Suppression of breast cancer cells in vitro by polyamidoamine-dendrimer-mediated 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy combined with antisense micro-RNA 21 gene therapy

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 114; no. 6; pp. 3760 - 3766
• Main Authors: Mei, Mei, Ren, Yu, Zhou, Xuan, Yuan, Xu-Bo, Li, Fei, Jiang, Ling-Huo, Kang, Chun-Sheng, Yao, Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 15.12.2009; Wiley
• Subjects: Antineoplastic agents; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Chemotherapy; dendrimers; drug delivery systems; Exact sciences and technology; Medical sciences; nanotechnology; Organic polymers; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Physicochemistry of polymers; Properties and characterization; Special properties (catalyst, reagent or carrier); Antineoplastic agent; Biological properties; drug delivery systems; Dendrimer; Branched polymer; dendrimers; Control release polymer; Aromatic polymer; Cytotoxicity; Antisense RNA; Drug carrier; Breast cancer; Experimental study; In vitro; Amidoamine polymer; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Transfection; nanotechnology; Gene therapy; Tumor cell; Fluorouracil
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.30868

A specific micro-RNA (miRNA), micro-RNA 21 (miR-21), is strongly overexpressed in breast cancer cells. Antisense inhibition of miRNA function, an important tool for uncovering miRNA biology, which is often used to knockdown miRNA, can cause a notable inhibition of cell growth. In this study, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was conjugated to polyamidoamine dendrimers via direct encapsulation; this method was then combined with antisense micro-RNA 21 (as-miR-21) strategies to evaluate the effects of the growth suppression of breast cancer cells. Our results show that as-miR-21 strategies significantly improved the chemosensitivity of free 5-FU on breast cancer cells (MCF-7). In addition, not only could as-miR-21 effectively increase the apoptotic cell numbers but it could also bring down the migration ability of MCF-7 cells. Our results provide invaluable information for the future design of drug-polymer complexes for multimodal cancer treatments.