ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nowadays, the encapsulation of cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents is attracting interest as a method for drug delivery. We hypothesized that the efficiency of helenalin might be maximized by encapsulation in ß-cyclodextrin nanoparticles. Helenalin, with a hydrophobic structure obtained from flowers of Arnica chamissonis and Arnica Montana, has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activity but low water solubility and bioavailability. ß-Cyclodextrin (ß-CD) is a cyclic oligosaccharide comprising seven D-glucopyranoside units, linked through 1,4-glycosidic bonds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To test our hypothesis, we prepared ß-cyclodextrin- helenalin complexes to determine their inhibitory effects on telomerase gene expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and cytotoxic effects by colorimetric cell viability (MTT) assay. RESULTS: MTT assay showed that not only ß-cyclodextrin has no cytotoxic effect on its own but also it demonstrated that ß-cyclodextrin- helenalin complexes inhibited the growth of the T47D breast cancer cell line in a time and dose-dependent manner. Our q-PCR results showed that the expression of telomerase gene was effectively reduced as the concentration of ß-cyclodextrin-helenalin complexes increased. CONCLUSIONS: ß-Cyclodextrin-helenalin complexes exerted cytotoxic effects on T47D cells through down-regulation of telomerase expression and by enhancing Helenalin uptake by cells. Therefore, ß-cyclodextrin could be superior carrier for this kind of hydrophobic agent.
