox-regulated NF-κB signaling

  18. Nanoparticle-mediated combination chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy overcomes tumor drug resistance in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khdair, Ayman; Handa, Hitesh; Mao, Guangzhao; Panyam, Jayanth

    2009-02-01

    Drug resistance limits the success of many anticancer drugs. Reduced accumulation of the drug at its intracellular site of action because of overexpression of efflux transporters such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a major mechanism of drug resistance. In this study, we investigated whether photodynamic therapy (PDT) using methylene blue, also a P-gp inhibitor, can be used to enhance doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in drug-resistant tumor cells. Aerosol OT (AOT)-alginate nanoparticles were used as a carrier for the simultaneous cellular delivery of doxorubicin and methylene blue. Methylene blue was photoactivated using light of 665 nm wavelength. Induction of apoptosis and necrosis following treatment with combination chemotherapy and PDT was investigated in drug-resistant NCI/ADR-RES cells using flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Effect of encapsulation in nanoparticles on the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin and methylene blue was investigated qualitatively using fluorescence microscopy and was quantitated using HPLC. Encapsulation in AOT-alginate nanoparticles significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of combination therapy in resistant tumor cells. Nanoparticle-mediated combination therapy resulted in a significant induction of both apoptosis and necrosis. Improvement in cytotoxicity could be correlated with enhanced intracellular and nuclear delivery of the two drugs. Further, nanoparticle-mediated combination therapy resulted in significantly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production compared to single drug treatment. In conclusion, nanoparticle-mediated combination chemotherapy and PDT using doxorubicin and methylene blue was able to overcome resistance mechanisms and resulted in improved cytotoxicity in drug-resistant tumor cells.

  19. Biodegradable protein-based rockets for drug transportation and light-triggered release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhiguang; Lin, Xiankun; Zou, Xian; Sun, Jianmin; He, Qiang

    2015-01-14

    We describe a biodegradable, self-propelled bovine serum albumin/poly-l-lysine (PLL/BSA) multilayer rocket as a smart vehicle for efficient anticancer drug encapsulation/delivery to cancer cells and near-infrared light controlled release. The rockets were constructed by a template-assisted layer-by-layer assembly of the PLL/BSA layers, followed by incorporation of a heat-sensitive gelatin hydrogel containing gold nanoparticles, doxorubicin, and catalase. These rockets can rapidly deliver the doxorubicin to the targeted cancer cell with a speed of up to 68 μm/s, through a combination of biocatalytic bubble propulsion and magnetic guidance. The photothermal effect of the gold nanoparticles under NIR irradiation enable the phase transition of the gelatin hydrogel for rapid release of the loaded doxorubicin and efficient killing of the surrounding cancer cells. Such biodegradable and multifunctional protein-based microrockets provide a convenient and efficient platform for the rapid delivery and controlled release of therapeutic drugs.

  20. Photoresponsive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for controlled doxorubicin release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Cuiping; Wu, Ming; Zhang, Cecheng; Lin, Xinyi; Wei, Zuwu; Zheng, Youshi; Zhang, Da; Zhang, Zhenxi; Liu, Xiaolong

    2017-06-01

    Currently, photoresponsive nanomaterials are particularly attractive due to their spatial and temporal controlled drug release abilities. In this work, we report a photoresponsive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle for remote controlled delivery of anticancer drugs. This hybrid nanoparticle comprises three distinct functional components: (i) a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) core to encapsulate doxorubicin; (ii) a soybean lecithin monolayer at the interface of the core and shell to act as a molecular fence to prevent drug leakage; (iii) a photoresponsive polymeric shell with anti-biofouling properties to enhance nanoparticle stability, which could be detached from the nanoparticle to trigger the drug release via a decrease in the nanoparticle’s stability under light irradiation. In vitro results revealed that this core-shell nanoparticle had excellent light-controlled drug release behavior (76% release with light irradiation versus 10% release without light irradiation). The confocal microscopy and flow cytometry results also further demonstrated the light-controlled drug release behavior inside the cancer cells. Furthermore, a CCK8 assay demonstrated that light irradiation could significantly improve the efficiency of killing cancer cells. Meanwhile, whole-animal fluorescence imaging of a tumor-bearing mouse also confirmed that light irradiation could trigger drug release in vivo. Taken together, our data suggested that a hybrid nanoparticle could be a novel light controlled drug delivery system for cancer therapy.

  1. Anticancer Drugs from Marine Flora: An Overview

    OpenAIRE

    Sithranga Boopathy, N.; Kathiresan, K.

    2010-01-01

    Marine floras, such as bacteria, actinobacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, microalgae, seaweeds, mangroves, and other halophytes are extremely important oceanic resources, constituting over 90% of the oceanic biomass. They are taxonomically diverse, largely productive, biologically active, and chemically unique offering a great scope for discovery of new anticancer drugs. The marine floras are rich in medicinally potent chemicals predominantly belonging to polyphenols and sulphated polysaccharide...

  2. Recent Progress in Functional Micellar Carriers with Intrinsic Therapeutic Activities for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Ying; Chu, BingYang; Shi, Kun; Peng, JinRong; Qian, ZhiYong

    2017-12-01

    Polymeric micelles have presented superior delivery properties for poorly water-soluble chemotherapeutic agents. However, it remains discouraging that there may be some additional short or long-term toxicities caused by the metabolites of high quantities of carriers. If carriers had simultaneous therapeutic effects with the drug, these issues would not be a concern. For this, carriers not only simply act as drug carriers, but also exert an intrinsic therapeutic effect as a therapeutic agent. The functional micellar carriers would be beneficial to maximize the anticancer effect, overcome the drug resistance and reduce the systemic toxicity. In this review, we aim to summarize the recent progress on the development of functional micellar carriers with intrinsic anticancer activities for the delivery of anticancer drugs. This review focuses on the design strategies, properties of carriers and the drug loading behavior. In addition, the combinational therapeutic effects between carriers and chemotherapeutic agents are also discussed.

  3. Synergistic effect of pyrazoles derivatives and doxorubicin in claudin-low breast cancer subtype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saueressig, Silvia; Tessmann, Josiane; Mastelari, Rosiane; da Silva, Liziane Pereira; Buss, Julieti; Segatto, Natalia Vieira; Begnini, Karine Rech; Pacheco, Bruna; de Pereira, Cláudio Martin Pereira; Collares, Tiago; Seixas, Fabiana Kömmling

    2018-02-01

    Breast cancer is a global public health problem. For some subtypes, such as Claudin-low, the prognosis is poorer and the treatment is still a challenge. Pyrazoles are an important class of heterocyclic compounds and are promising anticancer agents based on their chemical properties. The present study was aimed not only at testing pyrazoles previously prepared by our research group in two breast cancer cell lines characterized by intermediated response to conventional chemotherapy but also at analyzing the possible synergistic effect of these pyrazoles associated with doxorubicin. Four 1-thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diaryl-4,5-dihydro-1H pyrazoles were tested for the first time in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 culture cells. The pyrazoles with best results in cytotoxicity were used in combination with doxorubicin and compared with this drug alone as standard. The synergic effect was analyzed using Combination Index method. In addition, cell death and apoptosis assays were carried out. Two pyrazoles with cytotoxic effect in MCF-7 and especially in MDA-MB-231 were identified. This activity was markedly higher in pyrazoles containing bromine and chlorine substituents. The combination of these pyrazoles with doxorubicin had a significant synergic effect in both cells tested and mainly in MDA-MB-231. These data were confirmed with apoptosis and cell death analysis. The synergic effect observed with combination of these pyrazoles and doxorubicin deserves special attention in Claudin-low breast cancer subtype. This should be explored in order to improve treatment results and minimize side effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. Multifunctional polymersomes for cytosolic delivery of gemcitabine and doxorubicin to cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahire, Rahul; Haldar, Manas K; Paul, Shirshendu; Ambre, Avinash H; Meghnani, Varsha; Layek, Buddhadev; Katti, Kalpana S; Gange, Kara N; Singh, Jagdish; Sarkar, Kausik; Mallik, Sanku

    2014-08-01

    Although liposomes are widely used as carriers of drugs and imaging agents, they suffer from a lack of stability and the slow release of the encapsulated contents at the targeted site. Polymersomes (vesicles of amphiphilic polymers) are considerably more stable compared to liposomes; however, they also demonstrate a slow release for the encapsulated contents, limiting their efficacy as a drug-delivery tool. As a solution, we prepared and characterized echogenic polymersomes, which are programmed to release the encapsulated drugs rapidly when incubated with cytosolic concentrations of glutathione. These vesicles encapsulated air bubbles inside and efficiently reflected diagnostic-frequency ultrasound. Folate-targeted polymersomes showed an enhanced uptake by breast and pancreatic-cancer cells in a monolayer as well as in three-dimensional spheroid cultures. Polymersomes encapsulated with the anticancer drugs gemcitabine and doxorubicin showed significant cytotoxicity to these cells. With further improvements, these vesicles hold the promise to serve as multifunctional nanocarriers, offering a triggered release as well as diagnostic ultrasound imaging. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Biodistribution of doxorubicin and nanostructured ferrocarbon carrier particles in organism during magnetically controlled drug delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuznetsov, Anatoly A.; Filippov, Victor I.; Nikolskaya, Tatiana A. [Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin St. 4, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Budko, Andrei P. [Oncological Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Kovarskii, Alexander L. [Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin St. 4, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Zontov, Sergei V. [Oncological Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation); Kogan, Boris Ya. [Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin St. 4, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Kuznetsov, Oleg A. [Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin St. 4, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation)], E-mail: kuznetsov_oa@yahoo.com

    2009-05-15

    Biodistribution of doxorubicin and ferrocarbon carrier particles in organism during and after magnetically controlled anti-tumor drug delivery and deposition was studied. Animal tests show high concentration of the cytostatic drug in the target zone, while its concentration is three orders of magnitude lower in bloodstream and other organs. A significant depot of the drug remains on the deposited particles days after the procedure. Macrophages actively phagocytose the ferrocarbon (FeC) particles and remain viable long enough to carry them to the lymph nodes.

  6. Biodistribution of doxorubicin and nanostructured ferrocarbon carrier particles in organism during magnetically controlled drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuznetsov, Anatoly A.; Filippov, Victor I.; Nikolskaya, Tatiana A.; Budko, Andrei P.; Kovarskii, Alexander L.; Zontov, Sergei V.; Kogan, Boris Ya.; Kuznetsov, Oleg A.

    2009-01-01

    Biodistribution of doxorubicin and ferrocarbon carrier particles in organism during and after magnetically controlled anti-tumor drug delivery and deposition was studied. Animal tests show high concentration of the cytostatic drug in the target zone, while its concentration is three orders of magnitude lower in bloodstream and other organs. A significant depot of the drug remains on the deposited particles days after the procedure. Macrophages actively phagocytose the ferrocarbon (FeC) particles and remain viable long enough to carry them to the lymph nodes.

  7. Nanotech revolution for the anti-cancer drug delivery through blood-brain barrier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caraglia, M; De Rosa, G; Salzano, G; Santini, D; Lamberti, M; Sperlongano, P; Lombardi, A; Abbruzzese, A; Addeo, R

    2012-03-01

    Nanotechnology-based drug delivery was born as a chance for pharmaceutical weapons to be delivered in the body sites where drug action is required. Specifically, the incorporation of anti-cancer agents in nanodevices of 100-300 nm allows their delivery in tissues that have a fenestrated vasculature and a reduced lymphatic drainage. These two features are typical of neoplastic tissues and, therefore, allow the accumulation of nanostructured devices in tumours. An important issue of anti-cancer pharmacological strategies is the overcoming of anatomical barriers such as the bloodbrain- barrier (BBB) that protects brain from toxicological injuries but, at the same time, makes impossible for most of the pharmacological agents with anti-cancer activity to reach tumour cells placed in the brain and derived from either primary tumours or metastases. In fact, only highly lipophilic molecules can passively diffuse through BBB to reach central nervous system (CNS). Another possibility is to use nanotechnological approaches as powerful tools to across BBB, by both prolonging the plasma half-life of the drugs and crossing fenestrations of BBB damaged by brain metastases. Moreover, modifications of nanocarrier surface with specific endogenous or exogenous ligands can promote the crossing of intact BBB as in the case of primary brain tumours. This aim can be achieved through the binding of the nanodevices to carriers or receptors expressed by the endothelial cells of BBB and that can favour the internalization of the nanostructured devices delivering anti-cancer drugs. This review summarizes the most meaningful advances in the field of nanotechnologies for brain delivery of drugs.

  8. P-glycoprotein inhibition of drug resistant cell lines by nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Manu Smriti; Lamprecht, Alf

    2016-01-01

    Several pharmaceutical excipients are known for their ability to interact with cell membrane lipids and reverse the phenomenon of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer. Interestingly, many excipients act as stabilizers and are key ingredients in a variety of nano-formulations. In this study, representatives of ionic and non-ionic excipients were used as surface active agents in nanoparticle (NP) formulations to utilize their MDR reversing potential. In-vitro assays were performed to elucidate particle-cell interaction and accumulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates-rhodamine-123 and calcein AM, in highly drug resistant glioma cell lines. Chemosensitization achieved using NPs and their equivalent dose of free excipients was assessed with the co-administered anti-cancer drug doxorubicin. Among the excipients used, non-ionic surfactant, Cremophor® EL, and cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonuium bromide (CTAB), demonstrated highest P-gp modulatory activity in both free solution form (up to 7-fold lower IC50) and as a formulation (up to 4.7-fold lower IC50) as compared to doxorubicin treatment alone. Solutol® HS15 and Tween® 80 exhibited considerable chemosensitization as free solution but not when incorporated into a formulation. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-based nanocarriers resulted in slightly improved cytotoxicity. Overall, the results highlight and envisage the usage of excipient in nano-formulations in a bid to improve chemosensitization of drug resistant cancer cells towards anti-cancer drugs.

  9. Amphipathic dextran-doxorubicin prodrug micelles for solid tumor therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Rong; Guo, Xuelian; Dong, Lingli; Xie, Enyuan; Cao, Aoneng

    2017-10-01

    A group of micelles self-assembled from deoxycholic acid-doxorubicin-conjugated dextran (denoted as Dex-DCA-DOX) prodrugs were designed and prepared for pH-triggered drug release and cancer chemotherapy. These prodrugs could be successfully produced by chemically coupling hydrophobic deoxycholic acid (DCA) to dextran hydrazine (denoted as Dex-NHNH 2 ) and hydrazone linker formation between doxorubicin (DOX) and Dex-NHNH 2 . These Dex-DCA-DOX prodrugs self-assembled to form micelles under physiological conditions with varied particle sizes depending on molecular weight of dextran, degree of substitution (DS) of DCA and DOX. After optimization, Dex10k-DCA9-DOX5.5 conjugate comprising dextran of 10kDa, DCA of DS 9 and DOX loading content of 5.5wt%, formed the micelles with the smallest size (110nm). These prodrug micelles could slowly liberate DOX under physiological conditions but efficiently released the drug at an acidified endosomal pH by the hydrolysis of acid-labile hydrazone linker. In vitro cytotoxicity experiment indicated that Dex10k-DCA9-DOX5.5 micelles exerted marked antitumor activity against MCF-7 and SKOV-3 cancer cells. Besides, intravenous administration of the micelles afforded growth inhibition of SKOV-3 tumor bearing in nude mice at a dosage of 2.5mg per kg with anti-cancer efficacy comparable to free DOX-chemotherapy but low systemic toxicity. This study highlights the feasibility of bio-safe and efficient dextran-based prodrug micelles designed for cancer chemotherapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Screening of potent anticancer drug taxol from Entophytic fungus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Muthumary

    2011-02-21

    Feb 21, 2011 ... Isolation and detection of taxol, an anticancer drug produced from ... cancer cell line, taxol produced by the test fungus in MID culture medium was isolated for its .... then plotted on a graph. RESULTS AND ... Wavelength (nm).

  11. Current trends in the use of vitamin E-based micellar nanocarriers for anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muddineti, Omkara Swami; Ghosh, Balaram; Biswas, Swati

    2017-06-01

    Owing to the complexity of cancer pathogenesis, conventional chemotherapy can be an inadequate method of killing cancer cells effectively. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have been widely exploited pre-clinically in recent years. Areas covered: Incorporation of vitamin-E in nanocarriers have the advantage of (1) improving the hydrophobicity of the drug delivery system, thereby improving the solubility of the loaded poorly soluble anticancer drugs, (2) enhancing the biocompatibility of the polymeric drug carriers, and (3) improving the anticancer potential of the chemotherapeutic agents by reversing the cellular drug resistance via simultaneous administration. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin E demonstrated its anticancer potential by inducing apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. Various vitamin E analogs have proven their ability to cause marked inhibition of drug efflux transporters. Expert opinion: The review discusses the potential of incorporating vitamin E in the polymeric micelles which are designed to carry poorly water-soluble anticancer drugs. Current applications of various vitamin E-based polymeric micelles with emphasis on the use of α-tocopherol, D-α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS) and its conjugates such as D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol-succinate (TPGS) in micellar system is delineated. Advantages of utilizing polymeric micelles for drug delivery and the challenges to treat cancer, including multiple drug resistance have been discussed.

  12. Protolichesterinic acid enhances doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brisdelli, Fabrizia; Perilli, Mariagrazia; Sellitri, Doriana; Bellio, Pierangelo; Bozzi, Argante; Amicosante, Gianfranco; Nicoletti, Marcello; Piovano, Marisa; Celenza, Giuseppe

    2016-08-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of protolichesterinic acid, a lichen secondary metabolite, on anti-proliferative activity of doxorubicin in three human cancer cell lines, HeLa, SH-SY5Y and K562 cells. The data obtained from MTT assays, performed on cells treated with protolichesterinic acid and doxorubicin alone and in combination, were analysed by the median-effect method as proposed by Chou and Talalay and the Bliss independence model. Apoptosis rate was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy, caspase-3, 8 and 9 activities were detected by spectrofluorimetric analysis and protein expression of Bim, Bid, Bax and Mcl-2 was analysed by Western blotting. The interaction of protolichesterinic acid with thioesterase domain of human fatty acid synthase (hFAS) was investigated by a molecular docking study. The in vitro activity of doxorubicin against HeLa cancer cell line, but not against SH-SY5Y and K562 cells, was synergically increased by protolichesterinic acid. The increased cytotoxicity caused by protolichesterinic acid in HeLa cells was due to a pro-apoptotic effect and was associated to caspase-3, 8 and 9 activation. The simultaneous treatment for 24h with protolichesterinic acid plus doxorubicin caused an increase of Bim protein expression and the appearance of cleaved form of Bid protein. The molecular modelling analysis showed that protolichesterinic acid seemed to behave as a competitive inhibitor of hFAS. These results suggest that protolichesterinic acid could be envisaged as an useful tool against certain types of tumor cells in combination with anticancer drugs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Isolation and characterization of an anticancer catechol compound from Semecarpus anacardium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, P K Raveedran; Melnick, Steven J; Wnuk, Stanislaw F; Rapp, Magdalena; Escalon, Enrique; Ramachandran, Cheppail

    2009-04-21

    The fruits and seeds of Semecarpus anacardium are used widely for the treatment of human cancers and other diseases in the Ayurvedic and Sidda systems of medicine in India. The principal aim of this investigation was to isolate and characterize the anticancer compound from the kernel of Semecarpus anacardium nut. The bioactivity-tailored isolation and detailed chemical characterization were used to identify the active compound. Cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest as well as synergism between the identified anticancer compound and doxorubicin in human tumor cell lines were analyzed. GC/MS, IR, proton NMR, carbon NMR and collisionally induced dissociation (CID) spectra analysis showed that the isolated active compound is 3-(8'(Z),11'(Z)-pentadecadienyl) catechol (SA-3C). SA-3C is cytotoxic to tumor cell lines with IC(50) values lower than doxorubicin and even multidrug resistant tumor cell lines were equally sensitive to SA-3C. SA-3C induced apoptosis in human leukemia cell lines in a dose-dependent manner and showed synergistic cytotoxicity with doxorubicin. The cell cycle arrest induced by SA-3C at S- and G(2)/M-phases correlated with inhibition of checkpoint kinases. SA-3C isolated from the kernel of Semecarpus anacardium can be developed as an important anticancer agent for single agent and/or multiagent cancer therapy.

  14. Anticancer Drugs Targeting the Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Rohlena, Jakub; Dong, L.-F.; Ralph, S.J.; Neužil, Jiří

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 15, č. 12 (2011), s. 2951-2974 ISSN 1523-0864 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) KAN200520703 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50520701 Keywords : Targets for anticancer drugs * mitochondrial electron transport chain * mitocans Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 8.456, year: 2011

  15. Robust prediction of anti-cancer drug sensitivity and sensitivity-specific biomarker.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heewon Park

    Full Text Available The personal genomics era has attracted a large amount of attention for anti-cancer therapy by patient-specific analysis. Patient-specific analysis enables discovery of individual genomic characteristics for each patient, and thus we can effectively predict individual genetic risk of disease and perform personalized anti-cancer therapy. Although the existing methods for patient-specific analysis have successfully uncovered crucial biomarkers, their performance takes a sudden turn for the worst in the presence of outliers, since the methods are based on non-robust manners. In practice, clinical and genomic alterations datasets usually contain outliers from various sources (e.g., experiment error, coding error, etc. and the outliers may significantly affect the result of patient-specific analysis. We propose a robust methodology for patient-specific analysis in line with the NetwrokProfiler. In the proposed method, outliers in high dimensional gene expression levels and drug response datasets are simultaneously controlled by robust Mahalanobis distance in robust principal component space. Thus, we can effectively perform for predicting anti-cancer drug sensitivity and identifying sensitivity-specific biomarkers for individual patients. We observe through Monte Carlo simulations that the proposed robust method produces outstanding performances for predicting response variable in the presence of outliers. We also apply the proposed methodology to the Sanger dataset in order to uncover cancer biomarkers and predict anti-cancer drug sensitivity, and show the effectiveness of our method.

  16. Doxorubicin loaded PVA coated iron oxide nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kayal, S.; Ramanujan, R.V.

    2010-01-01

    Magnetic drug targeting is a drug delivery system that can be used in locoregional cancer treatment. Coated magnetic particles, called carriers, are very useful for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs. Magnetic carriers were synthesized by coprecipitation of iron oxide followed by coating with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction, TEM, TGA, FTIR and VSM techniques. The magnetic core of the carriers was magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ), with average size of 10 nm. The room temperature VSM measurements showed that magnetic particles were superparamagnetic. The amount of PVA bound to the iron oxide nanoparticles were estimated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the attachment of PVA to the iron oxide nanoparticles was confirmed by FTIR analysis. Doxorubicin (DOX) drug loading and release profiles of PVA coated iron oxide nanoparticles showed that up to 45% of adsorbed drug was released in 80 h, the drug release followed the Fickian diffusion-controlled process. The binding of DOX to the PVA was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The present findings show that DOX loaded PVA coated iron oxide nanoparticles are promising for magnetically targeted drug delivery.

  17. Fungal Anticancer Metabolites: Synthesis Towards Drug Discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbero, Margherita; Artuso, Emma; Prandi, Cristina

    2018-01-01

    Fungi are a well-known and valuable source of compounds of therapeutic relevance, in particular of novel anticancer compounds. Although seldom obtainable through isolation from the natural source, the total organic synthesis still remains one of the most efficient alternatives to resupply them. Furthermore, natural product total synthesis is a valuable tool not only for discovery of new complex biologically active compounds but also for the development of innovative methodologies in enantioselective organic synthesis. We undertook an in-depth literature searching by using chemical bibliographic databases (SciFinder, Reaxys) in order to have a comprehensive insight into the wide research field. The literature has been then screened, refining the obtained results by subject terms focused on both biological activity and innovative synthetic procedures. The literature on fungal metabolites has been recently reviewed and these publications have been used as a base from which we consider the synthetic feasibility of the most promising compounds, in terms of anticancer properties and drug development. In this paper, compounds are classified according to their chemical structure. This review summarizes the anticancer potential of fungal metabolites, highlighting the role of total synthesis outlining the feasibility of innovative synthetic procedures that facilitate the development of fungal metabolites into drugs that may become a real future perspective. To our knowledge, this review is the first effort to deal with the total synthesis of these active fungi metabolites and demonstrates that total chemical synthesis is a fruitful means of yielding fungal derivatives as aided by recent technological and innovative advancements. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  18. Specific Conjugation of the Hinge Region for Homogeneous Preparation of Antibody Fragment-Drug Conjugate: A Case Study for Doxorubicin-PEG-anti-CD20 Fab' Synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhan; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Yan; Ma, Guanghui; Su, Zhiguo

    2016-01-20

    Conventional preparation strategies for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) result in heterogeneous products with various molecular sizes and species. In this study, we developed a homogeneous preparation strategy by site-specific conjugation of the anticancer drug with an antibody fragment. The model drug doxorubicin (DOX) was coupled to the Fab' fragment of anti-CD20 IgG at its permissive sites through a heterotelechelic PEG linker, generating an antibody fragment-drug conjugate (AFDC). Anti-CD20 IgG was digested and reduced specifically with β-mercaptoethylamine to generate the Fab' fragment with two free mercapto groups in its hinge region. Meanwhile, DOX was conjugated with α-succinimidylsuccinate ω-maleimide polyethylene glycol (NHS-PEG-MAL) to form MAL-PEG-DOX, which was subsequently linked to the free mercapto containing Fab' fragment to form a Fab'-PEG-DOX conjugate. The dual site-specific bioconjugation was achieved through the combination of highly selective reduction of IgG and introduction of heterotelechelic PEG linker. The resulting AFDC provides an utterly homogeneous product, with a definite ratio of one fragment to two drugs. Laser confocal microscopy and cell ELISA revealed that the AFDC could accumulate in the antigen-positive Daudi tumor cell. In addition, the Fab'-PEG-DOX retained appreciable targeting ability and improved antitumor activity, demonstrating an excellent therapeutic effect on the lymphoma mice model for better cure rate and significantly reduced side effects.

  19. Exploration of a Doxorubicin-Polymer Conjugate in Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticle Drug Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lough, Emily

    Nanoparticle (NP) drug delivery is a major focus in the research community because of its potential to use existing drugs in safer and more effective ways. Chemotherapy encapsulation in NPs shields the drug from the rest of the body while it is within the NP, with less systemic exposure leading to fewer off-target effects of the drug. However, passive loading of drugs into NPs is a suboptimal method, often leading to burst release upon administration. This work explores the impact of incorporating the drug-polymer conjugate doxorubicin-poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (Dox-PLGA) into a lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle (LPN). The primary difference in using a drug-polymer conjugate for NP drug delivery is the drug's release kinetics. Dox-PLGA LPNs showed a more sustained and prolonged release profile over 28 days compared to LPNs with passively loaded, unconjugated doxorubicin. This sustained release translates to cytotoxicity; when systemic circulation was simulated using dialysis, Dox-PLGA LPNs retained their cytotoxicity at a higher level than the passively loaded LPNs. The in vivo implication of preserving cytotoxic potency through a slower release profile is that the majority of Dox delivered via Dox-PLGA LPNs will be kept within the LPN until it reaches the tumor. This will result in fewer systemic side effects and more effective treatments given the higher drug concentration at the tumor site. An intriguing clinical application of this drug delivery approach lies in using Dox-PLGA LPNs to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The incorporation of Dox-PLGA is hypothesized to have a protective effect on the BBB as its slow release profile will prevent drug from harming the BBB. Using induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated to human brain microvascular endothelial cells that comprise the BBB, the Dox-PLGA LPNs were shown to be less destructive to the BBB than their passively loaded counterparts. Dox-PLGA LPNs showed superior cytotoxicity against plated tumor

  20. INFLUENCE OF DOXORUBICIN ON ADHESIVE PROPERTIES OF E.COLI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.G. Shapoval

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Influence ofantineoplastic drug doxorubicin and amikacin, the aminoglycoside family on adhesive activity of Escherichia coli was studied. Antimicrobialactivity(minimum inhibitory concentration-MIC ofboth drugs against experimental strains using serial two-fold dilution method was determined. Susceptibility of E.coli to amikacin in the presence of Sand j MIC doxorubicin was studied. After 10 passages in beef-extract broth with constant and increasing doxorubicin concentrations in the presence of Sand j MIC doxorubicin, the adhesive activity of initial and passage variants according to theirability to absorb human erythrocytes 1(0 Rh+ was determined. Itwas observed that experimental strains were susceptible to amikacin (MIC 1,5-6,2 mkg/ml butwere resistantto doxorubicin (MIC 1000 mkg/ml. Subinhibitory concentrations of this cytostatic (S and j MIC raised the sensitivity of experimental strains to amikacin and differently effected on adhesive activity of passage variants of E.coli.

  1. International comparison of the factors influencing reimbursement of targeted anti-cancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Carol Sunghye; Lee, Yun-Gyoo; Koh, Youngil; Heo, Dae Seog

    2014-11-29

    Reimbursement policies for anti-cancer drugs vary among countries even though they rely on the same clinical evidence. We compared the pattern of publicly funded drug programs and analyzed major factors influencing the differences. We investigated reimbursement policies for 19 indications with targeted anti-cancer drugs that are used variably across ten countries. The available incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) data were retrieved for each indication. Based on the comparison between actual reimbursement decisions and the ICERs, we formulated a reimbursement adequacy index (RAI): calculating the proportion of cost-effective decisions, either reimbursement of cost-effective indications or non-reimbursement of cost-ineffective indications, out of the total number of indications for each country. The relationship between RAI and other indices were analyzed, including governmental dependency on health technology assessment, as well as other parameters for health expenditure. All the data used in this study were gathered from sources publicly available online. Japan and France were the most likely to reimburse indications (16/19), whereas Sweden and the United Kingdom were the least likely to reimburse them (5/19 and 6/19, respectively). Indications with high cost-effectiveness values were more likely to be reimbursed (ρ = -0.68, P = 0.001). The three countries with high RAI scores each had a healthcare system that was financed by general taxation. Although reimbursement policies for anti-cancer drugs vary among countries, we found a strong correlation of reimbursements for those indications with lower ICERs. Countries with healthcare systems financed by general taxation demonstrated greater cost-effectiveness as evidenced by reimbursement decisions of anti-cancer drugs.

  2. Fabrication of doxorubicin nanoparticles by controlled antisolvent precipitation for enhanced intracellular delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Yu Tong; To, Kenneth Kin Wah; Chow, Albert Hee Lum

    2016-03-01

    Over-expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters is one of the most important mechanisms responsible for multidrug resistance. Here, we aimed to develop a stable polymeric nanoparticle system by flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) for enhanced anticancer drug delivery into drug resistant cancer cells. As an antisolvent precipitation process, FNP works best for highly lipophilic solutes (logP>6). Thus we also aimed to evaluate the applicability of FNP to drugs with relatively low lipophilicity (logP=1-2). To this end, doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline anticancer agent and a P-gp substrate with a logP of 1.3, was selected as a model drug for the assessment. DOX was successfully incorporated into the amphiphilic diblock copolymer, polyethylene glycol-b-polylactic acid (PEG-b-PLA), by FNP using a four-stream multi-inlet vortex mixer. Optimization of key processing parameters and co-formulation with the co-stabilizer, polyvinylpyrrolidone, yielded highly stable, roughly spherical DOX-loaded PEG-b-PLA nanoparticles (DOX.NP) with mean particle size below 100nm, drug loading up to 14%, and drug encapsulation efficiency up to 49%. DOX.NP exhibited a pH-dependent drug release profile with higher cumulative release rate at acidic pHs. Surface analysis of DOX.NP by XPS revealed an absence of DOX on the particle surface, indicative of complete drug encapsulation. While there were no significant differences in cytotoxic effect on P-gp over-expressing LCC6/MDR cell line between DOX.NP and free DOX in buffered aqueous media, DOX.NP exhibited a considerably higher cellular uptake and intracellular retention after efflux. The apparent lack of cytotoxicity enhancement with DOX.NP may be attributable to its slow DOX release inside the cells. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Cytotoxicity and inhibitory properties against topoisomerase II of doxorubicin and its formamidine derivatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kik, Krzysztof; Studzian, Kazimierz; Wasowska-Łukawska, Małgorzata; Oszczapowicz, Irena; Szmigiero, Leszek

    2009-01-01

    This work was undertaken to compare cytotoxicity, DNA damaging properties and effect on DNA cleavage by topoisomerase II of the anthracycline drug doxorubicin (DOX) and its two derivatives with a formamidino group containing a cyclic amine moiety such as morpholine (DOXM) or hexamethyleneimine (DOXH). The tetrazolium dye colorimetric assay was used to determine the cytotoxic activity of anthracyclines toward L1210 leukemia cells. DNA damage was measured by alkaline elution technique. The effect of anthracyclines on DNA cleavage was studied in a cell-free system containing supercoiled pBR322 DNA and purified human topoisomerase II. The cytotoxicity data and the results of studies on the mechanism of DNA break formation by anthracyclines at the cellular level and in the cell-free system showed that the presence of the formamidino group in the doxorubicin molecule reduced its ability to stimulate DNA cleavage by DNA topoisomerase II. DNA topoisomerase II is not a primary cellular target for DOXM or DOXH. An advantageous feature of formamidinoanthracyclines is their mechanism of cytotoxic action which is not related to the inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II. Therefore this class of anthracyclines seems to be a good source for selection of an anticancer drug directed toward cancer cells with the developed multidrug resistance attributed to the presence of altered DNA topoisomerase II.

  4. Mathematical modeling of efficacy and safety for anticancer drugs clinical development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavezzi, Silvia Maria; Borella, Elisa; Carrara, Letizia; De Nicolao, Giuseppe; Magni, Paolo; Poggesi, Italo

    2018-01-01

    Drug attrition in oncology clinical development is higher than in other therapeutic areas. In this context, pharmacometric modeling represents a useful tool to explore drug efficacy in earlier phases of clinical development, anticipating overall survival using quantitative model-based metrics. Furthermore, modeling approaches can be used to characterize earlier the safety and tolerability profile of drug candidates, and, thus, the risk-benefit ratio and the therapeutic index, supporting the design of optimal treatment regimens and accelerating the whole process of clinical drug development. Areas covered: Herein, the most relevant mathematical models used in clinical anticancer drug development during the last decade are described. Less recent models were considered in the review if they represent a standard for the analysis of certain types of efficacy or safety measures. Expert opinion: Several mathematical models have been proposed to predict overall survival from earlier endpoints and validate their surrogacy in demonstrating drug efficacy in place of overall survival. An increasing number of mathematical models have also been developed to describe the safety findings. Modeling has been extensively used in anticancer drug development to individualize dosing strategies based on patient characteristics, and design optimal dosing regimens balancing efficacy and safety.

  5. Molecular Effects of Doxorubicin on Choline Metabolism in Breast Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Menglin Cheng

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Abnormal choline phospholipid metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. The magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS detected total choline (tCho signal can serve as an early noninvasive imaging biomarker of chemotherapy response in breast cancer. We have quantified the individual components of the tCho signal, glycerophosphocholine (GPC, phosphocholine (PC and free choline (Cho, before and after treatment with the commonly used chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin in weakly metastatic human MCF7 and triple-negative human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. While the tCho concentration did not change following doxorubicin treatment, GPC significantly increased and PC decreased. Of the two phosphatidylcholine-specific PLD enzymes, only PLD1, but not PLD2, mRNA was down-regulated by doxorubicin treatment. For the two reported genes encoding GPC phosphodiesterase, the mRNA of GDPD6, but not GDPD5, decreased following doxorubicin treatment. mRNA levels of choline kinase α (ChKα, which converts Cho to PC, were reduced following doxorubicin treatment. PLD1 and ChKα protein levels decreased following doxorubicin treatment in a concentration dependent manner. Treatment with the PLD1 specific inhibitor VU0155069 sensitized MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells to doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity. Low concentrations of 100 nM of doxorubicin increased MDA-MB-231 cell migration. GDPD6, but not PLD1 or ChKα, silencing by siRNA abolished doxorubicin-induced breast cancer cell migration. Doxorubicin induced GPC increase and PC decrease are caused by reductions in PLD1, GDPD6, and ChKα mRNA and protein expression. We have shown that silencing or inhibiting these genes/proteins can promote drug effectiveness and reduce adverse drug effects. Our findings emphasize the importance of detecting PC and GPC individually.

  6. Histone deacetylase inhibitors augment doxorubicin-induced DNA damage in cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ververis, Katherine; Rodd, Annabelle L; Tang, Michelle M; El-Osta, Assam; Karagiannis, Tom C

    2011-12-01

    Histone deacetylase inhibitors have emerged as a new class of anticancer therapeutics with suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (Vorinostat) and depsipeptide (Romidepsin) already being approved for clinical use. Numerous studies have identified that histone deacetylase inhibitors will be most effective in the clinic when used in combination with conventional cancer therapies such as ionizing radiation and chemotherapeutic agents. One promising combination, particularly for hematologic malignancies, involves the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors with the anthracycline, doxorubicin. However, we previously identified that trichostatin A can potentiate doxorubicin-induced hypertrophy, the dose-limiting side-effect of the anthracycline, in cardiac myocytes. Here we have the extended the earlier studies and evaluated the effects of combinations of the histone deacetylase inhibitors, trichostatin A, valproic acid and sodium butyrate on doxorubicin-induced DNA double-strand breaks in cardiomyocytes. Using γH2AX as a molecular marker for the DNA lesions, we identified that all of the broad-spectrum histone deacetylase inhibitors tested augment doxorubicin-induced DNA damage. Furthermore, it is evident from the fluorescence photomicrographs of stained nuclei that the histone deacetylase inhibitors also augment doxorubicin-induced hypertrophy. These observations highlight the importance of investigating potential side-effects, in relevant model systems, which may be associated with emerging combination therapies for cancer.

  7. Optimal Anti-cancer Drug Profiles for Effective Penetration of the Anti-cancer Drug Market by Generic Drugs in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Shoyo; Matsushita, Maiko; Saito, Yoshimasa; Suzuki, Takeshi

    2017-01-01

    The increased use of generic drugs is a good indicator of the need to reduce the increasing costs of prescription drugs. Since there are more expensive drugs compared with other therapeutic areas, "oncology" is an important one for generic drugs. The primary objective of this article was to quantify the extent to which generic drugs in Japan occupy each level of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. The dataset used in this study was created from publicly available information obtained from the IMS Japan Pharmaceutical Market database. Data on the total amount of sales and number of prescriptions for anti-cancer drugs between 2010 and 2016 in Japan were selected. The data were categorized according to the third level of the ATC classification system. All categories of the ATC classification system had increased market shares in Japan between 2010 and 2016. The barriers to market entry were relatively low in L01F (platinum anti-neoplastics), L01C (plant-based neoplastics), L02B (cytostatic hormone antagonists), and L01D (anti-neoplastic antibiotics) but were high in L02A (cytostatic hormones), L01H (protein kinase inhibitors), and L01B (anti-metabolites). Generic cancer drugs could bring savings to Japanese health care systems. Therefore, their development should be directed toward niche markets, such as L02A, L01H, and L01B, and not competitive markets.

  8. JS-K, a GST-activated nitric oxide donor prodrug, enhances chemo-sensitivity in renal carcinoma cells and prevents cardiac myocytes toxicity induced by Doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Mingning; Ke, Longzhi; Zhang, Sai; Zeng, Xin; Fang, Zesong; Liu, Jianjun

    2017-08-01

    Doxorubicin, a highly effective and widely used anthracycline antibiotic in multiple chemotherapy regimens, has been limited by its cardiotoxicity. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of nitric oxide donor prodrug JS-K on proliferation and apoptosis in renal carcinoma cells and cardiac myocytes toxicity induced by Doxorubicin and to explore possible p53-related mechanism in renal carcinoma cells. The effect of JS-K on anti-cancer activity of Doxorubicin was investigated in renal carcinoma cells via detecting cell proliferation, cytotoxicity, cell death and apoptosis and expressions of apoptotic-related proteins. Effect of p53 on the combination of JS-K and Doxorubicin was determined using p53 inhibitor Pifithrin-α and p53 activator III. Furthermore, the effect of JS-K on cardiac myocytes toxicity of Doxorubicin was investigated in H9c2 (2-1) cardiac myocytes via measuring cell growth, cell death and apoptosis, expressions of proteins involved in apoptosis and intracellular reactive oxygen species. We demonstrated that JS-K could increase Doxorubicin-induced renal carcinoma cell growth suppression and apoptosis and could increase expressions of proteins that are involved in apoptosis. Additionally, Pifithrin-α reversed the promoting effect of JS-K on Doxorubicin-induced renal carcinoma cell apoptosis; conversely, the p53 activator III exacerbated the promoting effect of JS-K on Doxorubicin-induced renal carcinoma cell apoptosis. Furthermore, JS-K protected H9c2 (2-1) cardiac myocytes against Doxorubicin-induced toxicity and decreased Doxorubicin-induced reactive oxygen species production. JS-K enhances the anti-cancer activity of Doxorubicin in renal carcinoma cells by upregulating p53 expression and prevents cardiac myocytes toxicity of Doxorubicin by decreasing oxidative stress.

  9. Bioanalysis and metabolite identification of anticancer drugs in mass balance studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dubbelman, A.C.

    2012-01-01

    Anticancer drugs are valuable assets in the treatment of cancer. However, before a new drug is admitted to the market and available for patients, it has to survive a lengthy path of pre-clinical and clinical studies to demonstrate its efficacy and safety. Critical information required to understand

  10. Pharmacomicrobiomics: exploiting the drug-microbiota interactions in anticancer therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panebianco, Concetta; Andriulli, Angelo; Pazienza, Valerio

    2018-05-22

    Cancer is a major health burden worldwide, and despite continuous advances in medical therapies, resistance to standard drugs and adverse effects still represent an important cause of therapeutic failure. There is a growing evidence that gut bacteria can affect the response to chemo- and immunotherapeutic drugs by modulating either efficacy or toxicity. Moreover, intratumor bacteria have been shown to modulate chemotherapy response. At the same time, anticancer treatments themselves significantly affect the microbiota composition, thus disrupting homeostasis and exacerbating discomfort to the patient. Here, we review the existing knowledge concerning the role of the microbiota in mediating chemo- and immunotherapy efficacy and toxicity and the ability of these therapeutic options to trigger dysbiotic condition contributing to the severity of side effects. In addition, we discuss the use of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, and antibiotics as emerging strategies for manipulating the microbiota in order to improve therapeutic outcome or at least ensure patients a better quality of life all along of anticancer treatments.

  11. Cationic Albumin Nanoparticles for Enhanced Drug Delivery to Treat Breast Cancer: Preparation and In Vitro Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sana Abbasi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Most anticancer drugs are greatly limited by the serious side effects that they cause. Doxorubicin (DOX is an antineoplastic agent, commonly used against breast cancer. However, it may lead to irreversible cardiotoxicity, which could even result in congestive heart failure. In order to avoid these harmful side effects to the patients and to improve the therapeutic efficacy of doxorubicin, we developed DOX-loaded polyethylenimine- (PEI- enhanced human serum albumin (HSA nanoparticles. The formed nanoparticles were ~137 nm in size with a surface zeta potential of ~+15 mV, prepared using 20 μg of PEI added per mg of HSA. Cytotoxicity was not observed with empty PEI-enhanced HSA nanoparticles, formed with low-molecular weight (25 kDa PEI, indicating biocompatibility and safety of the nanoparticle formulation. Under optimized transfection conditions, approximately 80% of cells were transfected with HSA nanoparticles containing tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated bovine serum albumin. Conclusively, PEI-enhanced HSA nanoparticles show potential for developing into an effective carrier for anticancer drugs.

  12. Marketed drugs used for the management of hypercholesterolemia as anticancer armament

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Papanagnou P

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Panagiota Papanagnou,1 Theodora Stivarou,2 Ioannis Papageorgiou,1 Georgios E Papadopoulos,3 Anastasios Pappas1 1Department of Urology, Agios Savvas Cancer Hospital, Athens, Greece; 2Immunology Laboratory, Immunology Department, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece; 3Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece Abstract: The design of novel pharmacologic agents as well as their approval for sale in markets all over the world is a tedious and pricey process. Inevitably, oncologic patients commonly experience unwanted effects of new anticancer drugs, while the acquisition of clinical experience for these drugs is largely based on doctor–patient partnership which is not always effective. The repositioning of marketed non-antineoplastic drugs that hopefully exhibit anticancer properties into the field of oncology is a challenging option that gains ground and attracts preclinical and clinical research in an effort to override all these hindrances and minimize the risk for reduced efficacy and/or personalized toxicity. This review aims to present the anticancer properties of drugs used for the management of hypercholesterolemia. A global view of the antitumorigenicity of all marketed antihypercholesterolemic drugs is of major importance, given that atherosclerosis, which is etiologically linked to hypercholesterolemia, is a leading worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality, while hypercholesterolemia and tumorigenesis are known to be interrelated. In vitro, in vivo and clinical literature data accumulated so far outline the mechanistic basis of the antitumor function of these agents and how they could find application at the clinical setting. Keywords: antihypercholesterolemic agents, cancer, synergism, repurposing

  13. Microtubule destabilising agents: far more than just antimitotic anticancer drugs

    OpenAIRE

    Bates, Darcy; Eastman, Alan

    2016-01-01

    Vinca alkaloids have been approved as anticancer drugs for more than 50 years. They have been classified as cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs that act during cellular mitosis, enabling them to target fast growing cancer cells. With the evolution of cancer drug development there has been a shift towards new “targeted” therapies to avoid the side effects and general toxicities of “cytotoxic chemotherapies” such as the vinca alkaloids. Due to their original classification, many have overlooked the fa...

  14. Characterization of fungal sulfated polysaccharides and their synergistic anticancer effects with doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Jing-Jy; Chang, Chia-Chuan; Chao, Chi-Hsein; Lu, Mei-Kuang

    2012-09-01

    Sulfated polysaccharides (SPSs) from two edible fungal species, including two strains of Antrodia cinnamomea and Poria cocos, were isolated. Fucose, glucosamine, galactose, glucose, and mannose were the major sugars in the SPSs, and these SPSs had a high sulfate content. The area percentage of low-molecular-weight SPSs (1-100 kDa) covered almost half of the SPS mixture of the A. cinnamomea strains. In contrast, high-molecular-weight SPSs (>1000 kDa) of P. cocos covered a large proportion of the area at 30.06%. SPSs from A. cinnamomea B86 showed stronger inhibition of endothelial cell (EC) tube formation in an in vitro assay of angiogenesis, than did A. cinnamomea 35396 or P. cocos. The degree of sulfation paralleled their antiangiogenic activity. When tumor cells were concurrently exposed to doxorubicin (DOX) and fungal SPSs, SPSs synergistically increased the cytotoxicity of DOX to different degree up to 50-fold. Fungal SPSs may offer new applications for combinational-therapy drugs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Effects of quercetin on kidney injury induced by doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagmurca, M; Yasar, Z; Bas, O

    2015-01-01

    The anthracycline antitumor drug doxorubicine causes severe nephrotoxicity in a variety of experimental animals and may be nephrotoxic to humans. The aim of present study was to determine the protective effects of quercetin against doxorubicin-induced kidney injury with light microscopy. Forty male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups: control, doxorubicin, doxorubicin+quercetin and quercetin. A single dose of 20 mg/kg/ i.p. doxorubicin was used to induce injury. Quercetin was administrated orally against doxorubicin toxicity. The kidneys were examined under light microscopy after H-E (hematoxylin-eosin) staining and the changes were scored. Significant tissue injury was observed in doxorubicin-administered group. Among these injuries, renal tubular dilatation, tubular vacuolar changes, glomerular vacuolization, decrease in bowman space, bowman capsule thickening, and interstitial infiltration were evident. However, the injury induced by doxorubicin was attenuated with quercetin administration. Quercetin decreased doxorubicin-induced kidney damage (Tab. 1, Fig. 4, Ref. 27).

  16. Lipid-Polymer Nanoparticles for Folate-Receptor Targeting Delivery of Doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Mingbin; Gong, Ping; Zheng, Cuifang; Zhao, Pengfei; Luo, Zhenyu; Ma, Yifan; Cai, Lintao

    2015-07-01

    A biocompatible PLGA-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) was developed for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs with doxorubicin (DOX). The hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of DOX-loaded PLGA-lipid NPs (DNPs) were affected by the mass ratio of Lipid/PLGA or DSPE-PEG-COOH/Lecithin. At the 1:20 drug/polymer mass ratio, the mean hydrodynamic diameter of DNPs was the lowest (99.2 1.83 nm) and the NPs presented the encapsulation efficiency of DOX with 42.69 1.30%. Due to the folate-receptor mediated endocytosis, the PLGA-lipid NPs with folic acid (FA) targeting ligand showed significant higher uptake by folate-receptor-positive MCF-7 cells as compared to PLGA-lipid NPs without folate. Confocal microscopic observation and flow cytometry analysis also supported the enhanced cellular uptake of the FA-targeted NPs. The results indicated that the FA-targeted DNPs exhibited higher cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells compared with non-targeted NPs. The lipid-polymer nanoparticles provide a solution of biocompatible nanocarrier for cancer targeting therapy.

  17. Combinatorial effects of geopropolis produced by Melipona fasciculata Smith with anticancer drugs against human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma (HEp-2) cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartolomeu, Ariane Rocha; Frión-Herrera, Yahima; da Silva, Livia Matsumoto; Romagnoli, Graziela Gorete; de Oliveira, Deilson Elgui; Sforcin, José Maurício

    2016-07-01

    The identification of natural products exerting a combined effect with therapeutic agents could be an alternative for cancer treatment, reducing the concentration of the drugs and side effects. Geopropolis (Geo) is produced by some stingless bees from a mixture of vegetable resins, gland secretions of the bees and soil. It has been used popularly as an antiseptic agent and to treat respiratory diseases and dermatosis. To determine whether Geo enhances the anticancer effect of carboplatin, methotrexate and doxorubicin (DOX), human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma (HEp-2) cells were treated with Geo alone or in combination with each drug. Cell growth, cytotoxicity and apoptosis were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and flow cytometry. Scratch assay was used to analyze cell migration and transmission electron microscopy to observe morphologic alterations. The influence of Geo on drug resistance was also investigated assessing P-glycoprotein (P-gp) action. Geo inhibited cell proliferation and migration. The combination Geo+DOX led to the highest cytotoxic activity and induced apoptosis, leading to loss of membrane integrity. Geo had no effect on P-gp-mediated efflux of DOX. Data indicate that Geo combined with DOX could be a potential clinical chemotherapeutic approach for laryngeal cancer treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome secondary to hepatic transarterial chemoembolization with doxorubicin drug eluting beads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kistler, C. Andrew; McCall, Joseph Caleb; Ghumman, Saad Sultan; Ali, Ijlal Akbar

    2014-01-01

    Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a rare complication of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) used to treat liver metastases and has never been reported in a patient with metastatic uveal melanoma (UM) to the liver. We report the first case of PRES secondary to TACE with drug eluting beads (DEBs) loaded with doxorubicin in a 56-year-old woman with metastatic UM to the liver. PMID:24772346

  19. Anticancer Properties of Distinct Antimalarial Drug Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hooft van Huijsduijnen, Rob; Guy, R. Kiplin; Chibale, Kelly; Haynes, Richard K.; Peitz, Ingmar; Kelter, Gerhard; Phillips, Margaret A.; Vennerstrom, Jonathan L.; Yuthavong, Yongyuth; Wells, Timothy N. C.

    2013-01-01

    We have tested five distinct classes of established and experimental antimalarial drugs for their anticancer potential, using a panel of 91 human cancer lines. Three classes of drugs: artemisinins, synthetic peroxides and DHFR (dihydrofolate reductase) inhibitors effected potent inhibition of proliferation with IC50s in the nM- low µM range, whereas a DHODH (dihydroorotate dehydrogenase) and a putative kinase inhibitor displayed no activity. Furthermore, significant synergies were identified with erlotinib, imatinib, cisplatin, dasatinib and vincristine. Cluster analysis of the antimalarials based on their differential inhibition of the various cancer lines clearly segregated the synthetic peroxides OZ277 and OZ439 from the artemisinin cluster that included artesunate, dihydroartemisinin and artemisone, and from the DHFR inhibitors pyrimethamine and P218 (a parasite DHFR inhibitor), emphasizing their shared mode of action. In order to further understand the basis of the selectivity of these compounds against different cancers, microarray-based gene expression data for 85 of the used cell lines were generated. For each compound, distinct sets of genes were identified whose expression significantly correlated with compound sensitivity. Several of the antimalarials tested in this study have well-established and excellent safety profiles with a plasma exposure, when conservatively used in malaria, that is well above the IC50s that we identified in this study. Given their unique mode of action and potential for unique synergies with established anticancer drugs, our results provide a strong basis to further explore the potential application of these compounds in cancer in pre-clinical or and clinical settings. PMID:24391728

  20. Anticancer properties of distinct antimalarial drug classes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rob Hooft van Huijsduijnen

    Full Text Available We have tested five distinct classes of established and experimental antimalarial drugs for their anticancer potential, using a panel of 91 human cancer lines. Three classes of drugs: artemisinins, synthetic peroxides and DHFR (dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors effected potent inhibition of proliferation with IC50s in the nM- low µM range, whereas a DHODH (dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and a putative kinase inhibitor displayed no activity. Furthermore, significant synergies were identified with erlotinib, imatinib, cisplatin, dasatinib and vincristine. Cluster analysis of the antimalarials based on their differential inhibition of the various cancer lines clearly segregated the synthetic peroxides OZ277 and OZ439 from the artemisinin cluster that included artesunate, dihydroartemisinin and artemisone, and from the DHFR inhibitors pyrimethamine and P218 (a parasite DHFR inhibitor, emphasizing their shared mode of action. In order to further understand the basis of the selectivity of these compounds against different cancers, microarray-based gene expression data for 85 of the used cell lines were generated. For each compound, distinct sets of genes were identified whose expression significantly correlated with compound sensitivity. Several of the antimalarials tested in this study have well-established and excellent safety profiles with a plasma exposure, when conservatively used in malaria, that is well above the IC50s that we identified in this study. Given their unique mode of action and potential for unique synergies with established anticancer drugs, our results provide a strong basis to further explore the potential application of these compounds in cancer in pre-clinical or and clinical settings.

  1. Polypeptide nanogels with hydrophobic moieties in the cross-linked ionic cores: Synthesis, characterization and implications for anticancer drug delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong Oh; Oberoi, Hardeep S.; Desale, Swapnil; Kabanov, Alexander V.; Bronich, Tatiana K.

    2014-01-01

    Polymer nanogels have gained considerable attention as a potential platform for drug delivery applications. Here we describe the design and synthesis of novel polypeptide-based nanogels with hydrophobic moieties in the cross-linked ionic cores. Diblock copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-glutamic acid), hydrophobically modified with L-phenylalanine methyl ester moieties was used for controlled template synthesis of nanogels with small size (ca. 70 nm in diameter) and narrow particle size distribution. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence studies using coumarin C153 indicated the existence of hydrophobic domains in the ionic cores of the nanogels. Stable doxorubicin-loaded nanogels were prepared at high drug capacity (30 w/w%). We show that nanogels are enzymatically-degradable leading to accelerated drug release under simulated lysosomal acidic pH. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the nanogel-based formulation of doxorubicin is well tolerated and exhibit an improved antitumor activity compared to a free doxorubicin in an ovarian tumor xenograft mouse model. Our results signify the point to a potential of these biodegradable nanogels as attractive carriers for delivery of chemotherapeutics. PMID:23998716

  2. Schedule-dependency of doxorubicin and vinblastine in EAT tumours in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auersperg, M.; Pogacnik, A.; Kloboves-Prevodnik, V.; Sersa, G.; Cemazar, M.

