Title

Cancer cell death induced by nanomagnetolectin

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Magnetic nanoparticles represent a new paradigm for molecular targeting therapy in cancer. However, the transformative targeting potential of magnetic nanoparticles has been stymied by a key obstacle-safe delivery to specified target cells in vivo. As cancer cells grow under nutrient deprivation and hypoxic conditions and decorate cell surface with excessive sialoglycans, sialic acid binding lectins might be suitable for targeting cancer cells in vivo. Here we explore the potential of magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with wheat germ lectin (WGA) conjugate, so-called nanomagnetolectin, as apoptotic targetable agents for prostate cancer. In the presence of magnetic field (magnetofection) for 15 min, 2.46 nM nanomagnetolectin significantly promoted apoptosis (∼12-fold, p value <0.01) of prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, PC-3, DU-145) compared to normal prostate epithelial cells (PrEC, PNT2, PZ-HPV-7), when supplemented with 10 mM sialic acid under nutrient deprived condition. Nanomagnetolectin targets cell-surface glycosylation, particularly sialic acid as nanomagnetolectin induced apoptosis of cancer cells largely diminished (only 2 to 2.5-fold) compared to normal cells. The efficacy of magnetofected nanomagnetolectin was demonstrated in orthotopically xenografted (DU-145) mice, where tumor was not only completely arrested, but also reduced significantly (p value <0.001). This was further corroborated in subcutaneous xenograft model, where nanomagnetolectin in the presence of magnetic field and photothermal heating at ∼42 °C induced apoptosis of tumor by ∼4-fold compared to tumor section heated at ∼42 °C, but without magnetic field. Taken all together, the study demonstrates, for the first time, the utility of nanomagnetolectin as a potential cancer therapeutic.

Publication Date

9-1-2017

Faculty

Faculty of Dentistry

Subject Area

Health Sciences, General Medicine, Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Genetics, Molecular Biology

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Indexed in Web Of Science

yes

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejcb.2017.04.005

Volume

96

Keywords

Apoptosis, Cell metabolism, Glycosylation sensing, Magnetofection, Metabolic glycoengineering, Nanomagnetolectin, Nanoparticles, Nutrient deprivation, Sialic acid, Wheat germ agglutinin

ISSN

01719335

eISSN

16181298

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