scholarly journals Targeted Dual Intervention-Oriented Drug-Encapsulated (DIODE) Nanoformulations for Improved Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1189
Author(s):  
Vijay Sagar Madamsetty ◽  
Krishnendu Pal ◽  
Shamit Kumar Dutta ◽  
Enfeng Wang ◽  
Debabrata Mukhopadhyay
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Targeted Delivery ◽  
Drug Loading ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Combination Therapies ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits

Despite recent advancements, effective treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has remained elusive. The overall survival rate in PDAC patients has been dismally low due to resistance to standard therapies. In fact, the failure of monotherapies to provide long-term survival benefits in patients led to ascension of several combination therapies for PDAC treatment. However, these combination therapies provided modest survival improvements while increasing treatment-related adverse side effects. Hence, recent developments in drug delivery methods hold the potential for enhancing therapeutic benefits by offering cocktail drug loading and minimizing chemotherapy-associated side effects. Nanoformulations-aided deliveries of anticancer agents have been a success in recent years. Yet, improving the tumor-targeted delivery of drugs to PDAC remains a major hurdle. In the present paper, we developed several new tumor-targeted dual intervention-oriented drug-encapsulated (DIODE) liposomes. We successfully formulated liposomes loaded with gemcitabine (G), paclitaxel (P), erlotinib (E), XL-184 (c-Met inhibitor, X), and their combinations (GP, GE, and GX) and evaluated their in vitro and in vivo efficacies. Our novel DIODE liposomal formulations improved median survival in comparison with gemcitabine-loaded liposomes or vehicle. Our findings are suggestive of the importance of the targeted delivery for combination therapies in improving pancreatic cancer treatment.

Current Status and Future Perspective for Research on Medicinal Plants with Anticancerous Activity and Minimum Cytotoxic Value

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1243
Author(s):  
Hina Qamar ◽  
Sumbul Rehman ◽  
D.K. Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Psidium Guajava ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
Wide Range

Cancer is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chemotherapy and radiotherapy enhance the survival rate of cancerous patients but they have several acute toxic effects. Therefore, there is a need to search for new anticancer agents having better efficacy and lesser side effects. In this regard, herbal treatment is found to be a safe method for treating and preventing cancer. Here, an attempt has been made to screen some less explored medicinal plants like Ammania baccifera, Asclepias curassavica, Azadarichta indica, Butea monosperma, Croton tiglium, Hedera nepalensis, Jatropha curcas, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Psidium guajava, etc. having potent anticancer activity with minimum cytotoxic value (IC50 >3μM) and lesser or negligible toxicity. They are rich in active phytochemicals with a wide range of drug targets. In this study, these medicinal plants were evaluated for dose-dependent cytotoxicological studies via in vitro MTT assay and in vivo tumor models along with some more plants which are reported to have IC50 value in the range of 0.019-0.528 mg/ml. The findings indicate that these plants inhibit tumor growth by their antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic molecular targets. They are widely used because of their easy availability, affordable price and having no or sometimes minimal side effects. This review provides a baseline for the discovery of anticancer drugs from medicinal plants having minimum cytotoxic value with minimal side effects and establishment of their analogues for the welfare of mankind.

The Effect of Phase Transition Temperature on Therapeutic Efficacy of Liposomal Bortezomib

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 700-708
Author(s):  
Mitra Korani ◽  
Sara Nikoofal-Sahlabadi ◽  
Amin R. Nikpoor ◽  
Solmaz Ghaffari ◽  
Hossein Attar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Therapeutic Efficacy ◽  
Drug Loading ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
In Vitro Cytotoxicity ◽  
Liposomal Formulations ◽  
Cytotoxicity Studies ◽  
Anti Tumor Activity

