Development of Corn-Derived Nanoparticles as Mass-Producible Bionanoparticles with Anticancer Activity

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that plant-derived nanoparticles (NPs) contain biologically active molecules and have potential applications as therapeutic agents or delivery carriers for bioactive molecules. In this study, we selected corn as a material for plant-derived NPs as corn is inexpensive to grow and is mass-produced globally, and these characteristics are similar to those of plant-derived NPs, which are easy to prepare and can be produced at high yields and low costs. Super sweet corn was homogenized in water to obtain corn juice, which was then centrifuged, filtered through a 0.45 µm-pore size syringe filter, and ultracentrifuged to obtain corn-derived NPs (cNPs). cNPs obtained were approximately 80 nm in diameter and negatively charged (−17 mV). cNPs were taken up by various types of cells, including colon26 tumor cells and RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells, with selective reduction of the proliferation of colon26 cells. Moreover, cNPs induced tumor necrosis factor-α release from RAW264.7 cells. cNPs and RAW264.7 in combination significantly suppressed the proliferation of colon26/fluc cells. Daily intratumoral injections of cNPs significantly suppressed the growth of subcutaneous colon26 tumors in mice, with no significant body weight loss. These results indicate excellent anti-tumor activity of cNPs.

Plant-derived nanovesicles: Current understanding and applications for cancer therapy

“…These analyses suggest that vesicles extracted from the same families, Rutaceae and Zingiberaceae , share common lipid compositions. Other PELNs from tea leaves and corn are also abundant in phospholipids such as PG and PC [ 18 , 73 ]. Lipid analysis of grape PELNs showed that PA and PE accounted for 53.2% and 26.1% of the total lipid content, respectively.…”

“…Sasaki et al demonstrated that PELNs from corn are taken up by colon-26 cells via a cholesterol-dependent pathway. Interestingly, when comparing the internalization of these PELNs with that of control liposomes, PELNs showed superiority with a higher rate of cancer cell targeting [ 18 ]. Significantly, it has been reported that surface proteins play a role in garlic PELN internalization, as trypsin-digested vesicles (surface proteins removed) showed less uptake by HepG2 cells than did undigested ones.…”

“…Sasaki et al examined the anti-cancer activity of nanoparticles extracted from corn and revealed that these particles significantly reduced the number of cells in various cell lines, such as colon26, MDA-MB-231, and Panc-1, but did not affect non-cancer cells (NIH3T3, RAW264.7). This anti-tumor effect was also expressed in colon26 tumor-bearing mice models, in which tumor growth was restrained after subcutaneous injection of corn-derived particles, and no severe toxicity was detected in mouse organs [ 18 ].

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“…In recent years, pioneering studies have highlighted the potential roles PDVs may play in intercellular signaling, defense responses, and cross-kingdom communication. Other appealing innate features, such as its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and regenerative properties, have also been gradually revealed [ [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] ]. Based on these fundamentals, scientists have endeavored to utilize PDVs for the treatment of many medical conditions, including skin diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, and cancer.…”

“…Over the past decade, PDVs have emerged as natural-based tools with ideal intrinsic values and high flexibility for advanced engineering applications. In particular, PDVs can be novel candidates for cancer treatment owing to their advantages such as large-scale production, minimal cytotoxicity and reduced immunogenicity and efficient cellular uptake [ 10 , 18 , 19 ]. Therefore, a timely review of relevant research progress is of great significance for the continuous development of PDVs for cancer therapy.…”