    2006-01-01

    Background. Antitumour schedule-dependency of the doxorubicin and vinblastine combination was explored. Materials and methods. Intraperitoneal Ehrlich ascites tumours (EAT) syngeneic to CBA mice were treated with vinblastine or doxorubicin alone, or in combined treatment schedules. Results. Combinations of doxorubicin and vinblastine administered at 48-h, but not at 24-h interval, regardless of the sequence of drugs, significantly reduced the number of tumour cells in the ascites in comparison with all other treatments. In the combined treatment schedules, the predominant morphological changes as well as DNA distribution pattern were dependent on the first drug applied. Regardless of the sequence of the drugs, median survival times of animals did not significantly differ between the treatment groups. Conclusions. The effect of combination of vinblastine and doxorubicin is schedule-dependent. The time interval, but not the sequence of drugs seems to be crucial for the observed effect. The data from preclinical studies are important for planning combined treatment schedules in clinical setting. (author)

  3. A functional perspective of nitazoxanide as a potential anticancer drug

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Santo, Nicola; Ehrisman, Jessie

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Combination anti-cancer therapies are associated with increased toxicity and cross-resistance. • Some antiparasitic compounds may have anti-cancer potential. • Nitazoxanide interferes with metabolic and pro-death signaling. • Preclinical studies are needed to confirm anticancer ability of nitazoxanide. - Abstract: Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation, evasion of cell death and the ability to invade and disrupt vital tissue function. The classic model of carcinogenesis describes successive clonal expansion driven by the accumulation of mutations that eliminate restraints on proliferation and cell survival. It has been proposed that during cancer's development, the loose-knit colonies of only partially differentiated cells display some unicellular/prokaryotic behavior reminiscent of robust ancient life forms. The seeming “regression” of cancer cells involves changes within metabolic machinery and survival strategies. This atavist change in physiology enables cancer cells to behave as selfish “neo-endo-parasites” that exploit the tumor stromal cells in order to extract nutrients from the surrounding microenvironment. In this framework, it is conceivable that anti-parasitic compounds might serve as promising anticancer drugs. Nitazoxanide (NTZ), a thiazolide compound, has shown antimicrobial properties against anaerobic bacteria, as well as against helminths and protozoa. NTZ has also been successfully used to promote Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by improving interferon signaling and promoting autophagy. More compelling however are the potential anti-cancer properties that have been observed. NTZ seems to be able to interfere with crucial metabolic and pro-death signaling such as drug detoxification, unfolded protein response (UPR), autophagy, anti-cytokine activities and c-Myc inhibition. In this article, we review the ability of NTZ to interfere with integrated survival mechanisms of

  4. A functional perspective of nitazoxanide as a potential anticancer drug

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Di Santo, Nicola, E-mail: nico.disanto@duke.edu; Ehrisman, Jessie, E-mail: jessie.ehrisman@duke.edu

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • Combination anti-cancer therapies are associated with increased toxicity and cross-resistance. • Some antiparasitic compounds may have anti-cancer potential. • Nitazoxanide interferes with metabolic and pro-death signaling. • Preclinical studies are needed to confirm anticancer ability of nitazoxanide. - Abstract: Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation, evasion of cell death and the ability to invade and disrupt vital tissue function. The classic model of carcinogenesis describes successive clonal expansion driven by the accumulation of mutations that eliminate restraints on proliferation and cell survival. It has been proposed that during cancer's development, the loose-knit colonies of only partially differentiated cells display some unicellular/prokaryotic behavior reminiscent of robust ancient life forms. The seeming “regression” of cancer cells involves changes within metabolic machinery and survival strategies. This atavist change in physiology enables cancer cells to behave as selfish “neo-endo-parasites” that exploit the tumor stromal cells in order to extract nutrients from the surrounding microenvironment. In this framework, it is conceivable that anti-parasitic compounds might serve as promising anticancer drugs. Nitazoxanide (NTZ), a thiazolide compound, has shown antimicrobial properties against anaerobic bacteria, as well as against helminths and protozoa. NTZ has also been successfully used to promote Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination by improving interferon signaling and promoting autophagy. More compelling however are the potential anti-cancer properties that have been observed. NTZ seems to be able to interfere with crucial metabolic and pro-death signaling such as drug detoxification, unfolded protein response (UPR), autophagy, anti-cytokine activities and c-Myc inhibition. In this article, we review the ability of NTZ to interfere with integrated survival mechanisms of

  5. Newly Synthesized Doxorubicin Complexes with Selected Metals—Synthesis, Structure and Anti-Breast Cancer Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Jabłońska-Trypuć

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin (DOX is very effective chemotherapeutic agent, however it has several major drawbacks. Therefore the motivation for developing novel drug complexes as anticancer agents with different mechanism of action has arisen. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of newly synthesized DOX complexes with selected metals (Mg, Mn, Co, Ni, Fe, Cu, Zn on apoptosis, cell cycle, viability, proliferation and cytotoxicity in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Complexation of DOX with metals has likewise been the subject of our research. The current work showed that the tested bivalent metals at a given pH condition formed metal:DOX complexes in a ratio of 2:1, while iron complexes with DOX in a ratio of 3:1. The studies also showed that selected metal-DOX complexes (Mg-DOX, Mn-DOX, Ni-DOX at 0.5 µM concentration significantly decreased cell viability and proliferation, however they increased caspase 7 activity. Results also indicated that studied metal-DOX complexes showed high cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells. Therefore they were chosen for cell cycle check-points and apoptosis/necrosis analysis studied by flow cytometry. Obtained results suggest that doxorubicin complexed by specified metals can be considered as a potential anti-breast cancer agent, which is characterized by a higher efficacy than a parent drug.

  6. Pricing appraisal of anti-cancer drugs in the South East Asian, Western Pacific and East Mediterranean Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmasi, Shahrzad; Lee, Kah Seng; Ming, Long Chiau; Neoh, Chin Fen; Elrggal, Mahmoud E; Babar, Zaheer-Ud- Din; Khan, Tahir Mehmood; Hadi, Muhammad Abdul

    2017-12-28

    Globally, cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality. High treatment cost, partly owing to higher prices of anti-cancer drugs, presents a significant burden on patients and healthcare systems. The aim of the present study was to survey and compare retail prices of anti-cancer drugs between high, middle and low income countries in the South-East Asia, Western Pacific and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Cross-sectional survey design was used for the present study. Pricing data from ten counties including one from South-East Asia, two from Western Pacific and seven from Eastern Mediterranean regions were used in this study. Purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted mean unit prices for 26 anti-cancer drug presentations (similar pharmaceutical form, strength, and pack size) were used to compare prices of anti-cancer drugs across three regions. A structured form was used to extract relevant data. Data were entered and analysed using Microsoft Excel®. Overall, Taiwan had the lowest mean unit prices while Oman had the highest prices. Six (23.1%) and nine (34.6%) drug presentations had a mean unit price below US$100 and between US$100 and US$500 respectively. Eight drug presentations (30.7%) had a mean unit price of more than US$1000 including cabazitaxel with a mean unit price of $17,304.9/vial. There was a direct relationship between income category of the countries and their mean unit price; low-income countries had lower mean unit prices. The average PPP-adjusted unit prices for countries based on their income level were as follows: low middle-income countries (LMICs): US$814.07; high middle income countries (HMICs): US$1150.63; and high income countries (HICs): US$1148.19. There is a great variation in pricing of anticancer drugs in selected countires and within their respective regions. These findings will allow policy makers to compare prices of anti-cancer agents with neighbouring countries and develop policies to ensure accessibility and affordability of

  7. Multifunctional DNA-gold nanoparticles for targeted doxorubicin delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Colleen M; Hamner, Kristen L; Maye, Mathew M; Dabrowiak, James C

    2014-07-16

    In this report we describe the synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxic properties of DNA-capped gold nanoparticles having attached folic acid (FA), a thermoresponsive polymer (p), and/or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) oligomers that could be used to deliver the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) in chemotherapy. The FA-DNA oligomer used in the construction of the delivery vehicle was synthesized through the reaction of the isolated folic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester with the amino-DNA and the conjugated DNA product was purified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This approach ultimately allowed control of the amount of FA attached to the surface of the delivery vehicle. Cytotoxicity studies using SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells with drug loaded delivery vehicles were carried out using a variety of exposure times (1-48 h) and recovery times (1-72 h), and in order to access the effects of varying amounts of attached FA, in culture media deficient in FA. DOX loaded delivery vehicles having 50% of the DNA strands with attached FA were more cytotoxic than when all of the strands contained FA. Since FA stimulates cell growth, the reduced cytotoxicity of vehicles fully covered with FA suggests that the stimulatory effects of FA can more than compensate for the cytotoxic effects of the drug on the cell population. While attachment of hexa-ethylene glycol PEG(18) to the surface of the delivery vehicle had no effect on cytotoxicity, 100% FA plus the thermoresponsive polymer resulted in IC50 = 0.48 ± 0.01 for an exposure time of 24 h and a recovery time of 1 h, which is an order of magnitude more cytotoxic than free DOX. Confocal microscopic studies using fluorescence detection showed that SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells exposed to DOX-loaded vehicles have drug accumulation inside the cell and, in the case of vehicles with attached FA and thermoresponsive polymer, the drug appears more concentrated. Since the biological target of DOX is DNA, the latter

  8. Design and development of hyaluronan-functionalized polybenzofulvene nanoparticles as CD44 receptor mediated drug delivery system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Licciardi, Mariano; Scialabba, Cinzia; Giammona, Gaetano; Paolino, Marco; Razzano, Vincenzo; Grisci, Giorgio; Giuliani, Germano; Makovec, Francesco; Cappelli, Andrea

    2017-06-01

    A tri-component polymer brush (TCPB ), composed of a polybenzofulvene copolymer bearing low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) on the surface of its cylindrical brush-like backbone and oligo-PEG fractions, was employed in the preparation of 350 nm nanostructured drug delivery systems capable of delivering the anticancer drug doxorubicin. The obtained drug delivery systems were characterized on the basis of drug loading and release, dimensions and zeta potential, morphology and in vitro cell activity, and uptake on three different human cell lines, namely the bronchial epithelial 16HBE, the breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7, and the colon cancer HCT116 cells. Finally, the ability of doxorubicin-loaded TCPB nanoparticles (DOXO-TCPB) to be internalized into cancer cells by CD44 receptor mediated uptake was assessed by means of uptake studies in HCT cells. These data were supported by anti-CD44-FITC staining assay. The proposed TCPB nanostructured drug delivery systems have many potential applications in nanomedicine, including cancer targeted drug delivery.

  9. Protective Effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa on Doxorubicin-induced Cytotoxicity in H9c2 Cardiomyoblast Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseini, Azar; Bakhtiari, Elham; Mousavi, Seyed Hadi

    2017-01-01

    Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anticancer drug. But its clinical application is limited, because DOX induces apoptosis in cardiomyocytes and it leads to permanent degenerative cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Recent trainings showed that Hibiscus sabdariffa exhibit pharmacological actions such as potent antioxidant. So, in this study we explored the protective effect of H. sabdariffa extract on doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cells. Cell viability was quantified by MTT assay. Apoptotic cells were determined using PI staining of DNA fragmentation by flowcytometry (sub-G1 peak). Cells were cultured with 5 μM DOX for 24 h to create the cell damage. H9c2 cells were pretreated with different concentrations (7.81-500 μg/mL) of H. sabdariffa extract (HSE) for 2 h before DOX treatment in all trials. Pretreatment with HSE increased cell viability at concentration of 31.25-500 μg/mL. Compared to control cells, apoptosis was induced in DOX treated cells after 24 h, (sabdariffa could exert the cardioprotective effects on DOX-induced toxicity partly by antiapoptotic activity.

  10. PEGylated Silk Nanoparticles for Anticancer Drug Delivery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Uhlmann, Petra; Urquhart, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    Silk has a robust clinical track record and is emerging as a promising biopolymer for drug delivery, including its use as nanomedicine. However, silk-based nanomedicines still require further refinements for full exploitation of their potential; the application of “stealth” design principals...... is especially necessary to support their evolution. The aim of this study was to develop and examine the potential of PEGylated silk nanoparticles as an anticancer drug delivery system. We first generated B. mori derived silk nanoparticles by driving β-sheet assembly (size 104 ± 1.7 nm, zeta potential −56 ± 5.......6 mV) using nanoprecipitation. We then surface grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the fabricated silk nanoparticles and verified the aqueous stability and morphology of the resulting PEGylated silk nanoparticles. We assessed the drug loading and release behavior of these nanoparticles using...

  11. Inhibition of doxorubicin-induced senescence by PPARδ activation agonists in cardiac muscle cells: cooperation between PPARδ and Bcl6.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Altieri

    Full Text Available Senescence and apoptosis are two distinct cellular programs that are activated in response to a variety of stresses. Low or high doses of the same stressor, i.e., the anticancer drug doxorubicin, may either induce apoptosis or senescence, respectively, in cardiac muscle cells. We have demonstrated that PPARδ, a ligand-activated transcriptional factor that controls lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity and inflammation, is also involved in the doxorubicin-induced senescence program. This occurs through its interference with the transcriptional repressor protein B cell lymphoma-6 (Bcl6. Low doses of doxorubicin increase the expression of PPARδ that sequesters Bcl6, thus preventing it from exerting its anti-senescent effects. We also found that L-165041, a specific PPARδ activator, is highly effective in protecting cardiomyocytes from doxorubicin-induced senescence through a Bcl6 related mechanism. In fact, L-165041 increases Bcl6 expression via p38, JNK and Akt activation, and at the same time it induces the release of Bcl6 from PPARδ, thereby enabling Bcl6 to bind to its target genes. L-165041 also prevented apoptosis induced by higher doses of doxorubicin. However, while experiments performed with siRNA analysis techniques very clearly showed the weight of Bcl6 in the cellular senescence program, no role was found for Bcl6 in the anti-apoptotic effects of L-165041, thus confirming that senescence and apoptosis are two very distinct stress response cellular programs. This study increases our understanding of the molecular mechanism of anthracycline cardiotoxicity and suggests a potential role for PPARδ agonists as cardioprotective agents.

  12. Overcoming drug resistance of MCF-7/ADR cells by altering intracellular distribution of doxorubicin via MVP knockdown with a novel siRNA polyamidoamine-hyaluronic acid complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Min; Lv, Qing; Tang, Xin-Jiang; Hu, Yu-Lan; Xu, Dong-Hang; Li, Fan-Zhu; Liang, Wen-Quan; Gao, Jian-Qing

    2012-10-28

    Drug resistance is one of the critical reasons leading to failure in chemotherapy. Enormous studies have been focused on increasing intracellular drug accumulation through inhibiting P-glycoprotein (Pgp). Meanwhile, we found that major vault protein (MVP) may be also involved in drug resistance of human breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells by transporting doxorubicin (DOX) from the action target (i.e. nucleus) to cytoplasma. Herein polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers was functionalized by a polysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA) to effectively deliver DOX as well as MVP targeted small-interfering RNA (MVP-siRNA) to down regulate MVP expression and improve DOX chemotherapy in MCF-7/ADR cells. In comparison with DOX solution (IC50=48.5 μM), an enhanced cytotoxicity could be observed for DOX PAMAM-HA (IC50=11.3 μM) as well as enhanced tumor target, higher intracellular accumulation, increased blood circulating time and less in vivo toxicity. Furthermore, codelivery of siRNA and DOX by PAMAM-HA exhibited satisfactory gene silencing effect as well as enhanced stability and efficient intracellular delivery of siRNA, which allowed DOX access to nucleus and induced subsequent much more cytotoxicity than siRNA absent case as a result of MVP knockdown. This observation highlights a promising application of novel nanocarrier PAMAM-HA, which could co-deliver anticancer drug and siRNA, in reversing drug resistance by altering intracellular drug distribution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Hierarchical pulmonary target nanoparticles via inhaled administration for anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rui; Xu, Liu; Fan, Qin; Li, Man; Wang, Jingjing; Wu, Li; Li, Weidong; Duan, Jinao; Chen, Zhipeng

    2017-11-01

    Inhalation administration, compared with intravenous administration, significantly enhances chemotherapeutic drug exposure to the lung tissue and may increase the therapeutic effect for pulmonary anticancer. However, further identification of cancer cells after lung deposition of inhaled drugs is necessary to avoid side effects on normal lung tissue and to maximize drug efficacy. Moreover, as the action site of the major drug was intracellular organelles, drug target to the specific organelle is the final key for accurate drug delivery. Here, we designed a novel multifunctional nanoparticles (MNPs) for pulmonary antitumor and the material was well-designed for hierarchical target involved lung tissue target, cancer cell target, and mitochondrial target. The biodistribution in vivo determined by UHPLC-MS/MS method was employed to verify the drug concentration overwhelmingly increasing in lung tissue through inhaled administration compared with intravenous administration. Cellular uptake assay using A549 cells proved the efficient receptor-mediated cell endocytosis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observation showed the location of MNPs in cells was mitochondria. All results confirmed the intelligent material can progressively play hierarchical target functions, which could induce more cell apoptosis related to mitochondrial damage. It provides a smart and efficient nanocarrier platform for hierarchical targeting of pulmonary anticancer drug. So far, this kind of material for pulmonary mitochondrial-target has not been seen in other reports.

  14. Reduction-sensitive micelles self-assembled from amphiphilic chondroitin sulfate A-deoxycholic acid conjugate for triggered release of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongxia; Wu, Shuqin; Yu, Jingmou; Fan, Dun; Ren, Jin; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Jianguo

    2017-06-01

    Reduction-sensitive chondroitin sulfate A (CSA)-based micelles were developed. CSA was conjugated with deoxycholic acid (DOCA) via a disulfide linkage. The bioreducible conjugate (CSA-ss-DOCA) can form self-assembled micelles in aqueous medium. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of CSA-ss-DOCA conjugate is 0.047mg/mL, and its mean diameter is 387nm. The anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was chosen as a model drug, and was effectively encapsulated into the micelles with high loading efficiency. Reduction-sensitive micelles and reduction-insensitive control micelles displayed similar DOX release behavior in phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH7.4). Notably, DOX release from the reduction-sensitive micelles in vitro was accelerated in the presence of 20mM glutathione-containing PBS environment. Moreover, DOX-loaded CSA-ss-DOCA (CSA-ss-DOCA/DOX) micelles exhibited intracellular reduction-responsive characteristics in human gastric cancer HGC-27 cells determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Furthermore, CSA-ss-DOCA/DOX micelles demonstrated higher antitumor efficacy than reduction-insensitive control micelles in HGC-27 cells. These results suggested that reduction-sensitive CSA-ss-DOCA micelles had the potential as intracellular targeted carriers of anticancer drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Self-Assembly Assisted Fabrication of Dextran-Based Nanohydrogels with Reduction-Cleavable Junctions for Applications as Efficient Drug Delivery Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hao; Dai, Tingting; Zhou, Shuyan; Huang, Xiaoxiao; Li, Songying; Sun, Kang; Zhou, Guangdong; Dou, Hongjing

    2017-01-01

    In order to overcome the key challenge in improving both fabrication efficiency and their drug delivery capability of anti-cancer drug delivery systems (ACDDS), here polyacrylic acid (PAA) grafted dextran (Dex) nanohydrogels (NGs) with covalent crosslinked structure bearing redox sensitive disulfide crosslinking junctions (Dex-SS-PAA) were synthesized efficiently through a one-step self-assembly assisted methodology (SAA). The Dex-SS-PAA were subsequently conjugated with doxorubicin through an acid-labile hydrazone bond (Dex-SS-PAA-DOX). The in vitro drug release behavior, anti-cancer effects in vivo, and biosafety of the as-prepared acid- and redox-dual responsive biodegradable NGs were systematically investigated. The results revealed that the Dex-SS-PAA-DOX exhibited pH- and redox-controlled drug release, greatly reduced the toxicity of free DOX, while exhibiting a strong ability to inhibit the growth of MDA-MB-231 tumors. Our study demonstrated that the Dex-SS-PAA-DOX NGs are very promising candidates as ACDDS for anti-cancer therapeutics.

  16. Designing multi-targeted agents: An emerging anticancer drug discovery paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Rong-Geng; Sun, Yuan; Sheng, Wen-Bing; Liao, Duan-Fang

    2017-08-18

    The dominant paradigm in drug discovery is to design ligands with maximum selectivity to act on individual drug targets. With the target-based approach, many new chemical entities have been discovered, developed, and further approved as drugs. However, there are a large number of complex diseases such as cancer that cannot be effectively treated or cured only with one medicine to modulate the biological function of a single target. As simultaneous intervention of two (or multiple) cancer progression relevant targets has shown improved therapeutic efficacy, the innovation of multi-targeted drugs has become a promising and prevailing research topic and numerous multi-targeted anticancer agents are currently at various developmental stages. However, most multi-pharmacophore scaffolds are usually discovered by serendipity or screening, while rational design by combining existing pharmacophore scaffolds remains an enormous challenge. In this review, four types of multi-pharmacophore modes are discussed, and the examples from literature will be used to introduce attractive lead compounds with the capability of simultaneously interfering with different enzyme or signaling pathway of cancer progression, which will reveal the trends and insights to help the design of the next generation multi-targeted anticancer agents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Minimalism in fabrication of self-organized nanogels holding both anti-cancer drug and targeting moiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sungwon; Park, Kyong Mi; Ko, Jin Young; Kwon, Ick Chan; Cho, Hyeon Geun; Kang, Dongmin; Yu, In Tag; Kim, Kwangmeyung; Na, Kun

    2008-05-01

    Recent researches to develop nano-carrier systems in anti-cancer drug delivery have focused on more complicated design to improve therapeutic efficacy and to reduce side effects. Although such efforts have great impact to biomedical science and engineering, the complexity has been a huddle because of clinical and economic problems. In order to overcome the problems, a simplest strategy to fabricate nano-carriers to deliver doxorubicin (DOX) was proposed in the present study. Two significant subjects (i) formation of nanoparticles loading and releasing DOX and (ii) binding specificity of them to cells, were examined. Folic acid (FA) was directly coupled with pullulan (Pul) backbone by ester linkage (FA/Pul conjugate) and the degree of substitution (DS) was varied, which were confirmed by 1H NMR and UV spectrophotometry. Light scattering results revealed that the nanogels possessed two major size distributions around 70 and 270 nm in an aqueous solution. Their critical aggregation concentrations (CACs) were less than 10 microg/mL, which are lower than general critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of low-molecular-weight surfactants. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed well-dispersed nanogel morphology in a dried state. Depending on the DS, the nanogels showed different DOX-loading and releasing profiles. The DOX release rate from FA8/Pul (with the highest DS) for 24h was slower than that from FA4/or FA6/Pul, indicating that the FA worked as a hydrophobic moiety for drug holding. Cellular uptake of the nanogels (KB cells) was also monitored by confocal microscopy. All nanogels were internalized regardless of the DS of FA. Based on the results, the objectives of this study, to suggest a new method overcoming the complications in the drug carrier design, were successfully verified.

  18. Development of self-forming doxorubicin-loaded polymeric depots as an injectable drug delivery system for liver cancer chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nittayacharn, Pinunta; Nasongkla, Norased

    2017-07-01

    The objective of this work was to develop self-forming doxorubicin-loaded polymeric depots as an injectable drug delivery system for liver cancer chemotherapy and studied the release profiles of doxorubicin (Dox) from different depot formulations. Tri-block copolymers of poly(ε-caprolactone), poly(D,L-lactide) and poly(ethylene glycol) named PLECs were successfully used as a biodegradable material to encapsulate Dox as the injectable local drug delivery system. Depot formation and encapsulation efficiency of these depots were evaluated. Results show that depots could be formed and encapsulate Dox with high drug loading content. For the release study, drug loading content (10, 15 and 20% w/w) and polymer concentration (25, 30, and 35% w/v) were varied. It could be observed that the burst release occurred within 1-2 days and this burst release could be reduced by physical mixing of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) into the depot system. The degradation at the surface and cross-section of the depots were examined by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In addition, cytotoxicity of Dox-loaded depots and blank depots were tested against human liver cancer cell lines (HepG2). Dox released from depots significantly exhibited potent cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cell line compared to that of blank depots. Results from this study reveals an important insight in the development of injectable drug delivery system for liver cancer chemotherapy. Schematic diagram of self-forming doxorubicin-loaded polymeric depots as an injectable drug delivery system and in vitro characterizations. (a) Dox-loaded PLEC depots could be formed with more than 90% of sustained-release Dox at 25% polymer concentration and 20% Dox-loading content. The burst release occurred within 1-2 days and could be reduced by physical mixing of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) into the depot system. (b) Dox released from depots significantly exhibited potent cytotoxic effect against human

  19. Anticancer activity of a novel small molecule tubulin inhibitor STK899704.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krisada Sakchaisri

    Full Text Available We have identified the small molecule STK899704 as a structurally novel tubulin inhibitor. STK899704 suppressed the proliferation of cancer cell lines from various origins with IC50 values ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 μM. STK899704 prevented the polymerization of purified tubulin in vitro and also depolymerized microtubule in cultured cells leading to mitotic arrest, associated with increased Cdc25C phosphorylation and the accumulation of both cyclin B1 and polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1, and apoptosis. Unlike many anticancer drugs such as Taxol and doxorubicin, STK899704 effectively displayed antiproliferative activity against multidrug-resistant cancer cell lines. The proposed binding mode of STK899704 is at the interface between αβ-tubulin heterodimer overlapping with the colchicine-binding site. Our in vivo carcinogenesis model further showed that STK 899704 is potent in both the prevention and regression of tumors, remarkably reducing the number and volume of skin tumor by STK899704 treatment. Moreover, it was significant to note that the efficacy of STK899704 was surprisingly comparable to 5-fluorouracil, a widely used anticancer therapeutic. Thus, our results demonstrate the potential of STK899704 to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic and an alternative candidate for existing therapies.

  20. Doxorubicin conjugated to D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS): conjugation chemistry, characterization, in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Na; Feng, Si-Shen

    2008-10-01

    To develop a polymer-anticancer drug conjugate, D-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) was employed as a carrier of doxorubicin (DOX) to enhance its therapeutic effects and reduce its side effects. Doxorubicin was chemically conjugated to TPGS. The molecular structure, drug loading efficiency, drug release kinetics and stability of the conjugate were characterized. The cellular uptake, intracellular distribution, and cytotoxicity were accessed by using MCF-7 breast cancer cells and C6 glioma cells as in vitro cell model. The conjugate showed higher cellular uptake efficiency and broader distribution within the cells. Judged by IC(50), the conjugate was found 31.8, 69.6, 84.1% more effective with MCF-7 cells and 43.9, 87.7, 42.2% more effective with C6 cells than the parent drug after 24, 48, 72 h culture, respectively. The in vivo pharmacokinetics and biodistribution were investigated after an i.v. administration at 5 mg DOX/kg body weight in rats. Promisingly, 4.5-fold increase in the half-life and 24-fold increase in the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of DOX were achieved for the TPGS-DOX conjugate compared with the free DOX. The drug level in heart, gastric and intestine was significantly reduced, which is an indication of reduced side effects. Our TPGS-DOX conjugate showed great potential to be a prodrug of higher therapeutic effects and fewer side effects than DOX itself.

  1. Functionalized mesoporous silicon for targeted-drug-delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabasi, Ozra; Falamaki, Cavus; Khalaj, Zahra

    2012-10-01

    The present work concerns a preliminary step in the production of anticancer drug loaded porous silicon (PSi) for targeted-drug-delivery applications. A successful procedure for the covalent attachment of folic acid, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and doxorubicin to hydrophilic mesoporous silicon layers is presented. A systematic approach has been followed to obtain the optimal composition of the N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC)/N-hydroxysuccimide (NHS) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution for the surface activation process of the undecylenic acid (UD) grafted molecules to take place with minimal undesired byproduct formation. The effect of reactant concentration and kind of solvent (aqueous or DMSO) on the attachment of folic acid to the activated PSi layer has been investigated. The covalent attachment of the doxorubicin molecules to the PSi layer functionalized with folic acid and PEG is discussed. The drug release kinetics as a function of pH has been studied. The functionalized PSi particles show a high cytotoxicity compared to the equivalent amount of free drug. Cell toxicity tests show clearly that the incorporation of folate molecules increases substantially the toxicity of the loaded PSi particles. Accordingly this new functionalized PSi may be considered a proper candidate for targeted drug delivery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Steady Increase In Prices For Oral Anticancer Drugs After Market Launch Suggests A Lack Of Competitive Pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennette, Caroline S; Richards, Catherine; Sullivan, Sean D; Ramsey, Scott D

    2016-05-01

    The cost of treating cancer has risen to unprecedented heights, putting tremendous financial pressure on patients, payers, and society. Previous studies have documented the rising prices of cancer drugs at launch, but less critical attention has been paid to the cost of these drugs after launch. We used pharmacy claims for commercially insured individuals to examine trends in postlaunch prices over time for orally administered anticancer drugs recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the period 2007-13, inflation-adjusted per patient monthly drug prices increased 5 percent each year. Certain market changes also played a role, with prices rising an additional 10 percent with each supplemental indication approved by the FDA and declining 2 percent with the FDA's approval of a competitor drug. Our findings suggest that there is currently little competitive pressure in the oral anticancer drug market. Policy makers who wish to reduce the costs of anticancer drugs should consider implementing policies that affect prices not only at launch but also later. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  3. Fluorescence optical imaging in anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etrych, Tomáš; Lucas, Henrike; Janoušková, Olga; Chytil, Petr; Mueller, Thomas; Mäder, Karsten

    2016-03-28

    In the past several decades, nanosized drug delivery systems with various targeting functions and controlled drug release capabilities inside targeted tissues or cells have been intensively studied. Understanding their pharmacokinetic properties is crucial for the successful transition of this research into clinical practice. Among others, fluorescence imaging has become one of the most commonly used imaging tools in pre-clinical research. The development of increasing numbers of suitable fluorescent dyes excitable in the visible to near-infrared wavelengths of the spectrum has significantly expanded the applicability of fluorescence imaging. This paper focuses on the potential applications and limitations of non-invasive imaging techniques in the field of drug delivery, especially in anticancer therapy. Fluorescent imaging at both the cellular and systemic levels is discussed in detail. Additionally, we explore the possibility for simultaneous treatment and imaging using theranostics and combinations of different imaging techniques, e.g., fluorescence imaging with computed tomography. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Calcium carbonate microspheres as carriers for the anticancer drug camptothecin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, Neng [Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT (United Kingdom); State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Department of Bio-pharmaceutical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu ,610065 (China); Yin, Huabing, E-mail: huabing.yin@glasgow.ac.uk [Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT (United Kingdom); Ji, Bozhi; Klauke, Norbert; Glidle, Andrew [Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8LT (United Kingdom); Zhang, Yongkui; Song, Hang [Department of Bio-pharmaceutical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu ,610065 (China); Cai, Lulu; Ma, Liang; Wang, Guangcheng [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Chen, Lijuan, E-mail: lijuan17@hotmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China); Wang, Wenwen [State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China)

    2012-12-01

    Biogenic calcium carbonate has come to the attention of many researchers as a promising drug delivery system due to its safety, pH sensitivity and the large volume of information already in existence on its medical use. In this study, we employed bovine serum albumin (BSA) as an additive to synthesize a series of porous calcium carbonate microspheres (CCMS). These spheres, identified as vaterite, are stable both in aqueous solutions and organic solvents. Camptothecin, an effective anticancer agent, was loaded into the CCMS by simple diffusion and adsorption. The camptothecin loaded CCMS showed sustained cell growth inhibitory activity and a pH dependent release of camptothecin. With a few hours, the release is negligible under physiological conditions (pH = 7.4) but almost complete at pH 4 to 6 (i.e. pHs found in lysosomes and solid tumor tissue respectively). These findings suggest that porous, biogenic calcium carbonate microspheres could be promising carriers for the safe and efficient delivery of anticancer drugs of low aqueous solubility. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer BSA-doped calcium carbonate microspheres with porous structure were prepared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Camptothecin was encapsulated in the spherical microparticles with encapsulation efficiency up to 11%. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The release of encapsulated camptothecin is pH dependent Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In vitro studies showed an effective anticancer activity of the camptothecin- microspheres.

  5. Efficient delivery of anticancer drug MTX through MTX-LDH nanohybrid system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Jae-Min; Park, Man; Kim, Sang-Tae; Jung, Jin-Young; Kang, Yong-Gu; Choy, Jin-Ho

    2006-05-01

    We have been successful to intercalate anticancer drug, methotrexate (MTX), into layered double hydroxides (LDHs), Mg2Al(OH)6(NO3)·0.1H2O, through conventional co-precipitation method. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are endowed with great potential for delivery vector, since their cationic layers lead to safe reservation of biofunctional molecules such as drug molecules or genes. And their ion exchangeability and solubility in acidic media (pHosteosarcoma cell culture lines (Saos-2 and MG-63) and the normal one (human fibroblast) were used for in vitro test. The anticancer efficacy of MTX intercalated LDHs (MTX-LDH nanohybrids) was also estimated in vitro by the bioassay such as MTT and BrdU (5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine) with the bone cancer cell culture lines (Saos-2 and MG-63). According to the toxicity test results, LDHs do not harm to both the normal and cancer cells upto the concentration of 500 ug/mL. The anticancer efficacy test for the MTX-LDH nanohybrids turn out to be much more effective in cell suppression compared to the MTX itself. According to the cell-line tests, the MTX-LDH shows same drug efficacy to the MTX itself in spite of the low concentration by ˜5000 times. Such a high cancer suppression effect of MTX-LDH hybrid is surely due to the excellent delivery efficiency of inorganic delivery vector, LDHs.

  6. Early biomarkers of doxorubicin-induced heart injury in a mouse model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desai, Varsha G., E-mail: varsha.desai@fda.hhs.gov [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Kwekel, Joshua C.; Vijay, Vikrant; Moland, Carrie L. [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Herman, Eugene H. [Toxicology and Pharmacology Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, The National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850-9734 (United States); Lee, Taewon [Department of Mathematics, Korea University, Sejong, Chungnam 339-700 (Korea, Republic of); Han, Tao [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Lewis, Sherry M. [Office of Scientific Coordination, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Davis, Kelly J.; Muskhelishvili, Levan [Toxicologic Pathology Associates, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Kerr, Susan [Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72211 (United States); Fuscoe, James C. [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Cardiac troponins, which are used as myocardial injury markers, are released in plasma only after tissue damage has occurred. Therefore, there is a need for identification of biomarkers of earlier events in cardiac injury to limit the extent of damage. To accomplish this, expression profiling of 1179 unique microRNAs (miRNAs) was performed in a chronic cardiotoxicity mouse model developed in our laboratory. Male B6C3F{sub 1} mice were injected intravenously with 3 mg/kg doxorubicin (DOX; an anti-cancer drug), or saline once a week for 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 weeks, resulting in cumulative DOX doses of 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg, respectively. Mice were euthanized a week after the last dose. Cardiac injury was evidenced in mice exposed to 18 mg/kg and higher cumulative DOX dose whereas examination of hearts by light microscopy revealed cardiac lesions at 24 mg/kg DOX. Also, 24 miRNAs were differentially expressed in mouse hearts, with the expression of 1, 1, 2, 8, and 21 miRNAs altered at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg DOX, respectively. A pro-apoptotic miR-34a was the only miRNA that was up-regulated at all cumulative DOX doses and showed a significant dose-related response. Up-regulation of miR-34a at 6 mg/kg DOX may suggest apoptosis as an early molecular change in the hearts of DOX-treated mice. At 12 mg/kg DOX, up-regulation of miR-34a was associated with down-regulation of hypertrophy-related miR-150; changes observed before cardiac injury. These findings may lead to the development of biomarkers of earlier events in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity that occur before the release of cardiac troponins. - Highlights: • Upregulation of miR-34a before doxorubicin-induced cardiac tissue injury • Apoptosis might be an early event in mouse heart during doxorubicin treatment. • Expression of miR-150 declined before doxorubicin-induced cardiac tissue injury.

  7. AMP-activated protein kinase α2 and E2F1 transcription factor mediate doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity by forming a positive signal loop in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and non-carcinoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wookyeom; Park, In-Ja; Yun, Hee; Im, Dong-Uk; Ock, Sangmi; Kim, Jaetaek; Seo, Seon-Mi; Shin, Ha-Yeon; Viollet, Benoit; Kang, Insug; Choe, Wonchae; Kim, Sung-Soo; Ha, Joohun

    2014-02-21

    Doxorubicin is one of the most widely used anti-cancer drugs, but its clinical application is compromised by severe adverse effects in different organs including cardiotoxicity. In the present study we explored mechanisms of doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity by revealing a novel role for the AMP-activated protein kinase α2 (AMPKα2) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Doxorubicin robustly induced the expression of AMPKα2 in MEFs but slightly reduced AMPKα1 expression. Our data support the previous notion that AMPKα1 harbors survival properties under doxorubicin treatment. In contrast, analyses of Ampkα2(-/-) MEFs, gene knockdown of AMPKα2 by shRNA, and inhibition of AMPKα2 activity with an AMPK inhibitor indicated that AMPKα2 functions as a pro-apoptotic molecule under doxorubicin treatment. Doxorubicin induced AMPKα2 at the transcription level via E2F1, a transcription factor that regulates apoptosis in response to DNA damage. E2F1 directly transactivated the Ampkα2 gene promoter. In turn, AMPKα2 significantly contributed to stabilization and activation of E2F1 by doxorubicin, forming a positive signal amplification loop. AMPKα2 directly interacted with and phosphorylated E2F1. This signal loop was also detected in H9c2, C2C12, and ECV (human epithelial cells) cells as well as mouse liver under doxorubicin treatment. Resveratrol, which has been suggested to attenuate doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity, significantly blocked induction of AMPKα2 and E2F1 by doxorubicin, leading to protection of these cells. This signal loop appears to be non-carcinoma-specific because AMPKα2 was not induced by doxorubicin in five different tested cancer cell lines. These results suggest that AMPKα2 may serve as a novel target for alleviating the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin.

  8. Biomaterial-based regional chemotherapy: Local anticancer drug delivery to enhance chemotherapy and minimize its side-effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krukiewicz, Katarzyna; Zak, Jerzy K

    2016-05-01

    Since the majority of anticancer pharmacological agents affect not only cancer tissue but also normal cells, chemotherapy is usually accompanied with severe side effects. Regional chemotherapy, as the alternative version of conventional treatment, leads to the enhancement of the therapeutic efficiency of anticancer drugs and, simultaneously, reduction of toxic effects to healthy tissues. This paper provides an insight into different approaches of local delivery of chemotherapeutics, such as the injection of anticancer agents directly into tumor tissue, the use of injectable in situ forming drug carriers or injectable platforms in a form of implants. The wide range of biomaterials used as reservoirs of anticancer drugs is described, i.e. poly(ethylene glycol) and its copolymers, polyurethanes, poly(lactic acid) and its copolymers, poly(ɛ-caprolactone), polyanhydrides, chitosan, cellulose, cyclodextrins, silk, conducting polymers, modified titanium surfaces, calcium phosphate based biomaterials, silicone and silica implants, as well as carbon nanotubes and graphene. To emphasize the applicability of regional chemotherapy in cancer treatment, the commercially available products approved by the relevant health agencies are presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Combining automatic table classification and relationship extraction in extracting anticancer drug-side effect pairs from full-text articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Rong; Wang, QuanQiu

    2015-02-01

    Anticancer drug-associated side effect knowledge often exists in multiple heterogeneous and complementary data sources. A comprehensive anticancer drug-side effect (drug-SE) relationship knowledge base is important for computation-based drug target discovery, drug toxicity predication and drug repositioning. In this study, we present a two-step approach by combining table classification and relationship extraction to extract drug-SE pairs from a large number of high-profile oncological full-text articles. The data consists of 31,255 tables downloaded from the Journal of Oncology (JCO). We first trained a statistical classifier to classify tables into SE-related and -unrelated categories. We then extracted drug-SE pairs from SE-related tables. We compared drug side effect knowledge extracted from JCO tables to that derived from FDA drug labels. Finally, we systematically analyzed relationships between anti-cancer drug-associated side effects and drug-associated gene targets, metabolism genes, and disease indications. The statistical table classifier is effective in classifying tables into SE-related and -unrelated (precision: 0.711; recall: 0.941; F1: 0.810). We extracted a total of 26,918 drug-SE pairs from SE-related tables with a precision of 0.605, a recall of 0.460, and a F1 of 0.520. Drug-SE pairs extracted from JCO tables is largely complementary to those derived from FDA drug labels; as many as 84.7% of the pairs extracted from JCO tables have not been included a side effect database constructed from FDA drug labels. Side effects associated with anticancer drugs positively correlate with drug target genes, drug metabolism genes, and disease indications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Doxorubicin hinders DNA condensation promoted by the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima, C H M; de Paula, H M C; da Silva, L H M; Rocha, M S

    2017-12-01

    In this work, we have studied the interaction between the anticancer drug doxorubicin (doxo) and condensed DNA, using optical tweezers. To perform this task, we use the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the working buffer to mimic two key conditions present in the real intracellular environment: the condensed state of the DNA and the abundant presence of charged macromolecules in the surrounding medium. In particular, we have found that, when doxo is previously intercalated in disperse DNA, the drug hinders the DNA condensation process upon the addition of BSA in the buffer. On the other hand, when bare DNA is firstly condensed by BSA, doxo is capable to intercalate and to unfold the DNA condensates at relatively high concentrations. In addition, a specific interaction between BSA and doxo was verified, which significantly changes the chemical equilibrium of the DNA-doxo interaction. Finally, the presence of BSA in the buffer stabilizes the double-helix structure of the DNA-doxo complexes, preventing partial DNA denaturation induced by the stretching forces. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Dapson in heterocyclic chemistry, part VIII: synthesis, molecular docking and anticancer activity of some novel sulfonylbiscompounds carrying biologically active 1,3-dihydropyridine, chromene and chromenopyridine moieties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al-Said Mansour S

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Several new sulfonebiscompounds having a biologically active 1,2-dihydropyridine-2-one 3–19, acrylamide 20, chromene 21, 22 and chromenopyridine 23, 24 moieties were synthesized and evaluated as potential anticancer agents. The structures of the products were confirmed via elemental analyses and spectral data. The screening tests showed that many of the biscompounds obtained exhibited good anticancer activity against human breast cell line (MCF7 comparable to doxorubicin which was used as reference drug. Compounds 11, 17 and 24 showed IC50 values 35.40 μM, 29.86 μM and 30.99 μM, respectively. In order to elucidate the mechanism of action of the synthesized compounds as anticancer agents, docking on the active site of farnesyltransferase and arginine methyltransferase was also performed and good results were obtained.

  12. Nano-Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increase Therapeutic Efficacy of Anticancer Drug Through True Active Tumor Targeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layek, Buddhadev; Sadhukha, Tanmoy; Panyam, Jayanth; Prabha, Swayam

    2018-06-01

    Tumor-targeted drug delivery has the potential to improve therapeutic efficacy and mitigate non-specific toxicity of anticancer drugs. However, current drug delivery approaches rely on inefficient passive accumulation of the drug carrier in the tumor. We have developed a unique, truly active tumor-targeting strategy that relies on engineering mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) with drug-loaded nanoparticles. Our studies using the A549 orthotopic lung tumor model show that nano-engineered MSCs carrying the anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX) home to tumors and create cellular drug depots that release the drug payload over several days. Despite significantly lower doses of PTX, nano-engineered MSCs resulted in significant inhibition of tumor growth and superior survival. Anticancer efficacy of nano-engineered MSCs was confirmed in immunocompetent C57BL/6 albino female mice bearing orthotopic Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LL/2-luc) tumors. Furthermore, at doses that resulted in equivalent therapeutic efficacy, nano-engineered MSCs had no effect on white blood cell count, whereas PTX solution and PTX nanoparticle treatments caused leukopenia. Biodistribution studies showed that nano-engineered MSCs resulted in greater than 9-fold higher AUC lung of PTX (1.5 μg.day/g) than PTX solution and nanoparticles (0.2 and 0.1 μg.day/g tissue, respectively) in the target lung tumors. Furthermore, the lung-to-liver and the lung-to-spleen ratios of PTX were several folds higher for nano-engineered MSCs relative to those for PTX solution and nanoparticle groups, suggesting that nano-engineered MSCs demonstrate significantly less off-target deposition. In summary, our results demonstrate that nano-engineered MSCs can serve as an efficient carrier for tumor-specific drug delivery and significantly improved anti-cancer efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutic drugs. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(6); 1196-206. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  13. Abatement by Naringenin of Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Toxicity in Rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arafa, H.M.; Abd-Ellah, M.F.; Hafez, H.F.

    2005-01-01

    Doxorubicin is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in current use. It has proven efficacy in various malignancies either alone or combined with other cytocidal agents. The clinical usefulness of the anthracycline drug has been precluded by cardiac toxicity. Many therapeutic interventions have been attempted to improve the therapeutic benefits of the drug. Few, however, have been efficacious in this setting. Purpose: We have addressed in the current study the possible protective effects of naringenin, a flavonoid known to have anti-oxidant properties, on doxorubicin induced cardiac toxicity in male Swiss albino rats. Methods: Forty male Swiss albino rats were used in this study. Naringenin (25 mg/kg body weight) was administered daily by gavage for 7 consecutive days before a cumulative single dose of doxorubicin (15 mg/kg body weight, ip). Doxorubicin induced marked biochemical alterations characteristic of cardiac toxicity including, elevated activities of serum total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK), enhanced lipid peroxidation measured as malonaldehyde (MDA). The anthracycline drug has also reduced the cardiac enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-Stransferase (GST) and catalase (CAT). Besides, it reduced significantly the reduced glutathione (GSH) level, but it increased the total NO content in heart tissue. Prior administration of naringenin ahead of doxorubicin challenge ameliorated all these biochemical markers. Taken together, one could conclude that naringenin has a protective role in the abatement of doxorubicin-induced cardiac toxicity that resides, at least in part, on its anti-radical effects and regulatory role on NO production

  14. Mathematical modeling analysis of intratumoral disposition of anticancer agents and drug delivery systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popilski, Hen; Stepensky, David

    2015-05-01

    Solid tumors are characterized by complex morphology. Numerous factors relating to the composition of the cells and tumor stroma, vascularization and drainage of fluids affect the local microenvironment within a specific location inside the tumor. As a result, the intratumoral drug/drug delivery system (DDS) disposition following systemic or local administration is non-homogeneous and its complexity reflects the differences in the local microenvironment. Mathematical models can be used to analyze the intratumoral drug/DDS disposition and pharmacological effects and to assist in choice of optimal anticancer treatment strategies. The mathematical models that have been applied by different research groups to describe the intratumoral disposition of anticancer drugs/DDSs are summarized in this article. The properties of these models and of their suitability for prediction of the drug/DDS intratumoral disposition and pharmacological effects are reviewed. Currently available mathematical models appear to neglect some of the major factors that govern the drug/DDS intratumoral disposition, and apparently possess limited prediction capabilities. More sophisticated and detailed mathematical models and their extensive validation are needed for reliable prediction of different treatment scenarios and for optimization of drug treatment in the individual cancer patients.

  15. Chitosan-coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system inhibits cell growth of liver cancer via p53/PRC1 pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Bai-Liang; Zheng, Ru; Ruan, Xiao-Jiao; Zheng, Zhi-Hai; Cai, Hua-Jie

    2018-01-01

    Nano-particles have been widely used in target-specific drug delivery system and showed advantages in cancers treatment. This study aims to evaluate the effect of chitosan coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system in liver cancer. The chitosan nano-particles were prepared by using the ionic gelation method. The characterizations of the nano-particles were determined by transmission electron microscopy. The cytotoxicity was detected by MTT assay, and the endocytosis, cell apoptosis and cell cycle were examined by flow cytometry. The protein level was analyzed with western blot. The dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess the interaction between p53 and the promoter of PRC1, and chromatin immune-precipitation was used to verify the binding between them. The FA-CS-DOX nano-particles were irregular and spherical particles around 30-40 nm, with uniform size and no adhesion. No significant difference was noted in doxorubicin release rate between CS-DOX and FA-CS-DOX. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles showed stronger cytotoxicity than CS-DOX. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles promoted the apoptosis and arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase, and they up-regulated p53. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles inhibited cell survival through p53/PRC1 pathway. Chitosan-coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system inhibits cell growth of liver cancer by promoting apoptosis and arresting cell cycle at G2/M phase through p53/PRC1 pathway. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. INFLUENCE OF METRONIDAZOLE ON BIOLOGICAL ACTION OF DOXORUBICIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Yagubov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Investigation of the effect of the Metronizatol on the biological effect of Doxirubicin.Materials and methods. The studies were performed in the CBA/Lac males and C57Bl/6 females mice grafted with melanoma B16 and mucinous ovarian cancer CaO‑1. Metronidazole and Doxorubicin were used in the work. The antitumor effect was assessed by tumor volume and inhibition of tumor growth.Results. The data obtained indicate that Metronidazole used in oncologic practice for the treatment and prevention of infectious complications, and as a radiosensitizer, can enhance the antitumor effect of Doxorubicin, but this effect is accompanied by a significant increase of the cytostatic toxicity. These effects are leveled by increasing the interval between injections of Metronidazole and Doxorubicin up to 4 hours.Conclusion. The enhancement of the antitumor activity of Doxorubicin under the influence of Metronidazole depends on the interval between the administration of these drugs. When Metronidazole is used in cancer patients, the possibility of enhancing the toxic effect of cytostatics should be considered when they are simultaneously exposed. Patients receiving chemotherapy should be administered antitumor drugs no earlier than 4 hours after exposure to Metronidazole. 

  17. Fatal adverse drug reactions of anticancer drugs detected by all-case post-marketing surveillance in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mori, Jinichi; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Miura, Yuji; Kami, Masahiro

    2015-06-01

    All-case post-marketing surveillance of newly approved anticancer drugs is usually conducted on all patients in Japan. The present study investigates whether all-case post-marketing surveillance identifies fatal adverse drug reactions undetected before market entry. We examined fatal adverse drug reactions identified via all-case post-marketing surveillance by reviewing the disclosed post-marketing surveillance results, and determined the time points in which the fatal adverse drug reactions were initially reported by reviewing drug labels. We additionally scanned emergency alerts on the Japanese regulatory authority website to assess the relationship between all-case post-marketing surveillance and regulatory action. Twenty-five all-case post-marketing surveillances were performed between January 1999 and December 2009. Eight all-case post-marketing surveillances with final results included information on all fatal cases. Of these, the median number of patients was 1287 (range: 106-4998), the median number of fatal adverse drug reactions was 14.5 (range: 4-23). Of the 111 fatal adverse drug reactions detected in the eight post-marketing surveillances, only 28 (25.0%) and 22 (19.6%) were described on the initial global and the initial Japanese drug label, respectively, and 58 (52.3%) fatal adverse drug reactions were first described in the all-case post-marketing surveillance reports. Despite this, the regulatory authority issued only four warning letters, and two of these were prompted by case reports from the all-case post-marketing surveillance. All-case post-marketing surveillance of newly approved anticancer drugs in Japan was useful for the rigorous compilation of non-specific adverse drug reactions, but it rarely detected clinically significant fatal adverse drug reactions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Anticancer peptides from bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz M. Karpiński

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Cancer is a leading cause of death in the world. The rapid development of medicine and pharmacology allows to create new and effective anticancer drugs. Among modern anticancer drugs are bacterial proteins. Until now has been shown anticancer activity among others azurin and exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pep27anal2 from Streptococcus pneumoniae, diphtheria toxin from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and recently discovered Entap from Enterococcus sp. The study presents the current data regarding the properties, action and anticancer activity of listed peptides.

  19. Comparing Apoptosis and Necrosis Effects of Arctium Lappa Root Extract and Doxorubicin on MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 Cell Lines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghafari, Fereshteh; Rajabi, Mohammad Reza; Mazoochi, Tahereh; Taghizadeh, Mohsen; Nikzad, Hossein; Atlasi, Mohammad Ali; Taherian, Aliakbar

    2017-03-01

    Objective: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and very common malignancy in women worldwide. The efficacy of chemotherapy as an important part of breast cancer treatment is limited due to its side effects. While pharmaceutical companies are looking for better chemicals, research on traditional medicines that generally have fewer side effects is quite interesting. In this study, apoptosis and necrosis effect of Arctium lappa and doxorubicin was compared in MCF7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Materials and Methods: MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS and 100 U/ml penicillin/streptomycin. MTT assay and an annexin V/propidium iodide (AV/PI) kit were used respectively to compare the survival rate and apoptotic effects of different concentrations of doxorubicin and Arctium lappa root extract on MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells. Results: Arctium lappa root extract was able to reduce cell viability of the two cell lines in a dose and time dependent manner similar to doxorubicin. Flow cytometry results showed that similar to doxorubicin, Arctium Lappa root extract had a dose and time dependent apoptosis effect on both cell lines. 10μg/mL of Arctium lappa root extract and 5 μM of doxorubicin showed the highest anti-proliferative and apoptosis effect in MCF7 and MDA231 cells. Conclusion: The MCF7 (ER/PR-) and MDA-MB-231 (ER/PR+) cell lines represent two major breast cancer subtypes. The similar anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of Arctium lappa root extract and doxorubicin (which is a conventional chemotherapy drug) on two different breast cancer cell lines strongly suggests its anticancer effects and further studies. Creative Commons Attribution License

  20. Acridine Orange Conjugated Polymersomes for Simultaneous Nuclear Delivery of Gemcitabine and Doxorubicin to Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anajafi, Tayebeh; Scott, Michael D; You, Seungyong; Yang, Xiaoyu; Choi, Yongki; Qian, Steven Y; Mallik, Sanku

    2016-03-16

    Considering the systemic toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, there is an urgent need to develop new targeted drug delivery systems. Herein, we have developed a new nuclear targeted, redox sensitive, drug delivery vehicle to simultaneously deliver the anticancer drugs gemcitabine and doxorubicin to the nuclei of pancreatic cancer cells. We prepared polymeric bilayer vesicles (polymersomes), and actively encapsulated the drug combination by the pH gradient method. A redox-sensitive polymer (PEG-S-S-PLA) was incorporated to sensitize the formulation to reducing agent concentration. Acridine orange (AO) was conjugated to the surface of the polymersomes imparting nuclear localizing property. The polymersomes' toxicity and efficacy were compared with those of a free drug combination using monolayer and three-dimensional spheroid cultures of pancreatic cancer cells. We observed that the redox sensitive, nuclear-targeted polymersomes released more than 60% of their encapsulated contents in response to 50 mM glutathione. The nanoparticles are nontoxic; however, the drug encapsulated vesicles have significant toxicity. The prepared formulation can increase the drug's therapeutic index by delivering the drugs directly to the cells' nuclei, one of the key organelles in the cells. This study is likely to initiate research in targeted nuclear delivery using other drug formulations in other types of cancers.

