Abstract
We fabricated bilirubin-bovine serum albumin (BR-BSA) nanocomplexes as candidates for the delivery of 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine (5FUdr) against experimental murine lymphoma. BR was attached to 5FUdr via acid-labile ester bonds mimicking small-molecule drug conjugates. The construct was self-assembled with BSA through strong noncovalent interactions with high drug occupancy in the core and labeled with folic acid (FA) to target cancer cells. The BR-5FUdr-BSA-FA nanoconstruct exhibits excellent biocompatibility, prevents nephrotoxicity, and is tolerated by red blood cells and mononuclear cells. The construct also showed increased accumulation in lymph nodes and tumor cells. BR-5FUdr-BSA-FA caused prolonged growth inhibition and apoptosis, enhanced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, and minimized the viability of parental and doxorubicin-resistant Dalton's lymphoma cells. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with BR-5FUdr-BSA-FA significantly increased the life span of the animals, improved their histopathological parameters, and downregulated PD-1 expression, suggesting the potential of the construct for 5FUdr delivery to treat lymphoma.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2053-2065 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Molecular Pharmaceutics |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 3 May 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- 5FUdr
- PD-1
- bilirubin
- bovine serum albumin
- growth inhibition
- lymphoma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Pharmaceutical Science
- Drug Discovery