ABSTRACT
In this work, we evaluated, for the first time, the antitumor effect of cannabidiol (CBD) as monotherapy and in combination with conventional chemotherapeutics in ovarian cancer and developed PLGA-microparticles as CBD carriers to optimize its anticancer activity. Spherical microparticles, with a mean particle size around 25 µm and high entrapment efficiency were obtained. Microparticles elaborated with a CBD:polymer ratio of 10:100 were selected due to the most suitable release profile with a zero-order CBD release (14.13 ± 0.17 µg/day/10 mg Mps) for 40 days. The single administration of this formulation showed an in vitro extended antitumor activity for at least 10 days and an in ovo antitumor efficacy comparable to that of CBD in solution after daily topical administration (≈1.5-fold reduction in tumor growth vs control). The use of CBD in combination with paclitaxel (PTX) was really effective. The best treatment schedule was the pre + co-administration of CBD (10 µM) with PTX. Using this protocol, the single administration of microparticles was even more effective than the daily administration of CBD in solution, achieving a ≈10- and 8- fold reduction in PTX IC50 respectively. This protocol was also effective in ovo. While PTX conducted to a 1.5-fold tumor growth inhibition, its combination with both CBD in solution (daily administered) and 10-Mps (single administration) showed a 2-fold decrease. These results show the promising potential of CBD-Mps administered in combination with PTX for ovarian cancer treatment, since it would allow to reduce the administered dose of this antineoplastic drug maintaining the same efficacy and, as a consequence, reducing PTX adverse effects.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/metabolism , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/metabolism , Cannabidiol/metabolism , Microspheres , Ovarian Neoplasms/metabolism , Paclitaxel/metabolism , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/administration & dosage , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/administration & dosage , Cannabidiol/administration & dosage , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival/drug effects , Cell Survival/physiology , Chick Embryo , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Carriers/administration & dosage , Drug Carriers/metabolism , Female , Humans , Ovarian Neoplasms/drug therapy , Paclitaxel/administration & dosage , Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer/administration & dosage , Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer/metabolismABSTRACT
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most promising cannabinoids in therapeutics. Nevertheless, the reported stability testing has been carried out with plant extracts and not with CBD as a drug substance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the stability of CBD in solution. A High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analytical method, with CBD in ethanol, was previously validated for these stability studies. The resulting method was linear and proportional in a range of concentrations from 1 to 150 µg CBD/mL, as well as precise. It was also considered suitable to quantify CBD in aqueous medium as reported in accuracy studies. The stability of CBD was influenced by multiple factors. Temperature was one of the most critical parameters, with an activation energy of 92.19KJ/mol. At room temperature, CBD was highly unstable (t95 = 117.13 days). However, at 5 °C it was stable for at least 12 months. CBD was also sensitive to oxidation, with a short t95 of 1.77 days in oxidizing environments, as well as to light. The photolytic reaction seems to be oxidative. The solvent influences CBD stability, and the latter is more stable in ethanol than in aqueous medium. In fact, in simulated physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and 37 °C) 10% of CBD was degraded within 24 h. These studies indicate that CBD is highly unstable, and this should be taken into account in the development of in vitro and in vivo studies of CBD activity and in the pharmaceutical development of dosage forms.
Subject(s)
Cannabidiol/analysis , Cannabidiol/chemistry , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods , Drug Stability , Oxidation-Reduction , Plant Extracts/analysis , Plant Extracts/chemistry , TemperatureABSTRACT
Cannabidiol (CBD) has emerged as a potential agent for breast cancer management. In this work, the potential use of cannabidiol in solution (CBDsol) and encapsulated in polymeric microparticles when combined with paclitaxel (PTX) and doxorubicin (DOX) in breast cancer treatment has been evaluated for the first time using MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. CBDsol, previously administered at suboptimal concentrations (cell death < 10%), enhanced the PTX and DOX effect in both breast cancer cells. The co-administration of CBDsol and PTX or DOX showed a synergistic effect. PLGA-502 was selected as the most suitable polymer to develop CBD-loaded microparticles. The developed formulation (CBD-Mps) was effective as monotherapy, showing extended antiproliferative activity for at least 10 days, and when combined with PTX or DOX. In fact, the use of CBD-Mps allows the combination of both, pre and co-administration strategies, with a single administration, also showing a significant increase in PTX and DOX antiproliferative activity. Finally, the anticancer effect of both CBDsol and CBD-Mps as monotherapy or in combination with PTX was also confirmed in ovo, usingMDA-MB-231-derived tumours. This data evidences the promising inclusion of CBD in conventional breast cancer chemotherapy and the use of CBD-Mps for the extended release of this cannabinoid, optimising the effect of the chemotherapeutic agents.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Cannabidiol/pharmacology , Doxorubicin/pharmacology , Paclitaxel/pharmacology , Cell Line, Tumor , Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Drug Delivery Systems/methods , Female , Humans , MCF-7 Cells , Polymers/chemistryABSTRACT
