Hollow boron nitride nanospheres as boron reservoir for prostate cancer treatment

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 13936
• Main Authors: Li, Xia, Wang, Xiupeng, Zhang, Jun, Hanagata, Nobutaka, Wang, Xuebin, Weng, Qunhong, Ito, Atsuo, Bando, Yoshio, Golberg, Dmitri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06.01.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/31; 639/301/54/990; 64/60; 692/4028/67/1059; 692/700/565/1436; Alarmins - metabolism; Androgens; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biomarkers - metabolism; Boron; Boron - therapeutic use; Boron - toxicity; Boron Compounds - therapeutic use; Boron Compounds - toxicity; Cancer therapies; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Shape - drug effects; Chemical Phenomena; Fourier transforms; Growth models; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Injections, Subcutaneous; Male; Materials science; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; multidisciplinary; Nanospheres - chemistry; Nanospheres - ultrastructure; Necrosis; Prostate cancer; Prostatic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Public health; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spheres; Tissue Distribution - drug effects; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; Japan
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13936

High global incidence of prostate cancer has led to a focus on prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the impact of this disease in public health. Boron compounds are increasingly recognized as preventative and chemotherapeutic agents. However, systemic administration of soluble boron compounds is hampered by their short half-life and low effectiveness. Here we report on hollow boron nitride (BN) spheres with controlled crystallinity and boron release that decrease cell viability and increase prostate cancer cell apoptosis. In vivo experiments on subcutaneous tumour mouse models treated with BN spheres demonstrated significant suppression of tumour growth. An orthotopic tumour growth model was also utilized and further confirmed the in vivo anti-cancer efficacy of BN spheres. Moreover, the administration of hollow BN spheres with paclitaxel leads to synergetic effects in the suppression of tumour growth. The work demonstrates that hollow BN spheres may function as a new agent for prostate cancer treatment. Use of soluble boron compounds in prostate cancer therapy is hampered by their short half-life time and low effectiveness. Here, the authors show that boron nitride nanospheres with controlled boron release can reduce proliferation of prostate cancer cells and inhibit tumour growth in animal models.