Gold Nanoparticles Promote a Multimodal Synergistic Cancer Therapy Strategy by Co-Delivery of Thermo-Chemo-Radio Therapy Publisher Pubmed



Alamzadeh Z^{1, 2} ; Beik J^{1, 2} ; Mirrahimi M³ ; Shakerizadeh A^{1, 2} ; Ebrahimi F⁴ ; Komeili A⁵ ; Ghalandari B⁵ ; Ghaznavi H⁶ ; Kamrava SK⁵ ; Moustakis C⁷
Source: European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Published:2020

Abstract

Multimodal cancer therapy has become a new trend in clinical oncology due to potential generation of synergistic therapeutic effects. Herein, we propose a multifunctional nanoplatform comprising alginate hydrogel co-loaded with cisplatin and gold nanoparticles (abbreviated as ACA) for triple combination of photothermal therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy (thermo-chemo-radio therapy). The therapeutic potential of ACA was assessed in combination with 532 nm laser and 6 MV X-ray against KB human mouth epidermal carcinoma cells. The results demonstrated that tri-modal thermo-chemo-radio therapy using ACA induced a superior anticancer efficacy than mono- or bi-modality treatments. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in KB cells treated with tri-modal therapy was increased by 4.4-fold compared to untreated cells. The gene expression analysis demonstrated the up-regulation of Bax pro-apoptotic factor (by 4.5-fold) and the down-regulation of Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic factor (by 0.3-fold). The massive cell injury and the appearance of morphological characteristics of apoptosis were also evident in the micrograph of KB cells caused by thermo-chemo-radio therapy. Therefore, ACA nanocomplex can be offered as a promising platform to combine photothermal therapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, thereby affording an opportunity for combating chemo- and radio-resistant tumors. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.