Abstract
Plant virus nanoparticles (PVNPs) have been widely used for drug delivery, antibody development and medical imaging because of their good biodegradation and biocompatibility. Particles of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) are elongated and may be useful as drug carriers because their shape favours long circulation, preferential distribution and increased cellular uptake. Moreover, its effective degradation in an acidic microenvironment enables a pH-responsive release of the encapsulated drug. In this study, genetic engineering techniques were used to form rod-shaped structures of nanoparticles (PMMoV) and folated-modified PMMoV nanotubes were prepared by polyethylene glycol (PEG) to provide targeted delivery of paclitaxel (PTX). FA@PMMoV@PTX nanotubes were designed to selectively target tumor cells and to release the encapsulated PTX in response to pH. Efficient cell uptake of FA@PMMoV@PTX nanotubes was observed when incubated with tumor cells, and FA@PMMoV@PTX nanotubes had superior cytotoxicity to free PTX, as reflected by cell survival and apoptosis. This system is a strong candidate for use in developing improved strategies for targeted treatment of tumors.
Highlights
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death in humans
To obtain the rod-shaped nanoparticles, a genetically engineered vector of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) was inoculated to Nicotiana benthamiana by infiltrating its leaves with Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Typical viral symptoms had developed in PMMoV-infected plants 14 days post-inoculation (Figure 1A)
Summary
Cancer is one of the most common causes of death in humans. Each year there are about 10 million new cancer cases worldwide, and more than seven million people die from the disease (Bedard et al, 2020). In China, more than 1.6 million people die of cancer each year, making it the single greatest cause of death. Tumor chemotherapy remains the classic, and most commonly used, cancer treatment but problems are encountered in the deployment of most chemotherapeutic drugs. These problems include poor solubility, non-selective distribution in the human body, and drug resistance, all of which weaken the therapeutic outcomes. Paclitaxel (PTX) is a well-known broad-spectrum anti-tumor agent. It induces and promotes both tubulin polymerization and microtubule assembly while preventing depolymerization, thereby stabilizing microtubules and inhibiting cancer cell mitosis and triggering apoptosis (Pham et al, 2020).
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