Prostate cancer (PCa) is a malignant tumor for which there are no effective treatment strategies. In this study, we developed a targeted strategy for prostate-specific membrane-antigen (PSMA)-positive PCa in vitro based on 2-(3-((S)-5-amino-1-carboxypentyl)ureido) pentanedioic acid (ACUPA) modified polyethylene glycol (PEG)-Cholesterol micelles containing wogonin (WOG), which was named ACUPA-M-WOG. ACUPA-M-WOG was conventionally prepared using a self-assembling method, which produced stable particle size and ζ potential. Moreover, ACUPA-M-WOG showed good drug encapsulating capacity and drug release profiles. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) results suggested that ACUPA modified PEG-Cholesterol micelles could effectively enhance the drug uptake on PSMA(+) PCa cells, and the cytotoxicity of ACUPA-M-WOG was stronger than other controls according to in vitro cellular proliferation and apoptosis assays, separately through methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) and Annexin V/Propidium Iodide (PI) staining. Finally, the molecular mechanisms of ACUPA-M-WOG's effects on human PSMA(+) PCa were investigated, and were mainly the intrinsic or extrinsic apoptosis signaling pathways. The Western blot results suggested that ACUPA-M-WOG could enhance the WOG-induced apoptosis, which was mainly via the intrinsic signaling pathway rather than the extrinsic signaling pathway. In conclusion, ACUPA-M-WOG was successfully developed for WOG-selective delivery to PSMA(+) PCa cells and had stronger inhibition than free drugs, which might make it an effective strategy for PSMA(+) PCa.
International journal of molecular sciences. 2016 May 17*** epublish ***
Hailong Zhang, Xiaogang Liu, Fengbo Wu, Feifei Qin, Ping Feng, Ting Xu, Xiang Li, Li Yang
State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu 610041, China. ., Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., Department of Pharmacy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ., State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. .