Abstract
Cationic lytic peptides (CLPs) have shown promise in treating bacterial infection and cancer via selective disruption of bacterial or cancer cell membranes. In this work, we used a CLP, C6, as a nanocarrier for a hydrophobic anticancer agent, ellipticine (EPT). The size of the resulting C6-EPT complex was ∼190 nm. The in vitro studies using A549 lung cancer cells showed an enhanced anticancer activity of the C6-EPT complex compared to that of C6 or the EPT control. This enhancement was found to correlate with the membrane disruption induced by C6, which facilitated the entry of EPT into cells. More importantly, the C6-EPT complex showed a higher selectivity than that of C6 towards cancer cells upon comparison of their cytotoxicities against A549 cells and NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells. The enhanced therapeutic activity was also found in in vivo studies using an A549 tumor-bearing BALB/c nude mice model. This study provides a new CLP strategy for the development of multifunctional drug delivery systems.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