  1. Large-scale automatic extraction of side effects associated with targeted anticancer drugs from full-text oncological articles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Rong; Wang, QuanQiu

    2015-06-01

    Targeted anticancer drugs such as imatinib, trastuzumab and erlotinib dramatically improved treatment outcomes in cancer patients, however, these innovative agents are often associated with unexpected side effects. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these side effects are not well understood. The availability of a comprehensive knowledge base of side effects associated with targeted anticancer drugs has the potential to illuminate complex pathways underlying toxicities induced by these innovative drugs. While side effect association knowledge for targeted drugs exists in multiple heterogeneous data sources, published full-text oncological articles represent an important source of pivotal, investigational, and even failed trials in a variety of patient populations. In this study, we present an automatic process to extract targeted anticancer drug-associated side effects (drug-SE pairs) from a large number of high profile full-text oncological articles. We downloaded 13,855 full-text articles from the Journal of Oncology (JCO) published between 1983 and 2013. We developed text classification, relationship extraction, signaling filtering, and signal prioritization algorithms to extract drug-SE pairs from downloaded articles. We extracted a total of 26,264 drug-SE pairs with an average precision of 0.405, a recall of 0.899, and an F1 score of 0.465. We show that side effect knowledge from JCO articles is largely complementary to that from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug labels. Through integrative correlation analysis, we show that targeted drug-associated side effects positively correlate with their gene targets and disease indications. In conclusion, this unique database that we built from a large number of high-profile oncological articles could facilitate the development of computational models to understand toxic effects associated with targeted anticancer drugs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Peptide-based proteasome inhibitors in anticancer drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micale, Nicola; Scarbaci, Kety; Troiano, Valeria; Ettari, Roberta; Grasso, Silvana; Zappalà, Maria

    2014-09-01

    The identification of the key role of the eukaryotic 26S proteasome in regulated intracellular proteolysis and its importance as a target in many pathological conditions wherein the proteasomal activity is defective (e.g., malignancies, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.) prompted several research groups to the development of specific inhibitors of this multicatalytic complex with the aim of obtaining valid drug candidates. In regard to the anticancer therapy, the peptide boronate bortezomib (Velcade®) represents the first molecule approved by FDA for the treatment of multiple myeloma in 2003 and mantle cell lymphoma in 2006. Since then, a plethora of molecules targeting the proteasome have been identified as potential anticancer agents and a few of them reached clinical trials or are already in the market (i.e., carfilzomib; Kyprolis®). In most cases, the design of new proteasome inhibitors (PIs) takes into account a proven peptide or pseudopeptide motif as a base structure and places other chemical entities throughout the peptide skeleton in such a way to create an efficacious network of interactions within the catalytic sites. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth look at the current state of the research in the field of peptide-based PIs, specifically those ones that might find an application as anticancer agents. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Immune mechanisms regulating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of PEGylated liposomal anticancer agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Gina

    Nanotechnology has made significant advances in drug delivery system for the treatment of cancer. Among various nanoparticle (NP) platforms, liposomes have been most widely used as a NP drug carrier for cancer therapy. High variation in pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of liposome-based therapeutics has been reported. However, the interaction of liposome-based therapeutics with the immune system, specifically the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), and underlying molecular mechanisms for variable responses to liposomal drugs remain poorly understood. The objective of this dissertation was to elucidate immune mechanisms for the variable responses to PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD; DoxilRTM), a clinically relevant NP, in animal models and in patients. In vitro, in vivo and clinical systems were investigated to evaluate the effects of chemokines (CCL2 and CCL5), heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment, and genetic variations on PK and PD of PLD. Results showed that there was a significantly positive linear relationship between PLD exposure (AUC) and total amount of CCL2 and CCL5, most prevalent chemokines in plasma, in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Consistent with these findings, preclinical studies using mice bearing SKOV3 orthotopic ovarian cancer xenografts demonstrated that PLD induced the production and secretion of chemokines into plasma. In addition, in vitro studies using human monocytic THP-1 cells demonstrated that PLD altered monocyte migration towards CCL2 and CCL5. The PK and efficacy studies of PLD in murine models of breast cancer showed that heterogeneous tumor microenvironment was associated with significantly different tumor delivery and efficacy of PLD, but not small molecule doxorubicin between two breast tumor models. A candidate genetic locus that was associated with clearance of PLD in 23 inbred mouse strains contains a gene that encodes for engulfment adapter PTB domain containing 1 (Gulp1). By using

  4. Systemic co-delivery of doxorubicin and siRNA using nanoparticles conjugated with EGFR-specific targeting peptide to enhance chemotherapy in ovarian tumor bearing mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, C. W.; Lin, W. J., E-mail: wjlin@ntu.edu.tw [National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy (China)

    2013-10-15

    This aim of this study was to develop peptide-conjugated nanoparticles (NPs) for systemic co-delivery of siRNA and doxorubicin to enhance chemotherapy in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) high-expressed ovarian tumor bearing mice. The active targeting NPs were prepared using heptapeptide-conjugated poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol). The particle sizes of peptide-free and peptide-conjugated NPs were 159.3 {+-} 32.5 and 184.0 {+-} 52.9 nm, respectively, with zeta potential -21.3 {+-} 3.8 and -15.3 {+-} 2.8 mV. The peptide-conjugated NPs uptake were more efficient in EGFR high-expressed SKOV3 cells than in EGFR low-expressed HepG2 cells due to heptapeptide specificity. The NPs were used to deliver small molecule anticancer drug (e.g., doxorubicin) and large molecule genetic agent (e.g., siRNA). The IC{sub 50} of doxorubicin-loaded peptide-conjugated NPs (0.09 {+-} 0.06 {mu}M) was significantly lower than peptide-free NPs (5.72 {+-} 2.64 {mu}M). The similar result was observed in siRNA-loaded NPs. The peptide-conjugated NPs not only served as a nanocarrier to efficiently deliver doxorubicin and siRNA to EGFR high-expressed ovarian cancer cells but also increased the intracellular accumulation of the therapeutic agents to induce assured anti-tumor growth effect in vivo.

  5. RPAP3 enhances cytotoxicity of doxorubicin by impairing NF-kappa B pathway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimada, Kana; Saeki, Makio; Egusa, Hiroshi; Fukuyasu, Sho; Yura, Yoshiaki; Iwai, Kazuhiro; Kamisaki, Yoshinori

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → RNA polymerase II-associated protein 3 (RPAP3) possesses an activity to bind with NEMO and to inhibit the ubiquitination of NEMO. → RPAP3 enhances doxorubicin-induced cell death in breast cancer cell line T-47D through the marked impairment of NF-κB pathway. → RPAP3 is a novel modulator of NF-κB pathway in apoptosis induced by anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents. -- Abstract: Activation of anti-apoptotic gene transcription by NF-κB (nuclear factor-kappa B) has been reported to be linked with a resistance of cancer cells against chemotherapy. NEMO (NF-κB essential modulator) interacts with a number of proteins and modulates the activity of NF-κB pathway. In this study, we revealed that RPAP3 (RNA polymerase II-associated protein 3) possesses an activity to bind with NEMO and to inhibit the ubiquitination of NEMO and that RPAP3 enhances doxorubicin-induced cell death in breast cancer cell line T-47D through the marked impairment of NF-κB pathway. These results indicate that RPAP3 may be a novel modulator of NF-κB pathway in apoptosis induced by anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents.

  6. Thiazolidinone motif in anticancer drug discovery. Experience of DH LNMU medicinal chemistry scientific group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subtel’na I. Yu.

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim was analysis of 4-thiazolidinones and related heterocyclic systems anticancer activity data and formation of some rational design directions of potential anticancer agents. Synthetic research carried out in Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (DH LNMU allowed us to propose a whole number of new molecular design directions of biological active 4-thiazolidinones and related heterocyclic systems, as well as obtain directed library that numbers over 5000 of novel compounds. At the present time in vitro anticancer activity screening was carried out for more than 1000 compounds (US NCI protocol (Developmental Therapeutic Program, among them 167 compounds showed high antitumor activity level. For the purpose of optimization and rational design of highly active molecules with optimal «drug-like» characteristics and discovering of possible mechanism of action SAR, QSAR analysis and molecular docking were carried out. The ultimate aim of the project is creating of innovative synthetic drug with special mechanism of action and sufficient pharmacological and toxicological features. Some aspects of structure–activity relationships were determined and structure design directions were proposed. The series of active compounds with high anticancer activity and/or selectivity levels were selected.

  7. Preparation of slow release anticancer drug by means of radiation technique and IT's therapeutic effect on sold tumor of mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Ximing; Shen Weiming; Liu Chengjie; Hu Xu

    1991-01-01

    In order to minimize the toxic effect of chemotherapy of malignant tumors, the authors use a method of radiation induced cast polymerization of hydrophilic monomer at low temperature for immobilization the anticancer drug, 5-Fluorouracil, into the polymer matrix. The anticancer drug-polymer composite called slow release anticancer drug was used for treatment the transplantable squamous cell carcinoma in mice 615 and the transplantable sarcoma (S180) in Kunming mice. There were marked difference between the treated group and the control group. That is the higher inhibition ratio and lower toxic effect were reported

  8. Folate-decorated chitosan/doxorubicin poly(butyl)cyanoacrylate nanoparticles for tumor-targeted drug delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duan Jinghua [Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hepatobiliary and Enteric Surgery Research Center (China); Liu Mujun [Central South University, School of Biological Science and Technology (China); Zhang Yangde; Zhao Jinfeng; Pan Yifeng [Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hepatobiliary and Enteric Surgery Research Center (China); Yang Xiyun, E-mail: bax_2007@126.com [Central South University, School of Metallurgical Science and Engineering (China)

    2012-03-15

    A novel chitosan coated poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) (PBCA) nanoparticles loaded doxorubicin (DOX) were synthesized and then conjugated with folic acid to produce a folate-targeted drug carrier for tumor-specific drug delivery. Prepared nanoparticles were surface modified by folate for targeting cancer cells, which is confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and characterized for shape, size, and zeta potential measurements. The size and zeta potential of prepared DOX-PBCA nanoparticles (DOX-PBCA NPs) were almost 174 {+-} 8.23 nm and +23.14 {+-} 4.25 mV, respectively with 46.8 {+-} 3.32% encapsulation capacity. The transmission electron microscopy study revealed that preparation allowed the formation of spherical nanometric and homogeneous. Fluorescent microscopy imaging and flow cytometry analysis revealed that DOX-PBCA NPs were endocytosed into MCF-7 cells through the interaction with overexpressed folate receptors on the surface of the cancer cells. The results demonstrate that folate-conjugated DOX-PBCA NPs drug delivery system could provide increased therapeutic benefit by delivering the encapsulated drug to the folate receptor positive cancer cells.

  9. Hedgehog Signals Mediate Anti-Cancer Drug Resistance in Three-Dimensional Primary Colorectal Cancer Organoid Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatsuya Usui

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death worldwide. In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, combination treatment with several anti-cancer drugs is employed and improves overall survival in some patients. Nevertheless, most patients with metastatic disease are not cured owing to the drug resistance. Cancer stem cells are known to regulate resistance to chemotherapy. In the previous study, we established a novel three-dimensional organoid culture model from tumor colorectal tissues of human patients using an air–liquid interface (ALI method, which contained numerous cancer stem cells and showed resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU and Irinotecan. Here, we investigate which inhibitor for stem cell-related signal improves the sensitivity for anti-cancer drug treatment in tumor ALI organoids. Treatment with Hedgehog signal inhibitors (AY9944, GANT61 decreases the cell viability of organoids compared with Notch (YO-01027, DAPT and Wnt (WAV939, Wnt-C59 signal inhibitors. Combination treatment of AY9944 or GANT61 with 5-FU, Irinotecan or Oxaliplatin decreases the cell viability of tumor organoids compared with each anti-cancer drug alone treatment. Treatment with AY9944 or GANT61 inhibits expression of stem cell markers c-Myc, CD44 and Nanog, likely through the decrease of their transcription factor, GLI-1 expression. Combination treatment of AY9944 or GANT61 with 5-FU or Irinotecan also prevents colony formation of colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW480. These findings suggest that Hedgehog signals mediate anti-cancer drug resistance in colorectal tumor patient-derived ALI organoids and that the inhibitors are useful as a combinational therapeutic strategy against colorectal cancer.

  10. Inhibition of WNT signaling reduces differentiation and induces sensitivity to doxorubicin in human malignant neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suebsoonthron, Junjira; Jaroonwitchawan, Thiranut; Yamabhai, Montarop; Noisa, Parinya

    2017-06-01

    Neuroblastoma is one of the most common cancers in infancy, arising from the neuroblasts during embryonic development. This cancer is difficult to treat and resistance to chemotherapy is often found; therefore, clinical trials of novel therapeutic approaches, such as targeted-cancer signaling, could be an alternative for a better treatment. WNT signaling plays significant roles in the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of human neuroblastoma. In this report, WNT signaling of a malignant human neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y cells, was inhibited by XAV939, a specific inhibitor of the Tankyrase enzyme. XAV939 treatment led to the reduction of β-catenin within the cells, confirming its inhibitory effect of WNT. The inhibition of WNT signaling by XAV939 did not affect cell morphology, survival, and proliferation; however, the differentiation and sensitivity to anticancer drugs of human neuroblastoma cells were altered. The treatment of XAV939 resulted in the downregulation of mature neuronal markers, including β-tubulin III, PHOX2A, and PHOX2B, whereas neural progenitor markers (PAX6, TFAP2α, and SLUG) were upregulated. In addition, the combination of XAV939 significantly enhanced the sensitivity of SH-SY5Y and IMR-32 cells to doxorubicin in both 2D and 3D culture systems. Microarray gene expression profiling suggested numbers of candidate target genes of WNT inhibition by XAV939, in particular, p21, p53, ubiquitin C, ZBED8, MDM2, CASP3, and FZD1, and this explained the enhanced sensitivity of SH-SY5Y cells to doxorubicin. Altogether, these results proposed that the altered differentiation of human malignant neuroblastoma cells by inhibiting WNT signaling sensitized the cells to anticancer drugs. This approach could thus serve as an effective treatment option for aggressive brain malignancy.

  11. Hierarchical self-assembly of heparin-PEG end-capped porous silica as a redox sensitive nanocarrier for doxorubicin delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nguyen Thi, Thu Thao; Tran, Tuong Vi; Tran, Ngoc Quyen [Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang City 550000 (Viet Nam); Institute of Applied Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 (Viet Nam); Nguyen, Cuu Khoa [Institute of Applied Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 (Viet Nam); Nguyen, Dai Hai, E-mail: nguyendaihai0511@gmail.com [Institute of Applied Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City 70000 (Viet Nam)

    2017-01-01

    Porous nanosilica (PNS) has been attracting a great attention in fabrication carriers for drug delivery system (DDS). However, unmodified PNS-based carriers exhibited the initial burst release of loaded bioactive molecules, which may limit their potential clinical application. In this study, the surface of PNS was conjugated with adamantylamine (A) via disulfide bonds (PNS-SS-A) which was functionalized with cyclodextrin-heparin-polyethylene glycol (CD-HPEG) for redox triggered doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. The modified PNS was successfully formed with spherical shape and diameter around 50 nm determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). DOX was efficiently trapped in the PNS-SS-A@CD-HPEG and slowly released in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) without any initial burst effect. Importantly, the release of DOX was triggered due to the cleavage of the disulfide bonds in the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT). In addition, the MTT assay data showed that PNS-SS-A@CD-HPEG was a biocompatible nanocarrier and reduced the toxicity of DOX. These results demonstrated that PNS-SS-A@CD-HPEG has great potential as a novel nanocarrier for anticancer drug in cancer therapy. - Graphic abstract: Hierarchical self-assembly of heparin-PEG end-capped mesoporous silica through host-guest interaction for trapping doxorubicin. The copolymer attached on PNS via disulfide bond which is rapidly cleaved in redox environment, and as a result a huge amount of doxorubicin will release. - Highlights: • Novel redox-responsive nanocarriers based on surface-modified porous nanosilica (PNS) were developed. • Spherical-shaped PNS nanoparticles with diameter around 50 nm were obtained. • Doxorubicin (DOX) was effectively loaded and released in a controlled manner without any initial burst release by surface modification of PNS. • The redox-responsive properties of the modified PNS were demonstrated due to reductive cleavage of disulfide bonds in dithiothreitol (DTT). • The

  12. Anticancer peptides from bacteria

    OpenAIRE

    Tomasz M. Karpiński; Anna K. Szkaradkiewicz

    2013-01-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of death in the world. The rapid development of medicine and pharmacology allows to create new and effective anticancer drugs. Among modern anticancer drugs are bacterial proteins. Until now has been shown anticancer activity among others azurin and exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pep27anal2 from Streptococcus pneumoniae, diphtheria toxin from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and recently discovered Entap from Enterococcus sp. The study presents the current data ...

  13. Direct interaction between verapamil and doxorubicin causes the lack of reversal effect of verapamil on P-glycoprotein mediated resistance to doxorubicin in vitro using L1210/VCR cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breier, A.; Drobna, Z.; Barancik, M.

    1998-01-01

    Mouse leukemic cell sub-line L 1210/VCR exerts expressive multidrug resistance (MDR) that is mediated by P-glycoprotein. Cells originally adapted to vincristine are also extremely resistant to doxorubicin. Resistance to both vincristine and doxorubicin is connected with depression of drug uptake. While resistance of L 121 O cells to vincristine could be reversed by verapamil as chemo-sensitizer, resistance of cells to doxorubicin was insensitive to verapamil. Action of verapamil (well-known inhibitor of PGP activity) on multidrug resistance was often used as evidence that MDR is mediated by PGP. From this point it may be possible that the resistance of L1210/VCR cells to vincristine is mediated by PGP and the resistance to doxorubicin is mediated by other PGP-independent system. Another and more probable explanation of different effect of verapamil on resistance of L1210/VCR cells to vincristine and doxorubicin may be deduced from the following fact: Using UV spectroscopy we found that doxorubicin dissolved in water buffered medium interacts effectively with verapamil. This interaction may be responsible for the decrease of concentration of both drugs in free effective form and consequently for higher survival of cells. In contrast to doxorubicin vincristine does not give any interaction with verapamil that is measurable by UV spectroscopy and resistance of L1210/VCR cells to vincristine may be fully reversed by verapamil. (authors)

  14. A pH-Sensitive Injectable Nanoparticle Composite Hydrogel for Anticancer Drug Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuanfeng Ye

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available According to previous reports, low pH-triggered nanoparticles were considered to be excellent carriers for anticancer drug delivery, for the reason that they could trigger encapsulated drug release at mild acid environment of tumor. Herein, an acid-sensitive β-cyclodextrin derivative, namely, acetalated-β-cyclodextrin (Ac-β-CD, was synthesized by acetonation and fabricated to nanoparticles through single oil-in-water (o/w emulsion technique. At the same time, camptothecin (CPT, a hydrophobic anticancer drug, was encapsulated into Ac-β-CD nanoparticles in the process of nanoparticle fabrication. Formed nanoparticles exhibited nearly spherical structure with diameter of 209±40 nm. The drug release behavior of nanoparticles displayed pH dependent changes due to hydrolysis of Ac-β-CD. In order to overcome the disadvantages of nanoparticle and broaden its application, injectable hydrogels with Ac-β-CD nanoparticles were designed and prepared by simple mixture of nanoparticles solution and graphene oxide (GO solution in this work. The injectable property was confirmed by short gelation time and good mobility of two precursors. Hydrogels were characterized by dynamic mechanical test and SEM, which also reflected some structural features. Moreover, all hydrogels underwent a reversible sol-gel transition in alkaline environment. Finally, the results of in vitro drug release profile indicated that hydrogel could control drug release or bind drug inside depending on the pH value of released medium.

  15. Benefit and harms of new anti-cancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vera-Badillo, Francisco E; Al-Mubarak, Mustafa; Templeton, Arnoud J; Amir, Eitan

    2013-06-01

    Phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assess clinically important differences in endpoints that reflect benefit to and harm of patients. Defining benefit of cancer drugs can be difficult. Overall survival and quality of life are the most relevant primary endpoints, but difficulty in measuring these mean that other endpoints are often used, although their surrogacy or clinical relevance has not always been established. In general, advances in drug development have led to numerous new drugs to enter the market. Pivotal RCT of several new drugs have shown that benefit appeared greater for targeted anticancer agents than for chemotherapeutic agents. This effect seems particularly evident with targeted agents evaluated in biomarker-driven studies. Unfortunately, new therapies have also shown an increase in toxicity. Such toxicity is not always evident in the initial reports of RCTs. This may be a result of a statistical inability to detect differences between arms of RCTs, or occasionally due to biased reporting. There are several examples where reports of new toxicities could only be found in drug labels. In some cases, the small improvement in survival has come at a cost of substantial excess toxicity, leading some to consider such therapy as having equipoise.

  16. Reverting doxorubicin resistance in colon cancer by targeting a key signaling protein, steroid receptor coactivator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Sang; Xiao, Gong-Wei

    2018-04-01

    Although there have been notable improvements in treatments against cancer, further research is required. In colon cancer, nearly all patients eventually experience drug resistance and stop responding to the approved drugs, making treatment difficult. Steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) is an oncogenic nuclear receptor coactivator that serves an important role in drug resistance. The present study generated a doxorubicin-resistant colon cancer cell line, in which the upregulation/activation of SRC was responsible for drug resistance, which in turn activated AKT. Overexpression of receptor tyrosine kinase-like epidermal growth factor receptor and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor also induced SRC expression. It was observed that doxorubicin resistance in colon cancer also induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition, a decrease in expression of epithelial marker E-cadherin and an increase in the expression of mesenchymal markers, including N-cadherin and vimentin. Additionally, the present study indicated that SRC acts as a common signaling node, and inhibiting SRC in combination with doxorubicin treatment in doxorubicin-resistant cells aids in reversing the resistance. Thus, the present study suggests that activation of SRC is responsible for doxorubicin resistance in colon cancer. However, further research is required to understand the complete mechanism of how drug resistance occurs and how it may be tackled to treat patients.

  17. When ubiquitin meets NF-κB: a trove for anti-cancer drug development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zhao-Hui; Shi, Yuling

    2013-01-01

    During the last two decades, the studies on ubiquitination in regulating transcription factor NF-κB activation have elucidated the expanding role of ubiquitination in modulating cellular events by non-proteolytic mechanisms, as well as by proteasomal degradation. The significance of ubiquitination has also been recognized in regulating gene transcription, epigenetic modifications, kinase activation, DNA repair and subcellular translocation. This progress has been translated into novel strategies for developing anti-cancer therapeutics, exemplified by the success of the first FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor drug Bortezomib. Here we discuss the current understanding of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and how it is involved in regulating NF-κB signaling pathways in response to a variety of stimuli. We also focus on the recent progress of anti-cancer drug development targeting various steps of ubiquitination process, and the potential of these drugs in cancer treatment as related to their impact on NF-κB activation.

  18. Glutathione responsive micelles incorporated with semiconducting polymer dots and doxorubicin for cancer photothermal-chemotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Zhixiong; Zhang, Da; Lin, Xinyi; Chen, Yunzhu; Wu, Ming; Wei, Zuwu; Zhang, Zhenxi; Liu, Xiaolong; Yao, Cuiping

    2017-10-01

    Nanoplatform integrated with photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy has been recognized a promising agent for enhancing cancer therapeutic outcomes, but still suffer from less controllability for optimizing their synergistic effects. We fabricated glutathione (GSH) responsive micelles incorporated with semiconducting polymer dots and doxorubicin (referred as SPDOX NPs) for combining PTT with chemotherapy to enhance cancer therapeutic efficiency. These micelles, with excellent water dispersibility, comprises of three distinct functional components: (1) the monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-S-S-hexadecyl (mPEG-S-S-C16), which forms the micelles, can render hydrophobic substances water-soluble and improve the colloidal stability; (2) disulfide linkages can be cleaved in a reductive environment for tumor specific drug release due to the high GSH concentrations of tumor micro-environment; (3) PCPDTBT dots and anti-cancer drug DOX that are loaded inside the hydrophobic core of the micelle can be applied to simultaneously perform PTT and chemotherapy to achieve significantly enhanced tumor killing efficiency both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our studies demonstrated that our SPDOX NPs with simultaneous photothermal-chemotherapy functions could be a promising platform for a tumor specific responsive drug delivery system.

  19. Hypothalamic energy metabolism is impaired by doxorubicin independently of inflammation in non-tumour-bearing rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antunes, Barbara M M; Lira, Fabio Santos; Pimentel, Gustavo Duarte; Rosa Neto, José Cesar; Esteves, Andrea Maculano; Oyama, Lila Missae; de Souza, Cláudio Teodoro; Gonçalves, Cinara Ludvig; Streck, Emilio Luiz; Rodrigues, Bruno; dos Santos, Ronaldo Vagner; de Mello, Marco Túlio

    2015-08-01

    We sought to explore the effects of doxorubicin on inflammatory profiles and energy metabolism in the hypothalamus of rats. To investigate these effects, we formed two groups: a control (C) group and a Doxorubicin (DOXO) group. Sixteen rats were randomly assigned to either the control (C) or DOXO groups. The hypothalamus was collected. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α and energy metabolism (malate dehydrogenase, complex I and III activities) were analysed in the hypothalamus. The DOXO group exhibited a decreased body weight (p hypothalamus is a central organ that regulates a great number of functions, such as food intake, temperature and energy expenditure, among others. Doxorubicin can lead to deep anorexia and metabolic chaos; thus, we observed the effect of this chemotherapeutic drug on the inflammation and metabolism in rats after the administration of doxorubicin in order to understand the central effect in the hypothalamus. Drug treatment by doxorubicin is used as a cancer therapy; however the use of this drug may cause harmful alterations to the metabolism. Thus, further investigations are needed on the impact of drug therapy over the long term. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Phytantriol based liquid crystal provide sustained release of anticancer drug as a novel embolic agent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Lingzhen; Mei, Liling; Shan, Ziyun; Huang, Ying; Pan, Xin; Li, Ge; Gu, Yukun; Wu, Chuanbin

    2016-01-01

    Phytantriol has received increasing amount of attention in drug delivery system, however, the ability of the phytantriol based liquid crystal as a novel embolic agent to provide a sustained release delivery system is yet to be comprehensively demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to prepare a phytantriol-based cubic phase precursor solution loaded with anticancer drug hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT) and evaluate its embolization properties, in vitro drug release and cytotoxicity. Phase behavior of the phytantriol-solvent-water system was investigated by visual inspection and polarized light microscopy, and no phase transition was observed in the presence of HCPT within the studied dose range. Water uptake by the phytantriol matrices was determined gravimetrically, suggesting that the swelling complied with the second order kinetics. In vitro evaluation of embolic efficacy indicated that the isotropic solution displayed a satisfactory embolization effect. In vitro drug release results showed a sustained-release up to 30 days and the release behavior was affected by the initial composition and drug loading. Moreover, the in vitro cytotoxicity and anticancer activity were evaluated by MTT assay. No appreciable mortality was observed for NIH 3T3 cells after 48 h exposure to blank formulations, and the anticancer activity of HCPT-loaded formulations to HepG2 and SMMC7721 cells was strongly dependent on the drug loading and treatment time. Taken together, these results indicate that phytantriol-based cubic phase embolic gelling solution is a promising potential carrier for HCPT delivery to achieve a sustained drug release by vascular embolization, and this technology may be potential for clinical applications.

  1. Functionalization of Carbon Nanomaterial Surface by Doxorubicin and Antibodies to Tumor Markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perepelytsina, Olena M.; Yakymchuk, Olena M.; Sydorenko, Mychailo V.; Bakalinska, Olga N.; Bloisi, Francesco; Vicari, Luciano Rosario Maria

    2016-06-01

    The actual task of oncology is effective treatment of cancer while causing a minimum harm to the patient. The appearance of polymer nanomaterials and technologies launched new applications and approaches of delivery and release of anticancer drugs. The goal of work was to test ultra dispersed diamonds (UDDs) and onion-like carbon (OLCs) as new vehicles for delivery of antitumor drug (doxorubicin (DOX)) and specific antibodies to tumor receptors. Stable compounds of UDDs and OLCs with DOX were obtained. As results of work, an effectiveness of functionalization was 2.94 % w/ w for OLC-DOX and 2.98 % w/ w for UDD-DOX. Also, there was demonstrated that UDD-DOX and OLC-DOX constructs had dose-dependent cytotoxic effect on tumor cells in the presence of trypsin. The survival of adenocarcinoma cells reduced from 52 to 28 % in case of incubation with the UDD-DOX in concentrations from 8.4-2.5 to 670-20 μg/ml and from 72 to 30 % after incubation with OLC-DOX. Simultaneously, antibodies to epidermal growth factor maintained 75 % of the functional activity and specificity after matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation deposition. Thus, the conclusion has been made about the prospects of selected new methods and approaches for creating an antitumor agent with capabilities targeted delivery of drugs.

  2. PRESCRIPTION PATTERN OF ANTICANCER DRUGS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary Rohini

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Carcinoma is one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world . Chemotherapy is main stay of treatment with other modalities in the management. Present study had been conducted to evaluate prescribing pattern of anticancer drugs. An observational, retrospective study was conducted in the oncology department of ESI hos pital over a period of one year. Data of patients greater than 19 years and diagnosed as carcinoma were included in the study. Out of 197 enrolled patients, majority were female (134, 68% and in the age group of 41 - 60 years (147, 74.61% patients. Carcino ma of breast (58, 29.44% was most commonly reported followed by carcinoma head and neck (46, 23.35%, and carcinoma cervix (34, 17.25%. Chemotherapy was commonly used as combination regimens (160, 81.21%. 5 - Fluoro Uracil (5 - FU and platinum based combin ation were most frequently prescribed (60, 30.45% especially in head and neck carcinoma (46, 23.35%. Platinum based combinations were also used in management of lung carcinoma. Dexamethasone, Ranitidine, Ondansetron, were used as palliative therapy eithe r to prevent or manage adverse reactions of anticancer drugs

  3. DNA origami as an in vivo drug delivery vehicle for cancer therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qian; Jiang, Qiao; Li, Na; Dai, Luru; Liu, Qing; Song, Linlin; Wang, Jinye; Li, Yaqian; Tian, Jie; Ding, Baoquan; Du, Yang

    2014-07-22

    Many chemotherapeutics used for cancer treatments encounter issues during delivery to tumors in vivo and may have high levels of systemic toxicity due to their nonspecific distribution. Various materials have been explored to fabricate nanoparticles as drug carriers to improve delivery efficiency. However, most of these materials suffer from multiple drawbacks, such as limited biocompatibility and inability to engineer spatially addressable surfaces that can be utilized for multifunctional activity. Here, we demonstrate that DNA origami possessed enhanced tumor passive targeting and long-lasting properties at the tumor region. Particularly, the triangle-shaped DNA origami exhibits optimal tumor passive targeting accumulation. The delivery of the known anticancer drug doxorubicin into tumors by self-assembled DNA origami nanostructures was performed, and this approach showed prominent therapeutic efficacy in vivo. The DNA origami carriers were prepared through the self-assembly of M13mp18 phage DNA and hundreds of complementary DNA helper strands; the doxorubicin was subsequently noncovalently intercalated into these nanostructures. After conducting fluorescence imaging and safety evaluation, the doxorubicin-containing DNA origami exhibited remarkable antitumor efficacy without observable systemic toxicity in nude mice bearing orthotopic breast tumors labeled with green fluorescent protein. Our results demonstrated the potential of DNA origami nanostructures as innovative platforms for the efficient and safe drug delivery of cancer therapeutics in vivo.

  4. Enhanced antitumor efficacy and reduced systemic toxicity of sulfatide-containing nanoliposomal doxorubicin in a xenograft model of colorectal cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia Lin

    Full Text Available Sulfatide is a glycosphingolipid known to interact with several extracellular matrix proteins, such as tenascin-C which is overexpressed in many types of cancer including that of the colon. In view of the limited success of chemotherapy in colorectal cancer and high toxicity of doxorubicin (DOX, a sulfatide-containing liposome (SCL encapsulation approach was taken to overcome these barriers. This study assessed the in vitro cytotoxicity, biodistribution, therapeutic efficacy and systemic toxicity in vivo of sulfatide-containing liposomal doxorubicin (SCL-DOX using human colonic adenocarcinoma HT-29 xenograft as the experimental model. In vitro, SCL-DOX was shown to be delivered into the nuclei and displayed prolonged retention compared with the free DOX. The use of this nanodrug delivery system to deliver DOX for treatment of tumor-bearing mice produced a much improved therapeutic efficacy in terms of tumor growth suppression and extended survival in contrast to the free drug. Furthermore, treatment of tumor-bearing mice with SCL-DOX resulted in a lower DOX uptake in the principal sites of toxicity of the free drug, namely the heart and skin, as well as reduced myelosuppression and diminished cardiotoxicity. Such natural lipid-guided nanodrug delivery systems may represent a new strategy for the development of effective anticancer chemotherapeutics targeting the tumor microenvironment for both primary tumor and micrometastases.

  5. Preparation, quality control and biodistribution of [61Cu]-doxorubicin for PET imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jalilian, A.R.; Akhlaghi, M.; Zandi, H.; Yousefnia, H.; Faghihi, R.

    2009-01-01

    This work was conducted for radiolabeling of an anticancer antibiotic, i.e. doxorubicin with 61 Cu for production of possible tracer used in PET oncology. 61 Cu was prepared with natural zinc target and 22 MeV 150 μA protons via nat Zn(p, xn) 61 Cu reaction with a yield of 123.2 MBq·μA -1 ·h -1 . Optimization reactions were performed for pH, temperature and concentration. Biodistribution of the tracer was studied in normal and fibrosarcoma bearing mice. At the optimized conditions, ITLC showed that radiochemical purity was over 97% with a specific activity of 2.22 X 10 3 MBq·mmol -1 ·L -1 . This was kept unchanged even with presence of human serum as well as room temperature for 5 h. Biodistribution of the tracer in fibrosarcoma bearing mice demonstrated significant tumor uptake after 2 h. This tracer can be used in the detection of various tumors responding to doxorubicin chemotherapy using PET scan and/or determination of tumor therapy response to doxorubicin chemotherapy. (authors)

  6. Doxorubicin loaded nanodiamond-silk spheres for fluorescence tracking and controlled drug release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalid, Asma; Mitropoulos, Alexander N.; Marelli, Benedetto; Tomljenovic-Hanic, Snjezana; Omenetto, Fiorenzo G.

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticle (NP) based technologies have proved to be considerably beneficial for advances in biomedicine especially in the areas of disease detection, drug delivery and bioimaging. Over the last few decades, NPs have garnered interest for their exemplary impacts on the detection, treatment, and prevention of cancer. The full potential of these technologies are yet to be employed for clinical use. The ongoing research and development in this field demands single multifunctional composite materials that can be employed simultaneously for drug delivery and biomedical imaging. In this manuscript, a unique combination of silk fibroin (SF) and nanodiamonds (NDs) in the form of nanospheres are fabricated and investigated. The spheres were loaded with the anthracyline Doxorubicin (DoX) and the drug release kinetics for these ND-SF-DoX (NDSX) spheres were studied. NDs provided the fluorescence modality for imaging while the degradable SF spheres stabilized and released the drug in a controlled manner. The emission and structural properties of the spheres were characterized during drug release. The degradability of SF and the subsequent release of DoX from the spheres were monitored through fluorescence of NDs inside the spheres. This research demonstrates the enormous potential of the ND-SF nanocomposite platforms for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, which are both important for pharmaceutical research and clinical settings. PMID:26819823

  7. Polypeptide-based nanogels co-encapsulating a synergistic combination of doxorubicin with 17-AAG show potent anti-tumor activity in ErbB2-driven breast cancer models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desale, Swapnil S; Raja, Srikumar M; Kim, Jong Oh; Mohapatra, Bhopal; Soni, Kruti S; Luan, Haitao; Williams, Stetson H; Bielecki, Timothy A; Feng, Dan; Storck, Matthew; Band, Vimla; Cohen, Samuel M; Band, Hamid; Bronich, Tatiana K

    2015-06-28

    ErbB2-driven breast cancers constitute 20-25% of the cases diagnosed within the USA. The humanized anti-ErbB2 monoclonal antibody, Trastuzumab (Herceptin™; Genentech), with chemotherapy is the current standard of treatment. Novel agents and strategies continue to be explored, given the challenges posed by Trastuzumab-resistance development in most patients. The HSP90 inhibitor, 17-allylaminodemethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), which induces ErbB2 degradation and attenuates downstream oncogenic signaling, is one such agent that showed significant promise in early phase I and II clinical trials. Its low water solubility, potential toxicities and undesirable side effects observed in patients, partly due to the Cremophor-based formulation, have been discouraging factors in the advancement of this promising drug into clinical use. Encapsulation of 17-AAG into polymeric nanoparticle formulations, particularly in synergistic combination with conventional chemotherapeutics, represents an alternative approach to overcome these problems. Herein, we report an efficient co-encapsulation of 17-AAG and doxorubicin, a clinically well-established and effective modality in breast cancer treatment, into biodegradable and biocompatible polypeptide-based nanogels. Dual drug-loaded nanogels displayed potent cytotoxicity in a breast cancer cell panel and exerted selective synergistic anticancer activity against ErbB2-overexpressing breast cancer cell lines. Analysis of ErbB2 degradation confirmed efficient 17-AAG release from nanogels with activity comparable to free 17-AAG. Furthermore, nanogels containing both 17-AAG and doxorubicin exhibited superior antitumor efficacy in vivo in an ErbB2-driven xenograft model compared to the combination of free drugs. These studies demonstrate that polypeptide-based nanogels can serve as novel nanocarriers for encapsulating 17-AAG along with other chemotherapeutics, providing an opportunity to overcome solubility issues and thereby exploit its full

  8. Biodegradable polymers for targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doppalapudi, Sindhu; Jain, Anjali; Domb, Abraham J; Khan, Wahid

    2016-06-01

    Biodegradable polymers have been used for more than three decades in cancer treatment and have received increased interest in recent years. A range of biodegradable polymeric drug delivery systems designed for localized and systemic administration of therapeutic agents as well as tumor-targeting macromolecules has entered into the clinical phase of development, indicating the significance of biodegradable polymers in cancer therapy. This review elaborates upon applications of biodegradable polymers in the delivery and targeting of anti-cancer agents. Design of various drug delivery systems based on biodegradable polymers has been described. Moreover, the indication of polymers in the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs via passive, active targeting, and localized drug delivery are also covered. Biodegradable polymer-based drug delivery systems have the potential to deliver the payload to the target and can enhance drug availability at desired sites. Systemic toxicity and serious side effects observed with conventional cancer therapeutics can be significantly reduced with targeted polymeric systems. Still, there are many challenges that need to be met with respect to the degradation kinetics of the system, diffusion of drug payload within solid tumors, targeting tumoral tissue and tumor heterogeneity.

  9. Doxorubicin Blocks Cardiomyocyte Autophagic Flux by Inhibiting Lysosome Acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dan L; Wang, Zhao V; Ding, Guanqiao; Tan, Wei; Luo, Xiang; Criollo, Alfredo; Xie, Min; Jiang, Nan; May, Herman; Kyrychenko, Viktoriia; Schneider, Jay W; Gillette, Thomas G; Hill, Joseph A

    2016-04-26

    The clinical use of doxorubicin is limited by cardiotoxicity. Histopathological changes include interstitial myocardial fibrosis and the appearance of vacuolated cardiomyocytes. Whereas dysregulation of autophagy in the myocardium has been implicated in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, the role of autophagy in doxorubicin cardiomyopathy remains poorly defined. Most models of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity involve intraperitoneal injection of high-dose drug, which elicits lethargy, anorexia, weight loss, and peritoneal fibrosis, all of which confound the interpretation of autophagy. Given this, we first established a model that provokes modest and progressive cardiotoxicity without constitutional symptoms, reminiscent of the effects seen in patients. We report that doxorubicin blocks cardiomyocyte autophagic flux in vivo and in cardiomyocytes in culture. This block was accompanied by robust accumulation of undegraded autolysosomes. We go on to localize the site of block as a defect in lysosome acidification. To test the functional relevance of doxorubicin-triggered autolysosome accumulation, we studied animals with diminished autophagic activity resulting from haploinsufficiency for Beclin 1. Beclin 1(+/-) mice exposed to doxorubicin were protected in terms of structural and functional changes within the myocardium. Conversely, animals overexpressing Beclin 1 manifested an amplified cardiotoxic response. Doxorubicin blocks autophagic flux in cardiomyocytes by impairing lysosome acidification and lysosomal function. Reducing autophagy initiation protects against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

  10. Clopidogrel in a combined therapy with anticancer drugs-effect on tumor growth, metastasis, and treatment toxicity: Studies in animal models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agnieszka Denslow

    Full Text Available Clopidogrel, a thienopyridine derivative with antiplatelet activity, is widely prescribed for patients with cardiovascular diseases. In addition to antiplatelet activity, antiplatelet agents possess anticancer and antimetastatic properties. Contrary to this, results of some studies have suggested that the use of clopidogrel and other thienopyridines accelerates the progression of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of clopidogrel and various anticancer agents as a combined treatment using mouse models of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. Metastatic dissemination, selected parameters of platelet morphology and biochemistry, as well as angiogenesis were assessed. In addition, body weight, blood morphology, and biochemistry were evaluated to test toxicity of the studied compounds. According to the results, clopidogrel increased antitumor and/or antimetastatic activity of chemotherapeutics such as 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, and mitoxantrone, whereas it decreased the anticancer activity of doxorubicin, cisplatin, and tamoxifen. The mechanisms of such divergent activities may be based on the modulation of tumor vasculature via factors, such as transforming growth factor β1 released from platelets. Moreover, clopidogrel increased the toxicity of docetaxel and protected against mitoxantrone-induced toxicity, which may be due to the modulation of hepatic enzymes and protection of the vasculature, respectively. These results demonstrate that antiplatelet agents can be useful but also dangerous in anticancer treatment and therefore use of thienopyridines in patients undergoing chemotherapy should be carefully evaluated.

  11. Synergistic Effect of Endogenous and Exogenous Aldehydes on Doxorubicin Toxicity in Yeast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana S. Miles

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Anthracyclines are frequently used to treat many cancers including triple negative breast cancer, which is commonly observed in African-American women (AA, and tend to be more aggressive, carry worse prognoses, and are harder to manage because they lack molecular targets. Although effective, anthracyclines use can be limited by serious side effects and eventually the development of drug resistance. In S. cerevisiae, mutants of HOM6 display hypersensitivity to doxorubicin. HOM6 is required for synthesis of threonine and interruption of the pathway leads to accumulation of the threonine intermediate L-aspartate-semialdehyde. This intermediate may synergize with doxorubicin to kill the cell. In fact, deleting HOM3 in the first step, preventing the pathway to reach the HOM6 step, rescues the sensitivity of the hom6 strain to doxorubicin. Using several S. cerevisiae strains (wild type, hom6, hom3, hom3hom6, ydj1, siz1, and msh2, we determined their sensitivity to aldehydes and to their combination with doxorubicin, cisplatin, and etoposide. Combination of formaldehyde and doxorubicin was most effective at reducing cell survival by 31-fold–39-fold (in wild type cells relative to doxorubicin and formaldehyde alone. This effect was dose dependent on doxorubicin. Cotreatment with formaldehyde and doxorubicin also showed increased toxicity in anthracycline-resistant strains siz1 and msh2. The hom6 mutant also showed sensitivity to menadione with a 2.5-fold reduction in cell survival. The potential use of a combination of aldehydes and cytotoxic drugs could potentially lead to applications intended to enhance anthracycline-based therapy.

  12. Impact of N-acetylcysteine on antitumor activity of doxorubicin and landomycin A in NK/Ly lymphoma-bearing mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. S. Kozak

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available N-acetylcysteine (NAC is a dietary supplement demonstrating antioxidant and liver protecting effects that is widely used in clinics. NAC is considered to possess potential therapeutic activity for health disorders characterized by generation of free oxygen radicals, as well as potential for decreasing negative side effects of various drugs. However, the mechanisms of such tissue-protective actions of NAC remain poorly understood. The main aim of this work was to study therapeutic effects of NAC applied together with the “gold standard” of chemotherapy doxorubicin (Dx or the novel experimental drug landomycin A (LA to mice bearing NK/Ly lymphoma. It was revealed that NAC significantly decreased the nephrotoxicity of Dx (measured as creatinine level, possessed moderate immunomodulating activity (as revealed by an increase in number of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and partially increased survival of NK/Ly lymphoma-bearing animals treated with Dx. On the contrary, there was little tissue-protective effect of NAC towards LA due to the weak side effects of this anticancer drug, however, the combined use of NAC and LA significantly increased survival (60+ days of LA-treated animals with NK/Ly lymphoma. Summarizing, NAC possesses a moderate tissue-protective activity towards Dx action but lacks a major therapeutic effect. However, in the case of LA action, NAC significantly increases its anticancer activity with no impact on its negative side effects. Further studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying that activity of NAC towards the action of LA are in progress.

  13. Cisplatin and doxorubicin induce distinct mechanisms of ovarian follicle loss; imatinib provides selective protection only against cisplatin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Morgan

    Full Text Available Chemotherapy treatment in premenopausal women has been linked to ovarian follicle loss and premature ovarian failure; the exact mechanism by which this occurs is uncertain. Here, two commonly used chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin and doxorubicin were added to a mouse ovary culture system, to compare the sequence of events that leads to germ cell loss. The ability of imatinib mesylate to protect the ovary against cisplatin or doxorubicin-induced ovarian damage was also examined.Newborn mouse ovaries were cultured for a total of six days, exposed to a chemotherapeutic agent on the second day: this allowed for the examination of the earliest stages of follicle development. Cleaved PARP and TUNEL were used to assess apoptosis following drug treatment. Imatinib was added to cultures with cisplatin and doxorubicin to determine any protective effect.Histological analysis of ovaries treated with cisplatin showed oocyte-specific damage; in comparison doxorubicin preferentially caused damage to the granulosa cells. Cleaved PARP expression significantly increased for cisplatin (16 fold, p<0.001 and doxorubicin (3 fold, p<0.01. TUNEL staining gave little evidence of primordial follicle damage with either drug. Imatinib had a significant protective effect against cisplatin-induced follicle damage (p<0.01 but not against doxorubicin treatment.Cisplatin and doxorubicin both induced ovarian damage, but in a markedly different pattern, with imatinib protecting the ovary against damage by cisplatin but not doxorubicin. Any treatment designed to block the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on the ovary may need to be specific to the drug(s the patient is exposed to.

  14. Sulfur amino acid metabolism in doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Chang Seon; Kwak, Hui Chan; Lee, Kye Sook; Kang, Keon Wook; Oh, Soo Jin; Lee, Ki Ho; Kim, Hwan Mook; Ma, Jin Yeul; Kim, Sang Kyum

    2011-01-01

    Although methionine dependency is a phenotypic characteristic of tumor cells, it remains to be determined whether changes in sulfur amino acid metabolism occur in cancer cells resistant to chemotherapeutic medications. We compared expression/activity of sulfur amino acid metabolizing enzymes and cellular levels of sulfur amino acids and their metabolites between normal MCF-7 cells and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/Adr) cells. The S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio, an index of transmethylation potential, in MCF-7/Adr cells decreased to ∼ 10% relative to that in MCF-7 cells, which may have resulted from down-regulation of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase. Expression of homocysteine-clearing enzymes, such as cystathionine beta-synthase, methionine synthase/methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, and betaine homocysteine methyltransferase, was up-regulated in MCF-7/Adr cells, suggesting that acquiring doxorubicin resistance attenuated methionine-dependence and activated transsulfuration from methionine to cysteine. Homocysteine was similar, which is associated with a balance between the increased expressions of homocysteine-clearing enzymes and decreased extracellular homocysteine. Despite an elevation in cysteine, cellular GSH decreased in MCF-7/Adr cells, which was attributed to over-efflux of GSH into the medium and down-regulation of the GSH synthesis enzyme. Consequently, MCF-7/Adr cells were more sensitive to the oxidative stress induced by bleomycin and menadione than MCF-7 cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that regulating sulfur amino acid metabolism may be a possible therapeutic target for chemoresistant cancer cells. These results warrant further investigations to determine the role of sulfur amino acid metabolism in acquiring anticancer drug resistance in cancer cells using chemical and biological regulators involved in sulfur amino acid metabolism. - Research highlights: → MCF-7/Adr cells showed decreases in cellular GSH

  15. Algerian Propolis Potentiates Doxorubicin Mediated Anticancer Effect against Human Pancreatic PANC-1 Cancer Cell Line through Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis Induction and P-Glycoprotein Inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouibah, Hassiba; Mesbah, Lahouel; Kebsa, Wided; Zihlif, Malek; Ahram, Mamoun; Aburmeleih, Bachaer; Mostafa, Ibtihal; El Amir, Hemzeh

    2018-01-10

    Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancer, with poor prognosis and high resistant to current chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies and targets are underscored. Propolis has been reported to exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities including anticancer activity. This study was carried out to assess the possible efficacy of Algerian propolis on the antitumor effect of doxorubicin on human pancreatic cancer cell line (PANC-1). Modifications in cell viability, apoptosis and cell cycle progression, Pgp activity and intracellular accumulation of DOX were monitored to study the synergistic effect of Algerian propolis on the antitumor effects of DOX in PANC-1 cell line. Both propolis and its combination with doxorubicin inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In the presence of 100 µg/ml of propolis, the IC50 of DOX against PANC-1 cells decreased by 10.9-fold. Propolis combined with DOX increased after 48h, the number of cells in the G0G1 phase with dramatical increase in sub-G1 phase to reach 47% of total cells, corresponding to an increase of senescence or apoptotic state of the cells. Dead cell assay with annexinV/PI staining demonstrated that propolis and propolis-DOX treatment resulted in a remarkable induction of apoptosis as detected by flow cytometry. It was interesting to note that propolis at its 5IC50 was found as the most potent inducer of apoptosis. Our finding revealed that induced apoptosis in our conditions was caspase-3 and caspase-9 dependent. Flow cytometry showed that propolis increased the accumulation of doxorubicin within PANC-1 cells. Moreover, fluorescent intensity detection revealed that propolis remarkably increased the retention of rhodamine-123, 7-fold compared to 3-fold of verapamil, the most effective P-gp inhibitor. In conclusion, propolis sensitize pancreatic cancer cells to DOX via enhancing the intracellular retention of DOX

  16. Oxygen radical detoxification enzymes in doxorubicin-sensitive and -resistant P388 murine leukemia cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramu, A.; Cohen, L.; Glaubiger, D.

    1984-01-01

    One of the proposed mechanisms for the cytotoxic effects of anthracycline compounds suggests that the effect is mediated through the formation of intracellular superoxide radicals. It is therefore possible that doxorubicin resistance is associated with increased intracellular enzyme capacity to convert these superoxide radicals to inactive metabolites. We have measured the relative activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase in P388 mouse leukemia cells and in a doxorubicin-resistant subline. Since oxygen-reactive metabolites also play a role in mediating the cytotoxicity of ionizing radiation, the radiosensitivity of both cell lines was also studied. No significant differences in superoxide dismutase activity between these cell lines was observed, indicating that they have a similar capacity to convert superoxide anion radicals to hydrogen peroxide. P388 cells that are resistant to doxorubicin have 1.5 times the glutathione content and 1.5 times the activity of glutathione peroxidase measured in drug-sensitive P388 cells. However, incubation with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, which covalently binds glutathione, had no effect on the sensitivity of either cell line to doxorubicin. Measured catalase activity in drug-resistant P388 cells was one-third of the activity measured in doxorubicin-sensitive P388 cells. The activity of this enzyme was much higher than that of glutathione peroxidase in terms of H 2 O 2 deactivation in both cell lines. It is therefore unlikely that doxorubicin-resistant P388 cells have an increased ability to detoxify reactive oxygen metabolites when compared to drug-sensitive cells. Doxorubicin-resistant P388 cells were significantly more sensitive to X-irradiation than were drug-sensitive P388 cells. These observations suggest that the difference in catalase activity in these cell lines may be associated with the observed differences in radiosensitivity

  17. The Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia enables predictive modelling of anticancer drug sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barretina, Jordi; Caponigro, Giordano; Stransky, Nicolas; Venkatesan, Kavitha; Margolin, Adam A; Kim, Sungjoon; Wilson, Christopher J; Lehár, Joseph; Kryukov, Gregory V; Sonkin, Dmitriy; Reddy, Anupama; Liu, Manway; Murray, Lauren; Berger, Michael F; Monahan, John E; Morais, Paula; Meltzer, Jodi; Korejwa, Adam; Jané-Valbuena, Judit; Mapa, Felipa A; Thibault, Joseph; Bric-Furlong, Eva; Raman, Pichai; Shipway, Aaron; Engels, Ingo H; Cheng, Jill; Yu, Guoying K; Yu, Jianjun; Aspesi, Peter; de Silva, Melanie; Jagtap, Kalpana; Jones, Michael D; Wang, Li; Hatton, Charles; Palescandolo, Emanuele; Gupta, Supriya; Mahan, Scott; Sougnez, Carrie; Onofrio, Robert C; Liefeld, Ted; MacConaill, Laura; Winckler, Wendy; Reich, Michael; Li, Nanxin; Mesirov, Jill P; Gabriel, Stacey B; Getz, Gad; Ardlie, Kristin; Chan, Vivien; Myer, Vic E; Weber, Barbara L; Porter, Jeff; Warmuth, Markus; Finan, Peter; Harris, Jennifer L; Meyerson, Matthew; Golub, Todd R; Morrissey, Michael P; Sellers, William R; Schlegel, Robert; Garraway, Levi A

    2012-03-28

    The systematic translation of cancer genomic data into knowledge of tumour biology and therapeutic possibilities remains challenging. Such efforts should be greatly aided by robust preclinical model systems that reflect the genomic diversity of human cancers and for which detailed genetic and pharmacological annotation is available. Here we describe the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE): a compilation of gene expression, chromosomal copy number and massively parallel sequencing data from 947 human cancer cell lines. When coupled with pharmacological profiles for 24 anticancer drugs across 479 of the cell lines, this collection allowed identification of genetic, lineage, and gene-expression-based predictors of drug sensitivity. In addition to known predictors, we found that plasma cell lineage correlated with sensitivity to IGF1 receptor inhibitors; AHR expression was associated with MEK inhibitor efficacy in NRAS-mutant lines; and SLFN11 expression predicted sensitivity to topoisomerase inhibitors. Together, our results indicate that large, annotated cell-line collections may help to enable preclinical stratification schemata for anticancer agents. The generation of genetic predictions of drug response in the preclinical setting and their incorporation into cancer clinical trial design could speed the emergence of 'personalized' therapeutic regimens.

