Superior anticancer efficacy of curcumin-loaded nanoparticles against lung cancer

• Published in: Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 634 - 640
• Main Authors: Yin, Haitao, Zhang, Hao, Liu, Baorui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China 01.08.2013
• Subjects: A549细胞; Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Apoptosis - drug effects; Cell Line, Tumor; Curcumin - administration & dosage; Curcumin - pharmacology; Curcumin - therapeutic use; Drug Carriers; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Nanoparticles; 促凋亡作用; 姜黄素; 抗癌功效; 纳米粒子; 纳米颗粒制备; 肺癌; 药物载体; lung cancer; nanoparticle; mPEG–PCL; curcumin
• ISSN: 1672-9145; 1745-7270
• DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmt063

Curcumin （CM） has anticancer potential for several cancers and blocks several steps in the carcinogenesis process. However, the clinical application of CM is greatly limited due to its low effects in vivo resulted from its poor solubility and pharmacokinetics. This raises the possibility of taking CM as a novel model drug in a new nanoparticle- based delivery system. In this study, CM-loaded nanoparti- cles were prepared from three kinds of amphilic methoxy poly（ethylene glycol） （mPEG）-polycaprolactone （PCL） block copolymers. It was noted that CM-loaded nanoparti- cles prepared from mPEG10k-PCL30k showed not only the highest loading efficiency, but also the most sustained release pattern. In vitro studies showed that CM was effect- ively transported into A549 cells by nanoparticles and loca- lized around the nuclei in the cytoplasm. In addition, the cytotoxicity of CM-loaded nanoparticles with mEPG10k- PCL30k as a drug carrier was in a dose- and time-depend- ent manner in A549 cells. Further apoptotic staining results demonstrated the superior pro-apoptotic effect of CM- loaded nanoparticles over free drug. Data in this study not only confirmed the potential of CM in treating lung cancer, but also offered an effective way to improve the anticancer efficiency of CM through the nano-drug delivery system.