Co‐encapsulation of Curcumin and Paclitaxel using Non‐ionic Surfactant Based Nanovesicles Suppresses Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma through the Inhibition of Nuclear Factor κB and AKT1

Abstract

AbstractCurcumin (Cur) indicates P‐glycoprotein inhibitory activity by downregulating the nuclear factor (NF)‐κB signaling and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Curcumin has limited due to its low water‐solubility. Therefore, using novel chemotherapeutic nanoformulations of curcumin or combining it with paclitaxel (PCL) may be more effective against cancer. Recently, we demonstrated that the combination of chemotherapy with PCL and Cur, using non‐ionic surfactant‐based nano‐vesicles (NISV), exhibited enhanced synergistic anticancer efficacy in breast cancer cells. However, the effect of combining these drugs using non‐ionic surfactant‐based nano‐vesicles for treating ovarian cancer, particularly in terms of their influence on AKT1 and NF‐kappa B, has not been investigated. Hereupon, we decided to investigate the single and combination treatment with Cur and PCL on cell apoptosis, expression of the AKT‐1 gene, and determination of p65‐NF‐κB in OVCAR‐3 cell. The combination of chemotherapy with curcumin and paclitaxel, using NISV, resulted in a higher rate of apoptosis, more efficient reduction in AKT‐1 gene expression (91.2 % reduction in PCL‐NISV+Cur‐NISV vs. 72.89 % reduction in PCL+Cur free solution), and 79.42 % reduction in NF‐κB activity compared to individual treatments. The findings indicate that combining curcumin and paclitaxel using non‐ionic surfactant‐based nano‐vesicles may be a promising strategy for reducing ovarian cancer growth.