Cucumber-Derived Nanovesicles Containing Cucurbitacin B for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Therapy.

Purpose: In recent years, a variety of nanoparticles with excellent anticancer and delivery properties have emerged for cancer therapy. However, potential toxicity, high production cost and complex preparation procedures have been obstacles to their use in biomedicine. Here, we obtained cucumber-derived nanovesicles (CDNVs) at high yield and low cost by simple juicing and ultracentrifugation. The anticancer effects of CDNVs were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Transmission electron microscope, nanoparticle tracking analysis and laser particle size analysis were used to characterize the morphology, diameter and zeta potential of CDNVs, respectively. The anticancer effects of CDNVs in vitro were evaluated by MTT and apoptosis assays. The mechanism was further explored by measuring the protein levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, reactive oxygen species, cell cycle distribution and caspase activity. In-vivo anticancer efficacy was evaluated by measuring tumor volume and weight of mice in three different treatment groups (CDNVs, cucurbitacin B and PBS). Results: CDNVs inhibited proliferation of human non-small cell lung cancer cells by suppressing signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation, generating reactive oxygen species, promoting cell cycle arrest, and activating the caspase pathway. These CDNVs exhibited strong anticancer effects both in vitro and in vivo, and reduced the rate of tumor growth without obvious toxicity to mouse visceral organs. Compared with an equivalent dose of cucurbitacin B, CDNVs exerted stronger anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that CDNVs suppress tumor growth. This study addresses the development of cancer therapeutic drugs using plant-derived nanovesicles that are cost-efficient, simple to produce in high yields, and provide an alternative approach to drug isolation that may help advance sustainability of medicinal plants.

[Effect of Bugu Mixture on all-trans retinoic acid-induced apoptosis of bone marrow stromal cells].

OBJECTIVE: We used the SD rat's bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) cultured in vitro to observe the effects of Bugu Mixture on the apoptosis and to explore the molecular biologic mechanism of the treatment of osteoporosis with Bugu Mixture. METHODS: BMSCs were separated from the bones of the extremities of SD rats in vitro. The morphologic changes, the apoptosis cell cycles, the mitochondrion membrane potential changes, and the Bcl-2 and Bax gene expression were observed, and the effects of Bugu Mixture on the course of cell apoptosis were evaluated. RESULTS: The earlier use of Bugu Mixture could decrease the cells blocked in G0/G1 phase, and promote their synthesis of DNA in S phase. The expression of Bcl-2 was higher in the Bugu Mixture group than that in the all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) induced group, and the expression of Bax was lower in the Bugu Mixture group than that in the ATRA induced group. The mitochondrion membrane potential descended significantly in the Bugu Mixture group than that in the ATRA induced group. CONCLUSION: The mechanism of the treatment of osteoporosis with Bugu Mixture is that the earlier use of Bugu Mixture can decrease the amount of apoptostic cells induced by ATRA, thus promoting the cell mitosis and restraining the apoptosis. It can also act as a protector to Bcl-2 located on the mitochondrion membrane. By preventing the transferring of the Bax protein from cell-plasma to mitochondrion membrane, it takes the advantage of Bcl-2 in forming Bcl-2/Bax homodimer so as to prevent the opening of the permeability transition pore to avoid the changing of mitochondrion membrane potential and the destruction of biosynthesis caused by the mitochondrion release of apoptosis inducing factors and to reach the objective of restraining apoptosis.