Aims: Here, three liposomal formulations of DPPC/DPPG/Chol/DSPE-mPEG2000 (F1), DPPC/DPPG/Chol (F2) and HSPC/DPPG/Chol/DSPE-mPEG2000 (F3) encapsulating BTZ were prepared and characterized in terms of their size, surface charge, drug loading, and release profile. Mannitol was used as a trapping agent to entrap the BTZ inside the liposomal core. The cytotoxicity and anti-tumor activity of formulations were investigated in vitro and in vivo in mice bearing tumor. Background: Bortezomib (BTZ) is an FDA approved proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma. The low solubility of BTZ has been responsible for the several side effects and low therapeutic efficacy of the drug. Encapsulating BTZ in a nano drug delivery system; helps overcome such issues. Among NDDSs, liposomes are promising diagnostic and therapeutic delivery vehicles in cancer treatment. Objective: Evaluating anti-tumor activity of bortezomib liposomal formulations. Methods: Data prompted us to design and develop three different liposomal formulations of BTZ based on Tm parameter, which determines liposomal stiffness. DPPC (Tm 41°C) and HSPC (Tm 55°C) lipids were chosen as variables associated with liposome rigidity. In vitro cytotoxicity assay was then carried out for the three designed liposomal formulations on C26 and B16F0, which are the colon and melanoma cancer mouse-cell lines, respectively. NIH 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line was also used as a normal cell line. The therapeutic efficacy of these formulations was further assessed in mice tumor models. Result: MBTZ were successfully encapsulated into all the three liposomal formulations with a high entrapment efficacy of 60, 64, and 84% for F1, F2, and F3, respectively. The findings showed that liposomes mean particle diameter ranged from 103.4 to 146.8nm. In vitro cytotoxicity studies showed that liposomal-BTZ formulations had higher IC50 value in comparison to free BTZ. F2-liposomes with DPPC, having lower Tm of 41°C, showed much higher anti-tumor efficacy in mice models of C26 and B16F0 tumors compared to F3-HSPC liposomes with a Tm of 55°C. F2 formulation also enhanced mice survival compared with untreated groups, either in BALB/c or in C57BL/6 mice. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that F2-DPPC-liposomal formulations prepared with Tm close to body temperature seem to be effective in reducing the side effects and increasing the therapeutic efficacy of BTZ and merits further investigation.

Recent Advances in Curcumin Nanocarriers for the Treatment of Different Types of Cancer with Special Emphasis on In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Cellular Uptake Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-590
Author(s):  
Jai B. Sharma ◽  
Shailendra Bhatt ◽  
Asmita Sharma ◽  
Manish Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cellular Uptake ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Targeted Delivery ◽  
In Vitro Cytotoxicity ◽  
Curcumin Nanoparticles ◽  
Cytotoxicity Studies ◽  
Delivery Technique ◽  
Different Types

Background: The potential use of nanocarriers is being explored rapidly for the targeted delivery of anticancer agents. Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound obtained from rhizomes of turmeric, belongs to family Zingiberaceae. It possesses chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activity with low toxicity in almost all types of cancer. The low solubility and bioavailability of curcumin make it unable to use for the clinical purpose. The necessity of an effective strategy to overcome the limitations of curcumin is responsible for the development of its nanocarriers. Objective: This study is aimed to review the role of curcumin nanocarriers for the treatment of cancer with special emphasis on cellular uptake and in vitro cytotoxicity studies. In addition to this, the effect of various ligand conjugated curcumin nanoparticles on different types of cancer was also studied. Methods: A systematic review was conducted by extensively surfing the PubMed, science direct and other portals to get the latest update on recent development in nanocarriers of curcumin. Results: The current data from recent studies showed that nanocarriers of curcumin resulted in the targeted delivery, higher efficacy, enhanced bioavailability and lower toxicity. The curcumin nanoparticles showed significant inhibitory effects on cancer cells as compared to free curcumin. Conclusion: It can be concluded that bioavailability of curcumin and its cytotoxic effect to cancer cells can be enhanced by the development of curcumin based nanocarriers and it was found to be a potential drug delivery technique for the treatment of cancer.

scholarly journals NR5A2 transcriptional activation by BRD4 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by upregulating GDF15

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Guo ◽  
Yingke Zhou ◽  
Hui Guo ◽  
Dianyun Ren ◽  
Xin Jin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽  
Gene Sets ◽  
And Migration

AbstractNR5A2 is a transcription factor regulating the expression of various oncogenes. However, the role of NR5A2 and the specific regulatory mechanism of NR5A2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are not thoroughly studied. In our study, Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to assess the expression levels of different molecules. Wound-healing, MTS, colony formation, and transwell assays were employed to evaluate the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer cells. We demonstrated that NR5A2 acted as a negative prognostic biomarker in PDAC. NR5A2 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. While NR5A2 overexpression markedly promoted both events in vitro. We further identified that NR5A2 was transcriptionally upregulated by BRD4 in pancreatic cancer cells and this was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-qPCR. Besides, transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to explore the cancer-promoting effects of NR5A2, we found that GDF15 is a component of multiple down-regulated tumor-promoting gene sets after NR5A2 was silenced. Next, we showed that NR5A2 enhanced the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing the transcription of GDF15. Collectively, our findings suggest that NR5A2 expression is induced by BRD4. In turn, NR5A2 activates the transcription of GDF15, promoting pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, NR5A2 and GDF15 could be promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.

scholarly journals Polymeric Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Delivery of 5-Fluorouracil In Vitro

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thashini Moodley ◽  
Moganavelli Singh
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Mesoporous Silica ◽  
Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Drug Loading ◽  
Hek293 Cells ◽  
Cancer Drug ◽  
Delivery Vehicles

