Improving anti-melanoma effect of curcumin by biodegradable nanoparticles

// Bilan Wang 1, 3, 4, 6 , Xiaoxiao Liu 5, 6 , Yan Teng 7 , Ting Yu 6 , Junli Chen 7 , Yuzhu Hu 6 , Na Liu 7, 8 , Lingli Zhang 1, 3, 4, 6 and Yangmei Shen 2, 3 1 Department of Pharmacy, West China Second university Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China 2 Department of Pathology, West China Second university Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China 3 Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, West China Second university Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China 4 Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China 5 Department of Radiation Oncolo, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China 6 Cancer Center, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, PR China 7 Research Unit of Infection and Immunity, Department of Pathophysiology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 8 Puyang Medical College, Puyang, Henan, China Correspondence to: Yangmei Shen, email: sym.julia@163.com Keywords: melanoma; curcumin; micelles; cell apoptosis Received: April 25, 2017     Accepted: August 06, 2017     Published: August 24, 2017 ABSTRACT Melanoma is known as the most common malignant cutaneous cancer. Curcumin, a natural component, has been shown to have various activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, anti-amyloid and anti-thrombosis. However, there is a greatest obstacle in the administration of curcumin due to its hydrophobicity and low oral bioavailability. In this study, we formulated curcumin-loaded MPEG-PLA (Curcumin/MPEG-PLA) micelles aiming to improve its solubility in aqueous solution and investigated anti-tumor effect on melanoma in vitro and in vivo . The spherical curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles were completely dispersed in normal saline and could release curcumin in a sustained manner in vitro . In addition, we demonstrated that curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles had stronger cytotoxicity and induced a higher percentage of apoptosis in B16 and A375 cancer cells than free curcumin in vitro . The immunohistochemical study revealed that curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles induced more melanoma cell apoptosis than free curcumin and inhibited neovascularization in tumor tissues. In conclusion, the curcumin/MPEG-PLA micelles have potential clinical application for melanoma.