Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, via Nizza 52, 10126, Torino, Italy; Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, via Nizza 52, 10126, Torino, Italy.
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2020 Jul;191:110982. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.110982. Epub 2020 Mar 19.
Combination of natural agents has received a great attention in cancer treatment because of synergistically increased apoptotic effect on cancer cell lines by triggering several apoptotic signaling pathways. However, the hydrophobic nature, poor bioavailability and low cellular uptake of most natural agents limit their therapeutic effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to design Apoferritin nanoparticles loaded with Quercetin and Curcumin (Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs) and to test their synergistic antitumor properties on a breast cancer cell line (MCF7). The physico-chemical characterization of the Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs by Size Exclusion Chromatography (FPLC) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) confirmed the encapsulation of the compounds in the protein cage with narrow size distribution in the range 17.4 ± 1.2 nm. Cell viability study indicated that Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs were able to exert a more pronounced effect at lower dose on the MCF7 cell line when compared to the free combination of the drugs. The Que-Cur-HoS-Apo system allowed cellular uptake of natural agents thus triggering enhanced apoptosis. These effects were confirmed by Annexin-V/7-AAD Staining Assay and intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) quantitative detection. These results suggest the potential of Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs as a promising anti-cancer agent in breast cancer therapy and pave the way to examine Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs effect in vivo.
天然药物联合应用在癌症治疗中受到了广泛关注，因为它可以通过触发几种凋亡信号通路，协同增加对癌细胞系的凋亡作用。然而，大多数天然药物的疏水性、生物利用度差和细胞摄取率低限制了它们的治疗效果。本研究旨在设计负载槲皮素和姜黄素的载铁蛋白纳米颗粒（Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs），并测试其对乳腺癌细胞系（MCF7）的协同抗肿瘤特性。通过尺寸排阻色谱（FPLC）和动态光散射（DLS）对 Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs 的物理化学特性进行表征，证实了化合物被包裹在蛋白笼中，具有窄的粒径分布在 17.4 ± 1.2nm 范围内。细胞活力研究表明，与游离药物组合相比，Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs 能够以更低的剂量对 MCF7 细胞系发挥更显著的作用。Que-Cur-HoS-Apo 系统允许天然药物的细胞摄取，从而触发增强的细胞凋亡。这些作用通过 Annexin-V/7-AAD 染色测定和细胞内活性氧（ROS）定量检测得到证实。这些结果表明，Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs 作为一种有前途的乳腺癌治疗药物具有潜在应用价值，并为研究 Que-Cur-HoS-Apo NPs 在体内的作用铺平了道路。
