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Abstract
Melanoma is known as the most common malignant cutaneous cancer. Curcumin, a natural component, has been shown to have various activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, anti-amyloid and anti-thrombosis. However, there is a greatest obstacle in the administration of curcumin due to its hydrophobicity and low oral bioavailability. In this study, we formulated curcumin-loaded MPEG-PLA (Curcumin/MPEG-PLA) micelles aiming to improve its solubility in aqueous solution and investigated anti-tumor effect on melanoma in vitro and in vivo. The spherical curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles were completely dispersed in normal saline and could release curcumin in a sustained manner in vitro. In addition, we demonstrated that curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles had stronger cytotoxicity and induced a higher percentage of apoptosis in B16 and A375 cancer cells than free curcumin in vitro. The immunohistochemical study revealed that curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles induced more melanoma cell apoptosis than free curcumin and inhibited neovascularization in tumor tissues. In conclusion, the curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles have potential clinical application for melanoma.
Highlights
Melanoma is a well known malignant cutaneous cancer
Curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles were synthesized by a single-step precipitation method
PLA micelles contains a ball-shaped hydrophilic PEG shell and a hydrophobic PLA core where curcumin was encapsulated into the core part of micelles and surrounded with PEG to improve its water solubility (Figure 1)
Summary
Melanoma is a well known malignant cutaneous cancer. The 5-year overall survival rate has reached 93%[1]; the overall prognosis of all the patients with distant metastatic melanoma still remains poor with median survival about 11 months [3]. Thereby, novel immune strategies like cytokines, monoclonal antibodies, cancer vaccines, and adoptive T cell transfer are studied to improve prognosis of melanoma [4]. Immune checkpoint blocker has become the remarkable highlight during recent years. Famous products, such as CTLA-4 blocker (ipilimumab) and PD-1 blocker (pembrolizumab, nivolumab), which have been proven to prolong survival time and approved by the US www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget
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