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Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, posing a serious threat to global health. Tetrandrine (Tet) is a small molecule in traditional Chinese medicine with proven primary efficacy against multiple cancers. Although previous studies have demonstrated the potential anticancer effects of Tet on NSCLC, its poor water solubility has limited its further clinical application. Herein, a novel nanoparticle-based drug delivery system, platelet membrane (PLTM)-coated Tet-loaded polycaprolactone- b -poly(ethylene glycol)- b -polycaprolactone nanoparticles (PTeNPs), is proposed to increase the potency of Tet against NSCLC. First, tetrandrine nanoparticles (TeNPs) are created using an emulsion solvent evaporation method, and biomimetic nanoparticles (PTeNPs) are prepared by coating the nanoparticles with PLTMs. When coated with PLTMs, PTeNPs are considerably less phagocytized by macrophages than Tet and TeNPs. In addition, compared with Tet and TeNPs, PTeNPs can significantly inhibit the growth and invasion of NSCLC both in vitro and in vivo. With reliable biosafety, this drug delivery system provides a new method of sustained release and efficient anticancer effects against NSCLC, facilitating the incorporation of Tet in modern nanotechnology.

Tetrandrine (Tet) has been previously reported to induce apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. However, poor Tet solubility has limited its further application. The lipophilicity of Tet suggests that the development of Tet-loaded biodegradable polymeric micelle delivery systems may be possible. In our previous work, we demonstrated the superior antitumor efficiency of Tet-loaded mPEG-PCL nanoparticles (NPs) in colorectal cancer cell lines. In the present study, we report that a spherical core–shell Tet-loaded nanoparticle structure was prepared using a nanoprecipitation method by employing amphiphilic poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PVP-b-PCL) copolymers as drug carriers. Tet was incorporated into the NPs with high encapsulation efficiency and released in a sustained release pattern. Moreover, coumarin-6 (hydrophobic fluorescence)-loaded Tet-NP uptake was shown to be mediated mainly by endocytosis from the NPs and was more efficient than that of rhodamine B (hydrophilic fluorescence)-loaded NP uptake, which was mainly dependent upon infiltration. The endocytic uptake process was blocked by NaN3, a mitochondrial inhibitor. In vitro studies using the A549 cell line demonstrated the superior cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction ability of Tet-NPs in dose- and time-dependent manners compared to free Tet. The data obtained from this study, therefore, not only confirm the potential use of Tet to treat lung cancer but also suggest an effective manner by which to improve the anticancer efficiency of Tet in nano-drug delivery systems.

Tetrandrine (Tet) could enhance the antitumor effect of Paclitaxel (Ptx) by increasing intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels, which leads to the possibility of co-delivery of both drugs for synergistic antitumor effect. In the current study, we reported an efficient, local therapeutic strategy employing effective Tet and Ptx delivery with a nanoparticle-loaded gelatin system. Tet- and Ptx co-loaded mPEG-PCL nanoparticles (P/T-NPs) were encapsulated into the physically cross-linked gelatin hydrogel and then implanted on the tumor site for continuous drug release. The drug-loaded gelatin hydrogel underwent a phase change when the temperature slowly increased. In vitro study showed that Tet/Ptx-loaded PEG-b-PCL nanoparticles encapsulated within a gelatin hydrogel (P/T-NPs-Gelatin) inhibited the growth and invasive ability of BGC-823 cells more effectively than the combination of free drugs or P/T-NPs. In vivo study validated the therapeutic potential of P/T-NPs-Gelatin. P/T-NPs-Gelatin significantly inhibited the activation of p-Akt and the downstream anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and also inducing the activation of pro-apoptotic Bax protein. Moreover, the molecular-modulating effect of P/T-NPs-Gelatin on related proteins varied slightly under the influence of NAC, which was supported by the observations of the tumor volumes and weights. Based on these findings, local implantation of P/T-NPs-Gelatin may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of gastric cancer.

