The anticancer effects of biodegradable nanomagnetic dual natural components on the leptin gene expression in lung...

Lung cancer is an invasive and progressive, fatal disease with few treatment choices and poor overall survival rates in nonsurgical stages. Leptin (LEP), an adipocyte derivative cytokine, participates in carcinogenesis. Increased amounts of systemic and pulmonary LEP indicate lung cancer. Curcumin (CUR) and silibinin (SIL) are herbal compounds which have many anticancer properties, but they have hydrophobic structures and low solubility in water. In this study, evaluated CUR-SIL dual drug-loaded poly (ɛ-caprolactone) [PCL]-co-poly ethylene glycol (PEG) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were used to determine the inhibitory effect on LEP gene expression. The physicochemical properties of free and CUR-SIL-loaded PCL-PEG were fully characterized. The cytotoxic effect of CUR-SIL-loaded PCL-PEG magnetic nanoparticles was determined by MTT assay. Afterward, the inhibition of LEP gene expression was specified through real-time PCR. Results indicated that CUR-SIL cytotoxicity is time- and dose-dependent. CUR-SIL loaded MNPs showed the IC50 limit in lower concentrations in comparison to net CUR-SIL. CUR-SIL loaded MNPs reduced LEP expression more than net CUR-SIL. These results revealed the possibilities of CUR-SIL-loaded MNPs as a natural and effective antitumor drug delivery system to fight lung tumors.