Dual-effect liposomes encapsulated with doxorubicin and chlorin e6 augment the therapeutic effect of tumor treatment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Long circulating doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded PEGylated liposomes are clinically safer than the free form due to the significant reduction of cardiac toxicity. However, the therapeutic efficacy of the PEGylated liposome could further be improved if poor diffusivity and slow drug release of the liposome in tumor interstitium can be overcome. In this study, a dual-effect liposome triggered by photodynamic effect was developed to improve the therapeutic efficacy of Dox-loaded PEGylated liposomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dox and chlorin e6 (Ce6) were co-encapsulated in PEGylated liposomes (named as PL-Dox-Ce6). To induce the drug release, photodynamic effect was triggered by the light irradiation of a 662 nm diode laser. The cellular distribution of Dox and Ce6 was examined under confocal microscope. The in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity of PL-Dox-Ce6 was determined via the colony formation assay and the synergistic C26 tumor model, respectively. RESULTS: The cellular distribution of PL-Dox-Ce6 was in the cytoplasmic area; while under light irradiation, Dox was co-localized with nuclear staining positive signals. The cellular cytotoxicity of PL-Dox-Ce6 was significantly higher than the controls including liposomes encapsulating either Dox (PL-Dox) or Ce6 (PL-Ce6). The in vivo treatment efficacy of PL-Dox-Ce6 determined in the C26 tumor model reveals a significant therapeutic effect compared to that of PL-Ce6 and PL-Dox alone or in combination. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that this dual-effect PEGylated liposome could provide clinical advantages in the combination regimen of photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy.

Increased Histone Deacetylase Activity Involved in the Suppressed Invasion of Cancer Cells Survived from ALA-Mediated Photodynamic Treatment.

Previously, we have found that cancer cells survived from 5-Aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) have abnormal mitochondrial function and suppressed cellular invasiveness. Here we report that both the mRNA expression level and enzymatic activity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) were elevated in the PDT-derived variants with dysfunctional mitochondria. The activated HDAC deacetylated histone H3 and further resulted in the reduced migration and invasion, which correlated with the reduced expression of the invasion-related genes, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), paternally expressed gene 1 (PEG1), and miR-355, the intronic miRNA. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we further demonstrate the reduced amount of acetylated histone H3 on the promoter regions of MMP9 and PEG1, supporting the down-regulation of these two genes in PDT-derived variants. These results indicate that HDAC activation induced by mitochondrial dysfunction could modulate the cellular invasiveness and its related gene expression. This argument was further verified in the 51-10 cybrid cells with the 4977 bp mtDNA deletion and A375 ρ° cells with depleted mitochondria. These results indicate that mitochondrial dysfunction might suppress tumor invasion through modulating histone acetylation.

Calebin-A induced death of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cells by activation of histone acetyltransferase.

BACKGROUND: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common hereditary neurocutaneous disorders. The malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), transformed from NF1 related plexiform neurofibroma, is a rapidly growing and highly invasive tumor. No effective chemotherapeutic agent is currently available. Calebin-A is a derivative from turmeric Curcuma longa. Given the anti-inflammatory and anticancer potentials of curcumin, whether Calebin-A also had the tumoricidal effect upon MPNST cells is still elusive. PURPOSE: To determine whether Calebin-A has the potential for anti-MPNST effect. METHODS: The MTT and FACS analysis of normal Schwann (HSC) and MPNST cells have been employed to determine the tumoricidal effect of Calebin-A. The expression of the signal pathway molecules was assessed by Western blotting. The CHIP with quantitative PCR assay was performed to quantify the promoter DNA binding to acetylated histone 3 (acetyl H3). The enzyme activities of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and deacetylase (HDAC) have been evaluated by commercial kits. The measurements of tumor size of the xenograft mouse model were also performed. RESULTS: Calebin-A inhibited the proliferation of MPNST and primary neurofibroma cells in a dose-dependent manner. The flow cytometry analysis of the MPNST cells after treatment of 25 µm of Calebin-A demonstrated an increase of population in the G0/G1 phase but decrease in G2/M phase. Before treatment, the expression of Axl, Tyro3, and acetyl H3 was significantly higher in MPNST cells when compared to HSC. The expression of phosphorylated-AKT, -ERK1/2, survivin, hTERT, and acetyl H3 proteins were reduced after treatment. The CHIP assay shows the promoter DNA copies of survivin (BRIC5) and hTERT genes are significantly reduced post-treatment. The enzyme activity of HAT was significantly reduced, but not that of HDAC. Two HAT inhibitors, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and anacardic acid (AA) have also demonstrated a significant inhibitory effect on MPNST cells. Finally, the measurements of tumor size showed a significant reduction of the xenograft tumors after treatment of Calebin-A. CONCLUSION: Both in vitro and in vivo studies showed Calebin-A could inhibit the proliferation of MPNST with suppression of survivin and hTERT. The reduced expression of these two factors might be through the epigenetic histone modification resulting from the decreased activity of HAT.

Histone acetyltransferase p300 is induced by p38MAPK after photodynamic therapy: the therapeutic response is increased by the p300HAT inhibitor anacardic acid.

Oxidative stress mediated by photodynamic therapy (PDT) mediates the tumoricidal effect, but has also been shown to induce the expression of prosurvival molecules, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which is involved in tumor recurrences after PDT. However, the molecular mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, we found that activated p38MAPK could significantly up-regulate the activity and expression of histone acetyltransferase p300 (p300HAT) in A375 and C26 cells treated with ALA-and chlorin e6 (Ce6)-mediated photodynamic treatment. A colony-formation assay showed that PDT-induced cytotoxicity was dramatically elevated in the presence of the p300HAT inhibitor anacardic acid (AA). Further studies showed that increased p300HAT acetylates histone H3 and NF-κB p65 subunit to up-regulate the COX-2 expression, which was reduced by AA or p300HAT shRNA. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, we found that the augmented acetylation of histone H3 and NF-κB increases their binding to the COX-2 promoter region. These in vitro findings were further verified in mice bearing murine C26 and human A375 tumors treated with liposomal Ce6 mediated PDT. Meanwhile, the combination of PDT and AA resulted in greater tumor regression in BALB/c mice bearing C26 tumors, compared with PDT only or combined with COX-2 inhibitor. Finally, we demonstrated that suppression of the PDT-induced p300HAT activity also resulted in the decreased expression of survivin, restoring caspase-3 activity and sensitizing PDT-treated cells from autophagy to apoptosis due to the Becline-1 cleavage. This study demonstrates for the first time the molecular mechanisms involved in histone modification induced by PDT-mediated oxidative stress, suggesting that HAT inhibitors may provide a novel therapeutic approach for improving PDT response.