Enhanced Noscapine Delivery for Prostate Cancer Therapy

Recent research from Atlanta, United States, has shown promising results in the development of a novel delivery system for the cancer-fighting compound noscapine. Noscapine, an orally available plant-derived anti-tussive alkaloid, has been found to inhibit tumor growth in various types of cancer, including prostate cancer. However, its bioavailability to tumors has been limited, resulting in inadequate disease elimination. To overcome this limitation, scientists at Georgia State University have engineered a multifunctional nanoscale delivery vehicle that targets prostate cancer cells using the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR). This innovative approach enables the selective and specific delivery of noscapine to prostate cancer cells, resulting in enhanced intracellular accumulation and anti-cancer activity.

Key Takeaways:

• Noscapine, a plant-derived anti-tussive alkaloid, has been found to inhibit tumor growth in various cancer types, including prostate cancer.
• The bioavailability of noscapine to tumors is limited, resulting in inadequate disease elimination at a dose of 300 mg/kg body weight.
• A multifunctional nanoscale delivery vehicle has been engineered to target prostate cancer cells using the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR).
• The delivery vehicle is trackable using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and near-infrared (NIR) imaging.
• Nos-loaded nanoparticles were capable of binding to uPAR and internalized by PC-3 cells, resulting in enhanced intracellular noscapine accumulation.
• The uPAR-targeted nos-loaded nanoparticles enhanced the inhibitory effect on PC-3 growth by ~6-fold compared to free noscapine.
• The study demonstrated that the uPAR-targeted nanoparticles maintained their T2 MRI contrast effect upon internalization into tumor cells.

Statistics:

• 300 mg/kg body weight: the oral dose where noscapine bioavailability to tumors saturates
• ~6-fold: the enhanced inhibitory effect on PC-3 growth by uPAR-targeted nos-loaded nanoparticles compared to free noscapine
• 4h: the time frame within which the drug is efficiently released at pH 4 to 5
• 135 amino-acid amino-terminal fragment (hATF) of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA): the natural ligand for uPAR used in the nanoscale delivery vehicle

Sources:

• Abdalla, M.O., et al. (2011). Enhanced noscapine delivery using uPAR-targeted optical-MR imaging trackable nanoparticles for prostate cancer therapy. Journal of Controlled Release, 149(3), 314-322.
• Georgia State University, Dept. of Biology, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States.