Carrier-Free Self-Assembled Nanomedicines for Promoting Apoptosis and Inhibiting Proliferation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• Published in: ACS biomaterials science & engineering Vol. 10; no. 7; pp. 4347 - 4358
• Main Authors: Jia, WeiLu, Yang, Meng, Zhang, WenNing, Xu, WenJing, Zhang, YeWei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 08.07.2024
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Apoptosis - drug effects; Berberine - chemistry; Berberine - pharmacology; Berberine - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Controlled Release and Delivery Systems; Humans; Liver Neoplasms - drug therapy; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nanomedicine - methods; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - therapeutic use; Photochemotherapy - methods; Photothermal Therapy; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; PDT; PTT; carrier-free; multimodal therapy; berberine
• ISSN: 2373-9878; 2373-9878
• DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00390

In order to improve the effectiveness of tumor treatment and reduce the toxic side effects of drugs, we formed carrier-free multifunctional nanoparticles (BI NPs) by noncovalent interaction of berberine hydrochloride and IR780. BI NPs possessed the synergistic effects of promoting apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation and metastasis of tumors, and phototherapeutic treatment. Dispersive and passive targeting ability retention (EPR) effects of BI NPs on tumor sites in vivo could be monitored by fluorescence imaging. In addition, BI NPs exhibited effective reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and photothermal conversion capabilities, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and photothermal therapy (PTT). Importantly, BI NPs inhibit tumor suppression through the AMPK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to inhibit tumor proliferation and metastasis. BI NPs not only have efficient in vivo multimodal therapeutic effects but also have good biosafety and potential clinical applications.