Despite the efforts that have been made in the field of breast cancer therapy, it is a leading cause of cancer death in women and a major health problem. The current treatments combine several strategies (surgery, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy) depending on cancer subtype and tumour stage. The use of chemotherapy is required in certain circumstances, like before or after surgery or in advanced stages of the disease. Chemotherapeutic regimens that include anthracyclines (e.g. doxorubicin), taxanes (e.g. paclitaxel), 5-fluorouracil and/or cyclophosphamide show, in general, a high toxicity that limit their clinical use. The use of targeted chemotherapy allows to get a selective location of the drug at tumour mass, decreasing the toxicity of these treatments. An increase of the antitumour efficacy can also be achieved. The use of nanocarriers containing anticancer drugs can be a good strategy to get targeted chemotherapy. In fact, several nanoformulations containing paclitaxel and doxorubicin have been approved or are under clinical trial for breast cancer therapy. The main advantage of these nanomedicines is their lower toxicity compared to conventional formulations, which can be attributed to the elimination of the solvents of the formulation (e.g. Cremophor-EL in paclitaxel conventional formulations) and the more selective location of the drug at tumour site (e.g. cardiotoxicity related to free doxorubicin). However, some adverse events (e.g. hand foot syndrome or infusion reactions) have been related to the administration of some nanomedicines, which have to be considered.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms , Nanomedicine , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Female , Humans , Nanomedicine/methods , Nanomedicine/trends , Nanostructures/therapeutic use , Neoplasm StagingABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The term 'cannabinoids' designates a family of compounds with activity upon cannabinoid receptors. Cannabinoids are classified in three groups: phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids, and the synthetic analogues of both groups. They have become a promising tool in the treatment of cancer disease, not only as palliative agents, but also as antitumor drugs, due to their ability to inhibit the proliferation, adhesion, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of tumour cells. Two of the cancers where they have shown high anticancer activity are breast and prostate tumours. Despite this potential clinical interest, several studies have also reported that cannabinoids can stimulate the proliferation of cancer cells at very low concentrations. Areas covered: The aim of this review is to evaluate the promising chemotherapeutic utility of phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids in breast and prostate cancer. Expert opinion: Cannabinoids, in particular the non-psychoactive CBD, may be promising tools in combination therapy for breast and prostate cancer, due to their direct antitumor effects, their ability to improve the efficacy of conventional antitumor drugs and their usefulness as palliative treatment. Nevertheless, deeper studies to fully establish the mechanisms responsible for their antitumour and pro-tumour properties and their formulation in efficient delivery systems remain to be established.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators/pharmacology , Cannabinoids/pharmacology , Cannabinoids/therapeutic use , Drug Design , Endocannabinoids/pharmacology , Endocannabinoids/therapeutic use , Female , Humans , Male , Palliative Care/methods , Prostatic Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
Low drug loading, burst effect during release and drug inactivation account for the main drawbacks of protein microencapsulation in poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) matrix by the water-in oil-in water (W/O/W) solvent evaporation method. Thus, the current study was set to invest the critical attributes of formulation and of elaboration process which determine protein loading into microparticles as well as its further release, using albumin as protein model. NaCl concentration in the external aqueous phase, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) concentration and mostly viscosity of both the internal aqueous phase and the organic phase were critical attributes for improving drug loading, with polymer molecular weight and hydrophobicity likewise directly related to albumin loading. In such a way, when using 0.5% PVA as internal aqueous phase the highest albumin loading was achieved. Optimized microparticles exhibited a sustained in vitro release of albumin over 130 days. The influence of the microencapsulation process on albumin stability and biological activity was evaluated by carrying out cell proliferation assays on PC12 cells with albumin released from microparticles. Such assay demonstrated that the microencapsulation procedure optimized in this study did not affect the biological stability of the microencapsulated protein.
Subject(s)
Albumins/administration & dosage , Lactic Acid/chemistry , Microspheres , Polyglycolic Acid/chemistry , Albumins/chemistry , Animals , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods , Delayed-Action Preparations , Drug Liberation , Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions , Molecular Weight , PC12 Cells , Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer , Rats , Sodium Chloride/chemistry , Solvents/chemistryABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To improve chemotherapy protocols of lymphoid malignancies, by using polymeric and lipid microparticles as controlled delivery systems of dexamethasone, part of all combined chemotherapy protocols for its strong-inducing effect on malignant lymphoblasts. METHODS: Polymeric microparticles were prepared by the oil-in-water-emulsion cosolvent evaporation method, andlipid microparticles by spray drying. Their cytotoxic effects on GC-sensitive PC12 cells and GC-resistant PC3 cells were characterized by cell proliferation and apoptosis assays. RESULTS: Both elaboration methods rendered optimal-sized microparticles for parenteral administration with high drug loading. In vitro assays showed sustained dexamethasone release from polymeric microparticles over a month, whereas 100% dexamethasone release from lipid microparticles was achieved within 24 h. Similar PC12 cell death to that obtained with dexamethasone solution administered every 48 h was achieved with dexamethasone polymeric microparticles in 26-days assays. Dexamethasone solution and loaded polymeric microparticles induced apoptosis around 15.8 and 19.9%, respectively, after 2 days of incubation. Lipid microparticles increased further apoptosis induction in PC12 cells and, unlike dexamethasone solution and polymeric microparticles, showed antiproliferative effects on PC3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Dexamethasone polymeric microparticles constitute an alternative to current dexamethasone administration systems in combined chemotherapy, whereas dexamethasone lipid microparticles represent a potential tool to revert glucocorticoid resistance.