  18. The Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia enables predictive modeling of anticancer drug sensitivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barretina, Jordi; Caponigro, Giordano; Stransky, Nicolas; Venkatesan, Kavitha; Margolin, Adam A.; Kim, Sungjoon; Wilson, Christopher J.; Lehár, Joseph; Kryukov, Gregory V.; Sonkin, Dmitriy; Reddy, Anupama; Liu, Manway; Murray, Lauren; Berger, Michael F.; Monahan, John E.; Morais, Paula; Meltzer, Jodi; Korejwa, Adam; Jané-Valbuena, Judit; Mapa, Felipa A.; Thibault, Joseph; Bric-Furlong, Eva; Raman, Pichai; Shipway, Aaron; Engels, Ingo H.; Cheng, Jill; Yu, Guoying K.; Yu, Jianjun; Aspesi, Peter; de Silva, Melanie; Jagtap, Kalpana; Jones, Michael D.; Wang, Li; Hatton, Charles; Palescandolo, Emanuele; Gupta, Supriya; Mahan, Scott; Sougnez, Carrie; Onofrio, Robert C.; Liefeld, Ted; MacConaill, Laura; Winckler, Wendy; Reich, Michael; Li, Nanxin; Mesirov, Jill P.; Gabriel, Stacey B.; Getz, Gad; Ardlie, Kristin; Chan, Vivien; Myer, Vic E.; Weber, Barbara L.; Porter, Jeff; Warmuth, Markus; Finan, Peter; Harris, Jennifer L.; Meyerson, Matthew; Golub, Todd R.; Morrissey, Michael P.; Sellers, William R.; Schlegel, Robert; Garraway, Levi A.

    2012-01-01

    The systematic translation of cancer genomic data into knowledge of tumor biology and therapeutic avenues remains challenging. Such efforts should be greatly aided by robust preclinical model systems that reflect the genomic diversity of human cancers and for which detailed genetic and pharmacologic annotation is available1. Here we describe the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE): a compilation of gene expression, chromosomal copy number, and massively parallel sequencing data from 947 human cancer cell lines. When coupled with pharmacologic profiles for 24 anticancer drugs across 479 of the lines, this collection allowed identification of genetic, lineage, and gene expression-based predictors of drug sensitivity. In addition to known predictors, we found that plasma cell lineage correlated with sensitivity to IGF1 receptor inhibitors; AHR expression was associated with MEK inhibitor efficacy in NRAS-mutant lines; and SLFN11 expression predicted sensitivity to topoisomerase inhibitors. Altogether, our results suggest that large, annotated cell line collections may help to enable preclinical stratification schemata for anticancer agents. The generation of genetic predictions of drug response in the preclinical setting and their incorporation into cancer clinical trial design could speed the emergence of “personalized” therapeutic regimens2. PMID:22460905

  19. Recent and future advances in anticancer drug delivery: an interview with Khaled Greish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greish, Khaled

    2018-05-01

    Khaled Greish speaks to Hannah Makin, Commissioning Editor: Khaled Greish is Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine, and head of the Nano-research unit, at Princes Al-Jawhara Center, Arabian Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain. His previous appointments included Senior lecturer of Pharmacology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at University of Utah (UT, USA). He has published >70 peer reviewed papers, and ten book chapters in the field of targeted anticancer drug delivery. Controlled Release Society (CRS) awarded him the CRS Postdoctoral Achievement Award in 2008 and in 2010; he was elected as member of the CRS College of Fellows. In recognition of his research, University of Otago awarded him "Early Career Awards for Distinction in Research" in 2014. His research focuses on nanomedicine, tumor vascular biology and anticancer drug discovery/development.

  20. Hyaluronate tethered, "smart" multiwalled carbon nanotubes for tumor-targeted delivery of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datir, Satyajit R; Das, Manasmita; Singh, Raman Preet; Jain, Sanyog

    2012-11-21

    The present study reports the optimized synthesis, physicochemical characterization, and biological evaluation of a novel, multiwalled carbon nanotube-hyaluronic acid (MWCNT-HA) conjugate, complexed with an anticancer agent, Doxorubicin (DOX) via π-π stacking interaction. The therapeutic conjugate was concomitantly labeled with a near-infrared fluorescent dye, Alexa-Flour-647 (AF-647), and radiotracer Technetium-99m ((99m)Tc) to track its whereabouts both in vitro and in vivo via optical and scintigraphic imaging techniques. Covalent functionalization of MWCNTs with HA facilitated their internalization into human lung adenocarcinoma, A549 cells via hyaluronan receptors (HR) mediated endocytosis. Internalized nanotubes showed lysosomal trafficking, followed by low pH-triggered DOX release under endolysosomal conditions. Consequently, DOX-loaded HA-MWCNTs exhibited 3.2 times higher cytotoxicity and increased apoptotic activity than free DOX in equivalent concentrations. Organ distribution studies in Ehlrich ascites tumor (EAT) bearing mice model indicated that tumor specific localization of (99m)Tc-MWCNT-HA-DOX is significantly higher than both free drug and nontargeted MWCNTs. Pharmacodynamic studies in chemically breast-cancer-induced rats showed that the tumor-growth inhibitory effect of HA-MWCNT-DOX was 5 times higher than free DOX in equivalent concentration. DOX delivered through HA-MWCNTs was devoid of any detectable cardiotoxity, hepatotoxicity, or nephrotoxicity. All these promising attributes make HA-MWCNTs a "smart" platform for tumor-targeted delivery of anticancer agents.

  1. N-heterocyclic carbene metal complexes as bio-organometallic antimicrobial and anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Siddappa A; Patil, Shivaputra A; Patil, Renukadevi; Keri, Rangappa S; Budagumpi, Srinivasa; Balakrishna, Geetha R; Tacke, Matthias

    2015-01-01

    Late transition metal complexes that bear N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have seen a speedy growth in their use as both, metal-based drug candidates and potentially active homogeneous catalysts in a plethora of C-C and C-N bond forming reactions. This review article focuses on the recent developments and advances in preparation and characterization of NHC-metal complexes (metal: silver, gold, copper, palladium, nickel and ruthenium) and their biomedical applications. Their design, syntheses and characterization have been reviewed and correlated to their antimicrobial and anticancer efficacies. All these initial discoveries help validate the great potential of NHC-metal derivatives as a class of effective antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

  2. Peroxisomes contribute to oxidative stress in neurons during doxorubicin-based chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moruno-Manchon, Jose F; Uzor, Ndidi-Ese; Kesler, Shelli R; Wefel, Jeffrey S; Townley, Debra M; Nagaraja, Archana Sidalaghatta; Pradeep, Sunila; Mangala, Lingegowda S; Sood, Anil K; Tsvetkov, Andrey S

    2018-01-01

    Doxorubicin, a commonly used anti-neoplastic agent, causes severe neurotoxicity. Doxorubicin promotes thinning of the brain cortex and accelerates brain aging, leading to cognitive impairment. Oxidative stress induced by doxorubicin contributes to cellular damage. In addition to mitochondria, peroxisomes also generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promote cell senescence. Here, we investigated if doxorubicin affects peroxisomal homeostasis in neurons. We demonstrate that the number of peroxisomes is increased in doxorubicin-treated neurons and in the brains of mice which underwent doxorubicin-based chemotherapy. Pexophagy, the specific autophagy of peroxisomes, is downregulated in neurons, and peroxisomes produce more ROS. 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD), an activator of the transcription factor TFEB, which regulates expression of genes involved in autophagy and lysosome function, mitigates damage of pexophagy and decreases ROS production induced by doxorubicin. We conclude that peroxisome-associated oxidative stress induced by doxorubicin may contribute to neurotoxicity, cognitive dysfunction, and accelerated brain aging in cancer patients and survivors. Peroxisomes might be a valuable new target for mitigating neuronal damage caused by chemotherapy drugs and for slowing down brain aging in general. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Doxorubicin induced myocardial injury is exacerbated following ischaemic stress via opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gharanei, M.; Hussain, A. [Department of Biomolecular and Sport Sciences, Coventry University, Cox Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB (United Kingdom); Janneh, O. [Department of Biomolecular and Sport Sciences, Coventry University, Cox Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB (United Kingdom); Pharmacology Research Laboratories, 70, Pembroke Place, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool. L69 3GF (United Kingdom); Maddock, H.L., E-mail: h.maddock@coventry.ac.uk [Department of Biomolecular and Sport Sciences, Coventry University, Cox Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB (United Kingdom)

    2013-04-15

    Chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin are known to cause or exacerbate cardiovascular cell death when an underlying heart condition is present. However, the mechanism of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is unclear. Here we assess the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin in conditions of myocardial ischaemia reperfusion and the mechanistic basis of protection, in particular the role of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) in such protection. The effects of doxorubicin (1 μM) ± cyclosporine A (CsA, 0.2 μM; inhibits mPTP) were investigated in isolated male Sprague–Dawley rats using Langendorff heart and papillary muscle contraction models subjected to simulated ischaemia and reperfusion injury. Isolated rat cardiac myocytes were used in an oxidative stress model to study the effects of drug treatment on mPTP by confocal microscopy. Western blot analysis evaluated the effects of drug treatment on p-Akt and p-Erk 1/2 levels. Langendorff and the isometric contraction models showed a detrimental effect of doxorubicin throughout reperfusion/reoxygenation as well as increased p-Akt and p-Erk levels. Interestingly, CsA not only reversed the detrimental effects of doxorubicin, but also reduced p-Akt and p-Erk levels. In the sustained oxidative stress assay to study mPTP opening, doxorubicin decreased the time taken to depolarization and hypercontracture, but these effects were delayed in the presence of CsA. Collectively, our data suggest for the first that doxorubicin exacerbates myocardial injury in an ischaemia reperfusion model. If the inhibition of mPTP ameliorates the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin, then more selective inhibitors of mPTP should be further investigated for their utility in patients receiving doxorubicin. - Highlights: ► Doxorubicin exacerbates myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury. ► Co-treatment with CsA protects against doxorubicin induced myocardial injury. ► CsA delays doxorubicin induced mPTP opening in laser

  4. Doxorubicin induced myocardial injury is exacerbated following ischaemic stress via opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gharanei, M.; Hussain, A.; Janneh, O.; Maddock, H.L.

    2013-01-01

    Chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin are known to cause or exacerbate cardiovascular cell death when an underlying heart condition is present. However, the mechanism of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity is unclear. Here we assess the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin in conditions of myocardial ischaemia reperfusion and the mechanistic basis of protection, in particular the role of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) in such protection. The effects of doxorubicin (1 μM) ± cyclosporine A (CsA, 0.2 μM; inhibits mPTP) were investigated in isolated male Sprague–Dawley rats using Langendorff heart and papillary muscle contraction models subjected to simulated ischaemia and reperfusion injury. Isolated rat cardiac myocytes were used in an oxidative stress model to study the effects of drug treatment on mPTP by confocal microscopy. Western blot analysis evaluated the effects of drug treatment on p-Akt and p-Erk 1/2 levels. Langendorff and the isometric contraction models showed a detrimental effect of doxorubicin throughout reperfusion/reoxygenation as well as increased p-Akt and p-Erk levels. Interestingly, CsA not only reversed the detrimental effects of doxorubicin, but also reduced p-Akt and p-Erk levels. In the sustained oxidative stress assay to study mPTP opening, doxorubicin decreased the time taken to depolarization and hypercontracture, but these effects were delayed in the presence of CsA. Collectively, our data suggest for the first that doxorubicin exacerbates myocardial injury in an ischaemia reperfusion model. If the inhibition of mPTP ameliorates the cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin, then more selective inhibitors of mPTP should be further investigated for their utility in patients receiving doxorubicin. - Highlights: ► Doxorubicin exacerbates myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury. ► Co-treatment with CsA protects against doxorubicin induced myocardial injury. ► CsA delays doxorubicin induced mPTP opening in laser

  5. Doxorubicin Action on Mitochondria: Relevance to Osteosarcoma Therapy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Jo; Dass, Crispin R

    2018-01-01

    The mitochondria may very well determine the final commitment of the cell to death, particularly in times of energy stress. Cancer chemotherapeutics such as the anthracycline doxorubicin perturb mitochondrial structure and function in tumour cells, as evidenced in osteosarcoma, for which doxorubicin is used clinically as frontline therapy. This same mechanism of cell inhibition is also pertinent to doxorubicin's primary cause of side-effects, that to the cardiac tissue, culminating in such dire events as congestive heart failure. Reactive oxygen species are partly to blame for this effect on the mitochondria, which impact the electron transport chain. As this review highlights that, there is much more to be learnt about the mitochondria and how it is affected by such effective but toxic drugs as doxorubicin. Such information will aid researchers who search for cancer treatment able to preserve mitochondrial number and function in normal cells. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  6. Histopathological effects of doxorubicin on kidneys in rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.A. Ali

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the histolopathological effect of doxorubicin on rat kidney tissue. The drug was administrated by rats at the dose of (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 mg/kg intrapertonial every (84 hr for the three weeks and the doses of (1, 2, 3 mg/kg intrapertonial every 84 hrs for six weeks. The animals were scarified after 48 hr. of last injection. The study revealed congestion, thrombus, blood vessels hemorrhage, vaculation in the cells of glomerular tuft and tubular, tubuo-interstitial degeneration, tubular casts. The injury score revealed significantly increasing in the degree of injury in glomerules in the animals that received 5 mg/kg of doxorubicin for three weeks and also significantly increasing in the degree of injury in glomerules of the animals that received 3 mg/kg of doxorubicin for six weeks as compared with control animals. We concluded that the doxorubicin has histopathological effect on kidney.

  7. Interdependence of initial cell density, drug concentration and exposure time revealed by real-time impedance spectroscopic cytotoxicity assay

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Caviglia, Claudia; Zor, Kinga; Canepa, Silvia

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the combined effect of the initial cell density (12 500, 35 000, 75 000, and 100 000 cells cm−2) and concentration of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin on HeLa cells by performing timedependent cytotoxicity assays using real-time electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A correlation...... between the rate of cell death and the initial cell seeding density was found at 2.5 μM doxorubicin concentration, whereas this was not observed at 5 or 100 μM. By sensing the changes in the cell–substrate interaction using impedance spectroscopy under static conditions, the onset of cytotoxicity...... was observed 5 h earlier than when using a standard colorimetric end-point assay (MTS) which measures changes in the mitochondrial metabolism. Furthermore, with the MTS assay no cytotoxicity was observed after 15 h of incubation with 2.5 μM doxorubicin, whereas the impedance showed at this time point cell...

  8. Preparation and characteristics of lipid nanoemulsion formulations loaded with doxorubicin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiang SP

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Sai-Ping Jiang,1,2,* Sai-Nan He,3,* Yun-Long Li,2,3 Da-Lin Feng,2 Xiao-Yang Lu,1 Yong-Zhong Du,2 He-Yong Yu,3 Fu-Qiang Hu,2 Hong Yuan2 1Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 2College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 3Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Safe and effective lipid nanoemulsion (LNE formulations for the antitumor delivery of doxorubicin is designed. Methods: LNEs composed of medium-chain triglyceride, soybean oil, lecithin, and doxorubicin are prepared by a solvent-diffusion method in an aqueous system. The effects of lipid material composition and polyethylene glycol (PEGylation on the size, drug encapsulation efficiency, and stability of LNEs are investigated. Based on in-vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake tests of A549 (human lung carcinoma cells, in-vivo biodistribution, antitumor activity, and cardiac toxicity are further examined using nude mouse bearing A549 tumor. Results: The LNE size decreases from 126.4 ± 8.7 nm to 44.5 ± 9.3 nm with increased weight ratio of medium-chain triglyceride to soybean oil from 1:4 to 3:2, whereas the encapsulation efficiency of doxorubicin is slightly reduced from 79.2% ± 2.1% to 71.2% ± 2.9%. The PEGylation of LNE by 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[carboxy(PEG2000] (DSPE-PEG 2000 does not significantly change the size and drug encapsulation efficiency. Three-month storage at room temperature and lyophilization process does not affect the drug encapsulation efficiency, whereas the size slightly increases to almost 100 nm. The in-vitro drug-release profiles of LNEs suggest that the present formulation can prolong drug release for 48 hours. LNEs can be internalized into tumor cells in vitro and efficiently accumulate in tumor tissues in vivo by passive targeting

  9. Essential oils from Egyptian aromatic plants as antioxidant and novel anticancer agents in human cancer cell lines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramadan, M. M.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Inhibitors of tumor growth using extracts from aromatic plants are rapidly emerging as important new drug candidates for cancer therapy. The cytotoxicity and in vitro anticancer evaluation of the essential oils from thyme, juniper and clove has been assessed against five different human cancer cell lines (liver HepG2, breast MCF-7, prostate PC3, colon HCT116 and lung A549. A GC/MS analysis revealed that α-pinene, thymol and eugenol are the major components of Egyptian juniper, thyme and clove oils with concentrations of 31.19%, 79.15% and 82.71%, respectively. Strong antioxidant profiles of all the oils are revealed in vitro by DPPH and β-carotene bleaching assays. The results showed that clove oil was similarly potent to the reference drug, doxorubicin in prostate, colon and lung cell lines. Thyme oil was more effective than the doxorubicin in breast and lung cell lines while juniper oil was more effective than the doxorubicin in all the tested cancer cell lines except prostate cancer. In conclusion, the essential oils from Egyptian aromatic plants can be used as good candidates for novel therapeutic strategies for cancer as they possess significant anticancer activity.Los inhibidores de crecimiento de tumores usando extractos de plantas aromáticas están emergiendo con rapidez como nuevos e importantes medicamentos para el tratamiento del cáncer. La citotoxicidad y la acción anticancerígena in vitro de aceites esenciales de tomillo, enebro y clavo han sido evaluadas en cinco líneas celulares de cáncer humano (hígado HepG2, mama MCF-7, próstata PC3, colon HCT116 y pulmón A549. Los análisis de GC/MS mostraron que α-pineno, timol y eugenol son los principales componentes de los aceites egipcios de enebro, tomillo y clavo, con concentraciones de 31,19%, 79,15% y 82,71%, respectivamente. Se demuestra, mediante ensayos in vitro de blanqueo de DPPH y β-caroteno, el enérgico perfil antioxidante de todos los aceites. Los resultados

  10. NSAIDs: Old Drugs Reveal New Anticancer Targets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary A. Piazza

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available There is compelling evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs and cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitors have antineoplastic activity, but toxicity from cyclooxygenase (COX inhibition and the suppression of physiologically important prostaglandins limits their use for cancer chemoprevention. Previous studies as reviewed here suggest that the mechanism for their anticancer properties does not require COX inhibition, but instead involves an off-target effect. In support of this possibility, recent molecular modeling studies have shown that the NSAID sulindac can be chemically modified to selectively design out its COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory activity. Unexpectedly, certain derivatives that were synthesized based on in silico modeling displayed increased potency to inhibit tumor cell growth. Other experiments have shown that sulindac can inhibit phosphodiesterase to increase intracellular cyclic GMP levels and that this activity is closely associated with its ability to selectively induce apoptosis of tumor cells. Together, these studies suggest that COX-independent mechanisms can be targeted to develop safer and more efficacious drugs for cancer chemoprevention.

  11. Peptide-Mediated Liposomal Drug Delivery System Targeting Tumor Blood Vessels in Anticancer Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han-Chung Wu

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Solid tumors are known to recruit new blood vessels to support their growth. Therefore, unique molecules expressed on tumor endothelial cells can function as targets for the antiangiogenic therapy of cancer. Current efforts are focusing on developing therapeutic agents capable of specifically targeting cancer cells and tumor-associated microenvironments including tumor blood vessels. These therapies hold the promise of high efficacy and low toxicity. One recognized strategy for improving the therapeutic effectiveness of conventional chemotherapeutics is to encapsulate anticancer drugs into targeting liposomes that bind to the cell surface receptors expressed on tumor-associated endothelial cells. These anti-angiogenic drug delivery systems could be used to target both tumor blood vessels as well as the tumor cells, themselves. This article reviews the mechanisms and advantages of various present and potential methods using peptide-conjugated liposomes to specifically destroy tumor blood vessels in anticancer therapy.

  12. In situ surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy exploring molecular changes of drug-treated cancer cell nucleus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Lijia; Huang, Dianshuai; Wang, Hailong; Li, Haibo; Xu, Shuping; Chang, Yixin; Li, Hui; Yang, Ying-Wei; Liang, Chongyang; Xu, Weiqing

    2015-02-17

    Investigating the molecular changes of cancer cell nucleus with drugs treatment is crucial for the design of new anticancer drugs, the development of novel diagnostic strategies, and the advancement of cancer therapy efficiency. In order to better understand the action effects of drugs, accurate location and in situ acquisition of the molecular information of the cell nuclei are necessary. In this work, we report a microspectroscopic technique called dark-field and fluorescence coimaging assisted surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, combined with nuclear targeting nanoprobes, to in situ study Soma Gastric Cancer (SGC-7901) cell nuclei treated with two model drugs, e.g., DNA binder (Hoechst33342) and anticancer drug (doxorubicin, Dox) via spectral analysis at the molecular level. Nuclear targeting nanoprobes with an assembly structure of thiol-modified polyethylene glycol polymers (PEG) and nuclear localizing signal peptides (NLS) around gold nanorods (AuNRs) were prepared to achieve the amplified SERS signals of biomolecules in the cell nuclei. With the assistance of dark field/fluorescence imaging with simultaneous location, in situ SERS spectra in one cell nucleus were measured and analyzed to disclose the effects of Hoechst33342 and Dox on main biomolecules in the cell nuclei. The experimental results show that this method possesses great potential to investigate the targets of new anticancer drugs and the real-time monitoring of the dynamic changes of cells caused by exogenous molecules.

  13. Effects of Streptococcus thermophilus TH-4 in a rat model of doxorubicin-induced mucositis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hanru; Brook, Caitlin L; Whittaker, Alexandra L; Lawrence, Andrew; Yazbeck, Roger; Howarth, Gordon S

    2013-08-01

    Mucositis is a debilitating intestinal side effect of chemotherapeutic regimens. Probiotics have been considered a possible preventative treatment for mucositis. Streptococcus thermophilus TH-4 (TH-4), a newly identified probiotic, has been shown to partially alleviate mucositis induced by administration of the antimetabolite chemotherapy drug, methotrexate in rats; likely mediated through a mechanism of folate production. However, its effects against other classes of chemotherapy drug have yet to be determined. The authors investigated the effects of TH-4 in a rat model of mucositis induced by the anthracycline chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin. Gastrointestinal damage was induced in female Dark Agouti rats (148.3 ± 1.5 g) by intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin (20 mg/kg). Animals recieved a daily oral gavage of TH-4 at 10(9) cfu/ml or skim milk (vehicle) from days 0 to 8. At day 6, rats were injected with either saline or doxorubicin. At kill, small intestinal tissues were collected for determination of sucrase and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities and histological assessment. Body weight was significantly decreased by doxorubicin compared with normal controls (p TH-4 partially prevented the loss of body weight induced by doxorubicin (2.3% compared with 4%), but provided no further therapeutic benefit. The minimal amelioration of doxorubicin-induced mucositis by TH-4 further supports folate production as a likely mechanism of TH-4 action against methotrexate-induced mucositis. Further studies into TH-4 are required to confirm its applicability to other conventional chemotherapy regimens.

  14. The different expression of TRPM7 and MagT1 impacts on the proliferation of colon carcinoma cells sensitive or resistant to doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cazzaniga, Alessandra; Moscheni, Claudia; Trapani, Valentina; Wolf, Federica I; Farruggia, Giovanna; Sargenti, Azzurra; Iotti, Stefano; Maier, Jeanette A M; Castiglioni, Sara

    2017-01-17

    The processes leading to anticancer drug resistance are not completely unraveled. To get insights into the underlying mechanisms, we compared colon carcinoma cells sensitive to doxorubicin with their resistant counterpart. We found that resistant cells are growth retarded, and show staminal and ultrastructural features profoundly different from sensitive cells. The resistant phenotype is accompanied by the upregulation of the magnesium transporter MagT1 and the downregulation of the ion channel kinase TRPM7. We demonstrate that the different amounts of TRPM7 and MagT1 account for the different proliferation rate of sensitive and resistant colon carcinoma cells. It remains to be verified whether they are also involved in the control of other "staminal" traits.

  15. Transarterial chemoembolization using gelatin sponges or microspheres plus lipiodol-doxorubicin versus doxorubicin-loaded beads for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yi Sheng; Ou, Ming Ching; Tsai, Yi Shan; Lin, Xi Zhang; Wang, Chien Kuo; Tsai, Hong Ming; Chuang, Ming Tsung

    2015-01-01

    To retrospectively compare treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) using gelatin sponges or microspheres plus lipiodol-doxorubicin vs. doxorubicin-loaded drug-eluting beads (DEB). A total of 158 patients with HCC received TACE from November 2010 to November 2011 were enrolled in this study, including 64 (40.5%) received TACE with lipiodol-doxorubicin and gelatin sponges (group A), 41 (25.9%) received TACE with lipiodol-doxorubicin and microspheres (group B), and 53 (33.5%) received TACE with doxorubicin-loaded DEB (group C). Tumor response and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated. No significant difference was found at baseline among the three groups. The doxorubicin dosage in group C was significantly (p < 0.001) higher compared to the dose used in groups A or B (median, 50 mg vs. 31 mg or 25 mg). Significantly (p < 0.001) more patients in group C achieved complete response compared to those in groups A or B (32.1% vs. 6.3% or 2.4%). Significantly (p < 0.001) less patients in group C had progressive disease compared to those in groups A or B (34.0% vs. 57.8% or 68.3%). Minor AEs were more common in groups A and B compared to group C, with rates of 54.7%, 34.1%, and 5.7%, respectively. In patients with HCC, TACE with DEB offers better safety and efficacy profiles compared to either TACE with gelatin sponges or TACE with microspheres.

  16. Curcumin as a clinically-promising anti-cancer agent: pharmacokinetics and drug interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adiwidjaja, Jeffry; McLachlan, Andrew J; Boddy, Alan V

    2017-09-01

    Curcumin has been extensively studied for its anti-cancer properties. While a diverse array of in vitro and preclinical research support the prospect of curcumin use as an anti-cancer therapeutic, most human studies have failed to meet the intended clinical expectation. Poor systemic availability of orally-administered curcumin may account for this disparity. Areas covered: This descriptive review aims to concisely summarise available clinical studies investigating curcumin pharmacokinetics when administered in different formulations. A critical analysis of pharmacokinetic- and pharmacodynamic-based interactions of curcumin with concomitantly administered drugs is also provided. Expert opinion: The encouraging clinical results of curcumin administration are currently limited to people with colorectal cancer, given that sufficient curcumin concentrations persist in colonic mucosa. Higher parent curcumin systemic exposure, which can be achieved by several newer formulations, has important implications for optimal treatment of cancers other than those in gastrointestinal tract. Curcumin-drug pharmacokinetic interactions are also almost exclusively in the enterocytes, owing to extensive first pass metabolism and poor curcumin bioavailability. Greater scope of these interactions, i.e. modulation of the systemic elimination of co-administered drugs, may be expected from more-bioavailable curcumin formulations. Further studies are still warranted, especially with newer formulations to support the inclusion of curcumin in cancer therapy regimens.

  17. Furanodiene Induces Extrinsic and Intrinsic Apoptosis in Doxorubicin-Resistant MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells via NF-κB-Independent Mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Zhang-Feng; Yu, Hai-Bing; Wang, Chun-Ming; Qiang, Wen-An; Wang, Sheng-Peng; Zhang, Jin-Ming; Yu, Hua; Cui, Liao; Wu, Tie; Li, De-Qiang; Wang, Yi-Tao

    2017-01-01

    Chemotherapy is used as a primary approach in cancer treatment after routine surgery. However, chemo-resistance tends to occur when chemotherapy is used clinically, resulting in poor prognosis and recurrence. Currently, Chinese medicine may provide insight into the design of new therapies to overcome chemo-resistance. Furanodiene, as a heat-sensitive sesquiterpene, is isolated from the essential oil of Rhizoma Curcumae . Even though mounting evidence claiming that furanodiene possesses anti-cancer activities in various types of cancers, the underlying mechanisms against chemo-resistant cancer are not fully clear. Our study found that furanodiene could display anti-cancer effects by inhibiting cell viability, inducing cell cytotoxicity, and suppressing cell proliferation in doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Furthermore, furanodiene preferentially causes apoptosis by interfering with intrinsic/extrinsic-dependent and NF-κB-independent pathways in doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 cells. These observations also prompt that furanodiene may be developed as a promising natural product for multidrug-resistant cancer therapy in the future.

  18. Reconsidering Japan's underperformance in pharmaceuticals: evidence from Japan's anticancer drug sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umemura, Maki

    2010-01-01

    Unlike its automobile or electronics industries, Japan's pharmaceutical industry did not become a global leader. Japan remains a net importer of pharmaceuticals and has introduced few global blockbuster drugs. Alfred Chandler argued that Japan's pharmaceutical firms remained relatively weak because Western firms enjoyed an insurmountable first first-mover advantage. However, this case study of the anticancer drug sector illustrates that Chandler's explanation is incomplete. Japanese medical culture, government policy, and research environment also played a substantial role in shaping the industry. In the 1970s and 1980s, these factors encouraged firms to develop little few effective drugs with low side effects, and profit from Japan's domestic market. But, these drugs were unsuitable to foreign markets with more demanding efficacy standards. As a result, Japan not only lost more than a decade in developing ineffective drugs, but also neglected to create the infrastructure necessary to develop innovative drugs and build a stronger pharmaceutical industry.

  19. Tocopheryl pullulan-based self assembling nanomicelles for anti-cancer drug delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Jingyun, E-mail: wangjingyun67@dlut.edu.cn [School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Cui, Shuang [School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Bao, Yongming, E-mail: biosci@dlut.edu.cn [School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Xing, Jishuang [School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Hao, Wenbo [Department of Physics and Chemistry, Heihe University, Heihe 164300 (China)

    2014-10-01

    Amphiphilic α-tocopherol pullulan polymers (PUTC1, PUTC2, and PUTC3) with different degrees of substitution were synthesized as new carriers for anticancer drugs. The polymers easily self-assembled into nanomicelles through dialysis method. The critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) were 38.0, 8.0, and 4.3 mg/L for PUTC1, PUTC2, and PUTC3, respectively. 10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) used as a model drug was successfully loaded into the PUTC nanomicelles. Transmission electron microscopy images demonstrated that HCPT-loaded PUTC nanomicelles were almost spherical and had sizes ranging within 171.5–257.8 nm that increased with increased HCPT-loading content, as determined by dynamic laser scattering. The highest encapsulation efficiency of HCPT in PUTC nanomicelles reached 98.3%. The in vitro release of HCPT from PUTC micelles demonstrated sustained release for over 80 h. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assays showed that blank PUTC micelles were nontoxic to normal cells and that the HCPT-loaded PUTC2 nanomicelles showed higher cytotoxicity than the free drug, which was attributed to the enhanced cellular uptake of drug-loaded nanomicelles. Biodistribution experiments showed that PUTC micelles provided an excellent approach to rapid drug transport into cell nuclei. Moreover, the cellular uptake of micelles was found to be an energy-dependent and actin polymerization-associated endocytic process by endocytosis inhibition experiments. These results suggested that PUTC nanomicelles had considerable potential as a drug carrier for drug intracellular delivery in cancer therapy. - Highlights: • Tocopheryl pullulan-based (PUTC) self-assembling nanomicelles were fabricated. • These micelles showed low CMC and dispersed uniformly with regular spherical shape. • High entrapment efficiency and in vitro sustained release of HCPT in PUTC micelles • HCPT–PUTC micelles accumulated in cell nuclei and showed higher anticancer activity.

  20. Tocopheryl pullulan-based self assembling nanomicelles for anti-cancer drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jingyun; Cui, Shuang; Bao, Yongming; Xing, Jishuang; Hao, Wenbo

    2014-01-01

    Amphiphilic α-tocopherol pullulan polymers (PUTC1, PUTC2, and PUTC3) with different degrees of substitution were synthesized as new carriers for anticancer drugs. The polymers easily self-assembled into nanomicelles through dialysis method. The critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) were 38.0, 8.0, and 4.3 mg/L for PUTC1, PUTC2, and PUTC3, respectively. 10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) used as a model drug was successfully loaded into the PUTC nanomicelles. Transmission electron microscopy images demonstrated that HCPT-loaded PUTC nanomicelles were almost spherical and had sizes ranging within 171.5–257.8 nm that increased with increased HCPT-loading content, as determined by dynamic laser scattering. The highest encapsulation efficiency of HCPT in PUTC nanomicelles reached 98.3%. The in vitro release of HCPT from PUTC micelles demonstrated sustained release for over 80 h. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assays showed that blank PUTC micelles were nontoxic to normal cells and that the HCPT-loaded PUTC2 nanomicelles showed higher cytotoxicity than the free drug, which was attributed to the enhanced cellular uptake of drug-loaded nanomicelles. Biodistribution experiments showed that PUTC micelles provided an excellent approach to rapid drug transport into cell nuclei. Moreover, the cellular uptake of micelles was found to be an energy-dependent and actin polymerization-associated endocytic process by endocytosis inhibition experiments. These results suggested that PUTC nanomicelles had considerable potential as a drug carrier for drug intracellular delivery in cancer therapy. - Highlights: • Tocopheryl pullulan-based (PUTC) self-assembling nanomicelles were fabricated. • These micelles showed low CMC and dispersed uniformly with regular spherical shape. • High entrapment efficiency and in vitro sustained release of HCPT in PUTC micelles • HCPT–PUTC micelles accumulated in cell nuclei and showed higher anticancer activity.

  1. The role of reactive oxygen species in WP 631-induced death of human ovarian cancer cells: a comparison with the effect of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogalska, Aneta; Gajek, Arkadiusz; Szwed, Marzena; Jóźwiak, Zofia; Marczak, Agnieszka

    2011-12-01

    In the present study, we investigated the anticancer activity of WP 631, a new anthracycline analog, in weakly doxorubicin-resistant SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells. We studied the time-course of apoptotic and necrotic events: the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and changes in the mitochondrial membrane potential in human ovarian cancer cells exposed to WP 631 in the presence and absence of an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC). The effect of WP 631 was compared with the activity of doxorubicin (DOX), the best known first-generation anthracycline. Cytotoxic activity was determined by the MTT assay. The morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis and necrosis in drug-treated cells were analyzed by double staining with Hoechst 33258 and propidium iodide (PI) using fluorescence microscopy. The production of reactive oxygen species and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential were studied using specific fluorescence probes: DCFH2-DA and JC-1, respectively. The experiments showed that WP 631 was three times more cytotoxic than DOX in the tested cell line. It was found that the new anthracycline analog induced mainly apoptosis and, marginally, necrosis. Apoptotic cell death was associated with morphological changes and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. In comparison to DOX, the novel bisanthracycline induced a significantly higher level of ROS and a greater drop in the membrane potential. The results provide direct evidence that the novel anthracycline WP 631 is considerably more cytotoxic to human SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells than doxorubicin. The drug can produce ROS, which are immediately involved in the induction of apoptotic cell death. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Population-based differences in treatment outcome following anticancer drug therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Brigette By; Hui, Edwin P; Mok, Tony Sk

    2010-01-01

    Population-based differences in toxicity and clinical outcome following treatment with anticancer drugs have an important effect on oncology practice and drug development. These differences arise from complex interactions between biological and environmental factors, which include genetic diversity affecting drug metabolism and the expression of drug targets, variations in tumour biology and host physiology, socioeconomic disparities, and regional preferences in treatment standards. Some well-known examples include the high prevalence of activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in pulmonary adenocarcinoma among northeast (China, Japan, Korea) and parts of southeast Asia (excluding India) non-smokers, which predict sensitivity to EGFR kinase inhibitors, and the sharp contrast between Japan and the west in the management and survival outcome of gastric cancer. This review is a critical overview of population-based differences in the four most prevalent cancers in the world: lung, breast, colorectal, and stomach cancer. Particular attention is given to the clinical relevance of such knowledge in terms of the individualisation of drug therapy and in the design of clinical trials. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) conjugates with doxorubicin for cancer therapy: In vitro and in vivo evaluation and direct comparison to poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide] analogues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlacek, Ondrej; Monnery, Bryn D; Mattova, Jana; Kucka, Jan; Panek, Jiri; Janouskova, Olga; Hocherl, Anita; Verbraeken, Bart; Vergaelen, Maarten; Zadinova, Marie; Hoogenboom, Richard; Hruby, Martin

    2017-11-01

    We designed and synthesized a new delivery system for the anticancer drug doxorubicin based on a biocompatible hydrophilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) carrier with linear architecture and narrow molar mass distribution. The drug is connected to the polymer backbone via an acid-sensitive hydrazone linker, which allows its triggered release in the tumor. The in vitro studies demonstrate successful cellular uptake of conjugates followed by release of the cytostatic cargo. In vivo experiments in EL4 lymphoma bearing mice revealed prolonged blood circulation, increased tumor accumulation and enhanced antitumor efficacy of the PEtOx conjugate having higher molecular weight (40 kDa) compared to the lower molecular weight (20 kDa) polymer. Finally, the in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer properties of the prepared PEtOx conjugates were critically compared with those of the analogous system based on the well-established PHPMA carrier. Despite the relatively slower intracellular uptake of PEtOx conjugates, resulting also in their lower cytotoxicity, there are no substantial differences in in vivo biodistribution and anti-cancer efficacy of both classes of polymer-Dox conjugates. Considering the synthetic advantages of poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)s, the presented study demonstrates their potential as a versatile alternative to well-known PEO- or PHPMA-based materials for construction of drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Thermodynamical study of interaction of histone H1 chromosomal protein and mitoxantrone anticancer drug

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jafargholizadeh, Naser; Zargar, Seyed Jalal; Safarian, Shahrokh; Habibi-Rezaei, Mehran

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► For the first time, our results show mitoxantrone anticancer drug binds to histone H1, via hydrophobic, hydrogen, van der Waals and electrostatic interactions. ► Binding of mitoxantrone molecules to histone H1 is positive cooperative. ► Histone H1 may be considered as a new target for mitoxantrone at the chromatin level. - Using ultraviolet spectroscopy technique, we have investigated the interaction of anticancer drug, mitoxantrone with calf thymus histone H1 chromosomal protein in 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, at temperatures 300 and 310 K. UV spectroscopy results show interactions between mitoxantrone and histone H1 with a positive cooperative binding process which was confirmed by Scatchard plot. According to the obtained results, it is concluded that histone H1 can be considered as a target for mitoxantrone binding at the chromatin level.

  5. A smart magnetic nanoplatform for synergistic anticancer therapy: manoeuvring mussel-inspired functional magnetic nanoparticles for pH responsive anticancer drug delivery and hyperthermia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasikala, Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup; Ghavaminejad, Amin; Unnithan, Afeesh Rajan; Thomas, Reju George; Moon, Myeongju; Jeong, Yong Yeon; Park, Chan Hee; Kim, Cheol Sang

    2015-10-01

    We report the versatile design of a smart nanoplatform for thermo-chemotherapy treatment of cancer. For the first time in the literature, our design takes advantage of the outstanding properties of mussel-inspired multiple catecholic groups - presenting a unique copolymer poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-dopamine methacrylamide) p(HEMA-co-DMA) to surface functionalize the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as well as to conjugate borate containing anticancer drug bortezomib (BTZ) in a pH-dependent manner for the synergistic anticancer treatment. The unique multiple anchoring groups can be used to substantially improve the affinity of the ligands to the surfaces of the nanoparticles to form ultrastable iron oxide nanoparticles with control over their hydrodynamic diameter and interfacial chemistry. Thus the BTZ-incorporated-bio-inspired-smart magnetic nanoplatform will act as a hyperthermic agent that delivers heat when an alternating magnetic field is applied while the BTZ-bound catechol moieties act as chemotherapeutic agents in a cancer environment by providing pH-dependent drug release for the synergistic thermo-chemotherapy application. The anticancer efficacy of these bio-inspired multifunctional smart magnetic nanoparticles was tested both in vitro and in vivo and found that these unique magnetic nanoplatforms can be established to endow for the next generation of nanomedicine for efficient and safe cancer therapy.We report the versatile design of a smart nanoplatform for thermo-chemotherapy treatment of cancer. For the first time in the literature, our design takes advantage of the outstanding properties of mussel-inspired multiple catecholic groups - presenting a unique copolymer poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-dopamine methacrylamide) p(HEMA-co-DMA) to surface functionalize the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as well as to conjugate borate containing anticancer drug bortezomib (BTZ) in a pH-dependent manner for the synergistic

  6. Role of fibronectin under conditions of doxorubicin action

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. I. Shevtsova

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available There is no standard as to treatment of anthracycline chemotherapy complications. The reduction of cytotoxic drugs toxicity without weakening of their antitumor action remains relevant. The extracellular matrix which key component is fibronectin is present in all tissues and it continuously undergoes controlled remodeling. So, the purpose of our work was to study the level of fibronectin in the experimental model of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy and effects of this cytostatic and its co-administration with antioxidants of different nature.The level of fibronectin was measured by ELISA using monospecific antibodies against fibronectin (Sigma, USA, secondary anti-IgG labeled with horseradish peroxidase (Sigma, USA and fibronectin standard (Sigma, USA. The study was conducted on Wistar male rats with weight of 210 ± 50 g which were divided into 4 groups by 8 animals in each group: 1 – control, rats receiving saline i/p; 2 – doxorubicin 1 mg/kg i/p once a week during 4 weeks; 3 – doxorubicin by the same scheme plus 1% 2-oxoglutarate in drinking water during 4 weeks;4 – doxorubicin by the same scheme and korvitin injection 30 min before doxorubicin application once a week during 4 weeks. Obtained data indicate the effect of doxorubicin to decrease in index mass heart in 38% of animals compared to control animals; decrease in total protein concentration by 8% (Р < 0,05 and increase of the level of fibronectin by 67% (P < 0,001 in blood plasma of rats and decrease in the level of fibronectin in the heart extract by 19% (Р < 0,05 under development of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Increased fibronectin concentration in blood plasma had strong correlation with decreased total protein concentration in blood (r=0,80 and heart extract (r=0,59 in rats with doxorubicin-induced cardiomiophaty indicating the sensitive reaction of fibronectin to development of metabolic disorders under doxorubicin influence.

  7. Dual stimuli polysaccharide nanovesicles for conjugated and physically loaded doxorubicin delivery in breast cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pramod, P. S.; Shah, Ruchira; Jayakannan, Manickam

    2015-04-01

    The present work reports the development of pH and enzyme dual responsive polysaccharide vesicular nano-scaffolds for the administration of doxorubicin via physical loading and polymer-drug conjugation to breast cancer cells. Dextran was suitably modified with a renewable resource 3-pentadecyl phenol unit through imine and aliphatic ester chemical linkages that acted as pH and esterase enzyme stimuli, respectively. These dual responsive polysaccharide derivatives self-organized into 200 +/- 10 nm diameter nano-vesicles in water. The water soluble anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX.HCl) was encapsulated in the hydrophilic pocket to produce core-loaded polysaccharide vesicles whereas chemical conjugation produced DOX anchored at the hydrophobic layer of the dextran nano-vesicles. In vitro studies revealed that about 70-80% of the drug was retained under circulatory conditions at pH = 7.4 and 37 °C. At a low pH of 6.0 to 5.0 and in the presence of esterase; both imine and ester linkages were cleaved instantaneously to release 100% of the loaded drugs. Cytotoxicity assays on Wild Type Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (WTMEFs) confirmed the non-toxicity of the newly developed dextran derivatives at up to 500 μg mL-1 in PBS. MTT assays on fibroblast cells revealed that DOX.HCl loaded nano-vesicles exhibited better killing abilities than DOX conjugated polymer nano-vesicles. Both DOX loaded and DOX conjugated nano-vesicles were found to show significant killing in breast cancer cells (MCF 7). Confocal microscopy images confirmed the uptake of DOX loaded (or conjugated) nano-vesicles by cells compared to free DOX. Thus, the newly developed pH and enzyme dual responsive polysaccharide vesicular assemblies are potential drug vectors for the administration of DOX in both loaded and chemically conjugated forms for the efficient killing of breast cancer cells.The present work reports the development of pH and enzyme dual responsive polysaccharide vesicular nano-scaffolds for the

  8. Targeted delivery of doxorubicin-utilizing chitosan nanoparticles surface-functionalized with anti-Her2 trastuzumab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousefpour P

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Parisa Yousefpour1, Fatemeh Atyabi2, Ebrahim Vasheghani-Farahani3, Ali-Akbar Mousavi Movahedi1, Rassoul Dinarvand21Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Tehran, 2Nanotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 3Biotechnology Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IranBackground: Targeting drugs to their sites of action to overcome the systemic side effects associated with most antineoplastic agents is still a major challenge in pharmaceutical research. In this study, the monoclonal antibody, trastuzumab, was used as a targeting agent in nanoparticles carrying the antitumor drug, doxorubicin, specifically to its site of action.Methods: Chitosan-doxorubicin conjugation was carried out using succinic anhydride as a crosslinker. Trastuzumab was conjugated to self-assembled chitosan-doxorubin conjugate (CS-DOX nanoparticles (particle size, 200 nm via thiolation of lysine residues and subsequent linking of the resulted thiols to chitosan. Conjugation was confirmed by gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies. Dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and zeta potential determination were used to characterize the nanoparticles.Results: CS-DOX conjugated nanoparticles had a spherical shape and smooth surface with a narrow size distribution and core-shell structure. Increasing the ratio of doxorubicin to chitosan in the conjugation reaction gave rise to a higher doxorubicin content but lower conjugation efficiency. Trastuzumab-decorated nanoparticles (CS-DOX-mAb contained 47 µg/mg doxorubicin and 33.5 µg/mg trastuzumab. Binding of trastuzumab to the nanoparticles was further probed thermodynamically by isothermal titration calorimetry. Fluorescence microscopy demonstrated enhanced and

  9. Encapsulation of anticancer drug and magnetic particles in biodegradable polymer nanospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koneracka, M; Zavisova, V; Tomasovicova, N; Kopcansky, P; Timko, M; JurIkova, A; Csach, K; Kavecansky, V; Lancz, G [Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, Kosice (Slovakia); Muckova, M [Hameln rds a.s., Horna 36, Modra (Slovakia)], E-mail: konerack@saske.sk

    2008-05-21

    In this study, we have prepared PLGA (poly-D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanospheres loaded with biocompatible magnetic fluid and anticancer drug taxol by a modified nanoprecipitation technique and investigated their magnetic properties. A magnetic fluid, MF-PEG, with a biocompatible layer of polyethylene glycol (PEG), was chosen as a magnetic carrier. The PLGA, whose copolymer ratio of D,L-lactide to glycolide is 85:15, was utilized as a capsulation material. Taxol, as an important anticancer drug, was chosen for its significant role against a wide range of tumours. The morphology and particle size distributions of the prepared nanospheres were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and showed a spherical shape of prepared nanospheres with size 250 nm. Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA) analysis confirmed incorporation of magnetic particles and taxol into the PLGA polymer. The results showed good encapsulation with magnetite content 21.5 wt% and taxol 0.5 wt%. Magnetic properties of magnetic fluids and taxol within the PLGA polymer matrix were investigated by SQUID magnetometry from 4.2 to 300 K. The SQUID measurements showed superparamagnetism of prepared nanospheres with a blocking temperature of 160 K and saturation magnetization 1.4 mT.

  10. TVP1022 and propargylamine protect neonatal rat ventricular myocytes against doxorubicin-induced and serum starvation-induced cardiotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleiner, Yana; Bar-Am, Orit; Amit, Tamar; Berdichevski, Alexandra; Liani, Esti; Maor, Gila; Reiter, Irina; Youdim, Moussa B H; Binah, Ofer

    2008-09-01

    We recently reported that propargylamine derivatives such as rasagiline (Azilect) and its S-isomer TVP1022 are neuroprotective. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the neuroprotective agents TVP1022 and propargylamine (the active moiety of propargylamine derivatives) are also cardioprotective. We specifically investigated the protective efficacy of TVP1022 and propargylamine in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM) against apoptosis induced by the anthracycline chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin and by serum starvation. We demonstrated that pretreatment of NRVM cultures with TVP1022 or propargylamine attenuated doxorubicin-induced and serum starvation-induced apoptosis, inhibited the increase in cleaved caspase 3 levels, and reversed the decline in Bcl-2/Bax ratio. These cytoprotective effects were shown to reside in the propargylamine moiety. Finally, we showed that TVP1022 neither caused proliferation of the human cancer cell lines HeLa and MDA-231 nor interfered with the anti-cancer efficacy of doxorubicin. These results suggest that TVP1022 should be considered as a novel cardioprotective agent against ischemic insults and against anthracycline cardiotoxicity and can be coadministered with doxorubicin in the treatment of human malignancies.

  11. Biodegradable Drug-Loaded Hydroxyapatite Nanotherapeutic Agent for Targeted Drug Release in Tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wen; Fan, Jiangli; Wang, Suzhen; Kang, Yao; Du, Jianjun; Peng, Xiaojun

    2018-03-07

    Tumor-targeted drug delivery systems have been increasingly used to improve the therapeutic efficiency of anticancer drugs and reduce their toxic side effects in vivo. Focused on this point, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanorods consisting of folic acid (FA) modification (DOX@HAP-FA) were developed for efficient antitumor treatment. The DOX-loaded nanorods were synthesized through in situ coprecipitation and hydrothermal method with a DOX template, demonstrating a new procedure for drug loading in HAP materials. DOX could be efficiently released from DOX@HAP-FA within 24 h in weakly acidic buffer solution (pH = 6.0) because of the degradation of HAP nanorods. With endocytosis under the mediation of folate receptors, the nanorods exhibited enhanced cellular uptake and further degraded, and consequently, the proliferation of targeted cells was inhibited. More importantly, in a tumor-bearing mouse model, DOX@HAP-FA treatment demonstrated excellent tumor growth inhibition. In addition, no apparent side effects were observed during the treatment. These results suggested that DOX@HAP-FA may be a promising nanotherapeutic agent for effective cancer treatment in vivo.

  12. Inhaled Micro/Nanoparticulate Anticancer Drug Formulations: An Emerging Targeted Drug Delivery Strategy for Lung Cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Nazrul; Richard, Derek

    2018-05-24

    Local delivery of drug to the target organ via inhalation offers enormous benefits in the management of many diseases. Lung cancer is the most common of all cancers and it is the leading cause of death worldwide. Currently available treatment systems (intravenous or oral drug delivery) are not efficient in accumulating the delivered drug into the target tumor cells and are usually associated with various systemic and dose-related adverse effects. The pulmonary drug delivery technology would enable preferential accumulation of drug within the cancer cell and thus be superior to intravenous and oral delivery in reducing cancer cell proliferation and minimising the systemic adverse effects. Site-specific drug delivery via inhalation for the treatment of lung cancer is both feasible and efficient. The inhaled drug delivery system is non-invasive, produces high bioavailability at low dose and avoids first pass metabolism of the delivered drug. Various anticancer drugs including chemotherapeutics, proteins and genes have been investigated for inhalation in lung cancers with significant outcomes. Pulmonary delivery of drugs from dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation is stable and has high patient compliance. Herein, we report the potential of pulmonary drug delivery from dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations inhibiting lung cancer cell proliferation at very low dose with reduced unwanted adverse effects. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  13. Molecular Modification of Metadherin/MTDH Impacts the Sensitivity of Breast Cancer to Doxorubicin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenchuan Song

    Full Text Available Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women and with an increasing worldwide incidence. Doxorubicin, as a first-line anthracycline-based drug is conventional used on breast cancer clinical chemotherapy. However, the drug resistances limited the curative effect of the doxorubicin therapy in breast cancer patients, but the molecular mechanism determinants of breast cancer resistance to doxorubicin chemotherapy are not fully understood. In order to explore the association between metadherin (MTDH and doxorubicin sensitivity, the differential expressions of MTDH in breast cancer cell lines and the sensitivity to doxorubicin of breast cancer cell lines were investigated.The mRNA and protein expression of MTDH were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot in breast cancer cells such as MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, MDA-MB-435S, MCF-7/ADR cells. Once MTDH gene was knocked down by siRNA in MCF-7/ADR cells and overexpressed by MTDH plasmid transfection in MDA-MB-231 cells, the cell growth and therapeutic sensitivity of doxorubicin were evaluated using MTT and the Cell cycle assay and apoptosis rate was determined by flow cytometry.MCF-7/ADR cells revealed highly expressed MTDH and MDA-MB-231 cells had the lowest expression of MTDH. After MTDH gene was knocked down, the cell proliferation was inhibited, and the inhibitory rate of cell growth and apoptosis rate were enhanced, and the cell cycle arrest during the G0/G1 phase in the presence of doxorubicin treatment. On the other hand, the opposite results were observed in MDA-MB-231 cells with overexpressed MTDH gene.MTDH gene plays a promoting role in the proliferation of breast cancer cells and its high expression may be associated with doxorubicin sensitivity of breast cancer.

  14. Voreloxin is an anticancer quinolone derivative that intercalates DNA and poisons topoisomerase II.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachael E Hawtin

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Topoisomerase II is critical for DNA replication, transcription and chromosome segregation and is a well validated target of anti-neoplastic drugs including the anthracyclines and epipodophyllotoxins. However, these drugs are limited by common tumor resistance mechanisms and side-effect profiles. Novel topoisomerase II-targeting agents may benefit patients who prove resistant to currently available topoisomerase II-targeting drugs or encounter unacceptable toxicities. Voreloxin is an anticancer quinolone derivative, a chemical scaffold not used previously for cancer treatment. Voreloxin is completing Phase 2 clinical trials in acute myeloid leukemia and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. This study defined voreloxin's anticancer mechanism of action as a critical component of rational clinical development informed by translational research.Biochemical and cell-based studies established that voreloxin intercalates DNA and poisons topoisomerase II, causing DNA double-strand breaks, G2 arrest, and apoptosis. Voreloxin is differentiated both structurally and mechanistically from other topoisomerase II poisons currently in use as chemotherapeutics. In cell-based studies, voreloxin poisoned topoisomerase II and caused dose-dependent, site-selective DNA fragmentation analogous to that of quinolone antibacterials in prokaryotes; in contrast etoposide, the nonintercalating epipodophyllotoxin topoisomerase II poison, caused extensive DNA fragmentation. Etoposide's activity was highly dependent on topoisomerase II while voreloxin and the intercalating anthracycline topoisomerase II poison, doxorubicin, had comparable dependence on this enzyme for inducing G2 arrest. Mechanistic interrogation with voreloxin analogs revealed that intercalation is required for voreloxin's activity; a nonintercalating analog did not inhibit proliferation or induce G2 arrest, while an analog with enhanced intercalation was 9.5-fold more potent.As a first-in-class anticancer

  15. Hydroxycamptothecin-loaded nanoparticles enhance target drug delivery and anticancer effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Su

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT has been shown to have activity against a broad spectrum of cancers. In order to enhance its tissue-specific delivery and anticancer activity, we prepared HCPT-loaded nanoparticles made from poly(ethylene glycol-poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate (PEG-PBLG, and then studied their release characteristics, pharmacokinetic characteristics, and anticancer effects. PEG-PBLG nanoparticles incorporating HCPT were prepared by a dialysis method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM was used to observe the shape and diameter of the nanoparticles. The HCPT release characteristics in vitro were evaluated by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC detection method for determining HCPT in rabbit plasma was established. The pharmacokinetic parameters of HCPT/PEG-PBLG nanoparticles were compared with those of HCPT. Results The HCPT-loaded nanoparticles had a core-shell spherical structure, with a core diameter of 200 nm and a shell thickness of 30 nm. Drug-loading capacity and drug encapsulation were 7.5 and 56.8%, respectively. The HCPT release profile was biphasic, with an initial abrupt release, followed by sustained release. The terminal elimination half-lives (t 1/2 β of HCPT and HCPT-loaded nanoparticles were 4.5 and 10.1 h, respectively. Peak concentrations (Cmax of HCPT and HCPT-loaded nanoparticles were 2627.8 and 1513.5 μg/L, respectively. The apparent volumes of distribution of the HCPT and HCPT-loaded nanoparticles were 7.3 and 20.0 L, respectively. Compared with a blank control group, Lovo cell xenografts or Tca8113 cell xenografts in HCPT or HCPT-loaded nanoparticle treated groups grew more slowly and the tumor doubling times were increased. The tumor inhibition effect in the HCPT-loaded nanosphere-treated group was significantly higher than that of the HCPT-treated group (p 0.05. Conclusion Compared to the HCPT- and control-treated groups, the HCPT-loaded nanoparticle

  16. Synthesis, characterization and in vitro studies of doxorubicin-loaded magnetic nanoparticles grafted to smart copolymers on A549 lung cancer cell line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbarzadeh, Abolfazl; Samiei, Mohammad; Joo, Sang Woo; Anzaby, Maryam; Hanifehpour, Younes; Nasrabadi, Hamid Tayefi; Davaran, Soodabeh

    2012-12-18

    The aim of present study was to develop the novel methods for chemical and physical modification of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) with polymers via covalent bonding entrapment. These modified SPIONs were used for encapsulation of anticancer drug doxorubicin. At first approach silane-grafted magnetic nanoparticles was prepared and used as a template for polymerization of the N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and methacrylic acid (MAA) via radical polymerization. This temperature/pH-sensitive copolymer was used for preparation of DOX-loaded magnetic nanocomposites. At second approach Vinyltriethoxysilane-grafted magnetic nanoparticles were used as a template to polymerize PNIPAAm-MAA in 1, 4 dioxan and methylene-bis-acrylamide (BIS) was used as a cross-linking agent. Chemical composition and magnetic properties of Dox-loaded magnetic hydrogel nanocomposites were analyzed by FT-IR, XRD, and VSM. The results demonstrate the feasibility of drug encapsulation of the magnetic nanoparticles with NIPAAm-MAA copolymer via covalent bonding. The key factors for the successful prepardtion of magnetic nanocomposites were the structure of copolymer (linear or cross-linked), concentration of copolymer and concentration of drug. The influence of pH and temperature on the release profile of doxorubicin was examined. The in vitro cytotoxicity test (MTT assay) of both magnetic DOx-loaded nanoparticles was examined. The in vitro tests showed that these systems are no toxicity and are biocompatible. IC50 of DOx-loaded Fe3O4 nanoparticles on A549 lung cancer cell line showed that systems could be useful in treatment of lung cancer.

