Volume 23, Issue 11 2300193
Research Article

Dermatan Sulfate/Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded with an Anti-Inflammatory Peptide Increase the Response of Human Colorectal Cancer Cells to 5-Fluorouracil

Agustín Blachman

Agustín Blachman

Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas “Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini” (IQUIFIB), UBA- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Junín 956, C1113AAD Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Ariadna María Birocco

Ariadna María Birocco

Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas “Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini” (IQUIFIB), UBA- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Junín 956, C1113AAD Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Sofía Curcio

Sofía Curcio

Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas “Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini” (IQUIFIB), UBA- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Junín 956, C1113AAD Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Cátedra de Biotecnología. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Junín 956, C1113AAD, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Silvia Andrea Camperi

Silvia Andrea Camperi

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Cátedra de Biotecnología. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Junín 956, C1113AAD, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Paolo Di Gianvincenzo

Paolo Di Gianvincenzo

Soft Matter Nanotechnology, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182 C, Donostia, San Sebastián, 20014 Spain

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Jésica Ayelén Rodriguez

Jésica Ayelén Rodriguez

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Cátedra de Biotecnología. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Junín 956, C1113AAD, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Gabriela Romina Barredo-Vacchelli

Gabriela Romina Barredo-Vacchelli

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Cátedra de Biotecnología. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC), Junín 956, C1113AAD, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Gloria Cenci

Gloria Cenci

Soft Matter Nanotechnology, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182 C, Donostia, San Sebastián, 20014 Spain

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Alejandro Sosnik

Alejandro Sosnik

Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Nanomaterials Science, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa, 3200003 Israel

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Sergio Moya

Sergio Moya

Soft Matter Nanotechnology, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182 C, Donostia, San Sebastián, 20014 Spain

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Graciela Cristina Calabrese

Corresponding Author

Graciela Cristina Calabrese

Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Instituto de Química y Fisicoquímica Biológicas “Prof. Alejandro C. Paladini” (IQUIFIB), UBA- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Junín 956, C1113AAD Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 19 July 2023

Abstract

The gold standard drug for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), induces pharmacological tolerance in long-term management. The transcriptional factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) plays a key role in 5-FU resistance. The aim of this work is to study the capability of polyelectrolytes complex nanoparticles of dermatan sulfate (DS) and chitosan (CS), loaded with the anti-inflammatory tripeptide IRW, to sensitize colorectal cancer cells to 5-FU. Fluorescence and flow cytometry studies confirmed the recognition by the nanoformulation, of the cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) receptor, involved in the initiation and progression of colorectal tumors. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and flow cytometry reinforced the importance of DS and CD44 receptor in the interaction, as the addition of DS or anti-CD44 antibody blocked the binding. Moreover, the nanoformulation also interacts with 3D colon cancer cultures, namely colonospheres, enriched in cancer stem cells (CSC), subpopulation responsible for drug resistance and metastasis. To evaluate the consequences of this interaction, the subcellular distribution of the transcriptional factor NFκB, is determined by immunofluorescence analysis. Internalization and the intracellular release of IRW inhibited nuclear translocation of NFκB and increased cellular sensitivity to 5-FU. Altogether, the nanoformulation could provide a selective delivery platform for IRW distribution to colorectal tumors, being an innovative strategy toward overcoming 5-FU resistance in CRC therapy.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

Research data are not shared.

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