Background: Tetrandrine (Tet), a kind of herbal medicine belonging to the family of bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, has gained more attraction for its potential anti-tumor effects. However, its potential utilization in clinic is greatly hampered by the poor pharmacokinetcs profile due to its insolubility. Recently, biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles with amphilic copolymers as drug carriers have shown better bioavailability against tumor as promising tumor-targeted drug delivery system., Methods: In the current study, Tet-loaded nanoparticles (Tet-NPs) was prepared with amphiphilic block copolymer as drug carriers. The physiochemical characterization, in vitro and in vivo antitumor effect of nanoparticles were evaluated., Results: In vitro study demonstrated the superior cell inhibitory effect of Tet-NPs. Most importantly, the viability of cells exposed to Tet-NPs was significant lower than that of cells treated with free Tet at lower equivalent doses. Moreover, Tet- NPs induced apoptosis and inhibited the proliferation of cells more effectively than free did at the equivalent concentration. Western blot showed that the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, Bcl-XL was significantly promoted while the pro-apoptotic Bax was significantly inhibited by the treatment of Tet-NPs., Conclusion: Data from the current study suggested that Tet-NPs is a promising delivery nano-system for the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Earlier studies have demonstrated the promising antitumor effect of tetrandrine (Tet) against a series of cancers. However, the poor solubility of Tet limits its application, while its hydrophobicity makes Tet a potential model drug for nanodelivery systems. We report on a simple way of preparing drug-loaded nanoparticles formed by amphiphilic poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PVP-b-PCL) copolymers with Tet as a model drug. The mean diameters of Tet-loaded PVP-b-PCL nanoparticles (Tet-NPs) were between 110 nm and 125 nm with a negative zeta potential slightly below 0 mV. Tet was incorporated into PVP-b-PCL nanoparticles with high loading efficiency. Different feeding ratios showed different influences on sizes, zeta potentials, and the drug loading efficiencies of Tet-NPs. An in vitro release study shows the sustained release pattern of Tet-NPs. It is shown that the uptake of Tet-NPs is mainly mediated by the endocytosis of nanoparticles, which is more efficient than the filtration of free Tet. Further experiments including fluorescence activated cell sorting and Western blotting indicated that this Trojan strategy of delivering Tet in PVP-b-PCL nanoparticles via endocytosis leads to enhanced induction of apoptosis in the non-small cell lung cancer cell A549 line; enhanced apoptosis is achieved by inhibiting the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins. Moreover, Tet-NPs more efficiently inhibit the ability of cell migration and invasion than free Tet by down-regulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP-9, as well as up-regulating tissue inhibitor of MMP-3 (TIMP-3). Therefore, data from this study not only confirms the potential of Tet in treating lung cancer but also offers an effective way of improving the anticancer efficiency of Tet by nanodrug delivery systems.

Paclitaxel (Ptx) has demonstrated encouraging activity in the treatment of gastric cancer. Development of drug-containing biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (np) becomes one of the solutions to relieve side effects of Ptx. However, Ptx-loaded nanoparticles prepared by the nanoprecipitation method are unstable in the aqueous phase. Here we report that tetrandrine (Tet) effectively increases the stability of Ptx-loaded nanoparticles when Tet is coencapsulated with Ptx into mPEG-PCL nanoparticles. The current study demonstrates the synergistic antitumor effect of Tet and Ptx against gastric cancer cells, which provides the basis of coadministration of Tet and Ptx by nanoparticles. It is reported that the cellular chemoresistance to Ptx correlates with intracellular antioxidant capacity and the depletion of cellular antioxidant capacity could enhance the cytotoxicity of Ptx. Tet effectively induces intracellular ROS production. Therefore, the present study provides a promising novel therapeutic strategy basing on "oxidation therapy" that it could amplify the antitumor effect of paclitaxel by employing Tet as a pro-oxidant. More intracellular Tet accumulation by endocytosis of Ptx/Tet-np than equivalent doses of free drug leads to more intracellular ROS induction, which could efficiently enhance the cytotoxicity of Ptx by sequential inhibition of ROS-dependent Akt pathway and activation of apoptotic pathways, all of which would mediate the superior cytotoxicity of Ptx/Tet-np over free drug. The present results suggest that the codelivery of Ptx and Tet by nanoparticles provides a novel therapeutic strategy basing on "oxidation therapy" against gastric cancer.