  17. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for the quantitative analysis of anticancer drugs in biological matrices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stokvis, Ellen

    2004-01-01

    In this thesis, the development and validation of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) methods for the quantitative bioanalysis of anticancer drugs are described. The monitoring of these drugs in biological fluids and tissues is important during both pre-clinical and clinical

  18. Transferrin targeted core-shell nanomedicine for combinatorial delivery of doxorubicin and sorafenib against hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malarvizhi, Giridharan Loghanathan; Retnakumari, Archana Payickattu; Nair, Shantikumar; Koyakutty, Manzoor

    2014-11-01

    Combinatorial drug delivery is an attractive, but challenging requirement of next generation cancer nanomedicines. Here, we report a transferrin-targeted core-shell nanomedicine formed by encapsulating two clinically used single-agent drugs, doxorubicin and sorafenib against liver cancer. Doxorubicin was loaded in poly(vinyl alcohol) nano-core and sorafenib in albumin nano-shell, both formed by a sequential freeze-thaw/coacervation method. While sorafenib from the nano-shell inhibited aberrant oncogenic signaling involved in cell proliferation, doxorubicin from the nano-core evoked DNA intercalation thereby killing >75% of cancer cells. Upon targeting using transferrin ligands, the nanoparticles showed enhanced cellular uptake and synergistic cytotoxicity in ~92% of cells, particularly in iron-deficient microenvironment. Studies using 3D spheroids of liver tumor indicated efficient penetration of targeted core-shell nanoparticles throughout the tissue causing uniform cell killing. Thus, we show that rationally designed core-shell nanoparticles can effectively combine clinically relevant single-agent drugs for exerting synergistic activity against liver cancer. Transferrin-targeted core-shell nanomedicine encapsulating doxorubicin and sorafenib was studied as a drug delivery system against hepatocellular carcinoma, resulting in enhanced and synergistic therapeutic effects, paving the way towards potential future clinical applications of similar techniques. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Visible-light system for detecting doxorubicin contamination on skin and surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Raalte, J; Rice, C; Moss, C E

    1990-05-01

    A portable system that uses fluorescence stimulated by visible light to identify doxorubicin contamination on skin and surfaces was studied. When activated by violet-blue light in the 465-nm range, doxorubicin fluoresces, emitting orange-red light in the 580-nm range. The light source to stimulate fluorescence was a slide projector with a filter to selectively pass short-wave (blue) visible light. Fluorescence was both observed visually with viewing spectacles and photographed. Solutions of doxorubicin in sterile 0.9% sodium chloride injection were prepared in nine standard concentrations ranging from 2 to 0.001 mg/mL. Droplets of each admixture were placed on stainless steel, laboratory coat cloth, pieces of latex examination glove, bench-top absorbent padding, and other materials on which antineoplastics might spill or leak. These materials then were stored for up to eight weeks and photographed weekly. The relative ability of water, household bleach, hydrogen peroxide solution, and soap solution to deactivate doxorubicin was also measured. Finally, this system was used to inspect the antineoplastic-drug preparation and administration areas of three outpatient cancer clinics for doxorubicin contamination. Doxorubicin fluorescence was easily detectable with viewing spectacles when a slide projector was used as the light source. The photographic method was sensitive for doxorubicin concentrations from 2.0 to 0.001 mg/mL. Immersion of study materials in bleach for one minute eliminated detectable fluorescence. Doxorubicin contamination is detectable for at least eight weeks in the ambient environment. Probable doxorubicin contamination was detected in two of the three clinics surveyed. A safe, portable system that uses fluorescence stimulated by visible light is a sensitive method for detecting doxorubicin on skin and surfaces.

  20. Involvement of HIF-1α activation in the doxorubicin resistance of human osteosarcoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roncuzzi, Laura; Pancotti, Fabia; Baldini, Nicola

    2014-07-01

    Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone cancer in children and adolescents. Despite aggressive treatment regimens, survival outcomes remain unsatisfactory, particularly in patients with metastatic and/or recurrent disease. Unfortunately, treatment failure is commonly due to the development of chemoresistance, for which the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF‑1α) and its signalling pathways as mediators of drug-resistance in human osteosarcoma. Toward this aim, we established two osteosarcoma cell lines selected for resistance to doxorubicin, a drug of choice in the treatment of this tumour. Our results showed that the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype was also mediated by HIF-1α, the most important regulator of cell adaptation to hypoxia. Our data showed that this transcription factor promoted the outward transport of intracellular doxorubicin by activating the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression in osteosarcoma cells maintained in normoxic conditions. In addition, it hindered doxorubicin-induced apoptosis by regulating the expression of c-Myc and p21. Finally, we observed that the doxorubicin-resistant cells maintained for 2 months of continuous culture in a drug-free medium, lost their drug-resistance and this effect was associated with the absence of HIF-1α expression. The emerging role of HIF-1α in osteosarcoma biology indicates its use as a valuable therapeutic target.

  1. An in vivo C. elegans model system for screening EGFR-inhibiting anti-cancer drugs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Ki Bae

    Full Text Available The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR is a well-established target for cancer treatment. EGFR tyrosine kinase (TK inhibitors, such as gefinitib and erlotinib, have been developed as anti-cancer drugs. Although non-small cell lung carcinoma with an activating EGFR mutation, L858R, responds well to gefinitib and erlotinib, tumors with a doubly mutated EGFR, T790M-L858R, acquire resistance to these drugs. The C. elegans EGFR homolog LET-23 and its downstream signaling pathway have been studied extensively to provide insight into regulatory mechanisms conserved from C. elegans to humans. To develop an in vivo screening system for potential cancer drugs targeting specific EGFR mutants, we expressed three LET-23 chimeras in which the TK domain was replaced with either the human wild-type TK domain (LET-23::hEGFR-TK, a TK domain with the L858R mutation (LET-23::hEGFR-TK[L858R], or a TK domain with the T790M-L858R mutations (LET-23::hEGFR-TK[T790M-L858R] in C. elegans vulval cells using the let-23 promoter. The wild-type hEGFR-TK chimeric protein rescued the let-23 mutant phenotype, and the activating mutant hEGFR-TK chimeras induced a multivulva (Muv phenotype in a wild-type C. elegans background. The anti-cancer drugs gefitinib and erlotinib suppressed the Muv phenotype in LET-23::hEGFR-TK[L858R]-expressing transgenic animals, but not in LET-23::hEGFR-TK[T790M-L858R] transgenic animals. As a pilot screen, 8,960 small chemicals were tested for Muv suppression, and AG1478 (an EGFR-TK inhibitor and U0126 (a MEK inhibitor were identified as potential inhibitors of EGFR-mediated biological function. In conclusion, transgenic C. elegans expressing chimeric LET-23::hEGFR-TK proteins are a model system that can be used in mutation-specific screens for new anti-cancer drugs.

  2. Structure-directing star-shaped block copolymers: supramolecular vesicles for the delivery of anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chuan; Liu, Shao Qiong; Venkataraman, Shrinivas; Gao, Shu Jun; Ke, Xiyu; Chia, Xin Tian; Hedrick, James L; Yang, Yi Yan

    2015-06-28

    Amphiphilic polycarbonate/PEG copolymer with a star-like architecture was designed to facilitate a unique supramolecular transformation of micelles to vesicles in aqueous solution for the efficient delivery of anticancer drugs. The star-shaped amphipilic block copolymer was synthesized by initiating the ring-opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) from methyl cholate through a combination of metal-free organo-catalytic living ring-opening polymerization and post-polymerization chain-end derivatization strategies. Subsequently, the self-assembly of the star-like polymer in aqueous solution into nanosized vesicles for anti-cancer drug delivery was studied. DOX was physically encapsulated into vesicles by dialysis and drug loading level was significant (22.5% in weight) for DOX. Importantly, DOX-loaded nanoparticles self-assembled from the star-like copolymer exhibited greater kinetic stability and higher DOX loading capacity than micelles prepared from cholesterol-initiated diblock analogue. The advantageous disparity is believed to be due to the transformation of micelles (diblock copolymer) to vesicles (star-like block copolymer) that possess greater core space for drug loading as well as the ability of such supramolecular structures to encapsulate DOX. DOX-loaded vesicles effectively inhibited the proliferation of 4T1, MDA-MB-231 and BT-474 cells, with IC50 values of 10, 1.5 and 1.0mg/L, respectively. DOX-loaded vesicles injected into 4T1 tumor-bearing mice exhibited enhanced accumulation in tumor tissue due to the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect. Importantly, DOX-loaded vesicles demonstrated greater tumor growth inhibition than free DOX without causing significant body weight loss or cardiotoxicity. The unique ability of the star-like copolymer emanating from the methyl cholate core provided the requisite modification in the block copolymer interfacial curvature to generate vesicles of high loading capacity for DOX with significant

  3. 1-[2-(2-Methoxyphenylaminoethylamino]-3-(naphthalene-1- yloxypropan-2-ol May Be a Promising Anticancer Drug

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoyuki Nishizaki

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available We have originally synthesized the naftopidil analogue 1-[2-(2-methoxyphenylaminoethylamino]-3-(naphthalene-1-yloxypropan-2-ol (HUHS 1015 as a new anticancer drug. HUHS1015 induces cell death in a wide variety of human cancer cell lines originated from malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, hepatoma, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and renal cancer. HUHS1015-induced cell death includes necrosis (necroptosis and apoptosis, and the underlying mechanism differs depending upon cancer cell types. HUHS1015 effectively suppresses tumor growth in mice inoculated with NCI-H2052, MKN45, or CW2 cells, with a potential similar to or higher than that of currently used anticancer drugs. Here we show how HUHS1015 might offer brilliant hope for cancer therapy.

  4. Folate-containing reduction-sensitive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for targeted delivery of doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bo; Yu, Ping; Cui, Can; Wu, Ming; Zhang, Yang; Liu, Lei; Wang, Cai-Xia; Zhuo, Ren-Xi; Huang, Shi-Wen

    2015-04-01

    The development and evaluation of folate-targeted and reduction-triggered biodegradable nanoparticles are introduced to the research on targeted delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). This type of folate-targeted lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (FLPNPs) is comprised of a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) core, a soybean lecithin monolayer, a monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-S-S-hexadecyl (mPEG-S-S-C16) reduction-sensitive shell, and a folic acid-targeted ligand. FLPNPs exhibited high size stability but fast disassembly in a simulated cancer cell reductive environment. The experiments on the release process in vitro revealed that as a reduction-sensitive drug delivery system, FLPNPs released DOX faster in the presence of 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). Results from flow cytometry, confocal image and in vitro cytotoxicity assays revealed that FLPNPs further enhanced cell uptake and generated higher cytotoxicity against human epidermoid carcinoma in the oral cavity than non-targeted redox-sensitive and targeted redox-insensitive controls. Furthermore, in vivo animal experiments demonstrated that systemic administration of DOX-loaded FLPNPs remarkably reduced tumor growth. Experiments on biodistribution of DOX-loaded FLPNPs showed that an increasing amount of DOX accumulated in the tumor. Therefore, FLPNPs formulations have proved to be a stable, controllable and targeted anticancer drug delivery system.

  5. Molecular chess? Hallmarks of anti-cancer drug resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cree, Ian A; Charlton, Peter

    2017-01-05

    The development of resistance is a problem shared by both classical chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Patients may respond well at first, but relapse is inevitable for many cancer patients, despite many improvements in drugs and their use over the last 40 years. Resistance to anti-cancer drugs can be acquired by several mechanisms within neoplastic cells, defined as (1) alteration of drug targets, (2) expression of drug pumps, (3) expression of detoxification mechanisms, (4) reduced susceptibility to apoptosis, (5) increased ability to repair DNA damage, and (6) altered proliferation. It is clear, however, that changes in stroma and tumour microenvironment, and local immunity can also contribute to the development of resistance. Cancer cells can and do use several of these mechanisms at one time, and there is considerable heterogeneity between tumours, necessitating an individualised approach to cancer treatment. As tumours are heterogeneous, positive selection of a drug-resistant population could help drive resistance, although acquired resistance cannot simply be viewed as overgrowth of a resistant cancer cell population. The development of such resistance mechanisms can be predicted from pre-existing genomic and proteomic profiles, and there are increasingly sophisticated methods to measure and then tackle these mechanisms in patients. The oncologist is now required to be at least one step ahead of the cancer, a process that can be likened to 'molecular chess'. Thus, as well as an increasing role for predictive biomarkers to clinically stratify patients, it is becoming clear that personalised strategies are required to obtain best results.

  6. Antitumor Activity of Artemisinin and Its Derivatives: From a Well-Known Antimalarial Agent to a Potential Anticancer Drug

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria P. Crespo-Ortiz

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Improvement of quality of life and survival of cancer patients will be greatly enhanced by the development of highly effective drugs to selectively kill malignant cells. Artemisinin and its analogs are naturally occurring antimalarials which have shown potent anticancer activity. In primary cancer cultures and cell lines, their antitumor actions were by inhibiting cancer proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. In xenograft models, exposure to artemisinins substantially reduces tumor volume and progression. However, the rationale for the use of artemisinins in anticancer therapy must be addressed by a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in their cytotoxic effects. The primary targets for artemisinin and the chemical base for its preferential effects on heterologous tumor cells need yet to be elucidated. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the recent advances and new development of this class of drugs as potential anticancer agents.

  7. Boron nitride nanotubes for delivery of 5-fluorouracil as anticancer drug: a theoretical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shayan, Kolsoom; Nowroozi, Alireza

    2018-01-01

    The electronic structure and properties of the armchair boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) interacted with the 5-FU drug, as an anticancer drug, are studied at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. D3-Corrections were carried out for the treatment of intermolecular interactions in the hybrid complexes and encapsulated nanotubes, exactly. Results have shown that the encapsulation and adsorption of 5-FU molecule on the studied BNNTs surface are favorable processes, with a few exceptions. Also, it is found that the encapsulated nanotubes are stable than the hybrid complexes. Furthermore, we estimated the strengths of the intermolecular bonds of the benchmark systems by energetic, geometric, topological and molecular orbital descriptors. Some analyses have been made to explore any changes in the binding characteristics of the drug molecule after its attachment to the nanotubes. According to the NBO results, the charge transfer phenomenon is observed from the bonding or nonbonding orbitals of drug to the antibonding orbitals of BNNTs. Moreover, HOMO-LUMO analysis indicated that, after the adsorption process, the HOMO value slightly increased, while the LUMO value in these systems significantly reduced in the both of Drug@BNNTs groups. So, the energy gaps between HOMO and LUMO (Eg) are reduced, which emphasis on the greater intermolecular bond strength. Finally, the stability and reactivity of the Drug@BNNTs complexes have been examined from the magnitudes of the chemical reactivity descriptors such as chemical potential, global hardness, and electrophilicity index. As a consequence, BNNTs can be considered as a drug delivery vehicle for the transportation of 5-FU as anticancer drug within the biological systems.

  8. Development of new ionic gelation strategy: Towards the preparation of new monodisperse and stable hyaluronic acid/β-cyclodextrin-grafted chitosan nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers for doxorubicin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mihoub, Amina Ben; Saidat, Boubakeur; Bal, Youssef; Frochot, Céline; Vanderesse, Régis; Acherar, Samir

    2018-03-01

    In the present study, β-cyclodextrin-grafted chitosan nanoparticles (β-CD- g-CS NPs) were prepared using a new ionic gelation strategy involving a synergistic effect of NaCl (150 mmol/L), 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES, 10 mmol/L), and water bath sonication. This new strategy afforded smaller and more monodisperse β-CD- g-CS NPs vs. the classical ionic gelation method. New HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs were also prepared using the above-mentioned strategy by adding hyaluronic acid (HA) to the β-CD- g-CS copolymer at different weight ratios until the ZP values conversion. The best result was obtained with the weight ratio of w(HA): w(β-CD- g-CS) = 2:1 and furnished new spherical and smooth HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs. Furthermore, the stability of β- CD- g-CS NPs and HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs at 4°C in physiological medium (pH 7.4) was compared for 3 weeks period and showed that HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs were more stable all maintaining their monodispersity and high negative ZP values compared to β-CD- g-CS NPs. Finally, preliminary study of HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs as carrier for the controlled release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin was investigated. These new HA/β-CD- g-CS NPs can potentially be used as drug delivery and targeting systems for cancer treatment.

  9. Synthesis, characterization, and property of biodegradable PEG-PCL-PLA terpolymers with miktoarm star and triblock architectures as drug carriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yixin; Luo, Song; Liang, Yan; Zhang, Hai; Peng, Xinyu; He, Bin; Li, Sai

    2018-03-01

    A series of amphiphilic terpolymers with miktoarm star and triblock architectures of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(l-lactide acid) (PLLA) or poly(DL-lactide acid) (PDLLA) terpolymers were synthesized as carriers for drug delivery. The architecture, molecular weight and crystallization behavior of the terpolymers were characterized. Anticancer drug doxorubicin was encapsulated in the micelles to investigate their drug loading properties. The miktoarm star terpolymers exhibited stronger crystallization capability, smaller size and better stability than that of triblock polymeric micelle, owing to the lower CMC values of miktoarm star polymeric micelle. Furthermore, the drug-loaded miktoarm star polymeric micelles showed the cumulative DOX release account of the micelles with PDLLA blocks was 65.3% while the release account of the corresponding micelles containing PLLA blocks was 45.2%. The IC 50 values of drug-loaded miktoarm star polymeric micelle were lower than triblock polymeric micelle. Meanwhile, Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and Flow Cytometry results demonstrated that the miktoarm star micelles were more favorable for cellular internalization. The miktoarm star micelles with PDLLA blocks were promising carriers for anticancer drug delivery.

  10. Doxorubicin plus evofosfamide versus doxorubicin alone in locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma (TH CR-406/SARC021): an international, multicentre, open-label, randomised phase 3 trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tap, William D; Papai, Zsuzsanna; Van Tine, Brian A; Attia, Steven; Ganjoo, Kristen N; Jones, Robin L; Schuetze, Scott; Reed, Damon; Chawla, Sant P; Riedel, Richard F; Krarup-Hansen, Anders; Toulmonde, Maud; Ray-Coquard, Isabelle; Hohenberger, Peter; Grignani, Giovanni; Cranmer, Lee D; Okuno, Scott; Agulnik, Mark; Read, William; Ryan, Christopher W; Alcindor, Thierry; Del Muro, Xavier F Garcia; Budd, G Thomas; Tawbi, Hussein; Pearce, Tillman; Kroll, Stew; Reinke, Denise K; Schöffski, Patrick

    2017-08-01

    Evofosfamide is a hypoxia-activated prodrug of bromo-isophosphoramide mustard. We aimed to assess the benefit of adding evofosfamide to doxorubicin as first-line therapy for advanced soft-tissue sarcomas. We did this international, open-label, randomised, phase 3, multicentre trial (TH CR-406/SARC021) at 81 academic or community investigational sites in 13 countries. Eligible patients were aged 15 years or older with a diagnosis of an advanced unresectable or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma, of intermediate or high grade, for which no standard curative therapy was available, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1, and measurable disease by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive doxorubicin alone (75 mg/m 2 via bolus injection administered over 5-20 min or continuous intravenous infusion for 6-96 h on day 1 of every 21-day cycle for up to six cycles) or doxorubicin (given via the same dose procedure) plus evofosfamide (300 mg/m 2 intravenously for 30-60 min on days 1 and 8 of every 21-day cycle for up to six cycles). After six cycles of treatment, patients in the single-drug doxorubicin group were followed up expectantly whereas patients with stable or responsive disease in the combination group were allowed to continue with evofosfamide monotherapy until documented disease progression. A web-based central randomisation with block sizes of two and four was stratified by extent of disease, doxorubicin administration method, and previous systemic therapy. Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was overall survival, analysed in the intention-to-treat population. Safety analyses were done in all patients who received any amount of study drug. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01440088. Between Sept 26, 2011, and Jan 22, 2014, 640 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to a treatment group (317 to

  11. Commercialization strategy of the herbal composition HemoHIM as a complementary drug for anti-cancer therapies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jo, Sungkee; Jung, Uhee; Park, Haeran

    2013-01-15

    Ο Purpose - Establishment of strategy for the development of HemoHIM as a complementary drug for cancer therapies including non-clinical data preparation, obtainment of a research project grant, base of manufacturing process and raw material standardization Ο Research Results - Examination and confirmation of the essential requirements to develop the complementary drug for anticancer therapies by consulting with Korea FDA, and clinical CRO, and medical experts (animal efficacy study, toxicological safety test, standard analytical method, raw material standardization) - Obtainment of a governmental research project for 3 years from Ministry of Health and Welfare to develop HemoHIM as an complementary herbal drug for anti-cancer therapies - Acquisition of fundamental data on the manufacturing process and the raw material standardization for the optimal efficacy of HemoHIM Ο Expected benefit - Planning to get the approval of IND from Korea FDA by 2015 after completing the non-clinical study through the on-going project from Ministry of Health and Welfare - Planning to commercialize the product by 2017.

  12. Commercialization strategy of the herbal composition HemoHIM as a complementary drug for anti-cancer therapies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Sungkee; Jung, Uhee; Park, Haeran

    2013-01-01

    Ο Purpose - Establishment of strategy for the development of HemoHIM as a complementary drug for cancer therapies including non-clinical data preparation, obtainment of a research project grant, base of manufacturing process and raw material standardization Ο Research Results - Examination and confirmation of the essential requirements to develop the complementary drug for anticancer therapies by consulting with Korea FDA, and clinical CRO, and medical experts (animal efficacy study, toxicological safety test, standard analytical method, raw material standardization) - Obtainment of a governmental research project for 3 years from Ministry of Health and Welfare to develop HemoHIM as an complementary herbal drug for anti-cancer therapies - Acquisition of fundamental data on the manufacturing process and the raw material standardization for the optimal efficacy of HemoHIM Ο Expected benefit - Planning to get the approval of IND from Korea FDA by 2015 after completing the non-clinical study through the on-going project from Ministry of Health and Welfare - Planning to commercialize the product by 2017

  13. Adsorption Properties of Doxorubicin Hydrochloride onto Graphene Oxide: Equilibrium, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zonghua Wang

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX is an effective anticancer agent for leukemia chemotherapy, although its clinical use has been limited because of its side effects such as cardiotoxicity, alopecia, vomiting, and leucopenia. Attention has been focussed on developing new drug carriers with high adsorption capacity and rapid adsorption rate in order to minimize the side effects of DOX. Graphene oxide (GO, a new type of nanomaterial in the carbon family, was prepared by Hummers method and used as adsorbent for DOX from aqueous solution. The physico-chemical properties of GO were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, zeta potential, and element analysis. The adsorption properties of DOX on GO were studied as a function of contact time, adsorbent dosage, temperature and pH value. The results showed that GO had a maximum adsorption capacity of 1428.57 mg/g and the adsorption isotherm data fitted the Langmuir model. The kinetics of adsorption fits a pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic studies indicate that the adsorption of DOX on GO is spontaneous and endothermic in nature.

  14. Doxorubicin, mesenchymal stem cell toxicity and antitumour activity: implications for clinical use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxter-Holland, Mia; Dass, Crispin R

    2018-03-01

    The use of doxorubicin, an antineoplastic medication used for the treatment of cancers via mechanisms that prevent replication of cells or lead to their death, can result in damage to healthy cells as well as malignant. Among the affected cells are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are involved in the maintenance and repair of tissues in the body. This review explores the mechanisms of biological effects and damage attributed to doxorubicin on MSCs. The PubMed database was used as a source of literature for this review. Doxorubicin has the potential to lead to significant and irreversible damage to the human bone marrow environment, including MSCs. The primary known mechanism of these changes is through free radical damage and activation of apoptotic pathways. The presence of MSCs in culture or in vivo appears to either suppress or promote tumour growth. Interactions between doxorubicin and MSCs have the potential to increase chemotherapy resistance. Doxorubicin-induced damage to MSCs is of concern clinically. However, MSCs also have been associated with resistance of tumour cells to drugs including doxorubicin. Further studies, particularly in vivo, are needed to provide consistent results of how the doxorubicin-induced changes to MSCs affect treatment and patient health. © 2018 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  15. Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of bile acid-aromatic/heteroaromatic amides linked via amino acids as anti-cancer agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Devesh S; Anantaraju, Hasitha Shilpa; Sriram, Dharmarajan; Yogeeswari, Perumal; Nanjegowda, Shankara H; Mallu, P; Sakhuja, Rajeev

    2016-03-01

    A series of bile acid (Cholic acid and Deoxycholic acid) aryl/heteroaryl amides linked via α-amino acid were synthesized and tested against 3 human cancer cell-lines (HT29, MDAMB231, U87MG) and 1 human normal cell line (HEK293T). Some of the conjugates showed promising results to be new anticancer agents with good in vitro results. More specifically, Cholic acid derivatives 6a (1.35 μM), 6c (1.41 μM) and 6m (4.52 μM) possessing phenyl, benzothiazole and 4-methylphenyl groups showed fairly good activity against the breast cancer cell line with respect to Cisplatin (7.21 μM) and comparable with respect to Doxorubicin (1 μM), while 6e (2.49μM), 6i (2.46 μM) and 6m (1.62 μM) showed better activity against glioblastoma cancer cell line with respect to both Cisplatin (2.60 μM) and Doxorubicin (3.78 μM) drugs used as standards. Greater than 65% of the compounds were found to be safer on human normal cell line. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A comparative study on the changes of serum fibrosis indicators after TACE with use of low-dose versus conventional-dose of anticancer drugs in hepatocellular carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Wei; Li Yanhao; He Xiaofeng; Chen Yong

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To study the changes of serum fibrosis indicators after transcatheter arterial chemo-embolization (TACE) with the use of low-dose vs conventional-dose of anticancer drugs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Forty patients with HCC were divided into two groups to receive superselective TACE. Patients in group A(n=20) received low-dose anticancer drug(s): 2-4 mg mitomycin C (MMC) with the tumor mass less than 5 cm in size; while MMC 4-6 mg and epirubicin (EPI) 10 mg were given with tumor size of 5-8 cm in diameter, and MMC 6-8 mg, EPI 10 mg, CBP 100 mg with tumors larger than 8 cm. Patients in group B (n=20) were given conventional-dose of anticancer drugs (MMC 10 mg, EPI 40 mg and CBP 300 mg). Lipiodol-anticancer drugs emulsion was injected into the feeding arteries of tumors and followed by gelatin sponge or PVA particles embolization participation. Four serum fibrosis indicators, including hyaluronate acid (HA), human procollagen type-III (hPC-III), laminin (LN), collagen type-IV (IV-C) were assessed before and 7 days after TACE. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning the four indicators before TACE, but the concentrations of the four serum indicators were increased significantly in group B (P 0.05). Conclusions: The formation of liver fibrosis after TACE in HCC is related to the dosage of anticancer drugs employed for chemoembolization. Therefore, low-dose anticancer drugs should be advocated. (authors)

  17. Doxorubicin in vivo rapidly alters expression and translation of myocardial electron transport chain genes, leads to ATP loss and caspase 3 activation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy V Pointon

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin is one of the most effective anti-cancer drugs but its use is limited by cumulative cardiotoxicity that restricts lifetime dose. Redox damage is one of the most accepted mechanisms of toxicity, but not fully substantiated. Moreover doxorubicin is not an efficient redox cycling compound due to its low redox potential. Here we used genomic and chemical systems approaches in vivo to investigate the mechanisms of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity, and specifically test the hypothesis of redox cycling mediated cardiotoxicity.Mice were treated with an acute dose of either doxorubicin (DOX (15 mg/kg or 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMNQ (25 mg/kg. DMNQ is a more efficient redox cycling agent than DOX but unlike DOX has limited ability to inhibit gene transcription and DNA replication. This allowed specific testing of the redox hypothesis for cardiotoxicity. An acute dose was used to avoid pathophysiological effects in the genomic analysis. However similar data were obtained with a chronic model, but are not specifically presented. All data are deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO. Pathway and biochemical analysis of cardiac global gene transcription and mRNA translation data derived at time points from 5 min after an acute exposure in vivo showed a pronounced effect on electron transport chain activity. This led to loss of ATP, increased AMPK expression, mitochondrial genome amplification and activation of caspase 3. No data gathered with either compound indicated general redox damage, though site specific redox damage in mitochondria cannot be entirely discounted.These data indicate the major mechanism of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is via damage or inhibition of the electron transport chain and not general redox stress. There is a rapid response at transcriptional and translational level of many of the genes coding for proteins of the electron transport chain complexes. Still though ATP loss occurs with activation caspase 3 and these

  18. Interaction of anthraquinone anti-cancer drugs with DNA:Experimental and computational quantum chemical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Otaibi, Jamelah S.; Teesdale Spittle, Paul; El Gogary, Tarek M.

    2017-01-01

    Anthraquinones form the basis of several anticancer drugs. Anthraquinones anticancer drugs carry out their cytotoxic activities through their interaction with DNA, and inhibition of topoisomerase II activity. Anthraquinones (AQ4 and AQ4H) were synthesized and studied along with 1,4-DAAQ by computational and experimental tools. The purpose of this study is to shade more light on mechanism of interaction between anthraquinone DNA affinic agents and different types of DNA. This study will lead to gain of information useful for drug design and development. Molecular structures were optimized using DFT B3LYP/6-31 + G(d). Depending on intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions two conformers of AQ4 were detected and computed as 25.667 kcal/mol apart. Molecular reactivity of the anthraquinone compounds was explored using global and condensed descriptors (electrophilicity and Fukui functions). Molecular docking studies for the inhibition of CDK2 and DNA binding were carried out to explore the anti cancer potency of these drugs. NMR and UV-VIS electronic absorption spectra of anthraquinones/DNA were investigated at the physiological pH. The interaction of the three anthraquinones (AQ4, AQ4H and 1,4-DAAQ) were studied with three DNA (calf thymus DNA, (Poly[dA].Poly[dT]) and (Poly[dG].Poly[dC]). NMR study shows a qualitative pattern of drug/DNA interaction in terms of band shift and broadening. UV-VIS electronic absorption spectra were employed to measure the affinity constants of drug/DNA binding using Scatchard analysis.

  19. Sperm-Hybrid Micromotor for Targeted Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Haifeng; Medina-Sánchez, Mariana; Magdanz, Veronika; Schwarz, Lukas; Hebenstreit, Franziska; Schmidt, Oliver G

    2018-01-23

    A sperm-driven micromotor is presented as a targeted drug delivery system, which is appealing to potentially treat diseases in the female reproductive tract. This system is demonstrated to be an efficient drug delivery vehicle by first loading a motile sperm cell with an anticancer drug (doxorubicin hydrochloride), guiding it magnetically, to an in vitro cultured tumor spheroid, and finally freeing the sperm cell to deliver the drug locally. The sperm release mechanism is designed to liberate the sperm when the biohybrid micromotor hits the tumor walls, allowing it to swim into the tumor and deliver the drug through the sperm-cancer cell membrane fusion. In our experiments, the sperm cells exhibited a high drug encapsulation capability and drug carrying stability, conveniently minimizing  toxic side effects and unwanted drug accumulation in healthy tissues. Overall, sperm cells are excellent candidates to operate in physiological environments, as they neither express pathogenic proteins nor proliferate to form undesirable colonies, unlike other cells or microorganisms. This sperm-hybrid micromotor is a biocompatible platform with potential application in gynecological healthcare, treating or detecting cancer or other diseases in the female reproductive system.

  20. Striking balance between expedited review and expecting efficacious anticancer drug and biologics: An ongoing challenge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krishnan Vengadaragava Chary

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the postmarketing status: Efficacy and safety drugs and biologics related with cancer approved under expedited review. Methods: This observational, analytical study was carried between January and April 2016 by the Department of Pharmacology and Medical Oncology, Saveetha Medical College. Drugs approved under expedited review, fast-track status and its association with anti-cancer effects, postmarketing efficacy and safety, propensity to induce the second tumor was noted. Drug approval status and average time of review process were obtained from the United States-Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Center for Drugs and Biologics Center (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Postmarketing adverse events and safety issues were collected FDA adverse effects reporting system. Further, evidence efficacy and safety of drugs were taken from various meta-analysis, reports on BioMed journals, and Cochrane systematic reviews. Results: In the last 5 years, 166 products were approved by expedited review. Out of 166, 48 (28.9% drugs/biologics are anticancer drugs and drugs used in precancerous conditions. The average time of review varies from19 months to 8.2 months. Out of these 48 molecules, 37 (77% molecules received serious adverse event alert. Positive correlation is seen between average time of review and number of adverse events reported. Seven (14.5% drugs were proven to induce second tumor among receivers. Conclusion: Although expedited review facilitates faster approval of drugs; selection and assessment criteria should be stringent to prevent clinical failure, serious adverse effects of such drugs exposed to many individuals. Focus should be given developing chemosensitizing molecule and evaluation of metronomic regimen which is being more optimistic in current cancer therapeutics.

  1. A new in vitro screening system for anticancer drugs for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanauske, U.; Hanauske, A.R.; Clark, G.M.; Tsen, D.; Buchok, J.; Hoff, D.D. von

    1989-01-01

    We have evaluated a semiautomated radiometric assay (BACTEC 460 system) for screening of activity of anticancer drugs against human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Cells from seven cell lines were exposed to standard antineoplastic agents at four different concentrations using a 1-h incubation. Alpha 2-interferon was tested using a continuous incubation. In vitro drug activity was analyzed as a function of the clinically achievable serum concentration. Our results indicate that two cell lines (CALU-3, SK-MES-1) exhibit in vitro drug sensitivity patterns closest to those observed in clinical studies. These two cell lines might therefore be most useful for screening new anticancer compounds for activity against non-small cell lung cancer. The radiometric assay is a semiautomated system which has advantages over other, more time-consuming screening systems

  2. Genetic Interactions of STAT3 and Anticancer Drug Development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Bingliang

    2014-01-01

    Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays critical roles in tumorigenesis and malignant evolution and has been intensively studied as a therapeutic target for cancer. A number of STAT3 inhibitors have been evaluated for their antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo in experimental tumor models and several approved therapeutic agents have been reported to function as STAT3 inhibitors. Nevertheless, most STAT3 inhibitors have yet to be translated to clinical evaluation for cancer treatment, presumably because of pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and safety issues. In fact, a major cause of failure of anticancer drug development is lack of efficacy. Genetic interactions among various cancer-related pathways often provide redundant input from parallel and/or cooperative pathways that drives and maintains survival environments for cancer cells, leading to low efficacy of single-target agents. Exploiting genetic interactions of STAT3 with other cancer-related pathways may provide molecular insight into mechanisms of cancer resistance to pathway-targeted therapies and strategies for development of more effective anticancer agents and treatment regimens. This review focuses on functional regulation of STAT3 activity; possible interactions of the STAT3, RAS, epidermal growth factor receptor, and reduction-oxidation pathways; and molecular mechanisms that modulate therapeutic efficacies of STAT3 inhibitors

  3. The anti-cancerous drug doxorubicin decreases the c-di-GMP content in Pseudomonas aeruginosa but promotes biofilm formation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Groizeleau, Julie; Rybtke, Morten; Andersen, Jens Bo

    2016-01-01

    Current antibiotic treatments are insufficient in eradicating bacterial biofilms, which represent the primary cause of chronic bacterial infections. Thus, there is an urgent need for new strategies to eradicate biofilm infections. The second messenger c-di-GMP is a positive regulator of biofilm...... formation in many clinically relevant bacteria. It is hypothesized that drugs lowering the intracellular level of c-di-GMP will force biofilm bacteria into a more treatable planktonic lifestyle. To identify compounds capable of lowering c-di-GMP levels in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we screened 5000 compounds...... for their potential c-di-GMP-lowering effect using a recently developed c-di-GMP biosensor strain. Our screen identified the anti-cancerous drug doxorubicin as a potent c-di-GMP inhibitor. In addition, the drug decreased the transcription of many biofilm-related genes. However, despite its effect on the c-di-GMP...

  4. Ecdysteroids Sensitize MDR and Non-MDR Cancer Cell Lines to Doxorubicin, Paclitaxel, and Vincristine but Tend to Protect Them from Cisplatin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Martins

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ecdysteroids, analogs of the insect molting hormone, are known for their various mild, nonhormonal bioactivities in mammals. Previously, we reported that less-polar ecdysteroids can modulate the doxorubicin resistance of a multidrug resistant (MDR mouse lymphoma cell line expressing the human ABCB1 transporter. Here, we describe the ability of 20-hydroxyecdysone (1 and its mono- (2 and diacetonide (3 derivatives to sensitize various MDR and non-MDR cancer cell lines towards doxorubicin, paclitaxel, vincristine, or cisplatin. Drug IC50 values with or without ecdysteroid were determined by MTT assay. Compound 3 significantly sensitized all cell lines to each chemotherapeutic except for cisplatin, whose activity was decreased. In order to overcome solubility and stability issues for the future in vivo administration of compound 3, liposomal formulations were developed. By means of their combination index values obtained via checkerboard microplate method, a formulation showed superior activity to that of compound 3 alone. Because ecdysteroids act also on non-ABCB1 expressing (sensitive cell lines, our results demonstrate that they do not or not exclusively exert their adjuvant anticancer activity as ABCB1 inhibitors, but other mechanisms must be involved, and they opened the way towards their in vivo bioactivity testing against various cancer xenografts.

  5. Effect of citral on the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in human B-lymphoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dangkong, Darinee; Limpanasithikul, Wacharee

    2015-02-01

    Doxorubicin is a chemotherapy agent used in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma but side effects limit its use. Citral is a mixture of neral and geranial found in essential oils of lemon grass. We evaluated the activity of citral, doxorubicin, and combination on cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and anti-proliferative effects using human lymphoma Ramos cells. Cells were treated with doxorubicin alone or in combination with citral (10, 20, and 40 μM). Cytotoxic and apoptosis studies were done after 24 and 18 h incubations, respectively. Cytotoxic effects of citral on normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were also investigated for its safety. Changes in the expression of BCL-2 family genes were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. Citral had cytotoxicity on cells with an IC50 value of 77.19 ± 4.95 µM. Citral at concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 µM additively increased the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of doxorubicin, leading to decreased IC50 (µM) of the drug from 2.50 ± 0.01 to 2.16 ± 0.03, 1.90 ± 0.04, and 1.23 ± 0.04, respectively. Enhanced cytotoxicity was not observed in normal human PBMCs. Citral (40 µM) in combination with doxorubicin (1.5 µM) increased the expression of pro-apoptotic protein BAK but significantly decreased the expression of anti-apoptotic protein BCL-XL to 5.26-fold compared with doxorubicin-treated cells. It did not change the anti-proliferative activity of drug. Citral potentiated cytotoxicity of doxorubicin by increasing apoptotic effects. We conclude that citral may have beneficial effects in patients with B cell lymphoma treated with chemotherapy.

  6. Human colon cancer HT-29 cell death responses to doxorubicin and Morus Alba leaves flavonoid extract.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallah, S; Karimi, A; Panahi, G; Gerayesh Nejad, S; Fadaei, R; Seifi, M

    2016-03-31

    The mechanistic basis for the biological properties of Morus alba flavonoid extract (MFE) and chemotherapy drug of doxorubicin on human colon cancer HT-29 cell line death are unknown. The effect of doxorubicin and flavonoid extract on colon cancer HT-29 cell line death and identification of APC gene expression and PARP concentration of HT-29 cell line were investigated. The results showed that flavonoid extract and doxorubicin induce a dose dependent cell death in HT-29 cell line. MFE and doxorubicin exert a cytotoxic effect on human colon cancer HT-29 cell line by probably promoting or induction of apoptosis.

  7. Oxidative phosphorylation-dependent regulation of cancer cell apoptosis in response to anticancer agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, N; Kumar, S; Marlowe, T; Chaudhary, A K; Kumar, R; Wang, J; O'Malley, J; Boland, P M; Jayanthi, S; Kumar, T K S; Yadava, N; Chandra, D

    2015-11-05

    Cancer cells tend to develop resistance to various types of anticancer agents, whether they adopt similar or distinct mechanisms to evade cell death in response to a broad spectrum of cancer therapeutics is not fully defined. Current study concludes that DNA-damaging agents (etoposide and doxorubicin), ER stressor (thapsigargin), and histone deacetylase inhibitor (apicidin) target oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) for apoptosis induction, whereas other anticancer agents including staurosporine, taxol, and sorafenib induce apoptosis in an OXPHOS-independent manner. DNA-damaging agents promoted mitochondrial biogenesis accompanied by increased accumulation of cellular and mitochondrial ROS, mitochondrial protein-folding machinery, and mitochondrial unfolded protein response. Induction of mitochondrial biogenesis occurred in a caspase activation-independent mechanism but was reduced by autophagy inhibition and p53-deficiency. Abrogation of complex-I blocked DNA-damage-induced caspase activation and apoptosis, whereas inhibition of complex-II or a combined deficiency of OXPHOS complexes I, III, IV, and V due to impaired mitochondrial protein synthesis did not modulate caspase activity. Mechanistic analysis revealed that inhibition of caspase activation in response to anticancer agents associates with decreased release of mitochondrial cytochrome c in complex-I-deficient cells compared with wild type (WT) cells. Gross OXPHOS deficiencies promoted increased release of apoptosis-inducing factor from mitochondria compared with WT or complex-I-deficient cells, suggesting that cells harboring defective OXPHOS trigger caspase-dependent as well as caspase-independent apoptosis in response to anticancer agents. Interestingly, DNA-damaging agent doxorubicin showed strong binding to mitochondria, which was disrupted by complex-I-deficiency but not by complex-II-deficiency. Thapsigargin-induced caspase activation was reduced upon abrogation of complex-I or gross OXPHOS deficiency

  8. Activity of the hypoxia-activated pro-drug TH-302 in hypoxic and perivascular regions of solid tumors and its potential to enhance therapeutic effects of chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saggar, Jasdeep K; Tannock, Ian F

    2014-06-01

    Many chemotherapy drugs have poor therapeutic activity in regions distant from tumor blood vessels because of poor tissue penetration and low cytotoxic activity against slowly-proliferating cells. The hypoxia-activated pro-drug TH-302 may have selective toxicity for hypoxic and neighboring cells in tumors. Here we characterize the spatial distribution and ability of TH-302 to selectively target hypoxic regions and complement the effect of doxorubicin and docetaxel by modifying biomarker distribution. Athymic nude mice bearing human breast MCF-7 or prostate PC-3 tumors were treated with doxorubicin or docetaxel respectively and TH-302 alone or in combination. Biomarkers of drug effect including γH2aX (a marker of DNA damage), cleaved caspase-3 or -6 (markers of apoptosis) and reduction in Ki-67 (a marker of cell proliferation) were quantified in tumor sections in relation to functional blood vessels (recognized by DiOC7) and hypoxia (recognized by EF5) using immunohistochemistry. γH2aX expression at 10 min and cleaved caspase-3 or -6 at 24 hr after doxorubicin or docetaxel decreased with increasing distance from tumor blood vessels, with minimal expression in hypoxic regions; maximum reduction in Ki67 levels was observed in regions closest to vasculature at 24 hr. TH-302 induced maximal cell damage in hypoxic and neighboring regions, but was also active in tumor regions closer to blood vessels. TH-302 given 4 hr before doxorubicin or docetaxel increased DNA damage and apoptosis throughout the tumor compared to chemotherapy alone. When given with doxorubicin or docetaxel, TH-302 complements and enhances anticancer effects in both perivascular and hypoxic regions but also increases toxicity. © 2013 UICC.

  9. Drug-loaded poly (ε-caprolactone)/Fe3O4 composite microspheres for magnetic resonance imaging and controlled drug delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guangshuo; Zhao, Dexing; Li, Nannan; Wang, Xuehan; Ma, Yingying

    2018-06-01

    In this study, poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) microspheres loading magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles and anti-cancer drug of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) were successfully prepared by a modified solvent-evaporation method. The obtained magnetic composite microspheres exhibited dual features of magnetic resonance imaging and controlled drug delivery. The morphology, structure, thermal behavior and magnetic properties of the drug-loaded magnetic microspheres were investigated in detail by SEM, XRD, DSC and SQUID. The obtained composite microspheres showed superparamagnetic behavior and T2-weighted enhancement effect. The drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, releasing behavior and in vitro cytotoxicity of the drug-loaded composite microspheres were systematically investigated. It was found that the values of drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were 36.7% and 25.8%, respectively. The composite microspheres were sensitive to pH and released in a sustained way, and both the release curves under various pH conditions (4.0 and 7.4) were well satisfied with the biphase kinetics function. In addition, the magnetic response of the drug-loaded microspheres was studied and the results showed that the composite microspheres had a good magnetic stability and strong targeting ability.

  10. Zinc-Modified Nanotransporter of Doxorubicin for Targeted Prostate Cancer Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvie Skalickova

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This work investigated the preparation of chitosan nanoparticles used as carriers for doxorubicin for targeted cancer delivery. Prepared nanocarriers were stabilized and functionalized via zinc ions incorporated into the chitosan nanoparticle backbone. We took the advantage of high expression of sarcosine in the prostate cancer cells. The prostate cancer targeting was mediated by the AntiSar antibodies decorated surface of the nanocage. Formation of the chitosan nanoparticles was determined using a ninhydrin assay and differential pulse voltammetry. Obtained results showed the strong effect of tripolyphosphine on the nanoparticle formation. The zinc ions affected strong chitosan backbone coiling both in inner and outer chitosan nanoparticle structure. Zinc electrochemical signal depended on the level of the complex formation and the potential shift from −960 to −950 mV. Formed complex is suitable for doxorubicin delivery. It was observed the 20% entrapment efficiency of doxorubicin and strong dependence of drug release after 120 min in the blood environment. The functionality of the designed nanotransporter was proven. The purposed determination showed linear dependence in the concentration range of Anti-sarcosine IgG labeled gold nanoparticles from 0 to 1000 µg/mL and the regression equation was found to be y = 3.8x − 66.7 and R2 = 0.99. Performed ELISA confirmed the ability of Anti-sarcosine IgG labeled chitosan nanoparticles with loaded doxorubicin to bind to the sarcosine molecule. Observed hemolytic activity of the nanotransporter was 40%. Inhibition activity of our proposed nanotransporter was evaluated to be 0% on the experimental model of S. cerevisiae. Anti-sarcosine IgG labeled chitosan nanoparticles, with loaded doxorubicin stabilized by Zn ions, are a perspective type of nanocarrier for targeted drug therapy managed by specific interaction with sarcosine and metallothionein for prostate cancer.

  11. Chitosan-based nanocomplexes for simultaneous loading, burst reduction and controlled release of doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Martino, Antonio; Kucharczyk, Pavel; Capakova, Zdenka; Humpolicek, Petr; Sedlarik, Vladimir

    2017-09-01

    In this work, nanocomplexes based on chitosan grafted by carboxy-modified polylactic acid (SPLA) were prepared with the aim of loading simultaneously two anticancer drugs - doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil, as well as to control their release, reduce the initial burst and boost cytotoxicity. The SPLA was prepared by a polycondensation reaction, using pentetic acid as the core molecule, and linked to the chitosan backbone through a coupling reaction. Nanocomplexes loaded with both drugs were formulated by the polyelectrolyte complexation method. The structure of the SPLA was characterized by 1 H NMR, while the product CS-SPLA was analyzed by FTIR-ATR to prove the occurrence of the reaction. Results showed that the diameters and ζ-potential of the nanocomplexes fall in the range 120-200nm and 20-37mV, respectively. SEM and TEM analysis confirmed the spherical shape and dimensions of the nanocomplexes. The presence of hydrophobic side chain SPLA did not influence the encapsulation efficiency of the drugs but strongly reduced the initial burst and prolonged release over time compared to unmodified chitosan. MS analysis showed that no degradation or interactions between the drugs and carrier were exhibited after loading or 24h of release had taken place, confirming the protective role of the nanocomplexes. In vitro tests demonstrated an increase in the cytotoxicity of the drugs when loaded in the prepared carriers. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM): an alternative predictive model in acute toxicological studies for anti-cancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kue, Chin Siang; Tan, Kae Yi; Lam, May Lynn; Lee, Hong Boon

    2015-01-01

    The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a preclinical model widely used for vascular and anti-vascular effects of therapeutic agents in vivo. In this study, we examine the suitability of CAM as a predictive model for acute toxicology studies of drugs by comparing it to conventional mouse and rat models for 10 FDA-approved anticancer drugs (paclitaxel, carmustine, camptothecin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, cisplatin, aloin, mitomycin C, actinomycin-D, melphalan). Suitable formulations for intravenous administration were determined before the average of median lethal dose (LD50) and median survival dose (SD(50)) in the CAM were measured and calculated for these drugs. The resultant ideal LD(50) values were correlated to those reported in the literature using Pearson's correlation test for both intravenous and intraperitoneal routes of injection in rodents. Our results showed moderate correlations (r(2)=0.42 - 0.68, PLD(50) values obtained using the CAM model with LD(50) values from mice and rats models for both intravenous and intraperitoneal administrations, suggesting that the chick embryo may be a suitable alternative model for acute drug toxicity screening before embarking on full toxicological investigations in rodents in development of anticancer drugs.

  13. TVP1022 Protects Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes against Doxorubicin-Induced Functional Derangements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berdichevski, Alexandra; Meiry, Gideon; Milman, Felix; Reiter, Irena; Sedan, Oshra; Eliyahu, Sivan; Duffy, Heather S.; Youdim, Moussa B.; Binah, Ofer

    2010-01-01

    Our recent studies demonstrated that propargylamine derivatives such as rasagiline (Azilect, Food and Drug Administration-approved anti-Parkinson drug) and its S-isomer TVP1022 protect cardiac and neuronal cell cultures against apoptotic-inducing stimuli. Studies on structure-activity relationship revealed that their neuroprotective effect is associated with the propargylamine moiety, which protects mitochondrial viability and prevents apoptosis by activating Bcl-2 and protein kinase C-ε and by down-regulating the proapoptotic protein Bax. Based on the established cytoprotective and neuroprotective efficacies of propargylamine derivatives, as well as on our recent study showing that TVP1022 attenuates serum starvation-induced and doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs), we tested the hypothesis that TVP1022 will also provide protection against doxorubicin-induced NRVM functional derangements. The present study demonstrates that pretreatment of NRVMs with TVP1022 (1 μM, 24 h) prevented doxorubicin (0.5 μM, 24 h)-induced elevation of diastolic [Ca2+]i, the slowing of [Ca2+]i relaxation kinetics, and the decrease in the rates of myocyte contraction and relaxation. Furthermore, pretreatment with TVP1022 attenuated the doxorubicin-induced reduction in the protein expression of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca2+) ATPase, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1, and total connexin 43. Finally, TVP1022 diminished the inhibitory effect of doxorubicin on gap junctional intercellular coupling (measured by means of Lucifer yellow transfer) and on conduction velocity, the amplitude of the activation phase, and the maximal rate of activation (dv/dtmax) measured by the Micro-Electrode-Array system. In summary, our results indicate that TVP1022 acts as a novel cardioprotective agent against anthracycline cardiotoxicity, and therefore potentially can be coadmhence, the inistered with doxorubicin in the treatment of malignancies in humans. PMID:19915070

  14. Doxorubicin-modified magnetic nanoparticles as a drug delivery system for magnetic resonance imaging-monitoring magnet-enhancing tumor chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Po-Chin; Chen, Yung-Chu; Chiang, Chi-Feng; Mo, Lein-Ray; Wei, Shwu-Yuan; Hsieh, Wen-Yuan; Lin, Win-Li

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we developed functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles consisting of a magnetic Fe3O4 core and a shell of aqueous stable polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated with doxorubicin (Dox) (SPIO-PEG-D) for tumor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enhancement and chemotherapy. The size of SPIO nanoparticles was ~10 nm, which was visualized by transmission electron microscope. The hysteresis curve, generated with vibrating-sample magnetometer, showed that SPIO-PEG-D was superparamagnetic with an insignificant hysteresis. The transverse relaxivity (r 2) for SPIO-PEG-D was significantly higher than the longitudinal relaxivity (r 1) (r 2/r 1 >10). The half-life of Dox in blood circulation was prolonged by conjugating Dox on the surface of SPIO with PEG to reduce its degradation. The in vitro experiment showed that SPIO-PEG-D could cause DNA crosslink more serious, resulting in a lower DNA expression and a higher cell apoptosis for HT-29 cancer cells. The Prussian blue staining study showed that the tumors treated with SPIO-PEG-D under a magnetic field had a much higher intratumoral iron density than the tumors treated with SPIO-PEG-D alone. The in vivo MRI study showed that the T2-weighted signal enhancement was stronger for the group under a magnetic field, indicating that it had a better accumulation of SPIO-PEG-D in tumor tissues. In the anticancer efficiency study for SPIO-PEG-D, the results showed that there was a significantly smaller tumor size for the group with a magnetic field than the group without. The in vivo experiments also showed that this drug delivery system combined with a local magnetic field could reduce the side effects of cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. The results showed that the developed SPIO-PEG-D nanoparticles own a great potential for MRI-monitoring magnet-enhancing tumor chemotherapy.