There is a need for the improvement of conventional cancer treatment strategies by incorporation of targeted and non-invasive procedures aimed to reduce side-effects, drug resistance, and recurrent metastases. The anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is linked to a variety of induced-systemic toxicities due to its lack of specificity and potent administration regimens, necessitating the development of delivery vehicles that can enhance its therapeutic potential, while minimizing associated side-effects. Polymeric mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have gained popularity as delivery vehicles due to their high loading capacities, biocompatibility, and good pharmacokinetics. MSNs produced in this study were functionalized with the biocompatible polymers, chitosan, and poly(ethylene)glycol to produce monodisperse NPs of 36–65 nm, with a large surface area of 710.36 m2/g, large pore volume, diameter spanning 9.8 nm, and a favorable zeta potential allowing for stability and enhanced uptake of 5-FU. Significant drug loading (0.15–0.18 mg5FU/mgmsn), controlled release profiles (15–65%) over 72 hours, and cell specific cytotoxicity in cancer cells (Caco-2, MCF-7, and HeLa) with reduced cell viability (≥50%) over the non-cancer (HEK293) cells were established. Overall, these 5FU-MSN formulations have been shown to be safe and effective delivery systems in vitro, with potential for in vivo applications.

Hyperglycemia Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Initiation and Progression by Activating the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiming Chen ◽  
Junfeng Zhao ◽  
Ningning Jiang ◽  
Zheng Wang ◽  
Chang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Precancerous Lesions ◽  
Clinical Specimen ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Initiation

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal diseases, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10% because of the limited knowledge of tumor-promoting factors and their underlying mechanism. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemia are risk factors for many cancers, including PDAC, that modulate multiple downstream signaling pathways, such as the wingless/integrated (Wnt)/β-catenin signaling pathway. However, whether hyperglycemia promotes PDAC initiation and progression by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway remains unclear. Methods: In this study, we used bioinformatics analysis and clinical specimen analysis to evaluate the activation states of the Wnt/βcatenin signaling pathway. In addition, colony formation assays, Transwell assays and wound-healing assays were used to evaluate the malignant biological behaviors of pancreatic cancer cells (PCs) under hyperglycemic conditions. To describe the effects of hyperglycemia and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway on the initiation of PDAC, we used pancreatitis-driven pancreatic cancer initiation models in vivo and pancreatic acinar cell 3-dimensional culture in vitro. Results: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related molecules were overexpressed in PDAC tissues/cells and correlated with poor prognosis in PDAC patients. In addition, hyperglycemia exacerbated the abnormal activation of β-catenin in PDAC and enhanced the malignant biological behaviors of PCs in a Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-dependent manner. Indeed, hyperglycemia accelerated the formation of pancreatic precancerous lesions by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion: Hyperglycemia promotes pancreatic cancer initiation and progression by activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Redox-Sensitive Ultrashort Peptide Hydrogel with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Anti-Tumor Drug Delivery

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 1588-1599
Author(s):  
Yiping Li ◽  
Ying Zhu ◽  
Shiyao Luo ◽  
Yue He ◽  
Zhewei Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Targeted Delivery ◽  
Subcutaneous Tissue ◽  
Drug Loading ◽  
Gelation Time ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Hydrogel System

In this study, we report a new ultrashort peptide (LOC), which forms a redox-sensitive hydrogel after cross-linking with the mild oxidant H2 O2 and used it for tumor-targeted delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). LOC gelled within a few minutes in low-concentration H2 O2 solution. The concentration of H2 O2 significantly altered the gelation time and mechanical properties of the hydrogel. The in vitro micromorphology, secondary structure and rheology characterization of cross-linked hydrogels confirmed the sensitivity and injectability to reducing agent. The cross-linked hydrogel had a strong drug loading capacity, and the drug was released in a GSH concentration-dependent manner, following the Fick diffusion model. In addition, the cross-linked hydrogel showed no cytotoxicity to normal fibroblasts, and no damage to the subcutaneous tissue of mice was observed. In vitro cytotoxicity experiments showed that the DOX-hydrogel system exhibited good anti-cancer efficacy. In vivo studies using 4T1 tumor-bearing mice showed that the DOX-hydrogel system had a significant inhibitory effect on tumors. Therefore, the newly designed redox-sensitive hydrogel can effectively enhance the therapeutic efficacy of DOX and reduce toxicity, making it an attractive biological material.

scholarly journals KIF4A Regulates the Progression of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma through Proliferation and Invasion

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Jing Chen ◽  
Cui-Cui Zhao ◽  
Fei-Ran Chen ◽  
Guo-Wei Feng ◽  
Fei Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Disease Free Survival ◽  
High Expression ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Migration And Invasion

