Molecular Insights into Tumor Targeted Therapy by Carrier-Free Lycorine Nanoparticles in Vitro and in Vivo

Abstract

Lycorine (Ly) is a promising natural compound with extensive antitumor activities. However, due to poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability, the research and development of Ly anticancer drugs has been greatly restricted. Recently, the carrier-free nanoparticles have emerged as an outstanding drug delivery system. In this study, we prepared a DSPE-PEG modifying Ly nanoparticle (DS-Ly NPs) to overcome these drawbacks. We find that compared with Ly, DS-Ly NPs can significantly inhibit cell viability. Meanwhile, DS-Ly NPs treatment results in higher promotion of apoptotic and autophagic capacities, as well as inhibition of migration and invasion. Furthermore, DS-Ly NPs exhibits a better antitumor effect in AOM/DSS induced colorectal tumors and orthotopic hepatocellular tumors than Ly in repression of multiple oncogenic processes, which may benefit from the advantages of carrier-free nanoparticle. Beside, we showed that DS-Ly NPs can prolong the blood circulation time better than Ly. Taken together, these results have demonstrated that carrier-free nanoparticle provides a new therapeutic strategy for treating cancer.