  15. [Evolution of reimbursement of high-cost anticancer drugs: Financial impact within a university hospital].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baudouin, Amandine; Fargier, Emilie; Cerruti, Ariane; Dubromel, Amélie; Vantard, Nicolas; Ranchon, Florence; Schwiertz, Vérane; Salles, Gilles; Souquet, Pierre-Jean; Thomas, Luc; Bérard, Frédéric; Nancey, Stéphane; Freyer, Gilles; Trillet-Lenoir, Véronique; Rioufol, Catherine

    2017-06-01

    In the context of health expenses control, reimbursement of high-cost medicines with a 'minor' or 'nonexistent' improvement in actual health benefit evaluated by the Haute Autorité de santé is revised by the decree of March 24, 2016 related to the procedure and terms of registration of high-cost pharmaceutical drugs. This study aims to set up the economic impact of this measure. A six months retrospective study was conducted within a French university hospital from July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. For each injectable high-cost anticancer drug prescribed to a patient with cancer, the therapeutic indication, its status in relation to the marketing authorization and the associated improvement in actual health benefit were examined. The total costs of these treatments, the cost per type of indication and, in the case of marketing authorization indications, the cost per improvement in actual health benefit were evaluated considering that all drugs affected by the decree would be struck off. Over six months, 4416 high-cost injectable anticancer drugs were prescribed for a total cost of 4.2 million euros. The costs of drugs with a minor or nonexistent improvement in actual benefit and which comparator is not onerous amount 557,564 euros. The reform of modalities of inscription on the list of onerous drugs represents a significant additional cost for health institutions (1.1 million euros for our hospital) and raises the question of the accessibility to these treatments for cancer patients. Copyright © 2017 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  16. A novel combination of TRAIL and doxorubicin enhances antitumor effect based on passive tumor-targeting of liposomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Liangran; Fan Li; Ren Jinfeng; Pang Zhiqing; Ren Yulong; Li Jingwei; Jiang Xinguo; Wen Ziyi

    2011-01-01

    Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a novel anticancer agent for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, approximately half of NSCLC cell lines are highly resistant to TRAIL. Doxorubicin (DOX) can sensitize NSCLC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, indicating the possibility of combination therapy. Unfortunately, the therapeutic effect of a DOX and TRAIL combination is limited by multiple factors including the short serum half-life of TRAIL, poor compliance and application difficulty in the clinic, chronic DOX-induced cardiac toxicity, and the multidrug resistance (MDR) property of NSCLC cells. To solve such problems, we developed the combination of TRAIL liposomes (TRAIL-LP) and DOX liposomes (DOX-LP). An in vitro cytotoxicity study indicated that DOX-LP sensitized the NSCLC cell line A-549 to TRAIL-LP-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, this combination therapy of TRAIL-LP and DOX-LP displayed a stronger antitumor effect on NSCLC in xenografted mice when compared with free drugs or liposomal drugs alone. Therefore, the TRAIL-LP and DOX-LP combination therapy has excellent potential to become a new therapeutic approach for patients with advanced NSCLC.

  17. Reprofiling a classical anthelmintic, pyrvinium pamoate, as an anti-cancer drug targeting mitochondrial respiration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishii, Isao [Department of Biochemistry, Keio University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo (Japan); Harada, Yasuo [Fujii Memorial Research Institute, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Shiga (Japan); Kasahara, Tadashi, E-mail: isao-ishii@umin.ac.jp [Department of Biochemistry, Keio University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo (Japan)

    2012-10-02

    Pyrvinium pamoate (PP) is an FDA-approved classical anthelmintic, but is now attracting particular attention as an anti-cancer drug after recent findings of its potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines only during glucose starvation, as well as its anti-tumor activity against hypovascular pancreatic cancer cells transplanted in mice. The molecular mechanisms by which PP promotes such preferential toxicity against cancer cells are currently under extensive investigation. PP suppressed the NADH-fumarate reductase system that mediates a reverse reaction of the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex II in anaerobic organisms such as parasitic helminthes or mammalian cells under tumor microenvironment-mimicking hypoglycemic/hypoxic conditions, thereby inhibiting efficient ATP production. PP also inhibited the unfolded protein response induced by glucose starvation, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Even under normoglycemic/normoxic conditions, PP suppressed the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex I and thereby STAT3, inhibiting the proliferation of myeloma/erythroleukemia cells. Here, we review accumulating knowledge on its working mechanisms and evaluate PP as a novel anti-cancer drug that targets mitochondrial respiration.

  18. Reprofiling a classical anthelmintic, pyrvinium pamoate, as an anti-cancer drug targeting mitochondrial respiration.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isao eIshii

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Pyrvinium pamoate (PP is an FDA-approved classical anthelmintic, but is now attracting particular attention as an anti-cancer drug after recent findings of its potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines only during glucose starvation, as well as its anti-tumor activity against hypovascular pancreatic cancer cells transplanted in mice. The molecular mechanisms by which PP promotes such preferential toxicity against cancer cells are currently under extensive investigation. PP suppressed the NADH-fumarate reductase system that mediates a reverse reaction of the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex II in anaerobic organisms such as parasitic helminthes or mammalian cells under tumor microenvironment-mimicking hypoglycemic/hypoxic conditions, thereby inhibiting efficient ATP production. PP also inhibited the unfolded protein response induced by glucose starvation, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Even under normoglycemic/normoxic conditions, PP suppressed the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex I and thereby STAT3, inhibiting the proliferation of myeloma/erythroleukemia cells. Here, we review accumulating knowledge on its working mechanisms and evaluate PP as a novel anti-cancer drug that targets mitochondrial respiration.

  19. Reprofiling a classical anthelmintic, pyrvinium pamoate, as an anti-cancer drug targeting mitochondrial respiration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, Isao; Harada, Yasuo; Kasahara, Tadashi

    2012-01-01

    Pyrvinium pamoate (PP) is an FDA-approved classical anthelmintic, but is now attracting particular attention as an anti-cancer drug after recent findings of its potent cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines only during glucose starvation, as well as its anti-tumor activity against hypovascular pancreatic cancer cells transplanted in mice. The molecular mechanisms by which PP promotes such preferential toxicity against cancer cells are currently under extensive investigation. PP suppressed the NADH-fumarate reductase system that mediates a reverse reaction of the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex II in anaerobic organisms such as parasitic helminthes or mammalian cells under tumor microenvironment-mimicking hypoglycemic/hypoxic conditions, thereby inhibiting efficient ATP production. PP also inhibited the unfolded protein response induced by glucose starvation, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Even under normoglycemic/normoxic conditions, PP suppressed the mitochondrial electron-transport chain complex I and thereby STAT3, inhibiting the proliferation of myeloma/erythroleukemia cells. Here, we review accumulating knowledge on its working mechanisms and evaluate PP as a novel anti-cancer drug that targets mitochondrial respiration.

  20. Magic ferritin: A novel chemotherapeutic encapsulation bullet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simsek, Ece; Akif Kilic, Mehmet

    2005-01-01

    The dissociation of apoferritin into subunits at pH 2 followed by its reformation at pH 7.4 in the presence of doxorubicin-HCl gives rise to a solution containing five doxorubicin-HCl molecules trapped within the apoferritin. This is the first report showing that ferritin can encapsulate an anti-cancer drug into its cavity

  1. Oridonin Targets Multiple Drug-Resistant Tumor Cells as Determined by in Silico and in Vitro Analyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onat Kadioglu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Drug resistance is one of the main reasons of chemotherapy failure. Therefore, overcoming drug resistance is an invaluable approach to identify novel anticancer drugs that have the potential to bypass or overcome resistance to established drugs and to substantially increase life span of cancer patients for effective chemotherapy. Oridonin is a cytotoxic diterpenoid isolated from Rabdosia rubescens with in vivo anticancer activity. In the present study, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of oridonin toward a panel of drug-resistant cancer cells overexpressing ABCB1, ABCG2, or ΔEGFR or with a knockout deletion of TP53. Interestingly, oridonin revealed lower degree of resistance than the control drug, doxorubicin. Molecular docking analyses pointed out that oridonin can interact with Akt/EGFR pathway proteins with comparable binding energies and similar docking poses as the known inhibitors. Molecular dynamics results validated the stable conformation of oridonin docking pose on Akt kinase domain. Western blot experiments clearly revealed dose-dependent downregulation of Akt and STAT3. Pharmacogenomics analyses pointed to a mRNA signature that predicted sensitivity and resistance to oridonin. In conclusion, oridonin bypasses major drug resistance mechanisms and targets Akt pathway and might be effective toward drug refractory tumors. The identification of oridonin-specific gene expressions may be useful for the development of personalized treatment approaches.

  2. Targeting mesothelin receptors with drug-loaded bacterial nanocells suppresses human mesothelioma tumour growth in mouse xenograft models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed A Alfaleh

    Full Text Available Human malignant mesothelioma is a chemoresistant tumour that develops from mesothelial cells, commonly associated with asbestos exposure. Malignant mesothelioma incidence rates in European countries are still rising and Australia has one of the highest burdens of malignant mesothelioma on a population basis in the world. Therapy using systemic delivery of free cytotoxic agents is associated with many undesirable side effects due to non-selectivity, and is thus dose-limited which limits its therapeutic potential. Therefore, increasing the selectivity of anti-cancer agents has the potential to dramatically enhance drug efficacy and reduce toxicity. EnGeneIC Dream Vectors (EDV are antibody-targeted nanocells which can be loaded with cytotoxic drugs and delivered to specific cancer cells via bispecific antibodies (BsAbs which target the EDV and a cancer cell-specific receptor, simultaneously. BsAbs were designed to target doxorubicin-loaded EDVs to cancer cells via cell surface mesothelin (MSLN. Flow cytometry was used to investigate cell binding and induction of apoptosis, and confocal microscopy to visualize internalization. Mouse xenograft models were used to assess anti-tumour effects in vivo, followed by immunohistochemistry for ex vivo evaluation of proliferation and necrosis. BsAb-targeted, doxorubicin-loaded EDVs were able to bind to and internalize within mesothelioma cells in vitro via MSLN receptors and induce apoptosis. In mice xenografts, the BsAb-targeted, doxorubicin-loaded EDVs suppressed the tumour growth and also decreased cell proliferation. Thus, the use of MSLN-specific antibodies to deliver encapsulated doxorubicin can provide a novel and alternative modality for treatment of mesothelioma.

  3. Influence of anticancer drugs on interactions of tumor suppressor protein p53 with DNA

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pivoňková, Hana; Němcová, Kateřina; Brázdová, Marie; Kašpárková, Jana; Brabec, Viktor; Fojta, Miroslav

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 272, Suppl. 1 (2005), s. 562 ISSN 1474-3833. [FEBS Congress /30./ and IUBMB Conference /9./. 02.07.2005-07.07.2005, Budapest] R&D Projects: GA MZd(CZ) NC7574 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507 Keywords : tumour suppressor protein p53 * anticancer drugs * interaction with DNA Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics

  4. Cyclodextrin-modified nanodiamond for the sensitive fluorometric determination of doxorubicin in urine based on its differential affinity towards β/γ-cyclodextrins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laura Soriano, M; Carrillo-Carrion, Carolina; Ruiz-Palomero, Celia; Valcárcel, Miguel

    2018-01-15

    The manuscript reports on the preparation of β-cyclodextrin-modified nanodiamonds (βCD-ND) for the extraction and preconcentration of the fluorescent anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) from biological samples. The inclusion of DOX into the cavities of β- and γ-cyclodextrin (CD) confirms their utility for selective extraction and elution of the drug based on its good fit to the cyclodextrin cavity. Although both larger cyclodextrins (βCD and γCD) accommodate DOX, DOX clearly prefers the bigger γCD cavities. Dispersive micro solid-phase extraction using βCD-ND as sorbent enables the inclusion complexation of DOX. The elution of DOX from βCD-ND cavities occurs with a basic solution of γCD containing 10% acetonitrile owing to the preferential affinity (i.e. optimal fit) of DOX into the larger γCD cavity. DOX is quantified by monitoring its intrinsic fluorescence (exc/em = 475/595 nm). The method can determine DOX in urine with a limit of detection of 18 ng·mL -1 . Recoveries (93.2% and 94.0%) and precision (RSDs of 5.9% and 4.7%) at 100 and 400 ng·mL -1 DOX levels in urine are satisfactory. The matrix effect is negligible even when working with undiluted urine samples. Graphical abstract Nanodiamonds functionalized with β-cyclodextrin (βCD-ND) were used as sorbent for the determination of nanomolar levels of doxorubicin (DOX). It is based on host:guest interactions ruled by different stabilities of DOX within cyclodextrin (CD) cavity-size: βCD/γCD.

  5. Anticancer activity of drug conjugates in head and neck cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumdar, Debatosh; Rahman, Mohammad Aminur; Chen, Zhuo Georgia; Shin, Dong M

    2016-06-01

    Sexually transmitted oral cancer/head and neck cancer is increasing rapidly. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is playing a role in the pathogenesis of a subset of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN). Paclitaxel is a widely used anticancer drug for breast, ovarian, testicular, cervical, non-small cell lung, head and neck cancer. However, it is water insoluble and orally inactive. We report the synthesis of water soluble nanosize conjugates of paclitaxel, branched PEG, and EGFR-targeting peptide by employing native chemical ligation. We performed a native chemical ligation between the N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) ester of paclitaxel succinate and cysteine at pH 6.5 to give the cysteine-conjugated paclitaxel derivative. The thiol functionality of cysteine was activated and subsequently conjugated to multiarm thiol-PEG to obtain the paclitaxel branched PEG conjugate. Finally, we conjugated an EGFR-targeting peptide to obtain conjugates of paclitaxel, branched PEG, and EGFR-targeting peptide. These conjugates show anticancer activity against squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cells (SCCHN, Tu212).

  6. Improved Tumor-Specific Drug Accumulation by Polymer Therapeutics with pH-Sensitive Drug Release Overcomes Chemotherapy Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrich, Anne-Kathrin; Lucas, Henrike; Schindler, Lucie; Chytil, Petr; Etrych, Tomáš; Mäder, Karsten; Mueller, Thomas

    2016-05-01

    The success of chemotherapy is limited by poor selectivity of active drugs combined with occurrence of tumor resistance. New star-like structured N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer-based drug delivery systems containing doxorubicin attached via a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond were designed and investigated for their ability to overcome chemotherapy resistance. These conjugates combine two strategies to achieve a high drug concentration selectively at the tumor site: (I) high accumulation by passive tumor targeting based on enhanced permeability and retention effect and (II) pH-sensitive site-specific drug release due to an acidic tumor microenvironment. Mice bearing doxorubicin-resistant xenograft tumors were treated with doxorubicin, PBS, poly HPMA (pHPMA) precursor or pHPMA-doxorubicin conjugate at different equivalent doses of 5 mg/kg bodyweight doxorubicin up to a 7-fold total dose using different treatment schedules. Intratumoral drug accumulation was analyzed by fluorescence imaging utilizing intrinsic fluorescence of doxorubicin. Free doxorubicin induced significant toxicity but hardly any tumor-inhibiting effects. Administering at least a 3-fold dose of pHPMA-doxorubicin conjugate was necessary to induce a transient response, whereas doses of about 5- to 6-fold induced strong regressions. Tumors completely disappeared in some cases. The onset of response was differential delayed depending on the tumor model, which could be ascribed to distinct characteristics of the microenvironment. Further fluorescence imaging-based analyses regarding underlying mechanisms of the delayed response revealed a related switch to a more supporting intratumoral microenvironment for effective drug release. In conclusion, the current study demonstrates that the concept of tumor site-restricted high-dose chemotherapy is able to overcome therapy resistance. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 998-1007. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

  7. Circumvention of acquired resistance to doxorubicin in K562 human leukemia cells by oxatomide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, M; Fujita, R; Furusawa, S; Takayanagi, M; Sasaki, K; Satoh, S

    2001-10-01

    We studied the effect of oxatomide, an antiallergic drug, on the resistance of K562 cells to doxorubicin. Oxatomide synergistically potentiated the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in doxorubicin-resistant K562 cells (K562/DXR) at a concentration of 1-10 microM, but had hardly any synergistic effect on the parental cell line (K562) at the same concentration. Oxatomide inhibit P-glycoprotein pump-efflux activity and the binding of [3H]-azidopine to the cell-surface protein P-glycoprotein, in a dose-related manner. These results indicate that oxatomide reverses the multidrug-resistance phenotype through direct interaction with P-glycoprotein.

  8. Chemotherapy impedes in vitro microcirculation and promotes migration of leukemic cells with impact on metastasis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prathivadhi-Bhayankaram, Sruti V.; Ning, Jianhao; Mimlitz, Michael; Taylor, Carolyn; Gross, Erin; Nichols, Michael; Guck, Jochen; Ekpenyong, Andrew E.

    2016-01-01

    Although most cancer drugs target the proliferation of cancer cells, it is metastasis, the complex process by which cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to other tissues and organs of the body where they form new tumors, that leads to over 90% of all cancer deaths. Thus, there is an urgent need for anti-metastasis therapy. Surprisingly, emerging evidence suggests that certain anti-cancer drugs such as paclitaxel and doxorubicin can actually promote metastasis, but the mechanism(s) behind their pro-metastatic effects are still unclear. Here, we use a microfluidic microcirculation mimetic (MMM) platform which mimics the capillary constrictions of the pulmonary and peripheral microcirculation, to determine if in-vivo-like mechanical stimuli can evoke different responses from cells subjected to various cancer drugs. In particular, we show that leukemic cancer cells treated with doxorubicin and daunorubicin, commonly used anti-cancer drugs, have over 100% longer transit times through the device, compared to untreated leukemic cells. Such delays in the microcirculation are known to promote extravasation of cells, a key step in the metastatic cascade. Furthermore, we report a significant (p < 0.01) increase in the chemotactic migration of the doxorubicin treated leukemic cells. Both enhanced retention in the microcirculation and enhanced migration following chemotherapy, are pro-metastatic effects which can serve as new targets for anti-metastatic drugs. - Highlights: • Doxorubicin enhances migration of leukemic cancer cells before cell death. • Doxorubicin and Daunorubicin stiffen and delay cells in mimicked microcirculation. • Some cancer drugs cause changes in cell mechanics that lead to pro-metastatic effects. • Cell mechanics becomes a new target for anti-metastatic drugs.

  9. Determination of drug residues in urine of dogs receiving anti-cancer chemotherapy by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization- tandem mass spectrometry: is there an environmental or occupational risk?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamscher, Gerd; Mohring, Siegrun A I; Knobloch, Anna; Eberle, Nina; Nau, Heinz; Nolte, Ingo; Simon, Daniela

    2010-04-01

    Cytotoxic drugs, previously used only in human medicine, are increasingly utilized for cancer treatment in veterinary practice. We developed and validated a liquid chromatography (LC)-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) method to determine vincristine, vinblastine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin in canine urine. Sample pretreatment consisted of liquid-liquid extraction, and LC separation was carried out on an RP C(18) column employing a 0.5% formic acid/methanol gradient system. The analytes were detected in positive ion mode using the MS-MS scan mode. The mean recoveries in six different urine samples were between 64.2% and 86.9%. Limits of quantitation were 0.5 microg/L for vincristine and vinblastine, 1 microg/L for cyclophosphamide, and 5 microg/L for doxorubicin; limits of detection were approximately 0.25 microg/L for vincristine, vinblastine, and cyclophosphamide and 0.5 microg/L for doxorubicin. It could be demonstrated that all investigated drugs are found in urine of dogs undergoing chemotherapy. In samples from day 1 after chemotherapy, as much as 63 microg/L vincristine, 111 microg/L vinblastine, and 762 microg/L doxorubicin could be detected. Cyclophosphamide showed only minor concentrations on day 1, but up to 2583 microg/L could be found directly after chemotherapy. These initial data show that there might be a potential contamination risk when administering cytotoxics in veterinary medicine.

  10. Two drugs are better than one. A short history of combined therapy of ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bukowska, Barbara; Gajek, Arkadiusz; Marczak, Agnieszka

    2015-01-01

    Combined therapy of ovarian cancer has a long history. It has been applied for many years. The first drug which was commonly combined with other chemotherapeutics was cisplatin. It turned out to be effective given together with alkylating agents as well as with taxanes. Another drug which is often the basis of first-line therapy is doxorubicin. The use of traditional chemotherapy is often limited due to side effects. This is why new drugs, targeted specifically at cancer cells (e.g. monoclonal antibodies or epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors), offer a welcome addition when used in combination with conventional anticancer agents. Drugs applied in combination should be synergistic or at least additive. To evaluate the type of interaction between drugs in a plausible sequence, isobolographic analysis is used. This method allows one to assess whether the two agents could make an efficient combination, which might improve the therapy of ovarian cancer.

  11. Clinical Trials with Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin in the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmela Pisano

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Among the pharmaceutical options available for treatment of ovarian cancer, increasing attention has been progressively focused on pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD, whose unique formulation prolongs the persistence of the drug in the circulation and potentiates intratumor accumulation. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD has become a major component in the routine management of epithelial ovarian cancer. In 1999 it was first approved for platinum-refractory ovarian cancer and then received full approval for platinum-sensitive recurrent disease in 2005. PLD remains an important therapeutic tool in the management of recurrent ovarian cancer in 2012. Recent interest in PLD/carboplatin combination therapy has been the object of phase III trials in platinum-sensitive and chemonaïve ovarian cancer patients reporting response rates, progressive-free survival, and overall survival similar to other platinum-based combinations, but with a more favorable toxicity profile and convenient dosing schedule. This paper summarizes data clarifying the role of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD in ovarian cancer, as well as researches focusing on adding novel targeted drugs to this cytotoxic agent.

  12. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Quantification of Liposome-Delivered Doxorubicin in Arthritic Joints of Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Hongqing; Xu, Menghua; Li, Shuangtian; Chen, Junwei; Luo, Jing; Zhao, Xiangcong; Gao, Chong; Li, Xiaofeng

    2017-04-14

    BACKGROUND Neoangiogenesis occurring in inflamed articular synovium in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by enhanced vascular permeability that allows nanoparticle agents, including liposomes, to deliver encapsulated drugs to arthritic joints and subsequently improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects. However, the targeting distribution of liposomes in arthritic joints during RA has not been quantitatively demonstrated. We performed this study to evaluate the targeting distribution of PEGylated doxorubicin liposomes in the arthritic joints of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). MATERIAL AND METHODS Two doxorubicin formulations were administered to CIA rats via tail intravenous injection at a single dose (50 mg/m²). CIA rats were sacrificed and the tissues of the inflamed ankle joints were collected. The content of doxorubicin in the arthritic joints was analyzed by a validated and reproducible HPLC method. A two-way ANOVA for 2×5 factorial design was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The developed HPLC method was sensitive, precise, and reproducible. The method was successfully applied to quantify doxorubicin content in arthritic tissues. At each time point (6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h), doxorubicin content in the arthritic joints of the doxorubicin liposome group (DOX-LIP group) was higher than in the free doxorubicin group (DOX group) (P<0.05). In the DOX-LIP group, doxorubicin levels in the arthritic joints increased gradually and significantly in the interval of 6-72 h post-administration. CONCLUSIONS PEGylated doxorubicin liposomes were targeted to, accumulated, and retained in the arthritic joints of CIA rats. The present study indicates that liposome encapsulation increases the therapeutic efficacy of antirheumatic drugs, presenting a promising therapeutic strategy for RA.

  13. [The therapeutic effect of HSV1-hGM-CSF combined with doxorubicin on the mouse breast cancer model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, X F; Zhang, S R; Liu, B L; Wu, J L; Li, X Q; Gu, H G; Shu, Y

    2018-03-23

    Objective: To evaluate the oncolytic effect of herpes simplex virus type 1 which carried recombined human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (HSV1-hGM-CSF) on the mouse breast cancer cell line 4T1 and compare the anticancer effects of HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin alone or combination on the breast cancer in mice. Methods: We investigated the cytotoxic effect on 4T1 cells in vitro, the cell growth, cell apoptosis and cell cycle of 4T1 cells treated with oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF at different MOIs (0, 0.5, 1 and 2) and doxorubicin at different concentrations (0, 2, 4 and 8 μg/ml). The effects of oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF and doxorubicin on the tumor growth, survival time and their side effects on the mouse breast cancer model were observed. Results: Both oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF and doxorubicin significantly inhibited the proliferation of 4T1 cells in vitro . Doxorubicin induced the G(2)/M phase arrest of 4T1 cells, while the cytotoxicity of oncolytic HSV1-hGM-CSF was no cell cycle-dependent.At day 16 after treatment with doxorubicin and HSV1-hGM-CSF, the tumor volume of 4T1 tumor bearing mice were (144.40±27.68)mm(3,) (216.80±57.18)mm(3,) (246.10±21.90)mm(3,) (327.50±44.24)mm(3,) (213.30±32.31)mm(3) and (495.80±75.87)mm(3) in the groups of doxorubicin combined with high dose HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin combined with low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF, doxorubicin alone, high dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone, low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone and control, respectively.Compared with the control group, both doxorubicin and HSV1-hGM-CSF treatment exhibited significant reduction of primary tumor volume in vivo ( P CSF alone and low dose HSV1-hGM-CSF alone were significantly longer than that of control ( P CSF is observed in 4T1 mouse breast cancer.

  14. Poly-L-arginine: Enhancing Cytotoxicity and Cellular Uptake of Doxorubicin and Necrotic Cell Death.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Movafegh, Bahareh; Jalal, Razieh; Mohammadi, Zobeideh; Aldaghi, Seyyede Araste

    2018-04-11

    Cell resistance to doxorubicin and its toxicity to healthy tissue reduce its efficiency. The use of cell penetrating peptides as drug delivery system along with doxorubicin is a strategy to reduce its side effects. In this study, the influence of poly-L-arginine on doxorubicin cytotoxicity, its cellular uptake and doxorubicin-induced apoptosis on human prostate cancer DU145 cells are assessed. The cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and poly-L-arginine, alone and in combination, in DU145 cells was evaluated at different exposure times using MTT assay. The influence of poly-L-arginine on doxorubicin delivery into cells was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and ultraviolet spectroscopy. DAPI and ethidium bromide-acridine orange stainings, flow cytometry using annexin V/propidium iodide, western blot analysis with anti-p21 antibody and caspase-3 activity were used to examine the influence of poly-L-arginine on doxorubicin-induced cell death. Poly-L-arginine had no cytotoxicity at low concentrations and short exposure times. Poly-L-arginine increased the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin in DU145 cells in a time-dependent manner. But no significant reduction was found in HFF cell viability. Poly-L-arginine seems to facilitate doxorubicin uptake and increase its intracellular concentration. 24 h combined treatment of cells with doxorubicin (0.5 μM) and poly-L-arginine (1 μg ml-1) caused a small increase in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis and significant elevated necrosis in DU145 cells as compared to each agent alone. Conlusion: Our results indicate that poly-L-arginine at lowest and highest concentrations act as proliferation-inducing and antiproliferative agents, respectively. Between these concentrations, poly-L-arginine increases the cellular uptake of doxorubicin and its cytotoxicity through induction of necrosis. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  15. Codelivery of doxorubicin and triptolide with reduction-sensitive lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo synergistic cancer treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bo; Lu, Shu-Ting; Zhang, Liu-Jie; Zhuo, Ren-Xi; Xu, Hai-Bo; Huang, Shi-Wen

    2017-01-01

    Codelivery is a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of single chemotherapeutic agents in cancer treatment. Despite progress, codelivery of two or more different functional drugs to increase anticancer efficiency still remains a challenge. Here, reduction-sensitive lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNPs) drug delivery system composed of monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-S-S-hexadecyl (mPEG-S-S-C16), soybean lecithin, and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) was used for codelivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and a Chinese herb extract triptolide (TPL). Hydrophobic DOX and TPL could be successfully loaded in LPNPs by self-assembly. More importantly, drug release and cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that the two drugs were reduction sensitive, released simultaneously from LPNPs, and taken up effectively by the tumor cells. DOX/TPL-coloaded LPNPs (DOX/TPL-LPNPs) exhibited a high level of synergistic activation with low combination index (CI) in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the highest synergistic therapeutic effect was achieved at the ratio of 1:0.2 DOX/TPL. Further experiments showed that TPL enhanced the uptake of DOX by human oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma cells (KB cells). Overall, DOX/TPL-coencapsulated reduction-sensitive nanoparticles will be a promising strategy for cancer treatment. PMID:28331310

  16. Codelivery of doxorubicin and triptolide with reduction-sensitive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo synergistic cancer treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bo; Lu, Shu-Ting; Zhang, Liu-Jie; Zhuo, Ren-Xi; Xu, Hai-Bo; Huang, Shi-Wen

    2017-01-01

    Codelivery is a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of single chemotherapeutic agents in cancer treatment. Despite progress, codelivery of two or more different functional drugs to increase anticancer efficiency still remains a challenge. Here, reduction-sensitive lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNPs) drug delivery system composed of monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)- S - S -hexadecyl (mPEG- S - S -C 16 ), soybean lecithin, and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) was used for codelivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and a Chinese herb extract triptolide (TPL). Hydrophobic DOX and TPL could be successfully loaded in LPNPs by self-assembly. More importantly, drug release and cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that the two drugs were reduction sensitive, released simultaneously from LPNPs, and taken up effectively by the tumor cells. DOX/TPL-coloaded LPNPs (DOX/TPL-LPNPs) exhibited a high level of synergistic activation with low combination index (CI) in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the highest synergistic therapeutic effect was achieved at the ratio of 1:0.2 DOX/TPL. Further experiments showed that TPL enhanced the uptake of DOX by human oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma cells (KB cells). Overall, DOX/TPL-coencapsulated reduction-sensitive nanoparticles will be a promising strategy for cancer treatment.

  17. Taurine zinc solid dispersions attenuate doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity and cardiotoxicity in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yu; Mei, Xueting; Yuan, Jingquan; Lu, Wenping; Li, Binglong; Xu, Donghui

    2015-01-01

    The clinical efficacy of anthracycline anti-neoplastic agents is limited by cardiac and hepatic toxicities. The aim of this study was to assess the hepatoprotective and cardioprotective effects of taurine zinc solid dispersions, which is a newly-synthesized taurine zinc compound, against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in Sprague–Dawley rats intraperitoneally injected with doxorubicin hydrochloride (3 mg/kg) three times a week (seven injections) over 28 days. Hemodynamic parameters, levels of liver toxicity markers and oxidative stress were assessed. Taurine zinc significantly attenuated the reductions in blood pressure, left ventricular pressure and ± dp/dtmax, increases in serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, and reductions in serum Zn 2+ and albumin levels (P < 0.05 or 0.01) induced by doxorubicin. In rats treated with doxorubicin, taurine zinc dose-dependently increased liver superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione concentration, and decreased malondialdehyde level (P < 0.01). qBase + was used to evaluate the stability of eight candidate reference genes for real-time quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Taurine zinc dose-dependently increased liver heme oxygenase-1 and UDP-glucuronyl transferase mRNA and protein expression (P < 0.01). Western blotting demonstrated that taurine zinc inhibited c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation by upregulating dual-specificity phosphoprotein phosphatase-1. Additionally, taurine zinc inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis as there was decreased TUNEL/DAPI positivity and protein expression of caspase-3. These results indicate that taurine zinc solid dispersions prevent the side-effects of anthracycline-based anticancer therapy. The mechanisms might be associated with the enhancement of antioxidant defense system partly through activating transcription to synthesize endogenous phase II medicine enzymes and anti-apoptosis through inhibiting JNK phosphorylation. - Highlights:

  18. Taurine zinc solid dispersions attenuate doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity and cardiotoxicity in rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Yu; Mei, Xueting; Yuan, Jingquan; Lu, Wenping; Li, Binglong; Xu, Donghui, E-mail: Donghuixu007@163.com

    2015-11-15

    The clinical efficacy of anthracycline anti-neoplastic agents is limited by cardiac and hepatic toxicities. The aim of this study was to assess the hepatoprotective and cardioprotective effects of taurine zinc solid dispersions, which is a newly-synthesized taurine zinc compound, against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in Sprague–Dawley rats intraperitoneally injected with doxorubicin hydrochloride (3 mg/kg) three times a week (seven injections) over 28 days. Hemodynamic parameters, levels of liver toxicity markers and oxidative stress were assessed. Taurine zinc significantly attenuated the reductions in blood pressure, left ventricular pressure and ± dp/dtmax, increases in serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, and reductions in serum Zn{sup 2+} and albumin levels (P < 0.05 or 0.01) induced by doxorubicin. In rats treated with doxorubicin, taurine zinc dose-dependently increased liver superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione concentration, and decreased malondialdehyde level (P < 0.01). qBase{sup +} was used to evaluate the stability of eight candidate reference genes for real-time quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Taurine zinc dose-dependently increased liver heme oxygenase-1 and UDP-glucuronyl transferase mRNA and protein expression (P < 0.01). Western blotting demonstrated that taurine zinc inhibited c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation by upregulating dual-specificity phosphoprotein phosphatase-1. Additionally, taurine zinc inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis as there was decreased TUNEL/DAPI positivity and protein expression of caspase-3. These results indicate that taurine zinc solid dispersions prevent the side-effects of anthracycline-based anticancer therapy. The mechanisms might be associated with the enhancement of antioxidant defense system partly through activating transcription to synthesize endogenous phase II medicine enzymes and anti-apoptosis through inhibiting JNK phosphorylation. - Highlights:

  19. Role of breast cancer resistance protein in the bioavailability and fetal penetration of topotecan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, JW; Smit, JW; Brinkhuis, RF; Maliepaard, M; Beijnen, JH; Schellens, JHM; Schinkel, AH

    2000-01-01

    Background and Methods: Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/MXR/ABCP) is a multidrug-resistance protein that is a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette family of drug transporters. BCRP can render tumor cells resistant to the anticancer drugs topotecan, mitoxantrone, doxorubicin,

  20. Liver cancer cells: targeting and prolonged-release drug carriers consisting of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and alginate microspheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Yu-Te; Liu, Chia-Hung; Yu, Jiashing; Wu, Kevin C-W

    2014-01-01

    A new microsphere consisting of inorganic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and organic alginate (denoted as MSN@Alg) was successfully synthesized by air-dynamic atomization and applied to the intracellular drug delivery systems (DDS) of liver cancer cells with sustained release and specific targeting properties. MSN@Alg microspheres have the advantages of MSN and alginate, where MSN provides a large surface area for high drug loading and alginate provides excellent biocompatibility and COOH functionality for specific targeting. Rhodamine 6G was used as a model drug, and the sustained release behavior of the rhodamine 6G-loaded MSN@Alg microspheres can be prolonged up to 20 days. For targeting therapy, the anticancer drug doxorubicin was loaded into MSN@Alg microspheres, and the (lysine)4-tyrosine-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (K4YRGD) peptide was functionalized onto the surface of MSN@Alg for targeting liver cancer cells, hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). The results of the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy indicate that the MSN@Alg microspheres were successfully uptaken by HepG2 without apparent cytotoxicity. In addition, the intracellular drug delivery efficiency was greatly enhanced (ie, 3.5-fold) for the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-labeled, doxorubicin-loaded MSN@Alg drug delivery system compared with the non-RGD case. The synthesized MSN@Alg microspheres show great potential as drug vehicles with high biocompatibility, sustained release, and targeting features for future intracellular DDS.

  1. In silico identification of anti-cancer compounds and plants from traditional Chinese medicine database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Shao-Xing; Li, Wen-Xing; Han, Fei-Fei; Guo, Yi-Cheng; Zheng, Jun-Juan; Liu, Jia-Qian; Wang, Qian; Gao, Yue-Dong; Li, Gong-Hua; Huang, Jing-Fei

    2016-05-01

    There is a constant demand to develop new, effective, and affordable anti-cancer drugs. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a valuable and alternative resource for identifying novel anti-cancer agents. In this study, we aim to identify the anti-cancer compounds and plants from the TCM database by using cheminformatics. We first predicted 5278 anti-cancer compounds from TCM database. The top 346 compounds were highly potent active in the 60 cell lines test. Similarity analysis revealed that 75% of the 5278 compounds are highly similar to the approved anti-cancer drugs. Based on the predicted anti-cancer compounds, we identified 57 anti-cancer plants by activity enrichment. The identified plants are widely distributed in 46 genera and 28 families, which broadens the scope of the anti-cancer drug screening. Finally, we constructed a network of predicted anti-cancer plants and approved drugs based on the above results. The network highlighted the supportive role of the predicted plant in the development of anti-cancer drug and suggested different molecular anti-cancer mechanisms of the plants. Our study suggests that the predicted compounds and plants from TCM database offer an attractive starting point and a broader scope to mine for potential anti-cancer agents.

  2. Synthesis of New 3-Heteroarylindoles as Potential Anticancer Agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdou O. Abdelhamid

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available 2-(3-(1H-Indol-3-yl-5-(p-tolyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-4-substituted-5-(substituted diazenylthiazoles and 2-(1H-indol-3-yl-9-substituted-4,7-disubstituted pyrido[3,2-e][1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidin-5(7H-ones were synthesized via reaction of hydrazonoyl halides with each of 3-(1H-indol-2-yl-5-(p-tolyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-carbothioamide and 7-(1H-indol-3-yl-2- thioxo-5-substituted-2,3-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(1H-ones, respectively. Also, hydrazonoyl halides were reacted with N’-(1-(1H-indol-3-ylethylidene-2-cyanoacetohydrazide to afford 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives. Structures of the new synthesis were elucidated on the basis of elemental analysis, spectral data, and alternative synthetic routes whenever possible. Fifteen of the new compounds have been evaluated for their antitumor activity against the MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cell line. The results indicated that many of the tested compounds showed moderate to high anticancer activity when compared with doxorubicin as a reference drug.

  3. Self-assembled Multifunctional DNA Nanoflowers for the Circumvention of Multidrug Resistance in Targeted Anticancer Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Lei; Zhu, Guizhi; Qiu, Liping; Wu, Cuichen; Chen, Huapei; Liang, Hao; Cansiz, Sena; Lv, Yifan; Zhang, Xiaobing; Tan, Weihong

    2015-11-01

    Cancer chemotherapy has been impeded by side effects and multidrug resistance (MDR) partially caused by drug efflux from cancer cells, which call for targeted drug delivery systems additionally able to circumvent MDR. Here we report multifunctional DNA nanoflowers (NFs) for targeted drug delivery to both chemosensitive and MDR cancer cells and circumvent MDR in both leukemia and breast cancer cell models. NFs are self-assembled via liquid crystallization of DNA generated by Rolling Circle Replication, during which NFs are incorporated with aptamers for specific cancer cell recognition, fluorophores for bioimaging, and Doxorubicin (Dox)-binding DNA for drug delivery. NF sizes are tunable (down to ~200 nm in diameter), and the densely packed drug-binding motifs and porous intrastructures endow NFs with high drug loading capacity (71.4%, wt/wt). The Dox-loaded NFs (NF-Dox) are stable at physiological pH, yet drug release is facilitated in acidic or basic conditions. NFs deliver Dox into target chemosensitive and MDR cancer cells, preventing drug efflux and enhancing drug retention in MDR cells. Consequently, NF-Dox induces potent cytotoxicity in both target chemosensitive cells and MDR cells, but not nontarget cells, thus concurrently circumventing MDR and reducing side effects. Overall, these NFs are promising to circumvent MDR in targeted cancer therapy.

  4. Modelling the encapsulation of the anticancer drug cisplatin into carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilder, Tamsyn A; Hill, James M

    2007-01-01

    The proposed use of nanocapsules in drug delivery systems promises many advantages over current procedures. The major advantage is the potential for patients to have significantly reduced side effects from taking the drug, especially for highly toxic drugs such as those used for cancer treatments. Nanotubes have been suggested as one such carrier to deliver a drug to a specific site, giving rise to the notion of the 'magic bullet'. The aim of this paper is to determine whether a particular nanotube would accept a particular drug, and to determine the radius of the nanotube that provides the maximum uptake of the drug molecule. In particular, this paper looks at the drug cisplatin, a platinum based anticancer drug widely used in the treatment of tumours. Three orientations of cisplatin, a polar molecule, are investigated as it enters the nanotube. It is shown that, for all three orientations of cisplatin to be accepted into the carbon nanotube, the minimum radius must be at least 4.785 A, which is slightly smaller than a (9, 5) nanotube and that the maximum suction energy occurs when the carbon nanotube radius is approximately 5.3 A, which is approximately equivalent to a (11, 4) nanotube. This paper presents for the first time a calculation of this nature, and although the model represents only a first approximation, it constitutes a necessary preliminary calculation which might provide medical scientists with some overall guidelines

  5. Magnetic lipid nanoparticles loading doxorubicin for intracellular delivery: Preparation and characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ying Xiaoying; Du Yongzhong; Hong Linghong; Yuan Hong; Hu Fuqiang

    2011-01-01

    Tumor intracellular delivery is an effective route for targeting chemotherapy to enhance the curative effect and minimize the side effect of a drug. In this study, the magnetic lipid nanoparticles with an uptake ability by tumor cells were prepared dispersing ferroso-ferric oxide nanoparticles in aqueous phase using oleic acid (OA) as a dispersant, and following the solvent dispersion of lipid organic solution. The obtained nanoparticles with 200 nm volume average diameter and -30 mV surface zeta potential could be completely removed by external magnetic field from aqueous solution. Using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug, the drug-loaded magnetic lipid nanoparticles were investigated in detail, such as the effects of OA, drug and lipid content on volume average diameter, zeta potential, drug encapsulation efficiency, drug loading, and in vitro drug release. The drug loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency were enhanced with increasing drug or lipid content, reduced with increasing OA content. The in vitro drug release could be controlled by changing drug or lipid content. Cellular uptake by MCF-7 cells experiment presented the excellent internalization ability of the prepared magnetic lipid nanoparticles. These results evidenced that the present magnetic lipid nanoparticles have potential for targeting therapy of antitumor drugs. - Research highlights: → A simple solvent diffusion method was developed to prepare magnetic lipid nanoparticles. → The doxorubicin-loaded magnetic lipid nanoparticles could be controlled by preparation recipe. → Magnetic lipid nanoparticles had internalization ability into tumor cells.

  6. Compound list: doxorubicin [Open TG-GATEs

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available doxorubicin DOX 00149 ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/open-tggates/LATEST/Human/...in_vitro/doxorubicin.Human.in_vitro.Liver.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_...vitro/doxorubicin.Rat.in_vitro.Liver.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/archive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vivo/...Liver/Single/doxorubicin.Rat.in_vivo.Liver.Single.zip ftp://ftp.biosciencedbc.jp/...archive/open-tggates/LATEST/Rat/in_vivo/Liver/Repeat/doxorubicin.Rat.in_vivo.Liver.Repeat.zip ftp://ftp.bios

  7. Current advances in mathematical modeling of anti-cancer drug penetration into tumor tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Munju; Gillies, Robert J; Rejniak, Katarzyna A

    2013-11-18

    Delivery of anti-cancer drugs to tumor tissues, including their interstitial transport and cellular uptake, is a complex process involving various biochemical, mechanical, and biophysical factors. Mathematical modeling provides a means through which to understand this complexity better, as well as to examine interactions between contributing components in a systematic way via computational simulations and quantitative analyses. In this review, we present the current state of mathematical modeling approaches that address phenomena related to drug delivery. We describe how various types of models were used to predict spatio-temporal distributions of drugs within the tumor tissue, to simulate different ways to overcome barriers to drug transport, or to optimize treatment schedules. Finally, we discuss how integration of mathematical modeling with experimental or clinical data can provide better tools to understand the drug delivery process, in particular to examine the specific tissue- or compound-related factors that limit drug penetration through tumors. Such tools will be important in designing new chemotherapy targets and optimal treatment strategies, as well as in developing non-invasive diagnosis to monitor treatment response and detect tumor recurrence.

  8. Mesenchymal Stem Cells Reduce Left Ventricular Mass in Rats with Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy

    OpenAIRE

    Haydardedeoglu, Ali Evren; Boztok Özgermen, Deva Basak; Yavuz, Orhan

    2018-01-01

    SUMMARY: Doxorubicin is a drug that used by a majority in the treatment of carcinomas. The most obvious known side effect is cardiomyopathy. Many studies have been carried out to eliminate side effects of the doxorubicin, and stem cell studies have been added in recent years. In this study, it was aimed to investigate fetal-derived mesenchymal stem cells (F-MSCs) treatment of doxorubicininduced cardiomyopathy by morphological methods. A total of 24 rats which were divided into three separate ...

  9. High hydrostatic pressure encapsulation of doxorubicin in ferritin nanocages with enhanced efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qi; Zhang, Chun; Liu, Liping; Li, Zenglan; Guo, Fangxia; Li, Xiunan; Luo, Jian; Zhao, Dawei; Liu, Yongdong; Su, Zhiguo

    2017-07-20

    Human ferritin (HFn) nanocaging is becoming an appealing platform for anticancer drugs delivery. However, protein aggregation always occurs during the encapsulation process, resulting in low production efficiency. A new approach using high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) was explored in this study to overcome the problem of loading doxorubicin (DOX) in HFn. At the pressure of 500MPa and pH 5.5, DOX molecules were found to be encapsulated into HFn. Meanwhile, combining it with an additive of 20mM arginine completely inhibited precipitation and aggregation, resulting in highly monodispersed nanoparticles with almost 100% protein recovery. Furthermore, stepwise decompression and incubation of the complex in atmospheric pressure at pH 7.4 for another period could further increase the DOX encapsulation ratio. The HFn-DOX nanoparticles (NPs) showed similar morphology and structural features to the hollow cage and no notable drug leakage occurred for HFn-DOX NPs when stored at 4°C and pH 7.4 for two weeks. HFn-DOX NPs prepared through HHP also showed significant cytotoxicity in vitro and higher antitumor bioactivity in vivo than naked DOX. Moreover, This HHP encapsulation strategy could economize on DOX that was greatly wasted during the conventional preparation process simply through a desalting column. These results indicated that HHP could offer a feasible approach with high efficiency for the production of HFn-DOX NPs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Safety and efficacy of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in HIV-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Cainelli

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Francesca Cainelli1, Alfredo Vallone21Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana; 2Infectious Diseases Unit, Annunziata Hospital, Cosenza, ItalyAbstract: Kaposi’s sarcoma is a vascular tumor linked to the presence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus-8 and the incidence of which has increased considerably the world over after the onset of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV pandemic. Antiretroviral therapy combined with cytotoxic agents has been established as the treatment of choice in the past 10 years. Among chemotherapeutic agents, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin has become the preferred one for patients with HIV-associated Kaposi’s sarcoma in Western countries. The drug in this formulation localizes better to the tumor and has higher efficacy. Skin toxicity, mucositis, and leukopenia/neutropenia are the main side effects. Hepatotoxicity and mild cardiotoxicity are observed less frequently. Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin impacts favorably on quality of life. Although cost effective in Western countries, the drug is less so in developing countries.Keywords: pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, Kaposi’s sarcoma, HIV infection

  11. Sex-related differential susceptibility to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in B6C3F1 mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenkins, G. Ronald; Lee, Taewon; Moland, Carrie L.; Vijay, Vikrant; Herman, Eugene H.; Lewis, Sherry M.; Davis, Kelly J.; Muskhelishvili, Levan; Kerr, Susan; Fuscoe, James C.; Desai, Varsha G.

    2016-01-01

    Sex is a risk factor for development of cardiotoxicity, induced by the anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), in humans. To explore potential mechanisms underlying differential susceptibility to DOX between sexes, 8-week old male and female B6C3F 1 mice were dosed with 3 mg/kg body weight DOX or an equivalent volume of saline via tail vein once a week for 6, 7, 8, and 9 consecutive weeks, resulting in 18, 21, 24, and 27 mg/kg cumulative DOX doses, respectively. At necropsy, one week after each consecutive final dose, the extent of myocardial injury was greater in male mice compared to females as indicated by higher plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin T at all cumulative DOX doses with statistically significant differences between sexes at the 21 and 24 mg/kg cumulative doses. A greater susceptibility to DOX in male mice was further confirmed by the presence of cytoplasmic vacuolization in cardiomyocytes, with left atrium being more vulnerable to DOX cardiotoxicity. The number of TUNEL-positive cardiomyocytes was mostly higher in DOX-treated male mice compared to female counterparts, showing a statistically significant sex-related difference only in left atrium at 21 mg/kg cumulative dose. DOX-treated male mice also had an increased number of γ-H2A.X-positive (measure of DNA double-strand breaks) cardiomyocytes compared to female counterparts with a significant sex effect in the ventricle at 27 mg/kg cumulative dose and right atrium at 21 and 27 mg/kg cumulative doses. This newly established mouse model provides a means to identify biomarkers and access potential mechanisms underlying sex-related differences in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. - Highlights: • Doxorubicin caused greater heart injury in male mice than females. • Doxorubicin caused vacuolization in cardiomyocytes only in male mice. • TUNEL-positive cardiomyocytes was higher in DOX-treated male mice. • γ-H2A.X-positive cardiomyocytes was greater in DOX-treated male mice.

  12. Tyrosine kinase, aurora kinase and leucine aminopeptidase as attractive drug targets in anticancer therapy - characterisation of their inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziemska, Joanna; Solecka, Jolanta

    Cancers are the leading cause of deaths all over the world. Available anticancer agents used in clinics exhibit low therapeutic index and usually high toxicity. Wide spreading drug resistance of cancer cells induce a demanding need to search for new drug targets. Currently, many on-going studies on novel compounds with potent anticancer activity, high selectivity as well as new modes of action are conducted. In this work, we describe in details three enzyme groups, which are at present of extensive interest to medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies. These include receptor tyrosine kinases (e.g. EGFR enzymes) and non-receptor tyrosine kinases (Src enzymes), type A, B and C Aurora kinases and aminopeptidases, especially leucine aminopeptidase. We discuss classification of these enzymes, biochemistry as well as their role in the cell cycle under normal conditions and during cancerogenesis. Further on, the work describes enzyme inhibitors that are under in vitro, preclinical, clinical studies as well as drugs available on the market. Both, chemical structures of discovered inhibitors and the role of chemical moieties in novel drug design are discussed. Described enzymes play essential role in cell cycle, especially in mitosis (Aurora kinases), cell differentiation, growth and apoptosis (tyrosine kinases) as well as G1/S transition (leucine aminopeptidase). In cancer cells, they are overexpressed and only their inhibition may stop tumor progression. This review presents the clinical outcomes of selected inhibitors and argues the safety of drug usage in human volunteers. Clinical studies of EGFR and Src kinase inhibitors in different tumors clearly show the need for molecular selection of patients (to those with mutations in genes coding EGFR and Src) to achieve positive clinical response. Current data indicates the great necessity for new anticancer treatment and actions to limit off-target activity.

  13. A Smart Europium-Ruthenium Complex as Anticancer Prodrug: Controllable Drug Release and Real-Time Monitoring under Different Light Excitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hongguang; Xie, Chen; Lan, Rongfeng; Zha, Shuai; Chan, Chi-Fai; Wong, Wing-Yan; Ho, Ka-Lok; Chan, Brandon Dow; Luo, Yuxia; Zhang, Jing-Xiang; Law, Ga-Lai; Tai, William C S; Bünzli, Jean-Claude G; Wong, Ka-Leung

    2017-11-09

    A unique, dual-function, photoactivatable anticancer prodrug, RuEuL, has been tailored that features a ruthenium(II) complex linked to a cyclen-europium chelate via a π-conjugated bridge. Under irradiation at 488 nm, the dark-inactive prodrug undergoes photodissociation, releasing the DNA-damaging ruthenium species. Under evaluation-window irradiation (λ irr = one-photon 350 nm or two-photon 700 nm), the drug delivery process can be quantitatively monitored in real-time because of the long-lived red europium emission. Linear relationships between released drug concentration and ESI-MS or luminescence responses are established. Finally, the efficiency of the new prodrug is demonstrated both in vitro RuEuL anticancer prodrug over some existing ones and open the way for decisive improvements in multipurpose prodrugs.

  14. Smart release of doxorubicin loaded on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) surface with 3D porous structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Liping; Sun, Zhenjie; Wang, Donghui; Qiao, Yuqin; Zhu, Hongqin; Ma, Xiaohan; Liu, Xuanyong

    2018-03-01

    It is important to fabricate an implant possessing environment sensitive drug delivery. In this work, the construction of 3D porous structure on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) surface and pH sensitive polymer, chitosan, was introduced. The smart release of doxorubicin can be realized on the 3D porous surface of PEEK loading chitosan. We give a feasible explanation for the effect of chitosan on smart drug release according to Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Furthermore, the intracellular drug content of the cell cultured on the samples with highest chitosan is significantly higher at pH 4.0, whereas lower at pH 7.4 than other samples. The smart release of doxorubicin via modification with chitosan onto 3D porous PEEK surface paves the way for the application of PEEK in drug loading platform for recovering bone defect caused by malignant bone tumor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Fluorescent graphene quantum dots as traceable, pH-sensitive drug delivery systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiu J

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Jichuan Qiu,1 Ruibin Zhang,2 Jianhua Li,1 Yuanhua Sang,1 Wei Tang,3 Pilar Rivera Gil,4 Hong Liu1,51Center of Bio and Micro/Nano Functional Materials, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, 2Blood Purification Center, Jinan Central Hospital, 3Department of Pathogenic Biology, Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 4Institute of Chemistry, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain; 5Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaAbstract: Graphene quantum dots (GQDs were rationally fabricated as a traceable drug delivery system for the targeted, pH-sensitive delivery of a chemotherapeutic drug into cancer cells. The GQDs served as fluorescent carriers for a well-known anticancer drug, doxorubicin (Dox. The whole system has the capacity for simultaneous tracking of the carrier and of drug release. Dox release is triggered upon acidification of the intracellular vesicles, where the carriers are located after their uptake by cancer cells. Further functionalization of the loaded carriers with targeting moieties such as arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD peptides enhanced their uptake by cancer cells. DU-145 and PC-3 human prostate cancer cell lines were used to evaluate the anticancer ability of Dox-loaded RGD-modified GQDs (Dox-RGD-GQDs. The results demonstrated the feasibility of using GQDs as traceable drug delivery systems with the ability for the pH-triggered delivery of drugs into target cells.Keywords: graphene quantum dots, drug delivery, pH-sensitive, controlled release, traceable

  16. pH-Dependent doxorubicin release from terpolymer of starch, polymethacrylic acid and polysorbate 80 nanoparticles for overcoming multi-drug resistance in human breast cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shalviri, Alireza; Raval, Gaurav; Prasad, Preethy; Chan, Carol; Liu, Qiang; Heerklotz, Heiko; Rauth, Andrew Michael; Wu, Xiao Yu

    2012-11-01

    This work investigated the capability of a new nanoparticulate system, based on terpolymer of starch, polymethacrylic acid and polysorbate 80, to load and release doxorubicin (Dox) as a function of pH and to evaluate the anticancer activity of Dox-loaded nanoparticles (Dox-NPs) to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) in human breast cancer cells in vitro. The Dox-NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of the Dox-loaded nanoparticles were investigated using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay. The nanoparticles were able to load up to 49.7±0.3% of Dox with a high loading efficiency of 99.9±0.1%, while maintaining good colloidal stability. The nanoparticles released Dox at a higher rate at acidic pH attributable to weaker Dox-polymer molecular interactions evidenced by ITC. The Dox-NPs were taken up by the cancer cells in vitro and significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of Dox against human MDR1 cells with up to a 20-fold decrease in the IC50 values. The results suggest that the new terpolymeric nanoparticles are a promising vehicle for the controlled delivery of Dox for treatment of drug resistant breast cancer. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Modeling of hyaluronic acid containing anti-cancer drugs-loaded polylactic-co-glycolic acid bioconjugates for targeted delivery to cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gul-e-Saba, Adulphakdee, A.; Madthing, A.; Zafar, M. N.; Abdullah, M. A.