Background. Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the digestive tract, which is difficult to diagnose and treat due to bad early diagnosis. We aimed to explore the role of kinesin superfamily 4A (KIF4A) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods. We first used the bioinformatic website to screen the data of pancreatic cancer in TCGA, and KIF4A protein was detected among the 86 specimens of patients in our hospital combined with clinic-pathological characteristics and survival analysis. KIF4A loss-expression cell lines were established by RNA interference (RNAi). In addition, we performed in vitro cell assays to detect the changes in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The proteins involved in the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells were also detected by western blot. The above results could be proved in vivo. Further, the correlation between KIF4A and CDC5L was analyzed by TCGA and IHC data. Results. We first found a high expression of KIF4A in pancreatic cancer, suggesting a role of KIF4A in the development of pancreatic cancer. KIF4A was found to be differentially expressed ( P < 0.05 ) among the 86 specimens of patients in our hospital and was significantly associated with PDAC TNM stages and tumor size. High KIF4A expression also significantly worsened overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival rate (DFS) ( P < 0.05 , respectively). In addition, cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were inhibited by the KIF4A-shRNA group compared with the control ( P < 0.05 , respectively). In the end, knockdown of KIF4A could inhibit tumor development and metastasis in vivo. Further, the positive correlation between KIF4A and CDC5L existed, and KIF4A might promote pancreatic cancer proliferation by affecting CDC5L expression. Conclusion. In conclusion, the high expression level of KIF4A in PDAC was closely related to poor clinical and pathological status, lymphatic metastasis, and vascular invasion. KIF4A might be involved in promoting the development of PDAC in vitro and in vivo, which might be a new therapeutic target of PDAC.

scholarly journals Thiophene Derivatives as Anticancer Agents and Their Delivery to Tumor Cells Using Albumin Nanoparticles

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangsheng Cai ◽  
Simiao Wang ◽  
Lang Zhao ◽  
Yating Sun ◽  
Dongsheng Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Anticancer Agents ◽  
Drug Loading ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Laser Confocal Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Scanning ◽  
Thiophene Derivatives

A series of thiophene derivatives (TPs) were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines by MTT assay. TP 5 was identified as a potential anticancer agent based on its ability to inhibit tumor cell growth. Drawbacks of TPs, including poor solubility and high toxicity, were overcome through delivery using self-assembling HSA nanoparticles (NPs). The optimum conditions for TP 5-NPs synthesis obtained by adjusting the temperature and concentration of TP 5. The NPs had an encapsulation efficiency of 99.59% and drug-loading capacity of 3.70%. TP 5 was slowly released from TP 5-NPs in vitro over 120 h. HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines were employed to study cytotoxicity of TP 5-NPs, which exhibited high potency. ROS levels were elevated and mitochondrial membrane potentials reversed when the two cell lines were treated with TP 5-NPs for 12 h. Cellular uptake of fluorescence-labeled TP 5-NPs in vitro was analyzed by flow cytometry and laser confocal scanning microscopy. Fluorescence intensity increased over time, suggesting that TP 5-NPs were efficiently taken up by tumor cells. In conclusion, TP 5-NPs showed great promise as an anticancer therapeutic agent.

scholarly journals Organotypic Culture of Acinar Cells for the Study of Pancreatic Cancer Initiation

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2606
Author(s):  
Carlotta Paoli ◽  
Alessandro Carrer
Keyword(s):  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Acinar Cells ◽  
Lineage Tracing ◽  
Metabolic Reprogramming ◽  
Pancreatic Acinar Cells ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Molecular Features ◽  
The Impact

The carcinogenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) progresses according to multi-step evolution, whereby the disease acquires increasingly aggressive pathological features. On the other hand, disease inception is poorly investigated. Decoding the cascade of events that leads to oncogenic transformation is crucial to design strategies for early diagnosis as well as to tackle tumor onset. Lineage-tracing experiments demonstrated that pancreatic cancerous lesions originate from acinar cells, a highly specialized cell type in the pancreatic epithelium. Primary acinar cells can survive in vitro as organoid-like 3D spheroids, which can transdifferentiate into cells with a clear ductal morphology in response to different cell- and non-cell-autonomous stimuli. This event, termed acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, recapitulates the histological and molecular features of disease initiation. Here, we will discuss the isolation and culture of primary pancreatic acinar cells, providing a historical and technical perspective. The impact of pancreatic cancer research will also be debated. In particular, we will dissect the roles of transcriptional, epigenetic, and metabolic reprogramming for tumor initiation and we will show how that can be modeled using ex vivo acinar cell cultures. Finally, mechanisms of PDA initiation described using organotypical cultures will be reviewed.

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