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Nanovectorization of TRAIL with single wall carbon nanotubes enhances tumor cell killing
Al Batoul Zakaria1, Fabien Picaud, Thibault Rattier
1Laboratoire de Nanomédecine, Imagerie et Thérapeutique, EA 4662, UFR Sciences & Techniques, CHU Jean Minjoz, Université de Franche-Comté , 25030 Besançon cedex, France.
Abstract:
Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL or Apo2L) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. This type II transmembrane protein is able to bound specifically to cancer cell receptors (i.e., TRAIL-R1 (or DR4) and TRAIL-R2 (or DR5)) and to induce apoptosis without being toxic for healthy cells. Because membrane-bound TRAIL induces stronger receptor aggregation and apoptosis than soluble TRAIL, we proposed here to vectorize TRAIL using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to mimic membrane TRAIL. Owing to their exceptional and revolutional properties, carbon nanotubes, especially SWCNTs, are used in a wide range of physical or, now, medical applications. Indeed due to their high mechanical resistance, their high flexibility and their hydrophobicity, SWCNTs are known to rapidly diffuse in an aqueous medium such as blood, opening the way of development of new drug nanovectors (or nanocarriers). Our TRAIL-based SWCNTs nanovectors proved to be more efficient than TRAIL alone death receptors in triggering cancer cell killing. These NPTs increased TRAIL pro-apoptotic potential by nearly 20-fold in different Human tumor cell lines including colorectal, nonsmall cell lung cancer, or hepatocarcinomas. We provide thus a proof-of-concept that TRAIL nanovector derivatives based on SWCNT may be useful to future nanomedicine therapies.
Insights
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) vectorized tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) to enhance cancer cell killing. This novel nanovector significantly boosted TRAIL
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in cancer cells by binding to specific receptors.
- Membrane-bound TRAIL is more effective than soluble TRAIL in triggering apoptosis.
- Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) possess unique properties making them suitable for nanomedicine applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To vectorize TRAIL using SWCNTs to mimic membrane-bound TRAIL and enhance its anti-cancer efficacy.
- To evaluate the efficiency of TRAIL-based SWCNTs nanovectors in cancer cell killing.
Main Methods:
- TRAIL was vectorized using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to create nanovectors.
- The efficacy of these nanovectors was tested on various human tumor cell lines.
Main Results:
- TRAIL-based SWCNTs nanovectors demonstrated significantly enhanced cancer cell killing compared to TRAIL alone.
- The nanovectors increased TRAIL's pro-apoptotic potential by nearly 20-fold.
- Effective cancer cell killing was observed in colorectal, non-small cell lung cancer, and hepatocarcinoma cell lines.
Conclusions:
- TRAIL-based SWCNTs nanovectors represent a promising proof-of-concept for future nanomedicine therapies.
- This approach enhances TRAIL's therapeutic potential for various human cancers.
- SWCNTs serve as effective nanocarriers for TRAIL, improving its anti-cancer activity.
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