    2012-09-01

    Molecular modeling of hyaluronan (HA), polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polyethylene glycol-bis-amine (PEG-bis-amine), Curcumin, Cisplatin and the conjugate HA-PEG-PLGA containing Curcumin/Cisplatin were performed using Discovery Studio 2.5 to better understand issues and constraints related to targeted delivery of potent anticancer drugs to cancer cells. HA, a versatile biopolymer is a ligand of cancer cell receptor, CD44 that can be particularly useful in a receptor-mediated cellular uptake of drug-incorporated nanoparticles. Biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, PLGA and PEG, serve as polymeric micelles for controlled-release of drug. Curcumin as a natural anticancer agent has poor solubility that limits its use in drug therapeutics, while platinum-based Cisplatin exhibits systemic cytotoxicity. These can be overcome via drug delivery in polymeric biocompatible vehicles. The PLGA-PEG-HA conjugate shows the total measurement of 105 bond length with average bond length of 1.274163 Å. The conjugation between PEG and HA occurs at C8-O1 atoms and can be manipulated to improve properties.

  18. Drug-induced cellular death dynamics monitored by a highly sensitive organic electrochemical system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romeo, Agostino; Tarabella, Giuseppe; D'Angelo, Pasquale; Caffarra, Cristina; Cretella, Daniele; Alfieri, Roberta; Petronini, Pier Giorgio; Iannotta, Salvatore

    2015-06-15

    We propose and demonstrate a sensitive diagnostic device based on an Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) for direct in-vitro monitoring cell death. The system efficiently monitors cell death dynamics, being able to detect signals related to specific death mechanisms, namely necrosis or early/late apoptosis, demonstrating a reproducible correlation between the OECT electrical response and the trends of standard cell death assays. The innovative design of the Twell-OECT system has been modeled to better correlate electrical signals with cell death dynamics. To qualify the device, we used a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) that was cultivated on the micro-porous membrane of a Transwell (Twell) support, and exposed to the anticancer drug doxorubicin. Time-dependent and dose-dependent dynamics of A549 cells exposed to doxorubicin are evaluated by monitoring cell death upon exposure to a range of doses and times that fully covers the protocols used in cancer treatment. The demonstrated ability to directly monitor cell stress and death dynamics upon drug exposure using simple electronic devices and, possibly, achieving selectivity to different cell dynamics is of great interest for several application fields, including toxicology, pharmacology, and therapeutics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Developing multi-cellular tumor spheroid model (MCTS) in the chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) fibrous scaffold for anticancer drug screening

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Jian-Zheng, E-mail: wppzheng@126.com [Laboratory of Biomedical Material Engineering, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); Affiliated General Hospital, Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Testing Center of Henan Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Zhu, Yu-Xia [Laboratory of Biomedical Material Engineering, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023 (China); Affiliated General Hospital, Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Testing Center of Henan Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Ma, Hui-Chao; Chen, Si-Nan; Chao, Ji-Ye; Ruan, Wen-Ding; Wang, Duo; Du, Feng-guang [Affiliated General Hospital, Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Testing Center of Henan Tianguan Group Co., Ltd, Nanyang 473000 (China); Meng, Yue-Zhong [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

    2016-05-01

    In this work, a 3D MCTS-CCA system was constructed by culturing multi-cellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) in the chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) fibrous scaffold for anticancer drug screening. The CCA scaffolds were fabricated by spray-spinning. The interactions between the components of the spray-spun fibers were evidenced by methods of Coomassie Blue stain, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Co-culture indicated that MCF-7 cells showed a spatial growth pattern of multi-cellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) in the CCA fibrous scaffold with increased proliferation rate and drug-resistance to MMC, ADM and 5-Aza comparing with the 2D culture cells. Significant increases of total viable cells were found in 3D MCTS groups after drug administration by method of apoptotic analysis. Glucose–lactate analysis indicated that the metabolism of MCTS in CCA scaffold was closer to the tumor issue in vivo than the monolayer cells. In addition, MCTS showed the characteristic of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) which is subverted by carcinoma cells to facilitate metastatic spread. These results demonstrated that MCTS in CCA scaffold possessed a more conservative phenotype of tumor than monolayer cells, and anticancer drug screening in 3D MCTS-CCA system might be superior to the 2D culture system. - Highlights: • Chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) scaffolds were fabricated by spray-spinning. • MCF-7 cells presented a multi-cellular tumor spheroid model (MCTS) in CCA scaffold. • MCTS in CCA possessed a more conservative phenotype of tumor than monolayer cells. • Anticancer drug screening in MCTS-CCA system is superior to 2D culture system.

  20. Developing multi-cellular tumor spheroid model (MCTS) in the chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) fibrous scaffold for anticancer drug screening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jian-Zheng; Zhu, Yu-Xia; Ma, Hui-Chao; Chen, Si-Nan; Chao, Ji-Ye; Ruan, Wen-Ding; Wang, Duo; Du, Feng-guang; Meng, Yue-Zhong

    2016-01-01

    In this work, a 3D MCTS-CCA system was constructed by culturing multi-cellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) in the chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) fibrous scaffold for anticancer drug screening. The CCA scaffolds were fabricated by spray-spinning. The interactions between the components of the spray-spun fibers were evidenced by methods of Coomassie Blue stain, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Co-culture indicated that MCF-7 cells showed a spatial growth pattern of multi-cellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) in the CCA fibrous scaffold with increased proliferation rate and drug-resistance to MMC, ADM and 5-Aza comparing with the 2D culture cells. Significant increases of total viable cells were found in 3D MCTS groups after drug administration by method of apoptotic analysis. Glucose–lactate analysis indicated that the metabolism of MCTS in CCA scaffold was closer to the tumor issue in vivo than the monolayer cells. In addition, MCTS showed the characteristic of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) which is subverted by carcinoma cells to facilitate metastatic spread. These results demonstrated that MCTS in CCA scaffold possessed a more conservative phenotype of tumor than monolayer cells, and anticancer drug screening in 3D MCTS-CCA system might be superior to the 2D culture system. - Highlights: • Chitosan/collagen/alginate (CCA) scaffolds were fabricated by spray-spinning. • MCF-7 cells presented a multi-cellular tumor spheroid model (MCTS) in CCA scaffold. • MCTS in CCA possessed a more conservative phenotype of tumor than monolayer cells. • Anticancer drug screening in MCTS-CCA system is superior to 2D culture system.

  1. Short- and long-term cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin conjugates with dendrimers and vector protein on MCF-7/MDR1 chemoresistant breast cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamulaeva, I. A.; Matchuk, O. N.; Churyukina, K. A.; Kudryavtzev, V. A.; Yabbarov, N. G.; Nikolskaya, E. D.; Zhunina, O. A.; Kondrasheva, I. G.; Severin, E. S.

    2017-09-01

    The dendritic polymers (dendrimers) are perspective nanocontainers for targeted transport of anticancer drugs to tumor cells. We used polyamidoamine dendrimers of the second generation (G2) covalently conjugated with doxorubicin (Dox) and vector protein - recombinant third domain (3D) of alpha-fetoprotein. The objects of the study were MCF-7/MDR1 breast cancer cells, which demonstrated resistance to traditional anticancer agents due to high expression of P-glycoprotein. Effects of free Dox, G2 dendrimers loaded with Dox (G2-Dox), or conjugates of dendrimers with the vector protein and Dox (3D-G2-Dox) were assessed by the criteria of surviving cell number and clonogenic activity 24 hours and 11 days after treatment with the agents at Dox concentration of 2.5 μM, correspondingly. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate accumulation of Dox immediately after the treatment with the agents and removal of Dox during 24 hours of incubation in agent-free medium following by the treatment. Intracellular localization of Dox was studied using laser scanning microscopy. 3D-G2-Dox demonstrated the highest accumulation and the weakest removal from the cells in comparison with all other agents. The use of free Dox, G2-Dox, or 3D-G2-Dox resulted in a significant decrease in number of surviving cells by approximately 25-30% compared to the control (p ≤ 0.01). However, the most pronounced decrease in the clonogenic ability of cells was observed in the 3D-G2-Dox group (to 19% compared to the control, p < 0.01). Taking into account the previously obtained data on the extremely low 3D-G2-Dox accumulation in normal cells, it can be concluded that further development of 3D-G2-Dox as a possible anticancer drug is a promising way to overcome multiple drug resistance with minimal impact on normal cells.

  2. Concurrent administration of anticancer chemotherapy drug and herbal medicine on the perspective of pharmacokinetics

    OpenAIRE

    Yung-Yi Cheng; Chen-Hsi Hsieh; Tung-Hu Tsai

    2018-01-01

    With an increasing number of cancer patients seeking an improved quality of life, complementary and alternative therapies are becoming more common ways to achieve such improvements. The potential risks of concurrent administration are serious and must be addressed. However, comprehensive evidence for the risks and benefits of combining anticancer drugs with traditional herbs is rare. Pharmacokinetic investigations are an efficient way to understand the influence of concomitant remedies. There...

  3. Data of a fluorescent imaging-based analysis of anti-cancer drug effects on three-dimensional cultures of breast cancer cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junji Itou

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D cell culture is a powerful tool to study cell growth under 3D condition. To perform a simple test for anti-cancer drugs in 3D culture, visualization of non-proliferated cells is required. We propose a fluorescent imaging-based assay to analyze cancer cell proliferation in 3D culture. We used a pulse-labeling technique with a photoconvertible fluorescent protein Kaede to identify non-proliferated cells. This assay allows us to observe change in cell proliferation in 3D culture by simple imaging. Using this assay, we obtained the data of the effects of anti-cancer drugs, 5-fluorouracil and PD0332991 in a breast cancer cell line, MCF-7.

  4. Cyclodextrin conjugated magnetic colloidal nanoparticles as a nanocarrier for targeted anticancer drug delivery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, Shashwat S; Chen, D.-H.

    2008-01-01

    A novel magnetic nanocarrier (CD-GAMNPs) was fabricated for targeted anticancer drug delivery by grafting cyclodextrin (CD) onto gum arabic modified magnetic nanoparticles (GAMNPs) using hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) as a linker. Analyses by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) revealed that the product had a mean diameter of 17.1 nm and a mean hydrodynamic diameter of 44.1 nm. The CD grafting was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the amount of CD grafted on the GAMNPs was 16.8 mg g -1 . The study on the loading of anticancer drug all-trans-retinoic acid (retinoic acid) revealed that the newly fabricated magnetic nanocarrier possessed a considerably higher adsorption capability as compared to GAMNPs due to the special hydrophobic cavity structure of CD, which could act as a host-guest complex with retinoic acid. Furthermore, it was found that the complexation of CD-GAMNPs with retinoic acid was exothermic and the presence of a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) led to the decrease in the inclusion of retinoic acid because the linear structure of sodium dodecyl sulfate made it easier to enter the cavity of CD as compared to less linear retinoic acid. In addition, the in vitro release profile of retinoic acid from CD-GAMNPs was characterized by an initial fast release followed by a delayed release phase

  5. Doxorubicin-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles coated with chitosan/alginate by layer by layer technology for antitumor applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chai, Fujuan; Sun, Linlin; He, Xinyi; Li, Jieli; Liu, Yuanfen; Xiong, Fei; Ge, Liang; Webster, Thomas J; Zheng, Chunli

    2017-01-01

    Natural polyelectrolyte multilayers of chitosan (CHI) and alginate (ALG) were alternately deposited on doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) with layer by layer self-assembly to control drug release for antitumor activity. Numerous factors which influenced the multilayer growth on nano-colloidal particles were studied: polyelectrolyte concentration, NaCl concentration and temperature. Then the growth regime of the CHI/ALG multilayers was elucidated. The coated NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction and a zeta potential analyzer. In vitro studies demonstrated an undesirable initial burst release of DOX-loaded PLGA NPs (DOX-PLGA NPs), which was relieved from 55.12% to 5.78% through the use of the layer by layer technique. The release of DOX increased more than 40% as the pH of media decreased from 7.4 to 5.0. More importantly, DOX-PLGA (CHI/ALG) 3 NPs had superior in vivo tumor inhibition rates at 83.17% and decreased toxicity, compared with DOX-PLGA NPs and DOX in solution. Thus, the presently formulated PLGA-polyelectrolyte NPs have strong potential applications for numerous controlled anticancer drug release applications.

  6. Profluorescent PPV-Based Micellar System as a Versatile Probe for Bioimaging and Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaquen, Neomy; Lu, Hongxu; Chang, Teddy; Mamdooh, Russel; Lutsen, Laurence; Vanderzande, Dirk; Stenzel, Martina; Junkers, Thomas

    2016-12-12

    Although micelles are commonly used for drug delivery purposes, their long-term fate is often unknown due to photobleaching of the fluorescent labels or the use of toxic materials. Here, we present a metal-free, nontoxic, nonbleaching, fluorescent micelle that can address these shortcomings. A simple, yet versatile, profluorescent micellar system, built from amphiphilic poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) block copolymers, for use in drug delivery applications is introduced. Polymer micelles made from PPV show excellent stability for up to 1 year and are successfully loaded with anticancer drugs (curcumin or doxorubicin) without requiring introduction of physical or chemical cross-links. The micelles are taken up efficiently by the cells, which triggers disassembly, releasing the encapsulated material. Disassembly of the micelles and drug release is conveniently monitored as fluorescence of the single polymer chains appear, which enables not only to monitor the release of the payload, but in principle also the fate of the polymer over longer periods of time.

  7. Model-based global sensitivity analysis as applied to identification of anti-cancer drug targets and biomarkers of drug resistance in the ErbB2/3 network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebedeva, Galina; Sorokin, Anatoly; Faratian, Dana; Mullen, Peter; Goltsov, Alexey; Langdon, Simon P.; Harrison, David J.; Goryanin, Igor

    2012-01-01

    High levels of variability in cancer-related cellular signalling networks and a lack of parameter identifiability in large-scale network models hamper translation of the results of modelling studies into the process of anti-cancer drug development. Recently global sensitivity analysis (GSA) has been recognised as a useful technique, capable of addressing the uncertainty of the model parameters and generating valid predictions on parametric sensitivities. Here we propose a novel implementation of model-based GSA specially designed to explore how multi-parametric network perturbations affect signal propagation through cancer-related networks. We use area-under-the-curve for time course of changes in phosphorylation of proteins as a characteristic for sensitivity analysis and rank network parameters with regard to their impact on the level of key cancer-related outputs, separating strong inhibitory from stimulatory effects. This allows interpretation of the results in terms which can incorporate the effects of potential anti-cancer drugs on targets and the associated biological markers of cancer. To illustrate the method we applied it to an ErbB signalling network model and explored the sensitivity profile of its key model readout, phosphorylated Akt, in the absence and presence of the ErbB2 inhibitor pertuzumab. The method successfully identified the parameters associated with elevation or suppression of Akt phosphorylation in the ErbB2/3 network. From analysis and comparison of the sensitivity profiles of pAkt in the absence and presence of targeted drugs we derived predictions of drug targets, cancer-related biomarkers and generated hypotheses for combinatorial therapy. Several key predictions have been confirmed in experiments using human ovarian carcinoma cell lines. We also compared GSA-derived predictions with the results of local sensitivity analysis and discuss the applicability of both methods. We propose that the developed GSA procedure can serve as a

  8. Biocompatible nanogel derived from functionalized dextrin for targeted delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride to MG 63 cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Dipankar; Rameshbabu, Arun Prabhu; Ghosh, Paulomi; Patra, Priyapratim; Dhara, Santanu; Pal, Sagar

    2017-09-01

    The present article demonstrates the targeted delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride to human osteosarcoma cancer cell lines (MG 63) using functionalized dextrin based crosslinked, pH responsive and biocompatible nanogel. The nanogel has been prepared through Michael-type addition reaction using dextrin (Dxt), N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA, as crosslinker), acrylic acid (AA, as monomer) and potassium persulfate (KPS, as initiator). The structure, composition, morphology of the nanogel have been explored using FTIR and 1 H NMR spectroscopy, XRD, TGA, DSC, CHN and AFM analyses. The TEM analysis confirmed that the size of nanogel appeared within 100nm, while DLS study indicates that the diameter of the nanogel remained between 113 and 126nm. The AFM study implied the porous morphology of the synthesized nanogel. The rheological study suggests the gel behaviour of the synthesized nanogel at 37±0.1°C. Difference in% swelling at pH 5.5 and 7.4 indicates pH-responsiveness of the nanogel. The in vitro cytocompatibility results ascertained that the nanogel is non-toxic to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). In vitro cellular uptake study confirmed that FITC-loaded nanogel can cross the cellular membrane and be well uptake by the cell cytoplasm. The nanogel could efficiently encapsulate doxorubicin hydrochloride (Dox) with the loading efficiency of 27±0.2% after 72h. The Dox-loaded nanogel demonstrates anti-cancer activity towards MG 63 cancer cells and release the encapsulated drug in a controlled way. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Design of interior-functionalized fully acetylated dendrimers for anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jingjing; Su, Yunzhang; Zhang, Hongfeng; Xu, Tongwen; Cheng, Yiyun

    2011-12-01

    In this study, dendrimers was synthesized by introducing functional groups into the interior pockets of fully acetylated dendrimers. NMR techniques including COSY and 2D-NOESY revealed the molecular structures of the synthesized dendrimers and the encapsulation of guest molecule such as methotrexate within their interior pockets. The synthesized polymeric nanocarriers showed much lower cytotoxicity on two cell lines than cationic dendrimers, and exhibited better performance than fully acetylated dendrimers in the sustained release of methotrexate. The results provided a new strategy in the design of non-toxic dendrimers with high performance in the delivery of anti-cancer drugs for clinical applications. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin displays enhanced anti-tumorigenic effects without associated cardiotoxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reynolds, Joseph G.; Geretti, Elena; Hendriks, Bart S.; Lee, Helen; Leonard, Shannon C.; Klinz, Stephan G.; Noble, Charles O.; Lücker, Petra B.; Zandstra, Peter W.; Drummond, Daryl C.; Olivier, Kenneth J.; Nielsen, Ulrik B.; Niyikiza, Clet; Agresta, Samuel V.; Wickham, Thomas J.

    2012-01-01

    Anthracycline-based regimens are a mainstay of early breast cancer therapy, however their use is limited by cardiac toxicity. The potential for cardiotoxicity is a major consideration in the design and development of combinatorial therapies incorporating anthracyclines and agents that target the HER2-mediated signaling pathway, such as trastuzumab. In this regard, HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin was developed to provide clinical benefit by both reducing the cardiotoxicity observed with anthracyclines and enhancing the therapeutic potential of HER2-based therapies that are currently available for HER2-overexpressing cancers. While documenting the enhanced therapeutic potential of HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin can be done with existing models, there has been no validated human cardiac cell-based assay system to rigorously assess the cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines. To understand if HER2-targeting of liposomal doxorubicin is possible with a favorable cardiac safety profile, we applied a human stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte platform to evaluate the doxorubicin exposure of human cardiac cells to HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first known application of a stem cell-derived system for evaluating preclinical cardiotoxicity of an investigational agent. We demonstrate that HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin has little or no uptake into human cardiomyocytes, does not inhibit HER2-mediated signaling, results in little or no evidence of cardiomyocyte cell death or dysfunction, and retains the low penetration into heart tissue of liposomal doxorubicin. Taken together, this data ultimately led to the clinical decision to advance this drug to Phase I clinical testing, which is now ongoing as a single agent in HER2-expressing cancers. -- Highlights: ► Novel approach using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to assess preclinical safety. ► HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin has improved safety profile vs free doxorubicin

  11. HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin displays enhanced anti-tumorigenic effects without associated cardiotoxicity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reynolds, Joseph G.; Geretti, Elena; Hendriks, Bart S.; Lee, Helen; Leonard, Shannon C.; Klinz, Stephan G.; Noble, Charles O. [Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, 1 Kendall Square, Suite B7201, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Lücker, Petra B.; Zandstra, Peter W. [University of Toronto, 160 College Street, Office 1116, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1 (Canada); Drummond, Daryl C.; Olivier, Kenneth J.; Nielsen, Ulrik B.; Niyikiza, Clet; Agresta, Samuel V. [Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, 1 Kendall Square, Suite B7201, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Wickham, Thomas J., E-mail: twickham@merrimackpharma.com [Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, 1 Kendall Square, Suite B7201, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    Anthracycline-based regimens are a mainstay of early breast cancer therapy, however their use is limited by cardiac toxicity. The potential for cardiotoxicity is a major consideration in the design and development of combinatorial therapies incorporating anthracyclines and agents that target the HER2-mediated signaling pathway, such as trastuzumab. In this regard, HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin was developed to provide clinical benefit by both reducing the cardiotoxicity observed with anthracyclines and enhancing the therapeutic potential of HER2-based therapies that are currently available for HER2-overexpressing cancers. While documenting the enhanced therapeutic potential of HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin can be done with existing models, there has been no validated human cardiac cell-based assay system to rigorously assess the cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines. To understand if HER2-targeting of liposomal doxorubicin is possible with a favorable cardiac safety profile, we applied a human stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte platform to evaluate the doxorubicin exposure of human cardiac cells to HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first known application of a stem cell-derived system for evaluating preclinical cardiotoxicity of an investigational agent. We demonstrate that HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin has little or no uptake into human cardiomyocytes, does not inhibit HER2-mediated signaling, results in little or no evidence of cardiomyocyte cell death or dysfunction, and retains the low penetration into heart tissue of liposomal doxorubicin. Taken together, this data ultimately led to the clinical decision to advance this drug to Phase I clinical testing, which is now ongoing as a single agent in HER2-expressing cancers. -- Highlights: ► Novel approach using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to assess preclinical safety. ► HER2-targeted liposomal doxorubicin has improved safety profile vs free doxorubicin

  12. Sex-related differential susceptibility to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in B6C3F{sub 1} mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jenkins, G. Ronald [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Lee, Taewon [Department of Mathematics, Korea University, Sejong (Korea, Republic of); Moland, Carrie L.; Vijay, Vikrant [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Herman, Eugene H. [Toxicology and Pharmacology Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, The National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20850-9734 (United States); Lewis, Sherry M. [Office of Scientific Coordination, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Davis, Kelly J.; Muskhelishvili, Levan [Toxicologic Pathology Associates, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Kerr, Susan [Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72211 (United States); Fuscoe, James C. [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States); Desai, Varsha G., E-mail: varsha.desai@fda.hhs.gov [Personalized Medicine Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079 (United States)

    2016-11-01

    Sex is a risk factor for development of cardiotoxicity, induced by the anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), in humans. To explore potential mechanisms underlying differential susceptibility to DOX between sexes, 8-week old male and female B6C3F{sub 1} mice were dosed with 3 mg/kg body weight DOX or an equivalent volume of saline via tail vein once a week for 6, 7, 8, and 9 consecutive weeks, resulting in 18, 21, 24, and 27 mg/kg cumulative DOX doses, respectively. At necropsy, one week after each consecutive final dose, the extent of myocardial injury was greater in male mice compared to females as indicated by higher plasma concentrations of cardiac troponin T at all cumulative DOX doses with statistically significant differences between sexes at the 21 and 24 mg/kg cumulative doses. A greater susceptibility to DOX in male mice was further confirmed by the presence of cytoplasmic vacuolization in cardiomyocytes, with left atrium being more vulnerable to DOX cardiotoxicity. The number of TUNEL-positive cardiomyocytes was mostly higher in DOX-treated male mice compared to female counterparts, showing a statistically significant sex-related difference only in left atrium at 21 mg/kg cumulative dose. DOX-treated male mice also had an increased number of γ-H2A.X-positive (measure of DNA double-strand breaks) cardiomyocytes compared to female counterparts with a significant sex effect in the ventricle at 27 mg/kg cumulative dose and right atrium at 21 and 27 mg/kg cumulative doses. This newly established mouse model provides a means to identify biomarkers and access potential mechanisms underlying sex-related differences in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. - Highlights: • Doxorubicin caused greater heart injury in male mice than females. • Doxorubicin caused vacuolization in cardiomyocytes only in male mice. • TUNEL-positive cardiomyocytes was higher in DOX-treated male mice. • γ-H2A.X-positive cardiomyocytes was greater in DOX-treated male mice.

  13. Comparative evaluation of polymersome versus micelle structures as vehicles for the controlled release of drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alibolandi, Mona [Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Biotechnology Research Center, School of Pharmacy (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ramezani, Mohammad; Abnous, Khalil [Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Research Center, School of Pharmacy (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sadeghi, Fatemeh, E-mail: sadeghif@mums.ac.ir [Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Targeted Drug Delivery Research Center, School of Pharmacy (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Hadizadeh, Farzin, E-mail: hadizadehf@mums.ac.ir [Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Biotechnology Research Center, School of Pharmacy (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-02-15

    Di-block copolymers composed of two biocompatible polymers, poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(d,l-lactide), were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization for the preparation of doxorubicin-loaded self-assembled nanostructures, including polymeric vesicles (polymersomes) and micelles. The capability and stability of the nanostructures prepared for the controlled release of DOX are discussed in this paper. The in vitro drug release at 37 °C was evaluated up to 6 days at pH 7.4 and 5.5 and in the presence of 50 % FBS. The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity effect of both formulations were also evaluated in the MCF-7 cell line. The SEM and AFM images confirmed the hollow spherical structure of the polymersomes and the solid round structures of the micelles. The TEM results also revealed the uniformity in size and shape of the drug-loaded micelle and polymersome nanostructures. The DOX-loaded micelles and polymersomes presented efficient anticancer performance, as verified by flow cytometry and MTT assay tests. The most important finding of this study is that the prepared nanopolymersomes presented significant increases in the doxorubicin encapsulation efficiency and the stability of the formulation in comparison with the micelle formulation. In vitro studies revealed that polymersomes may be stable in the blood circulation and meet the requirements for an effective drug delivery system.

  14. Anticancer Activity of Metal Complexes: Involvement of Redox Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jungwirth, Ute; Kowol, Christian R.; Keppler, Bernhard K.; Hartinger, Christian G.; Berger, Walter; Heffeter, Petra

    2012-01-01

    Cells require tight regulation of the intracellular redox balance and consequently of reactive oxygen species for proper redox signaling and maintenance of metal (e.g., of iron and copper) homeostasis. In several diseases, including cancer, this balance is disturbed. Therefore, anticancer drugs targeting the redox systems, for example, glutathione and thioredoxin, have entered focus of interest. Anticancer metal complexes (platinum, gold, arsenic, ruthenium, rhodium, copper, vanadium, cobalt, manganese, gadolinium, and molybdenum) have been shown to strongly interact with or even disturb cellular redox homeostasis. In this context, especially the hypothesis of “activation by reduction” as well as the “hard and soft acids and bases” theory with respect to coordination of metal ions to cellular ligands represent important concepts to understand the molecular modes of action of anticancer metal drugs. The aim of this review is to highlight specific interactions of metal-based anticancer drugs with the cellular redox homeostasis and to explain this behavior by considering chemical properties of the respective anticancer metal complexes currently either in (pre)clinical development or in daily clinical routine in oncology. PMID:21275772

  15. Targeting PEPT1: a novel strategy to improve the antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin in human hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Yanxia; Wu, Xiang; Wang, Tao; Zhao, Jia; Liu, Xi; Yao, Zhi; Zhang, Qingyu; Jian, Xu

    2017-06-20

    Proton coupled oligopeptide transporter 1 (PEPT1) is a member of the peptide transporter superfamily and plays important role in the absorption of oligopeptide and peptidomimetic drugs. Our previous research verified that PEPT1 expressed specifically in human Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and cell lines and showed potential transport activity to be a new candidate of the tumor therapeutic target. In this study, we aim to explore the feasibility of a novel tumor target therapeutic strategy: Targeting PEPT1 to improve the antitumor efficacy of Doxorubicin in human HCC therapy. First, Doxorubicin was conjugated with Glycylglycylglycine (Gly-Gly-Gly) - a tripeptide which was known as the substrate of PEPT1 and characterized by HPLC and MS successfully. Doxorubicin-tripeptide conjugate was then observed to clarify the target delivery by PEPT1 and the antitumor effect on human hepatocarcinoma in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the improvement of the toxic and side effect of Doxorubicin after conjugation was also evaluated by some biochemical tests. Our results reveal that targeting PEPT1 may contribute to the efficient delivery of Doxorubicin to hepatocarcinoma cells and the reduction of drug toxicity. PEPT1 has the prospect to be a novel target of HCC therapy.

  16. Comparative cytotoxicity of gold-doxorubicin and InP-doxorubicin conjugates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuan; Chibli, Hicham; Kong, Dekun; Nadeau, Jay

    2012-07-11

    Direct comparisons of different types of nanoparticles for drug delivery have seldom been performed. In this study we compare the physical properties and cellular activity of doxorubicin (Dox) conjugates to gold nanoparticles (Au) and InP quantum dots of comparable diameter. Although the Au particles alone are non-toxic and InP is moderately toxic, Au-Dox is more effective than InP-Dox against the Dox-resistant B16 melanoma cell line. Light exposure does not augment the efficacy of InP-Dox, suggesting that conjugates are breaking down. Electron and confocal microscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy reveal that over 60% of the Au-Dox conjugates reach the cell nucleus. In contrast, InP-Dox enters cell nuclei to a very limited extent, although liberated Dox from the conjugates does eventually reach the nucleus. These observations are attributed to faster Dox release from Au conjugates under endosomal conditions, greater aggregation of InP-Dox with cytoplasmic proteins, and adherence of InP to membranes. These findings have important implications for design of active drug-nanoparticle conjugates.

  17. Doxorubicin-induced second degree and complete atrioventricular block.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilickap, Saadettin; Akgul, Ebru; Aksoy, Sercan; Aytemir, Kudret; Barista, Ibrahim

    2005-05-01

    Doxorubicin is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents used in the treatment of malignancies. Cardiotoxicity is the most important dose-limiting toxicity of doxorubicin. Although cardiomyopathy is the most well known side effect of doxorubicin, it usually occurs many years after the treatment and relates to cumulative doxorubicin dosage. Another form of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is arrhythmia which may occur at any time and after any dosage. However, doxorubicin-induced arrhythmia is rarely a life-threatening side effect. In this report, we present a case in which there were doxorubicin-induced life-threatening arrhythmias.

  18. A screen to identify drug resistant variants to target-directed anti-cancer agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam Mohammad

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The discovery of oncogenes and signal transduction pathways important for mitogenesis has triggered the development of target-specific small molecule anti-cancer compounds. As exemplified by imatinib (Gleevec, a specific inhibitor of the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML-associated Bcr-Abl kinase, these agents promise impressive activity in clinical trials, with low levels of clinical toxicity. However, such therapy is susceptible to the emergence of drug resistance due to amino acid substitutions in the target protein. Defining the spectrum of such mutations is important for patient monitoring and the design of next-generation inhibitors. Using imatinib and BCR/ABL as a paradigm for a drug-target pair, we recently reported a retroviral vector-based screening strategy to identify the spectrum of resistance-conferring mutations. Here we provide a detailed methodology for the screen, which can be generally applied to any drug-target pair.

  19. Multifunctional halloysite nanotubes for targeted delivery and controlled release of doxorubicin in-vitro and in-vivo studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yuwei; Chen, Jian; Li, Xiufang; Sun, Yanhua; Huang, Shen; Li, Yuqing; Liu, Hui; Xu, Jiangfeng; Zhong, Shian

    2017-09-01

    The current state of cancer therapy encourages researchers to develop novel efficient nanocarriers. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are good nanocarrier candidates due to their unique nanoscale (40-80 nm in diamter and 200-500 nm in length) and hollow lumen, as well as good biocompatibility and low cost. In our study, we prepared a type of folate-mediated targeting and redox-triggered anticancer drug delivery system, so that Doxorubicin (DOX) can be specifically transported to tumor sites due to the over-expressed folate-receptors on the surface of cancer cells. Furthermore, it can then be released by the reductive agent glutathione (GSH) in cancer cells where the content of GSH is nearly 103-fold higher than in the extracellular matrix. A series of methods have demonstrated that per-thiol-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD-(SH)7) was successfully combined with HNTs via a redox-responsive disulfide bond, and folic acid-polyethylene glycol-adamantane (FA-PEG-Ad) was immobilized on the HNTs through the strong complexation between β-CD/Ad. In vitro studies indicated that the release rate of DOX raised sharply in dithiothreitol (DTT) reducing environment and the amount of released DOX reached 70% in 10 mM DTT within the first 10 h, while only 40% of DOX was released in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) even after 79 h. Furthermore, the targeted HNTs could be specifically endocytosed by over-expressed folate-receptor cancer cells and significantly accelerate the apoptosis of cancer cells compared to non-targeted HNTs. In vivo studies further verified that the targeted HNTs had the best therapeutic efficacy and no obvious side effects for tumor-bearing nude mice, while free DOX showed damaging effects on normal tissues. In summary, this novel nanocarrier system shows excellent potential for targeted delivery and controlled release of anticancer drugs and provides a potential platform for tumor therapy.

  20. Enhanced antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin-encapsulated halloysite nanotubes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li K

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Kai Li,1,* Yongxing Zhang,2,* Mengting Chen,1 Yangyang Hu,1 Weiliang Jiang,1 Li Zhou,1 Sisi Li,1 Min Xu,1 Qinghua Zhao,2 Rong Wan1 1Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai First People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai First People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: To improve the antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin (DOX and provide novel clinical treatment of gastric cancer, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs loaded with DOX were encapsulated by soybean phospholipid (LIP and the formed HNTs/DOX/LIP was systematically characterized via different techniques. The in vitro anticancer activity of HNTs/DOX/LIP was examined using an MTT assay. The antitumor efficacy and biocompatibility were monitored by measuring the tumor volume and assessing the blood routine and serum biochemistry using an ectopic implantation cancer model. The results show that when the concentration of HNTs was 3 mg/mL and the concentration of DOX was 1 mg/mL the optimal DOX loading efficiency was as high as 22.01%±0.43%. In vitro drug release behavior study demonstrated that HNTs/DOX/LIP shows a pH-responsive release property with fast drug release under acidic conditions (pH =5.4. MTT assays and in vivo experimental results revealed that HNTs/DOX/LIP exhibits a significantly higher inhibitory efficacy on the growth of mouse gastric cancer cells than free DOX at the same drug concentration. In addition, the life span of tumor-bearing mice in the HNTs/DOX/LIP-treated group was obviously prolonged compared with the control groups. Moreover, HNTs/DOX/LIP possessed excellent hemocompatibility as shown in the blood and histology studies. These findings indicated that the formed HNTs/DOX/LIP possesses higher antitumor efficacy and may be used as a targeted

  1. Extensive preclinical investigation of polymersomal formulation of doxorubicin versus Doxil-mimic formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alibolandi, Mona; Abnous, Khalil; Mohammadi, Marzieh; Hadizadeh, Farzin; Sadeghi, Fatemeh; Taghavi, Sahar; Jaafari, Mahmoud Reza; Ramezani, Mohammad

    2017-10-28

    Due to the severe cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin, its usage is limited. This shortcoming could be overcome by modifying pharmacokinetics of the drugs via preparation of various nanoplatforms. Doxil, a well-known FDA-approved nanoplatform of doxorubicin as antineoplastic agent, is frequently used in clinics in order to reduce cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin. Since Doxil shows some shortcomings in clinics including hand and food syndrome and very slow release pattern thus, there is a demand for the development and preparation of new doxorubicin nanoformulation with fewer side effects. The new formulation of the doxorubicin, synthesized previously by our group was extensively examined in the current study. This new formulation is doxorubicin encapsulated in PEG-PLGA polymersomes (PolyDOX). The main aim of the study was to compare the distribution and treatment efficacy of a new doxorubicin-polymersomal formulation (PolyDOX) with regular liposomal formulation (Doxil-mimic) in murine colon adenocarcinoma model. Additionally, the pathological, hematological changes, pharmacodynamics, biodistribution, tolerated dose and survival rate in vivo were evaluated and compared. Murine colon cancer model was induced by subcutaneous inoculation of BALB/c mice with C26 cells. Afterwards, either Doxil-mimic or PolyDOX was administered intravenously. The obtained results from biodistribution study showed a remarkable difference in the distribution of drugs in murine organs. In this regard, Doxil-mimic exhibited prolonged (48h) presence within liver tissues while PolyDOX preferentially accumulate in tumor and the presence in liver 48h post-treatment was significantly lower than that of Doxil-mimic. Obtained results demonstrated comparable final length of life for mice receiving either Doxil-mimic or PolyDOX formulations whereas tolerated dose of mice receiving Doxil-mimic was remarkably higher than those receiving PolyDOX. Therapeutic efficacy of formulation in term of tumor growth rate

  2. On–off switch-controlled doxorubicin release from thermo- and pH-responsive coated bimagnetic nanocarriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hammad, Mohaned; Nica, Valentin; Hempelmann, Rolf, E-mail: r.hempelmann@mx.uni-saarland.de [Saarland University, Department of Physical Chemistry (Germany)

    2016-08-15

    A switch-controlled drug release system is designed by coating of core/shell bimagnetic nanoparticles with a pH- and thermo-responsive polymer shell, which can be used as hyperthermic agent, drug carrier, and for controlled release. Doxorubicin is loaded onto the surface of the last coating layer, and a high loading efficiency of 90.5 % is obtained. The nanocarriers are characterized by FTIR, dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential, TEM, In vitro hyperthermia, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The core/shell magnetic nanoparticles (Zn{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.6}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4}@Zn{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.6}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) exhibit a superparamagnetic behavior with a saturation magnetization around 45.6 emu/g and a high specific absorption rate of up to 360 W/g. The in vitro drug release experiments confirm that only a small amount of doxorubicin is released at body temperature and physiological pH, whereas a high drug release is obtained at acidic tumor pH under hyperthermia conditions (43 °C). The functionalized core/shell bimagnetic nanocarriers facilitate controllable release of doxorubicin as an effect of induced thermo- and pH-responsiveness of the polymer when are subjected to a high-frequency alternating magnetic field at acidic pH; thereby the drug release rate is controlled using on–off cycles of the applied field.Graphical Abstract.

  3. Magnetocaloric effect in magnetothermally-responsive nanocarriers for hyperthermia-triggered drug release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jianbo; Qu Yang; Ren Jie; Yuan Weizhong; Shi Donglu

    2012-01-01

    The magnetocaloric effects and lower critical solution temperature (LCST) were investigated in a magnetothermally-responsive nanocarrier for magnetothermal drug release under alternating magnetic field (AMF). The Mn 0.2 Zn 0.8 Fe 2 O 4 nanoparticles with low T c were dispersed in a polymeric matrix consisting of N-Isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm) and N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide (HMAAm). The magnetocaloric effects and LCST of the nanocarriers were characterized by using high-resolution electron transmission microscopy, thermogravimetric analyses, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The maximum self-heating temperature of 42.9 °C was achieved by optimizing the Mn 0.2 Zn 0.8 Fe 2 O 4 concentration in the polymer matrix. By adjusting the NIPAAm to HMAAm ratio, the LCST was controlled at an ideal level of 40.1 °C for efficient thermosensitive drug delivery. Magnetothermally responsive drug release of Doxorubicin, an anticancer drug, was significantly enhanced by application of an external AMF on the nanocarriers. The cytotoxicity experimental results in vitro show good biocompatibility and efficient therapeutic effects in cancer treatment. (paper)

  4. Theoretical, clinical and pharmacokinetic aspects of cancer chemotherapy administered by continuous infusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sikic, B.I.

    1986-01-01

    This chapter reviews some of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the administration of anti-cancer drugs by continuous intravenous infusion in conjunction with radiation therapy. The variables contributing to schedule dependence of anti-cancer drugs are discussed. A table shows the improved therapeutic index of Bleomycin by continuous infusion in mice. The use of Cytarabine, a pyrimidine anti-metabolite which kills cells during S-phase or DNA synthesis, is examined. Fluorouracil and Doxorubicin are examined and several other drugs including vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide, and cisplatin are discussed

  5. Polymeric composite membranes for temperature and pH-responsive delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sahar Mohamaddoust Aliabadi

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective(s: Nowadays hydrogels are one of the upcoming classes of polymer-based controlled-release drug delivery systems. Temperature and pH-responsive delivery systems have drawn much attention because some diseases reveal themselves by a change in temperature and/or pH. The objective of this work is to prepare and characterize composite membrane using responsive nanoparticles into a polymer matrix. Materials and Methods: These nanoparticles were made of the copolymer poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methaçrylic acid by an aqueous dispersion polymerization process and are responsible for dual sensitivity to temperature and pH. Morphology study with SEM, swelling behavior with Dynamic Light Scattering Technique, in vitro drug release behavior with side-by-side Diffusion Cells were also investigated in this paper. Doxorubicin hydrochloride was used as a model solute. Results:The study on the release of doxorubicin hydrochloride showed that the release rate was higher at pH 5 than pH 7.4, increased with the increase of temperature. Nevertheless, ionic strength only poses a minor direct effect at higher pH. Conclusion:Such system may be potentially used as a tumor-targeting doxorubicin hydrochloride delivery in the body.

  6. Early transcriptional alteration of histone deacetylases in a murine model of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Piotrowska

    Full Text Available Doxorubicin is a potent chemotherapeutic agent that is widely-used to treat a variety of cancers but causes acute and chronic cardiac injury, severely limiting its use. Clinically, the acute side effects of doxorubicin are mostly manageable, whereas the delayed consequences can lead to life-threatening heart failure, even decades after cancer treatment. The cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin is subject to a critical cumulative dose and so dosage limitation is considered to be the best way to reduce these effects. Hence, a number of studies have defined a "safe dose" of the drug, both in animal models and clinical settings, with the aim of avoiding long-term cardiac effects. Here we show that a dose generally considered as safe in a mouse model can induce harmful changes in the myocardium, as early as 2 weeks after infusion. The adverse changes include the development of fibrotic lesions, disarray of cardiomyocytes and a major transcription dysregulation. Importantly, low-dose doxorubicin caused specific changes in the transcriptional profile of several histone deacetylases (HDACs which are epigenetic regulators of cardiac remodelling. This suggests that cardioprotective therapies, aimed at modulating HDACs during doxorubicin treatment, deserve further exploration.

  7. Anticancer and antibacterial secondary metabolites from the endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. CAM64 against multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jouda, Jean-Bosco; Tamokou, Jean-de-Dieu; Mbazoa, Céline Djama; Sarkar, Prodipta; Bag, Prasanta Kumar; Wandji, Jean

    2016-09-01

    The emergence of multiple-drug resistance bacteria has become a major threat and thus calls for an urgent need to search for new effective and safe anti-bacterial agents. This study aims to evaluate the anticancer and antibacterial activities of secondary metabolites from Penicillium sp., an endophytic fungus associated with leaves of Garcinia nobilis. The culture filtrate from the fermentation of Penicillium sp. was extracted and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the major metabolites were isolated and identified by spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with published data. The antibacterial activity of the compounds was assessed by broth microdilution method while the anticancer activity was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The fractionation of the crude extract afforded penialidin A-C (1-3), citromycetin (4), p-hydroxyphenylglyoxalaldoxime (5) and brefelfin A (6). All of the compounds tested here showed antibacterial activity (MIC = 0.50 - 128 µg/mL) against Gramnegative multi-drug resistance bacteria, Vibrio cholerae (causative agent of dreadful disease cholera) and Shigella flexneri (causative agent of shigellosis), as well as the significant anticancer activity (LC 50 = 0.88 - 9.21 µg/mL) against HeLa cells. The results obtained indicate that compounds 1-6 showed good antibacterial and anticancer activities with no toxicity to human red blood cells and normal Vero cells.

  8. A novel hanging spherical drop system for the generation of cellular spheroids and high throughput combinatorial drug screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neto, A I; Correia, C R; Oliveira, M B; Rial-Hermida, M I; Alvarez-Lorenzo, C; Reis, R L; Mano, J F

    2015-04-01

    We propose a novel hanging spherical drop system for anchoring arrays of droplets of cell suspension based on the use of biomimetic superhydrophobic flat substrates, with controlled positional adhesion and minimum contact with a solid substrate. By facing down the platform, it was possible to generate independent spheroid bodies in a high throughput manner, in order to mimic in vivo tumour models on the lab-on-chip scale. To validate this system for drug screening purposes, the toxicity of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin in cell spheroids was tested and compared to cells in 2D culture. The advantages presented by this platform, such as feasibility of the system and the ability to control the size uniformity of the spheroid, emphasize its potential to be used as a new low cost toolbox for high-throughput drug screening and in cell or tissue engineering.

  9. HSA-based multi-target combination therapy: regulating drugs' release from HSA and overcoming single drug resistance in a breast cancer model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Yi; Zhang, Zhenlei; Li, Dongyang; Zhao, Lei; Cai, Meiling; Sun, Zhewen; Li, Yongping; Zhang, Yao; Khan, Hamid; Sun, Hongbing; Wang, Tao; Liang, Hong; Yang, Feng

    2018-11-01

    Multi-drug delivery systems, which may be promising solution to overcome obstacles, have limited the clinical success of multi-drug combination therapies to treat cancer. To this end, we used three different anticancer agents, Cu(BpT)Br, NAMI-A, and doxorubicin (DOX), to build human serum albumin (HSA)-based multi-drug delivery systems in a breast cancer model to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of overcoming single drug (DOX) resistance to cancer cells in vivo, and to regulate the drugs' release from HSA. The HSA complex structure revealed that NAMI-A and Cu(BpT)Br bind to the IB and IIA sub-domain of HSA by N-donor residue replacing a leaving group and coordinating to their metal centers, respectively. The MALDI-TOF mass spectra demonstrated that one DOX molecule is conjugated with lysine of HSA by a pH-sensitive linker. Furthermore, the release behavior of three agents form HSA can be regulated at different pH levels. Importantly, in vivo results revealed that the HSA-NAMI-A-Cu(BpT)Br-DOX complex not only increases the targeting ability compared with a combination of the three agents (the NAMI-A/Cu(BpT)Br/DOX mixture), but it also overcomes DOX resistance to drug-resistant breast cancer cell lines.

  10. New Molecular Targets of Anticancer Therapy - Current Status and Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zajac, Marianna; Muszalska, Izabela; Jelinska, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Molecularly targeted anticancer therapy involves the use of drugs or other substances affecting specific molecular targets that play a part in the development, progression and spread of a given neoplasm. By contrast, the majority of classical chemotherapeutics act on all rapidly proliferating cells, both healthy and cancerous ones. Target anticancer drugs are designed to achieve a particular aim and they usually act cytostatically, not cytotoxically like classical chemotherapeutics. At present, more than 300 biological molecular targets have been identified. The proteins involved in cellular metabolism include (among others) receptor proteins, signal transduction proteins, mRNA thread matrix synthesis proteins participating in neoplastic transformation, cell cycle control proteins, functional and structural proteins. The receptor proteins that are targeted by currently used anticancer drugs comprise the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor(VEGFR). Target anticancer drugs may affect extracellular receptor domains (antibodies) or intracellular receptor domains (tyrosine kinase inhibitors). The blocking of the mRNA thread containing information about the structure of oncogenes (signal transduction proteins) is another molecular target of anticancer drugs. That type of treatment, referred to as antisense therapy, is in clinical trials. When the synthesis of genetic material is disturbed, in most cases the passage to the next cycle phase is blocked. The key proteins responsible for the blockage are cyclines and cycline- dependent kinases (CDK). Clinical trials are focused on natural and synthetic substances capable of blocking various CDKs. The paper discusses the molecular targets and chemical structure of target anticancer drugs that have been approved for and currently applied in antineoplastic therapy together with indications and contraindications for their

  11. Polymeric micellar pH-sensitive drug delivery system for doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrubý, Martin; Konák, Cestmír; Ulbrich, Karel

    2005-03-02

    A novel polymeric micellar pH-sensitive system for delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) is described. Polymeric micelles were prepared by self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymers in aqueous solutions. The copolymers consist of a biocompatible hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block and a hydrophobic block containing covalently bound anthracycline antibiotic DOX. The starting block copolymers poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(allyl glycidyl ether) (PEO-PAGE) with a very narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn ca. 1.05) were prepared by anionic ring opening polymerization using sodium salt of poly(ethylene oxide) monomethyl ether as macroinitiator and allyl glycidyl ether as functional monomer. The copolymers were covalently modified via reactive double bonds by the addition of methyl sulfanylacetate. The resulting ester subsequently reacted with hydrazine hydrate yielding polymer hydrazide. The hydrazide was coupled with DOX yielding pH-sensitive hydrazone bonds between the drug and carrier. The resulting conjugate containing ca. 3 wt.% DOX forms micelles with Rh(a)=104 nm in phosphate-buffered saline. After incubation in buffers at 37 degrees C DOX was released faster at pH 5.0 (close to pH in endosomes; 43% DOX released within 24 h) than at pH 7.4 (pH of blood plasma; 16% DOX released within 24 h). Cleavage of hydrazone bonds between DOX and carrier continues even after plateau in the DOX release from micelles incubated in aqueous solutions is reached.

  12. Optimization of anti-cancer drugs and a targeting molecule on multifunctional gold nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizk, Nahla; Christoforou, Nicolas; Lee, Sungmun

    2016-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common and deadly cancer among women worldwide. Currently, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems are useful for cancer treatment; however, strategic planning is critical in order to enhance the anti-cancer properties and reduce the side effects of cancer therapy. Here, we designed multifunctional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conjugated with two anti-cancer drugs, TGF-β1 antibody and methotrexate, and a cancer-targeting molecule, folic acid. First, optimum size and shape of AuNPs was selected by the highest uptake of AuNPs by MDA-MB-231, a metastatic human breast cancer cell line. It was 100 nm spherical AuNPs (S-AuNPs) that were used for further studies. A fixed amount (900 μl) of S-AuNP (3.8 × 10"8 particles/ml) was conjugated with folic acid-BSA or methotrexate-BSA. Methotrexate on S-AuNP induced cellular toxicity and the optimum amount of methotrexate-BSA (2.83 mM) was 500 μl. Uptake of S-AuNPs was enhanced by folate conjugation that binds to folate receptors overexpressed by MDA-MB-231 and the optimum uptake was at 500 μl of folic acid-BSA (2.83 mM). TGF-β1 antibody on S-AuNP reduced extracellular TGF-β1 of cancer cells by 30%. Due to their efficacy and tunable properties, we anticipate numerous clinical applications of multifunctional gold nanospheres in treating breast cancer. (paper)

  13. Optimization of anti-cancer drugs and a targeting molecule on multifunctional gold nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizk, Nahla; Christoforou, Nicolas; Lee, Sungmun

    2016-05-01

    Breast cancer is the most common and deadly cancer among women worldwide. Currently, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems are useful for cancer treatment; however, strategic planning is critical in order to enhance the anti-cancer properties and reduce the side effects of cancer therapy. Here, we designed multifunctional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conjugated with two anti-cancer drugs, TGF-β1 antibody and methotrexate, and a cancer-targeting molecule, folic acid. First, optimum size and shape of AuNPs was selected by the highest uptake of AuNPs by MDA-MB-231, a metastatic human breast cancer cell line. It was 100 nm spherical AuNPs (S-AuNPs) that were used for further studies. A fixed amount (900 μl) of S-AuNP (3.8 × 108 particles/ml) was conjugated with folic acid-BSA or methotrexate-BSA. Methotrexate on S-AuNP induced cellular toxicity and the optimum amount of methotrexate-BSA (2.83 mM) was 500 μl. Uptake of S-AuNPs was enhanced by folate conjugation that binds to folate receptors overexpressed by MDA-MB-231 and the optimum uptake was at 500 μl of folic acid-BSA (2.83 mM). TGF-β1 antibody on S-AuNP reduced extracellular TGF-β1 of cancer cells by 30%. Due to their efficacy and tunable properties, we anticipate numerous clinical applications of multifunctional gold nanospheres in treating breast cancer.

  14. Loading and release of doxorubicin with magnetic nanotubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bai, Xia; Wang, Xiang; Lee, Sang Bok [Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park (United States); English, Douglas [Dept. of Chemistry, Wichita State University, Wichita (United States)

    2015-03-15

    In this work, we study magnetic nanotubes (MNTs) as drug carriers to control the loading and release of doxorubicin (Dox). The inner surfaces of MNTs where Dox molecules are stored are modified with C18-silane and pyridine–silane. By tuning the interaction between the drug molecules and inner surfaces of MNTs via pH, Dox can be effectively encapsulated at pH 7.2 and released at pH 4.5. The successful loading of Dox is confirmed with confocal microscopy studies. The release profiles of Dox from modified MNTs are detected by spectrofluorophotometry, with bare MNTs as control. With proper modifications, MNTs can be used for pH-dependent, controlled release of drug molecules.

  15. Au/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures for the detection of cancer cells and anticancer drug activity by potential sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui, Jingjie; Xu, Ping; Li, Hong; Chen, Jing; Chen, Shaowei; Gao, Li

    2016-01-01

    Cancer is a cell dysfunction disease. The detection of cancer cells is extremely important for early diagnosis and clinical treatments. At present, the pretreatment for the detection of cancer cells is costly, complicated and time-consuming. As different species of the analytes may give rise to specific voltammetric signals at distinctly different potentials, simple potential sensing has the specificity to detect different cellular species. By taking advantage of the different electrochemical characteristics of normal cells, cancer cells and biointeractions between anticancer drugs and cancer cells, we develop a specific, sensitive, direct, cost-effective and rapid method for the detection of cancer cells by electrochemical potential sensing based on Au/TiO 2 nanobelt heterostructure electrodes that will be of significance in early cancer diagnosis, in vitro screening of anticancer drugs  and molecular biology research. (paper)

  16. Preparation, characterization and drug delivery study of a novel nanobiopolymeric multidrug delivery system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dadkhah Tehrani, Abbas, E-mail: A_dadkhahtehrani@yahoo.com; Parsamanesh, Masoumeh

    2017-04-01

    New nanocarrier for codelivery of curcumin and doxorubicin as the anticancer drugs was synthesized using biocompatible and biodegradable materials. Firstly, an inclusion complex of amylose (Am) and curcumin (CUR) was formed through entrapment of curcumin into the amylose helices. Then the surface of amylose-curcumin (Am-CUR) complex was modified by polycaprolactone (PCL) via esterification reaction between hydroxyl functional groups of amylose and carbonyl groups of PCL. Finally, poly citric acid (PCA) reacted with terminal hydroxyl groups of PCL by esterification reaction. Then, doxorubicin (DOX) reacted with the surface carboxylic acid functional groups of Am-CUR-PCL-PCA through noncovalent interactions to form Am-CUR-PCL-PCA-DOX as a multidrug delivery system. These new synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by spectroscopic measurement methods such as IR spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. FE-SEM analyses and DLS measurements showed that the hydrodynamic dimensions of Am-Cur-PCL-PCA were about 50 nm. Due to the presence of ester bonds, the synthesized nanomaterials are pH sensitive. Furthermore, the resulting copolymer was completely water soluble because of the hydrophilic nature of poly citric acid part of copolymer and therefore successfully can be utilized in biomedical applications. - Highlights: • A drug delivery system based on amylose-graft-PCL-PCA developed for codelivery of curcumin and DOX. • The IR and NMR spectra confirmed successful preparation of the copolymer. • The drugs release were more favorable at acidic pH for both drugs. • DLS measurements showed that the hydrodynamic dimensions of Am-Cur-PCL-PCA was about 50 nm.

  17. Chemical dissection of the cell cycle: probes for cell biology and anti-cancer drug development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senese, S; Lo, Y C; Huang, D; Zangle, T A; Gholkar, A A; Robert, L; Homet, B; Ribas, A; Summers, M K; Teitell, M A; Damoiseaux, R; Torres, J Z

    2014-10-16

    Cancer cell proliferation relies on the ability of cancer cells to grow, transition through the cell cycle, and divide. To identify novel chemical probes for dissecting the mechanisms governing cell cycle progression and cell division, and for developing new anti-cancer therapeutics, we developed and performed a novel cancer cell-based high-throughput chemical screen for cell cycle modulators. This approach identified novel G1, S, G2, and M-phase specific inhibitors with drug-like properties and diverse chemotypes likely targeting a broad array of processes. We further characterized the M-phase inhibitors and highlight the most potent M-phase inhibitor MI-181, which targets tubulin, inhibits tubulin polymerization, activates the spindle assembly checkpoint, arrests cells in mitosis, and triggers a fast apoptotic cell death. Importantly, MI-181 has broad anti-cancer activity, especially against BRAF(V600E) melanomas.

  18. RGD peptide-modified multifunctional dendrimer platform for drug encapsulation and targeted inhibition of cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xuedan; Alves, Carla S; Oliveira, Nilsa; Rodrigues, João; Zhu, Jingyi; Bányai, István; Tomás, Helena; Shi, Xiangyang

    2015-01-01

    Development of multifunctional nanoscale drug-delivery systems for targeted cancer therapy still remains a great challenge. Here, we report the synthesis of cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide-conjugated generation 5 (G5) poly(amidoamine) dendrimers for anticancer drug encapsulation and targeted therapy of cancer cells overexpressing αvβ3 integrins. In this study, amine-terminated G5 dendrimers were used as a platform to be sequentially modified with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FI) via a thiourea linkage and RGD peptide via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer, followed by acetylation of the remaining dendrimer terminal amines. The developed multifunctional dendrimer platform (G5.NHAc-FI-PEG-RGD) was then used to encapsulate an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). We show that approximately six DOX molecules are able to be encapsulated within each dendrimer platform. The formed complexes are water-soluble, stable, and able to release DOX in a sustained manner. One- and two-dimensional NMR techniques were applied to investigate the interaction between dendrimers and DOX, and the impact of the environmental pH on the release rate of DOX from the dendrimer/DOX complexes was also explored. Furthermore, cell biological studies demonstrate that the encapsulation of DOX within the G5.NHAc-FI-PEG-RGD dendrimers does not compromise the anticancer activity of DOX and that the therapeutic efficacy of the dendrimer/DOX complexes is solely related to the encapsulated DOX drug. Importantly, thanks to the role played by RGD-mediated targeting, the developed dendrimer/drug complexes are able to specifically target αvβ3 integrin-overexpressing cancer cells and display specific therapeutic efficacy to the target cells. The developed RGD peptide-targeted multifunctional dendrimers may thus be used as a versatile platform for targeted therapy of different types of αvβ3 integrin-overexpressing cancer cells. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Impact of the healthcare payment system on patient access to oral anticancer drugs: an illustration from the French and United States contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Oral anticancer drugs (OADs) allow treating a growing range of cancers. Despite their convenience, their acceptance by healthcare professionals and patients may be affected by medical, economical and organizational factors. The way the healthcare payment system (HPS) reimburses OADs or finances hospital activities may impact patients’ access to such drugs. We discuss how the HPS in France and USA may generate disincentives to the use of OADs in certain circumstances. Discussion French public and private hospitals are financed by National Health Insurance (NHI) according to the nature and volume of medical services provided annually. Patients receiving intravenous anticancer drugs (IADs) in a hospital setting generate services, while those receiving OADs shift a part of service provision from the hospital to the community. In 2013, two million outpatient IADs sessions were performed, representing a cost of €815 million to the NHI, but positive contribution margin of €86 million to hospitals. Substitution of IADs by OADs mechanically induces a shortfall in hospital income related to hospitalizations. Such economic constraints may partially contribute to making physicians reluctant to prescribe OADs. In the US healthcare system, coverage for OADs is less favorable than coverage for injectable anticancer drugs. In 2006, a Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act was adopted by several states in order to provide patients with better coverage for OADs. Nonetheless, the complexity of reimbursement systems and multiple reimbursement channels from private insurance represent real economic barriers which may prevent patients with low income being treated with OADs. From an organizational perspective, in both countries the use of OADs generates additional activities related to physician consultations, therapeutic education and healthcare coordination between hospitals and community settings, which are not considered in the funding of hospitals activities so far

  20. Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as an Anticancer Drug Resource.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akanksha Srivastava

    Full Text Available An increasing number of cancer patients worldwide, especially in third world countries, have raised concern to explore natural drug resources, such as the less explored fresh water filamentous cyanobacteria. Six strains of cyanobacteria (Phormidium sp. CCC727, Geitlerinema sp. CCC728, Arthrospira sp. CCC729, Phormidium sp. CCC731, Phormidium sp. CCC730, and Leptolyngbya sp. CCC732 were isolated (paddy fields and ponds in the Banaras Hindu University, campus and five strains screened for anticancer potential using human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29 and human kidney adenocarcinoma (A498 cancer cell lines. Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 were the most potent as determined by examination of morphological features and by inhibition of growth by graded concentrations of crude extracts and thin-layer chromatography (TLC eluates. Cell cycle analysis and multiplex assays using cancer biomarkers also confirmed Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as cancer drug resources. Apoptotic studies in the cells of A498 (cancer and MCF-10A (normal human epithelial exposed to crude extracts and TLC fractions revealed no significant impact on MCF-10A cells emphasizing its importance in the development of anticancer drug. Identification of biomolecules from these extracts are in progress.

  1. Fresh Water Cyanobacteria Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as an Anticancer Drug Resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Akanksha; Tiwari, Ratnakar; Srivastava, Vikas; Singh, Tej Bali; Asthana, Ravi Kumar

    2015-01-01

    An increasing number of cancer patients worldwide, especially in third world countries, have raised concern to explore natural drug resources, such as the less explored fresh water filamentous cyanobacteria. Six strains of cyanobacteria (Phormidium sp. CCC727, Geitlerinema sp. CCC728, Arthrospira sp. CCC729, Phormidium sp. CCC731, Phormidium sp. CCC730, and Leptolyngbya sp. CCC732) were isolated (paddy fields and ponds in the Banaras Hindu University, campus) and five strains screened for anticancer potential using human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29) and human kidney adenocarcinoma (A498) cancer cell lines. Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 were the most potent as determined by examination of morphological features and by inhibition of growth by graded concentrations of crude extracts and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) eluates. Cell cycle analysis and multiplex assays using cancer biomarkers also confirmed Geitlerinema sp. CCC728 and Arthrospira sp. CCC729 as cancer drug resources. Apoptotic studies in the cells of A498 (cancer) and MCF-10A (normal human epithelial) exposed to crude extracts and TLC fractions revealed no significant impact on MCF-10A cells emphasizing its importance in the development of anticancer drug. Identification of biomolecules from these extracts are in progress.

  2. Development and evaluation of pH-responsive single-walled carbon nanotube-doxorubicin complexes in cancer cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gu YJ

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Yan-Juan Gu1,2,*, Jinping Cheng2,*, Jiefu Jin3, Shuk Han Cheng2, Wing-Tak Wong11Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2Department of Biology and Chemistry, The City University of Hong Kong, 3Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs have been identified as an efficient drug carrier. Here a controlled drug-delivery system based on SWNTs coated with doxorubicin (DOX through hydrazone bonds was developed, because the hydrazone bond is more sensitive to tumor microenvironments than other covalent linkers. The SWNTs were firstly stabilized with polyethylene glycol (H2N-PEG-NH2. Hydrazinobenzoic acid (HBA was then covalently attached on SWNTs via carbodiimide-activated coupling reaction to form hydrazine-modified SWNTs. The anticancer drug DOX was conjugated to the HBA segments of SWNT using hydrazine as the linker. The resulting hydrazone bonds formed between the DOX molecules and the HBA segments of SWNTs are acid cleavable, thereby providing a strong pH-responsive drug release, which may facilitate effective DOX release near the acidic tumor microenvironment and thus reduce its overall systemic toxicity. The DOX-loaded SWNTs were efficiently taken up by HepG2 tumor cells, and DOX was released intracellularly, as revealed by MTT assay and confocal microscope observations. Compared with SWNT-DOX conjugate formed by supramolecular interaction, the SWNT-HBA-DOX featured high weight loading and prolonged release of DOX, and thus improved its cytotoxicity against cancer cells. This study suggests that while SWNTs have great potential as a drug carrier, the efficient formulation strategy requires further study.Keywords: carbon nanotubes, drug delivery, controlled release, SWNTs

  3. Endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced resistance to doxorubicin is reversed by paeonol treatment in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lulu Fan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress is generally activated in solid tumors and results in tumor cell anti-apoptosis and drug resistance. Paeonol (Pae, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone, is a natural product extracted from the root of Paeonia Suffruticosa Andrew. Although Pae displays anti-neoplastic activity and increases the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs in various cell lines and in animal models, studies related to the effect of Pae on ER stress-induced resistance to chemotherapeutic agents in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC are poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we investigated the effect of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress response during resistance of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells to doxorubicin. Treatment with the ER stress-inducer tunicamycin (TM before the addition of doxorubicin reduced the rate of apoptosis induced by doxorubicin. Interestingly, co-pretreatment with tunicamycin and Pae significantly increased apoptosis induced by doxorubicin. Furthermore, induction of ER stress resulted in increasing expression of COX-2 concomitant with inactivation of Akt and up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor CHOP (GADD153 in HepG2 cells. These cellular changes in gene expression and Akt activation may be an important resistance mechanism against doxorubicin in hepatocellular carcinoma cells undergoing ER stress. However, co-pretreatment with tunicamycin and Pae decreased the expression of COX-2 and levels of activation of Akt as well as increasing the levels of CHOP in HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that Pae reverses ER stress-induced resistance to doxorubicin in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells by targeting COX-2 mediated inactivation of PI3K/AKT/CHOP.

  4. pH-Switch Nanoprecipitation of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Multimodal Cancer Targeting and Intracellular Triggered Delivery of Doxorubicin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herranz-Blanco, Bárbara; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Ali; Correia, Alexandra R; Balasubramanian, Vimalkumar; Kohout, Tomáš; Hirvonen, Jouni; Santos, Hélder A

    2016-08-01

    Theranostic nanoparticles are emerging as potent tools for noninvasive diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of solid tumors. Herein, an advanced targeted and multistimuli responsive theranostic platform is presented for the intracellular triggered delivery of doxorubicin. The system consists of a polymeric-drug conjugate solid nanoparticle containing encapsulated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IO@PNP) and decorated with a tumor homing peptide, iRGD. The production of this nanosystem is based on a pH-switch nanoprecipitation method in organic-free solvents, making it ideal for biomedical applications. The nanosystem shows sufficient magnetization saturation for magnetically guided therapy along with reduced cytotoxicity and hemolytic effects. IO@PNP are largely internalized by endothelial and metastatic cancer cells and iRGD decorated IO@PNP moderately enhance their internalization into endothelial cells, while no enhancement is found for the metastatic cancer cells. Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(histidine) with pH-responsive and proton-sponge properties promotes prompt lysosomal escape once the nanoparticles are endocyted. In addition, the polymer-doxorubicin conjugate solid nanoparticles show both intracellular lysosomal escape and efficient translocation of doxorubicin to the nuclei of the cells via cleavage of the amide bond. Overall, IO@PNP-doxorubicin and the iRGD decorated counterpart demonstrate to enhance the toxicity of doxorubicin in cancer cells by improving the intracellular delivery of the drug carried in the IO@PNP. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Efficient Self-Assembly of mPEG End-Capped Porous Silica as a Redox-Sensitive Nanocarrier for Controlled Doxorubicin Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anh Khoa Nguyen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Porous nanosilica (PNS has been regarded as a promising candidate for controlled delivery of anticancer drugs. Unmodified PNS-based nanocarriers, however, showed a burst release of encapsulated drugs, which may limit their clinical uses. In this report, PNS was surface conjugated with adamantylamine (ADA via disulfide bridges (-SS-, PNS-SS-ADA, which was further modified with cyclodextrin-poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether conjugate (CD-mPEG to form a core@shell structure PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG for redox triggered delivery of doxorubicin (DOX, DOX/PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG. The prepared PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG nanoparticles were spherical in shape with an average diameter of 55.5 ± 3.05 nm, a little larger than their parentally PNS nanocarriers, at 49.6 ± 2.56 nm. In addition, these nanoparticles possessed high drug loading capacity, at 79.2 ± 3.2%, for controlled release. The release of DOX from DOX/PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG nanoparticles was controlled and prolonged up to 120 h in PBS medium (pH 7.4, compared to less than 40 h under reducing condition of 5 mM DTT. Notably, the PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG was a biocompatible nanocarrier, and the toxicity of DOX was dramatically reduced after loading drugs into the porous core. This redox-sensitive PNS-SS-ADA@CD-mPEG nanoparticle could be considered a potential candidate with high drug loading capacity and a lower risk of systemic toxicity.

  6. Intracellular trafficking of a pH-responsive drug metal complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kheirolomoom, Azadeh; Ingham, Elizabeth S; Commisso, Joel; Abushaban, Neveen; Ferrara, Katherine W

    2016-12-10

    We previously developed a pH-responsive copper-doxorubicin (CuDox) cargo in lysolipid-based temperature-sensitive liposomes (LTSLs). The CuDox complex is released from the particle by elevated temperature; however, full release of doxorubicin from CuDox requires a reduced pH, such as that expected in lysosomes. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the cellular uptake and intracellular trafficking of the drug-metal complex in comparison with intact liposomes and free drug. We found that the CuDox complex was efficiently internalized by mammary carcinoma cells after release from LTSLs. Intracellular doxorubicin and copper were 6-fold and 5-fold greater, respectively, after a 0.5h incubation with the released CuDox complex, as compared to incubation with intact liposomes containing the complex. Total cellular doxorubicin fluorescence was similar following CuDox and free doxorubicin incubation. Imaging and mass spectrometry assays indicated that the CuDox complex was initially internalized intact but breaks down over time within cells, with intracellular copper decreasing more rapidly than intracellular doxorubicin. Doxorubicin fluorescence was reduced when complexed with copper, and nuclear fluorescence was reduced when cells were incubated with the CuDox complex as compared with free doxorubicin. Therapeutic efficacy, which typically results from intercalation of doxorubicin with DNA, was equivalent for the CuDox complex and free doxorubicin and was superior to that of liposomal doxorubicin formulations. Taken together, the results suggest that quenched CuDox reaches the nucleus and remains efficacious. In order to design protocols for the use of these temperature-sensitive particles in cancer treatment, the timing of hyperthermia relative to drug administration must be examined. When cells were heated to 42°C prior to the addition of free doxorubicin, nuclear drug accumulation increased by 1.8-fold in cancer cells after 5h, and cytotoxicity increased 1

  7. Doxorubicin alone versus intensified doxorubicin plus ifosfamide for first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Judson, Ian; Verweij, Jaap; Gelderblom, Hans

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Effective targeted treatment is unavailable for most sarcomas and doxorubicin and ifosfamide-which have been used to treat soft-tissue sarcoma for more than 30 years-still have an important role. Whether doxorubicin alone or the combination of doxorubicin and ifosfamide should be used...

  8. Control of doxorubicin release from magnetic Poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles by application of a non-permanent magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peça, Inês N. [Universidade Nova de Lisboa, LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Portugal); Bicho, A.; Gardner, Rui [Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Portugal); Cardoso, M. Margarida, E-mail: margarida.cardoso@fct.unl.pt [Universidade Nova de Lisboa, LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (Portugal)

    2015-11-15

    This work studied the effect of the application time of a non-permanent magnetic field on the rate of drug release from iron oxide polymeric nanoparticles. Magnetically responsive doxorubicin loaded poly(d-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were synthetized by the o/w solvent extraction/evaporation method and characterized. The produced particles show spherical shapes exhibiting a size between 200 and 400 nm, a drug loading of 3.6 % (w/w) and an iron concentration of 20.7 % (w/w). Cell cytotoxicity tests showed that unloaded magnetic PLGA nanoparticles were nontoxic. Concerning the therapeutic activity, doxorubicin-loaded magnetic particles cause a remarkable enhancement of the cell inhibition rates compared to their non-magnetic counterparts (40 against 7 % of dead cells). In vitro drug release studies performed under a non-permanent magnetic field show that the application time and the on/off cycle duration have a great influence with respect to the final amount and to the rate of drug release. The final amount and the rate of doxorubicin released increase with the time of field application reaching higher values for a higher number of pulses with a lower duration. Doxorubicin release mechanism has shown to be governed by Fickian diffusion in the absence of a magnetic field while in the presence of a magnetic field some controlled relaxation polymer chains might also be present. The results show that the drug release rate from magnetic PLGA nanoparticles can be modulated through the application time and the on/off cycles duration of a non-permanent magnetic field.

  9. Doxorubicin-anti-carcinoembryonic antigen immunoconjugate activity in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, V J; Ford, C H; Tsaltas, G; Gallant, M E

    1989-04-01

    An in vitro model consisting of a series of 11 human cancer cell lines with varying density of expression of membrane carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been used to evaluate conjugates of doxorubicin (Adriamycin) covalently linked by a carbodiimide method to goat polyclonal antibodies and mouse monoclonal antibodies to CEA. Conjugates were produced which retained both antigen binding and drug cytotoxicity. IC50 values were determined for free drug, free drug mixed with unconjugated antibodies and for the immunoconjugates. Cell lines that were very sensitive to free drug (IC50 less than 100 ng/ml) were also found to be highly sensitive to conjugated drug and similarly cell lines resistant to drug (IC50 greater than 1,000 ng/ml) were also resistant to conjugated drug. Although there was no correlation between CEA expression and conjugates efficacy, competitive inhibition studies using autologous antibody to block conjugate binding to cells indicated immunoconjugates specificity for the CEA target.

  10. Antimicrobial and anticancer activities of extracts from Urginea ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Increasing antibiotic resistance among human pathogenic microorganisms and the failure of conventional cancer therapies attracting great attention among scientists in the field of herbal medicine to develop natural antimicrobial and anticancer drugs. Thus, the antimicrobial and anticancer activities from fruits ...

  11. Anticancer Effect of AntiMalarial Artemisinin Compounds | Das ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A PubMed search of about 127 papers on anti‑cancer effects of antimalarials has revealed that this class of drug, including other antimalarials, have several biological characteristics that include anticancer properties. ... Keywords: Anticancer agents, Antimalarials, Antitumor activity, Artemisinins, Novel chemotherapy ...

  12. Individualization of anticancer therapy; molecular targets of novel drugs in oncology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Regulska

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Deregulation of cellular signal transduction, caused by gene mutations, has been recognized as a basic factor of cancer initiation, promotion and progression. Thus, the ability to control the activity of overstimulated signal molecules by the use of appropriate inhibitors became the idea of targeted cancer therapy, which has provided an effective tool to normalize the molecular disorders in malignant cells and to treat certain types of cancer. The molecularly targeted drugs are divided into two major pharmaceutical classes: monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule kinase inhibitors. This review presents a summary of their characteristics, analyzing their chemical structures, specified molecular targets, mechanisms of action and indications for use. Also the molecules subjected to preclinical trials or phase I, II and III clinical trials evaluating their efficiency and safety are presented. Moreover, the article discusses further perspectives for development of targeted therapies focusing on three major directions: systematic searching and discovery of new targets that are oncogenic drivers, improving the pharmacological properties of currently known drugs, and developing strategies to overcome drug resistance. Finally, the role of proper pharmacodiagnostics as a key to rational anticancer therapy has been emphasized since the verification of reliable predictive biomarkers is a basis of individualized medicine in oncology. 

  13. Ingenious pH-sensitive dextran/mesoporous silica nanoparticles based drug delivery systems for controlled intracellular drug release.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Liu, Jia; Kuang, Ying; Li, Qilin; Zheng, Di-Wei; Song, Qiongfang; Chen, Hui; Chen, Xueqin; Xu, Yanglin; Li, Cao; Jiang, Bingbing

    2017-05-01

    In this work, dextran, a polysaccharide with excellent biocompatibility, is applied as the "gatekeeper" to fabricate the pH-sensitive dextran/mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) based drug delivery systems for controlled intracellular drug release. Dextran encapsulating on the surface of MSNs is oxidized by NaIO 4 to obtain three kinds of dextran dialdehydes (PADs), which are then coupled with MSNs via pH-sensitive hydrazone bond to fabricate three kinds of drug carriers. At pH 7.4, PADs block the pores to prevent premature release of anti-cancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). However, in the weakly acidic intracellular environment (pH∼5.5) the hydrazone can be ruptured; and the drug can be released from the carriers. The drug loading capacity, entrapment efficiency and release rates of the drug carriers can be adjusted by the amount of NaIO 4 applied in the oxidation reaction. And from which DOX@MSN-NH-N=C-PAD 10 is chosen as the most satisfactory one for the further in vitro cytotoxicity studies and cellular uptake studies. The results demonstrate that DOX@MSN-NH-N=C-PAD 10 with an excellent pH-sensitivity can enter HeLa cells to release DOX intracellular due to the weakly acidic pH intracellular and kill the cells. In our opinion, the ingenious pH-sensitive drug delivery systems have application potentials for cancer therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Plasmonic nanocarrier grid-enhanced Raman sensor for studies of anticancer drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurzątkowska, Katarzyna; Santiago, Ty; Hepel, Maria

    2017-05-15

    Targeted drug delivery systems using nanoparticle nanocarriers offer remarkable promise for cancer therapy by discriminating against devastating cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs to healthy cells. To aid in the development of new drug nanocarriers, we propose a novel plasmonic nanocarrier grid-enhanced Raman sensor which can be applied for studies and testing of drug loading onto the nanocarriers, attachment of targeting ligands, dynamics of drug release, assessment of nanocarrier stability in biological environment, and general capabilities of the nanocarrier. The plasmonic nanogrid sensor offers strong Raman enhancement due to the overlapping plasmonic fields emanating from the nearest-neighbor gold nanoparticle nanocarriers and creating the enhancement "hot spots". The sensor has been tested for immobilization of an anticancer drug gemcitabine (2',2'-difluoro-2'-deoxycytidine, GEM) which is used in treatment of pancreatic tumors. The drawbacks of currently applied treatment include high systemic toxicity, rapid drug decay, and low efficacy (ca. 20%). Therefore, the development of a targeted GEM delivery system is highly desired. We have demonstrated that the proposed nanocarrier SERS sensor can be utilized to investigate attachment of targeting ligands to nanocarriers (attachment of folic acid ligand recognized by folate receptors of cancer cells is described). Further testing of the nanocarrier SERS sensor involved drug release induced by lowering pH and increasing GSH levels, both occurring in cancer cells. The proposed sensor can be utilized for a variety of drugs and targeting ligands, including those which are Raman inactive, since the linkers can act as the Raman markers, as illustrated with mercaptobenzoic acid and para-aminothiophenol. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Magnetic Graphene Oxide for Dual Targeted Delivery of Doxorubicin and Photothermal Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Jen Lu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available To develop a pH-sensitive dual targeting magnetic nanocarrier for chemo-phototherapy in cancer treatment, we prepared magnetic graphene oxide (MGO by depositing Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles on graphene oxide (GO through chemical co-precipitation. MGO was modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG and cetuximab (CET, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR monoclonal antibody to obtain MGO-PEG-CET. Since EGFR was highly expressed on the tumor cell surface, MGO-PEG-CET was used for dual targeted delivery an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX. The physico-chemical properties of MGO-PEG-CET were fully characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and superconducting quantum interference device. Drug loading experiments revealed that DOX adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm with a maximal drug loading capacity of 6.35 mg/mg, while DOX release was pH-dependent with more DOX released at pH 5.5 than pH 7.4. Using quantum-dots labeled nanocarriers and confocal microscopy, intracellular uptakes of MGO-PEG-CET by high EGFR-expressing CT-26 murine colorectal cells was confirmed to be more efficient than MGO. This cellular uptake could be inhibited by pre-incubation with CET, which confirmed the receptor-mediated endocytosis of MGO-PEG-CET. Magnetic targeted killing of CT-26 was demonstrated in vitro through magnetic guidance of MGO-PEG-CET/DOX, while the photothermal effect could be confirmed in vivo and in vitro after exposure of MGO-PEG-CET to near-infrared (NIR laser light. In addition, the biocompatibility tests indicated MGO-PEG-CET showed no cytotoxicity toward fibroblasts and elicited minimum hemolysis. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 value of MGO-PEG-CET/DOX toward CT-26 cells was 1.48 µg/mL, which was lower than that of MGO-PEG/DOX (2.64 µg/mL. The IC50 value could be further

  16. Determination of trace level of palladium and platinum content in anticancer drug Imatinib base by ICP-MS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadav, Ravi; Salunke-Gawali, Sunita

    2013-01-01

    Metal impurities in Pharmaceutical drug substance is of great concern not only because of the intrinsic toxicity of certain contaminants but also due to the opposite effect that the contaminants which may have on drug stability and shelf life. Therefore it is necessary to monitor the organic as well as inorganic impurities throughout the process of manufacturing process at every stage from raw material, intermediate and finished products. An Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) method has been developed for Palladium and Platinum content in the anticancer drug, Imatinib mesylate. Rhodium (Rh) was used as internal standard for determination of Palladium and Platinum content on in Imatinib mesylate. (author)

  17. Genetic tests for predicting the toxicity and efficacy of anticancer chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mladosievicova, B; Carter, A; Kristova, V

    2007-01-01

    The standard anticancer therapy based "on one size fits all" modality has been determined to be ineffective or to be the cause of adverse drug reactions in many oncologic patients. Most pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic studies so far have been focused on toxicity of anticancer drugs such as 6-mercaptopurine, thioguanine, irinotecan, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Variation in genes are known to influence not only toxicity, but also efficacy of chemotherapeutics such as platinum analogues, 5-FU and irinotecan. The majority of current pharmacogenetic studies focus on single enzyme deficiencies as predictors of drug effects; however effects of most anticancer drugs are determined by the interplay of several gene products. These effects are polygenic in nature. This review briefly describes genetic variations that may impact efficacy and toxicity of drugs used in cancer chemotherapy.

  18. Substrate Stiffness Influences Doxorubicin-Induced p53 Activation via ROCK2 Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takahiro Ebata

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The physical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM, such as stiffness, are involved in the determination of the characteristics of cancer cells, including chemotherapy sensitivity. Resistance to chemotherapy is often linked to dysfunction of tumor suppressor p53; however, it remains elusive whether the ECM microenvironment interferes with p53 activation in cancer cells. Here, we show that, in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, extracellular stiffness influences p53 activation induced by the antitumor drug doxorubicin. Cell growth inhibition by doxorubicin was increased in response to ECM rigidity in a p53-dependent manner. The expression of Rho-associated coiled coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK 2, which induces the activation of myosin II, was significantly higher when cells were cultured on stiffer ECM substrates. Knockdown of ROCK2 expression or pharmacological inhibition of ROCK decreased doxorubicin-induced p53 activation. Our results suggest that a soft ECM causes downregulation of ROCK2 expression, which drives resistance to chemotherapy by repressing p53 activation.

  19. Nanoreporter PET predicts the efficacy of anti-cancer nanotherapy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pérez-Medina, Carlos; Abdel-Atti, Dalya; Tang, Jun; Zhao, Yiming; Fayad, Zahi A.; Lewis, Jason S.; Mulder, Willem J. M.; Reiner, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    The application of nanoparticle drug formulations, such as nanoliposomal doxorubicin (Doxil), is increasingly integrated in clinical cancer care. Despite nanomedicine's remarkable potential and growth over the last three decades, its clinical benefits for cancer patients vary. Here we report a

  20. Targeted drug delivery nanosystems based on copolymer poly(lactide)-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate for cancer treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Phuong Thu; Nguyen, Hoai Nam; Do, Hai Doan; Phan, Quoc Thong; Thi, Minh Nguyet Tran; Nguyen, Xuan Phuc; Thi, My Nhung Hoang; Le, Mai Huong; Nguyen, Linh Toan; Bui, Thuc Quang; Phan, Van Hieu

    2016-01-01

    Along with the development of nanotechnology, drug delivery nanosystems (DDNSs) have attracted a great deal of concern among scientists over the world, especially in cancer treatment. DDNSs not only improve water solubility of anticancer drugs but also increase therapeutic efficacy and minimize the side effects of treatment methods through targeting mechanisms including passive and active targeting. Passive targeting is based on the nano-size of drug delivery systems while active targeting is based on the specific bindings between targeting ligands attached on the drug delivery systems and the unique receptors on the cancer cell surface. In this article we present some of our results in the synthesis and testing of DDNSs prepared from copolymer poly(lactide)-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (PLA-TPGS), which carry anticancer drugs including curcumin, paclitaxel and doxorubicin. In order to increase the targeting effect to cancer cells, active targeting ligand folate was attached to the DDNSs. The results showed copolymer PLA-TPGS to be an excellent carrier for loading hydrophobic drugs (curcumin and paclitaxel). The fabricated DDNSs had a very small size (50–100 nm) and enhanced the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of drugs. Most notably, folate-decorated paclitaxel-loaded copolymer PLA-TPGS nanoparticles (Fol/PTX/PLA-TPGS NPs) were tested on tumor-bearing nude mice. During the treatment time, Fol/PTX/PLA-TPGS NPs always exhibited the best tumor growth inhibition compared to free paclitaxel and paclitaxel-loaded copolymer PLA-TPGS nanoparticles. All results evidenced the promising potential of copolymer PLA-TPGS in fabricating targeted DDNSs for cancer treatment. (paper)

  1. Targeted drug delivery nanosystems based on copolymer poly(lactide)-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate for cancer treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thu Ha, Phuong; Nguyen, Hoai Nam; Doan Do, Hai; Thong Phan, Quoc; Nguyet Tran Thi, Minh; Phuc Nguyen, Xuan; Nhung Hoang Thi, My; Huong Le, Mai; Nguyen, Linh Toan; Quang Bui, Thuc; Hieu Phan, Van

    2016-03-01

    Along with the development of nanotechnology, drug delivery nanosystems (DDNSs) have attracted a great deal of concern among scientists over the world, especially in cancer treatment. DDNSs not only improve water solubility of anticancer drugs but also increase therapeutic efficacy and minimize the side effects of treatment methods through targeting mechanisms including passive and active targeting. Passive targeting is based on the nano-size of drug delivery systems while active targeting is based on the specific bindings between targeting ligands attached on the drug delivery systems and the unique receptors on the cancer cell surface. In this article we present some of our results in the synthesis and testing of DDNSs prepared from copolymer poly(lactide)-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (PLA-TPGS), which carry anticancer drugs including curcumin, paclitaxel and doxorubicin. In order to increase the targeting effect to cancer cells, active targeting ligand folate was attached to the DDNSs. The results showed copolymer PLA-TPGS to be an excellent carrier for loading hydrophobic drugs (curcumin and paclitaxel). The fabricated DDNSs had a very small size (50-100 nm) and enhanced the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of drugs. Most notably, folate-decorated paclitaxel-loaded copolymer PLA-TPGS nanoparticles (Fol/PTX/PLA-TPGS NPs) were tested on tumor-bearing nude mice. During the treatment time, Fol/PTX/PLA-TPGS NPs always exhibited the best tumor growth inhibition compared to free paclitaxel and paclitaxel-loaded copolymer PLA-TPGS nanoparticles. All results evidenced the promising potential of copolymer PLA-TPGS in fabricating targeted DDNSs for cancer treatment.

  2. Tumor vessel normalization by the PI3K inhibitor HS-173 enhances drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Soo Jung; Jung, Kyung Hee; Son, Mi Kwon; Park, Jung Hee; Yan, Hong Hua; Fang, Zhenghuan; Kang, Yeo Wool; Han, Boreum; Lim, Joo Han; Hong, Soon-Sun

    2017-09-10

    Tumor vessels are leaky and immature, which causes poor oxygen and nutrient supply to tumor vessels and results in cancer cell metastasis to distant organs. This instability of tumor blood vessels also makes it difficult for anticancer drugs to penetrate and reach tumors. Numerous tumor vessel normalization approaches have been investigated for improving drug delivery into tumors. In this study, we investigated whether phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors are able to improve vascular structure and function over the prolonged period necessary to achieve effective vessel normalization. The PI3K inhibitors, HS-173 and BEZ235 potently suppressed tumor growth and hypoxia, and increased tumor apoptosis in animal models. PI3K inhibitors also induced a regular, flat monolayer of endothelial cells (ECs) in vessels, improving stability of vessel structure, and normalized tumor vessels by increasing vascular maturity, pericyte coverage, basement membrane thickness, and tight-junctions. These effects resulted in a decrease in tumor vessel tortuosity and vessel thinning, and improved vessel function and blood flow. The tumor vessel stabilization effect of the PI3K inhibitor HS-173 also decreased the number of metastatic lung nodules in vivo metastasis model. Furthermore, HS-173 improved the delivery of doxorubicin into the tumor region, enhancing its anticancer effects. Mechanistic studies suggested that PI3K inhibitor HS-173-induced vessel normalization reflected changes in endothelial Notch signaling. Taken together, our findings indicate that vessel normalization by PI3K inhibitors restrained tumor growth and metastasis while improving chemotherapy by enhancing drug delivery into the tumor, suggesting that HS-173 may have a therapeutic value as an enhancer or an anticancer drug. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Optimized protocol for the radioiodination of hydrazone-type polymer drug delivery systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sedláček, Ondřej; Kučka, Jan; Hrubý, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Hydrazone conjugates of polymers with doxorubicin represent a very promising tool for cancer chemotherapy. However, these conjugates are very difficult to radiolabel with iodine radionuclides, which possess otherwise very advantageous nuclear properties to, e.g., follow biodistribution. In this study, we developed a robust protocol for the high-yield radioiodination of hydrazone-type drug delivery systems with doxorubicin. In particular, it is crucial that the polymer radioiodination step be performed before the deprotection of the hydrazide and doxorubicin binding. - Highlights: • Hydrazone-type drug delivery systems with doxorubicin were radioiodinated. • Radioiodination was performed via polymer-bound phenolic moiety. • Radioiodination step must be performed before deprotection and drug binding

  4. Ceramic core with polymer corona hybrid nanocarrier for the treatment of osteosarcoma with co-delivery of protein and anti-cancer drug

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ram Prasad, S.; Sampath Kumar, T. S.; Jayakrishnan, A.

    2018-01-01

    For the treatment of metastatic bone cancer, local delivery of therapeutic agents is preferred compared to systemic administration. Delivery of an anti-cancer drug and a protein that helps in bone regeneration simultaneously is a challenging approach. In this study, a nanoparticulate carrier which delivers a protein and an anti-cancer drug is reported. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein was loaded into hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles (NPs) and methotrexate (MTX) conjugated to poly(vinyl alcohol) was coated onto BSA-loaded HA NPs. Coating efficiency was in the range of 10-17 wt%. In vitro drug release showed that there was a steady increase in the release of both BSA and MTX with 76% of BSA and 88% of MTX being released in 13 days. Cytotoxicity studies of the NPs performed using human osteosarcoma (OMG-63) cell line showed the NPs were highly biocompatible and exhibited anti-proliferative activity in a concentration-dependent manner.

  5. The impact of quality-of-life data in relative effectiveness assessments of new anti-cancer drugs in European countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kleijnen, Sarah; Meneses Leonardo Alves, Teresa; Meijboom, Kim; Lipska, Iga; De Boer, Anthonius; Leufkens, Hubertus G; Goettsch, Wim G

    PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of health-related quality-of-life (QoL) data in relative effectiveness assessments (REAs) of new anti-cancer drugs across European jurisdictions, during health technology assessment procedures. METHODS: Comparative analysis of guidelines and

  6. Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin–graphene oxide conjugates: Carriers for anti-cancer drugs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, Jingting; Meng, Na; Fan, Yunting; Su, Yutian; Zhang, Ming [Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Biological Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023 (China); National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biofunctional Materials, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Function Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Xiao, Yinghong, E-mail: yhxiao@njnu.edu.cn [Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Biological Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023 (China); National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biofunctional Materials, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Function Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Zhou, Ninglin, E-mail: zhouninglin@njnu.edu.cn [Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Biological Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023 (China); National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biofunctional Materials, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Function Materials, Nanjing 210023 (China); Nanjing Zhou Ninglin Advanced Materials Technology Company Limited, Nanjing 211505 (China)

    2016-04-01

    A novel drug carrier based on hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) modified carboxylated graphene oxide (GO-COOH) was designed to incorporate anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (PTX). The formulated nanomedicines were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results showed that PTX can be incorporated into GO-COO-HP-β-CD nanospheres successfully, with an average diameter of about 100 nm. The solubility and stability of PTX-loaded GO-COO-HP-β-CD nanospheres in aqueous media were greatly enhanced compared with the untreated PTX. The results of hemolysis test demonstrated that the drug-loaded nanospheres were qualified with good blood compatibility for intravenous use. In vitro anti-tumor activity was measured and results demonstrated that the incorporation of PTX into the newly developed GO-COO-HP-β-CD carrier could confer significantly improved cytotoxicity to the nanosystem against tumor cells than single application of PTX. GO-COO-HP-β-CD nanospheres may represent a promising formulation platform for a broad range of therapeutic agent, especially those with poor solubility. - Highlights: • Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) modified carboxylated graphene oxide (GO-COOH) was designed as a drug carrier. • The prepared PTX-loaded nanospheres can be dispersed in aqueous medium stably. • The GO-COO-HP-β-CD nanospheres are safe for blood-contact applications. • This newly developed PTX-delivery system could confer significantly improved cytotoxicity against tumor cells.

  7. Cytotoxicity Enhancement in Breast Cancer Cells with Carbonate Apatite-Facilitated Intracellular Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatemian, Tahereh; Chowdhury, Ezharul Hoque

    2018-01-01

    Pharmacotherapy as the mainstay in the management of breast cancer has demonstrated various drawbacks, including non-targeted bio distribution and narrow therapeutic and safety windows. Thus, enhancements in pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles of the classical anti-cancer drugs could lead to improved efficacy against cancer cells. Therefore, inorganic pH-dependent carbonate apatite (CA) nanoparticles were utilized to efficiently deliver various drugs into cancer cells. Following characterization and various modifications in the structure of CA complexes with different drugs, lifted outcomes were achieved. Markedly, complexing paclitaxel with CA resulted in 20.71 ± 4.34% loading efficiency together with 24.14 ± 2.21% enhancement in cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cells plus superior in vivo anti-tumour efficacy compared to free paclitaxel. PMID:29401738

  8. Cytotoxicity Enhancement in Breast Cancer Cells with Carbonate Apatite-Facilitated Intracellular Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahereh Fatemian

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Pharmacotherapy as the mainstay in the management of breast cancer has demonstrated various drawbacks, including non-targeted bio distribution and narrow therapeutic and safety windows. Thus, enhancements in pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles of the classical anti-cancer drugs could lead to improved efficacy against cancer cells. Therefore, inorganic pH-dependent carbonate apatite (CA nanoparticles were utilized to efficiently deliver various drugs into cancer cells. Following characterization and various modifications in the structure of CA complexes with different drugs, lifted outcomes were achieved. Markedly, complexing paclitaxel with CA resulted in 20.71 ± 4.34% loading efficiency together with 24.14 ± 2.21% enhancement in cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cells plus superior in vivo anti-tumour efficacy compared to free paclitaxel.

  9. Gold-Based Medicine: A Paradigm Shift in Anti-Cancer Therapy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, Chien Ing; Ooi, Kah Kooi; Tiekink, Edward R T

    2018-06-11

    A new era of metal-based drugs started in the 1960s, heralded by the discovery of potent platinum-based complexes, commencing with cisplatin [(H₃N)₂PtCl₂], which are effective anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drugs. While clinical applications of gold-based drugs largely relate to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, attention has turned to the investigation of the efficacy of gold(I) and gold(III) compounds for anti-cancer applications. This review article provides an account of the latest research conducted during the last decade or so on the development of gold compounds and their potential activities against several cancers as well as a summary of possible mechanisms of action/biological targets. The promising activities and increasing knowledge of gold-based drug metabolism ensures that continued efforts will be made to develop gold-based anti-cancer agents.

  10. Development and characterization of multifunctional nanoparticles for drug delivery to cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahire, Rahul Rajaram

    Lipid and polymeric nanoparticles, although proven to be effective drug delivery systems compared to free drugs, have shown considerable limitations pertaining to their uptake and release at tumor sites. Spatial and temporal control over the delivery of anticancer drugs has always been challenge to drug delivery scientists. Here, we have developed and characterized multifunctional nanoparticles (liposomes and polymersomes) which are targeted specifically to cancer cells, and release their contents with tumor specific internal triggers. To enable these nanoparticles to be tracked in blood circulation, we have imparted them with echogenic characteristic. Echogenicity of nanoparticles is evaluated using ultrasound scattering and imaging experiments. Nanoparticles demonstrated effective release with internal triggers such as elevated levels of MMP-9 enzyme found in the extracellular matrix of tumor cells, decreased pH of lysosome, and differential concentration of reducing agents in cytosol of cancer cells. We have also successfully demonstrated the sensitivity of these particles towards ultrasound to further enhance the release with internal triggers. To ensure the selective uptake by folate receptor- overexpressing cancer cells, we decorated these nanoparticles with folic acid on their surface. Fluorescence microscopic images showed significantly higher uptake of folate-targeted nanoparticles by MCF-7 (breast cancer) and PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer) cells compared to particles without any targeting ligand on their surface. To demonstrate the effectiveness of these nanoparticles to carry the drugs inside and kill cancer cells, we encapsulated doxorubicin and/or gemcitabine employing the pH gradient method. Drug loaded nanoparticles showed significantly higher killing of the cancer cells compared to their non-targeted counterparts and free drugs. With further development, these nanoparticles certainly have potential to be used as a multifunctional nanocarriers for image

  11. Multiple polysaccharide-drug complex-loaded liposomes: A unique strategy in drug loading and cancer targeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruttala, Hima Bindu; Ramasamy, Thiruganesh; Gupta, Biki; Choi, Han-Gon; Yong, Chul Soon; Kim, Jong Oh

    2017-10-01

    In the present study, a unique strategy was developed to develop nanocarriers containing multiple therapeutics with controlled release characteristics. In this study, we demonstrated the synthesis of dextran sulfate-doxorubicin (DS-DOX) and alginate-cisplatin (AL-CIS) polymer-drug complexes to produce a transferrin ligand-conjugated liposome. The targeted nanoparticles (TL-DDAC) were nano-sized and spherical. The targeted liposome exhibited a specific receptor-mediated endocytic uptake in cancer cells. The enhanced cellular uptake of TL-DDAC resulted in a significantly better anticancer effect in resistant and sensitive breast cancer cells compared to that of the free drugs. Specifically, DOX and CIS at a molar ratio of 1:1 exhibited better therapeutic performance compared to that of other combinations. The combination of an anthracycline-based topoisomerase II inhibitor (DOX) and a platinum compound (CIS) resulted in significantly higher cell apoptosis (early and late) in both types of cancer cells. In conclusion, treatment with DS-DOX and AL-CIS based combination liposomes modified with transferrin (TL-DDAC) was an effective cancer treatment strategy. Further investigation in clinically relevant animal models is warranted to prove the therapeutic efficacy of this unique strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Prediction of anticancer activity of aliphatic nitrosoureas using ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Design and development of new anticancer drugs with low toxicity is a very challenging task and computer aided methods are being increasingly used to solve this problem. In this study, we investigated the anticancer activity of aliphatic nitrosoureas using quantum chemical quantitative structure activity relation (QSAR) ...

  13. Outcomes analysis of an alternative formulation of PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin in recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma during the drug shortage era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berger JL

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Jessica L Berger, Ashlee Smith, Kristin K Zorn, Paniti Sukumvanich, Alexander B Olawaiye, Joseph Kelley, Thomas C Krivak Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Background: In response to the critical shortage of Doxil®, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA allowed temporary importation of non-FDA-approved second-generation liposomal doxorubicin, Lipo-Dox®. Lipo-Dox utilizes a different liposomal particle than Doxil and demonstrates different pharmacokinetic properties. Its use has never been evaluated in a North American population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Lipo-Dox at Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, for patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer who were treated during the Doxil shortage. Methods: Patients treated with Lipo-Dox from January 2012 to December 2012 were identified retrospectively. Disease response was defined radiographically by RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors or biochemically by CA-125 level if measurable disease was not present. Survival was defined from the start date of Lipo-Dox until the date of progression or death. Toxicity was assessed by the Gynecologic Oncology Group common toxicity criteria. Results: Eighteen patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer who received Lipo-Dox were identified. These patients had a median of three prior treatment regimens. The median number of Lipo-Dox cycles given was 3.5 (range 1–8. No patients had a complete or partial response. Two patients had stable disease over a mean follow-up of 144.5 days. Fourteen patients had progressive disease, with a median time to progression of 82 days. Progression was based on CA-125 in four patients and RECIST in the remainder. Nine patients died from the disease. Conclusion: Although this represents a small, pretreated population, there were no clinical

  14. Polyethylene glycol-conjugated chondroitin sulfate A derivative nanoparticles for tumor-targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jae-Young; Park, Ju-Hwan; Lee, Jeong-Jun; Lee, Song Yi; Chung, Suk-Jae; Cho, Hyun-Jong; Kim, Dae-Duk

    2016-10-20

    Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-decorated chondroitin sulfate A-deoxycholic acid (CSD) nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated for the selective delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) to ovarian cancer. CSD-PEG was synthesized via amide bond formation between the NH2 group of methoxypolyethylene glycol amine and the COOH group of CSD. CSD-PEG/DOX NPs with a 247nm mean diameter, negative zeta potential, and >90% drug encapsulation efficiency were prepared. Sustained and pH-dependent DOX release profiles from CSD-PEG NPs were observed in dissolution tests. Endocytosis of NPs by SKOV-3 cells (CD44 receptor-positive human ovarian cancer cells), based on the CSA-CD44 receptor interaction, was determined by flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies. PEGylation of NPs also resulted in reduced drug clearance (CL) in vivo and improved relative bioavailability, compared to non-PEGylated NPs, as determined by the pharmacokinetic study performed after intravenous administration in rats. Developed CSD-PEG NPs can be a promising delivery vehicle for the therapy of CD44 receptor-expressing ovarian cancers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of liposomes as potential carriers of anticancer drugs: spectroscopic study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pentak, Danuta

    2016-01-01

    Vesicle size and composition are a critical parameter for determining the circulation half-life of liposomes. Size influences the degree of drug encapsulation in liposomes. The geometry, size, and properties of liposomes in an aqueous environment have to be described to enable potential applications of liposome systems as drug carriers. The characteristics of multiple thermotropic phase transitions are also an important consideration in liposomes used for analytical and bioanalytical purposes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of liposomes which accommodate hydrophilic and amphiphilic drugs used in cancer therapy. The studied liposomes were prepared with the involvement of the modified reverse-phase evaporation method (mREV). The prepared liposomes had a diameter of 70–150 nm. The analyzed compounds were 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine, cyclophosphamide, and ifosfamide. In literature, there is no information about simultaneous incorporation of cytarabine, ifosfamide, and cyclophosphamide, in spite of the fact that these drugs have been used for more than 30 years. A combination of the examined drugs is used in CODOX-M/IVAC therapy. CODOX-M/IVAC (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, high-dose methotrexate/ifosfamide, etoposide, and high-dose cytarabine) is one of the currently preferred intensive-dose chemotherapy regimens for Burkitt lymphoma (BL). The present research demonstrates the pioneering studies of incorporation of ifosfamide into liposome vesicles, location of and competition between the analyzed drugs and liposome vesicles. The applied methods were nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Graphical Abstract.

  16. Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of liposomes as potential carriers of anticancer drugs: spectroscopic study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pentak, Danuta, E-mail: danuta.pentak@us.edu.pl [University of Silesia, Department of Materials Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Institute of Chemistry (Poland)

    2016-05-15

    Vesicle size and composition are a critical parameter for determining the circulation half-life of liposomes. Size influences the degree of drug encapsulation in liposomes. The geometry, size, and properties of liposomes in an aqueous environment have to be described to enable potential applications of liposome systems as drug carriers. The characteristics of multiple thermotropic phase transitions are also an important consideration in liposomes used for analytical and bioanalytical purposes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of liposomes which accommodate hydrophilic and amphiphilic drugs used in cancer therapy. The studied liposomes were prepared with the involvement of the modified reverse-phase evaporation method (mREV). The prepared liposomes had a diameter of 70–150 nm. The analyzed compounds were 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine, cyclophosphamide, and ifosfamide. In literature, there is no information about simultaneous incorporation of cytarabine, ifosfamide, and cyclophosphamide, in spite of the fact that these drugs have been used for more than 30 years. A combination of the examined drugs is used in CODOX-M/IVAC therapy. CODOX-M/IVAC (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, high-dose methotrexate/ifosfamide, etoposide, and high-dose cytarabine) is one of the currently preferred intensive-dose chemotherapy regimens for Burkitt lymphoma (BL). The present research demonstrates the pioneering studies of incorporation of ifosfamide into liposome vesicles, location of and competition between the analyzed drugs and liposome vesicles. The applied methods were nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Graphical Abstract.

  17. Amphiphilic polymeric micelles as the nanocarrier for peroral delivery of poorly soluble anticancer drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Ye; Mao, Shirui

    2012-06-01

    Many amphiphilic copolymers have recently been synthesized as novel promising micellar carriers for the delivery of poorly water-soluble anticancer drugs. Studies on the formulation and oral delivery of such micelles have demonstrated their efficacy in enhancing drug uptake and absorption, and exhibit prolonged circulation time in vitro and in vivo. In this review, literature on hydrophobic modifications of several hydrophilic polymers, including polyethylene glycol, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, pluronic and tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate, is summarized. Parameters influencing the properties of polymeric micelles for oral chemotherapy are discussed and strategies to overcome main barriers for polymeric micelles peroral absorption are proposed. During the design of polymeric micelles for peroral chemotherapy, selecting or synthesizing copolymers with good compatibility with the drug is an effective strategy to increase drug loading and encapsulation efficiency. Stability of the micelles can be improved in different ways. It is recommended to take permeability, mucoadhesion, sustained release, and P-glycoprotein inhibition into consideration during copolymer preparation or to consider adding some excipients in the formulation. Furthermore, both the copolymer structure and drug loading methods should be controlled in order to get micelles with appropriate particle size for better absorption.

  18. Marine Microalgae with Anti-Cancer Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez Andrade, Kevin A; Lauritano, Chiara; Romano, Giovanna; Ianora, Adrianna

    2018-05-15

    Cancer is the leading cause of death globally and finding new therapeutic agents for cancer treatment remains a major challenge in the pursuit for a cure. This paper presents an overview on microalgae with anti-cancer activities. Microalgae are eukaryotic unicellular plants that contribute up to 40% of global primary productivity. They are excellent sources of pigments, lipids, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and other fine chemicals, and there is an increasing demand for their use as nutraceuticals and food supplements. Some microalgae are also reported as having anti-cancer activity. In this review, we report the microalgal species that have shown anti-cancer properties, the cancer cell lines affected by algae and the concentrations of compounds/extracts tested to induce arrest of cell growth. We also report the mediums used for growing microalgae that showed anti-cancer activity and compare the bioactivity of these microalgae with marine anticancer drugs already on the market and in phase III clinical trials. Finally, we discuss why some microalgae can be promising sources of anti-cancer compounds for future development.

  19. Strain Analysis in the Assessment of a Mouse Model of Cardiotoxicity due to Chemotherapy: Sample for Preclinical Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rea, Domenica; Coppola, Carmela; Barbieri, Antonio; Monti, Maria Gaia; Misso, Gabriella; Palma, Giuseppe; Bimonte, Sabrina; Zarone, Mayra Rachele; Luciano, Antonio; Liccardo, Davide; Maiolino, Piera; Cittadini, Antonio; Ciliberto, Gennaro; Arra, Claudio; Maurea, Nicola

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, the development of more effective anticancer drugs has provided great benefits in patients' quality of life by improving both prognosis and disease-free survival. Nevertheless, the frequency and severity of side-effects, with particular reference to cardiac toxicity, have gained particular attention. The purpose of this study was to create a precise and sensitive preclinical model, able to identify early contractile dysfunction in mice treated with chemotherapy, through use of speckle-tracking echocardiography. We generated a mouse model of cardiotoxicity induced by doxorubicin. C57BL 6 mice were divided into two groups, treated for 7 days by intraperitoneal injections of placebo (vehicle) or doxorubicin (2.17 mg/kg), in order to characterize the cardiac phenotype in vivo. We demonstrated that doxorubicin caused ealy remodeling of the left ventricle: after two days of therapy, the radial, circumferential and strain rates were reduced respectively by 35%, 34%, and 39% (p-value ≤0.001). Moreover, histological analysis revealed that doxorubicin treatment increased fibrosis, cardiomyocyte diameter and apoptosis. In a murine model of doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury, we detected left ventricular dysfunction followed by alterations in conventional echocardiographic indices. Our study suggests that a change in strain could be an effective early marker of myocardial dysfunction for new anticancer treatments and, in preclinical studies, it might also be a valuable indicator for the assessment of activity of cardioprotective agents. Copyright © 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  20. Chemotherapeutic Effect of CD147 Antibody-labeled Micelles Encapsulating Doxorubicin Conjugate Targeting CD147-Expressing Carcinoma Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asakura, Tadashi; Yokoyama, Masayuki; Shiraishi, Koichi; Aoki, Katsuhiko; Ohkawa, Kiyoshi

    2018-03-01

    CD147 (basigin/emmprin) is expressed on the surface of carcinoma cells. For studying the efficacy of CD147-targeting medicine on CD147-expressing cells, we studied the effect of anti-CD147-labeled polymeric micelles (CD147ab micelles) that encapsulated a conjugate of doxorubicin with glutathione (GSH-DXR), with specific accumulation and cytotoxicity against CD147-expressing A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells, Ishikawa human endometrial adenocarcinoma cells, and PC3 human prostate carcinoma cells. By treatment of each cell type with CD147ab micelles for 1 h, a specific accumulation of CD147ab micelles in CD147-expressing cells was observed. In addition, the cytotoxicity of GSH-DXR-encapsulated micelles against each cell type was measured by treatment of the micelles for 1 h. The cytotoxic effect of CD147ab micelles carrying GSH-DXR was 3- to 10-fold higher for these cells than that of micelles without GSH-DXR. These results suggest that GSH-DXR-encapsulated CD147ab micelles could serve as an effective drug delivery system to CD147-expressing carcinoma cells. Copyright© 2018, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.