Sustained release of silibinin-loaded chitosan nanoparticle induced apoptosis in glioma cells.

In this study, a chitosan nanoparticle formulation was synthesized for loading silibinin as a sustained-release drug system to evaluate its effects on apoptosis in C6 glioma cells. This synthesized nanoparticle was analyzed by measurement methods including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The formation and amorphization of nanoparticle were confirmed by FTIR and XRD analysis, respectively. The mean diameter of silibinin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (SCNP) was 50 ± 7 and 188.6 ± 0.17 nm by using FE-SEM and DLS, respectively. In addition, the positive zeta potential of nanoparticles was +11.5. Rhodamine-conjugated SCNP analysis showed the internalization of silibinin to C6 glioma cells. The cytotoxicity assay indicated that the nanoformulation of silibinin was toxic to C6 glioma cells. Although SCNP significantly increased the expression of the both apoptotic genes in C6 cells, Bax and caspase3, it did not have any significant effect on the level of the antiapoptotic gene, Bcl2. In contrast, SCNP did not have any toxic effect on H9C2 cells. In conclusion, the results of the current study indicated that SCNP can be considered as a sustained-release drug system for future cell-based therapeutic strategies.

Pro-Apoptotic and Anti-Angiogenesis Effects of Olive Leaf Extract on Spontaneous Mouse Mammary Tumor Model by Balancing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Endostatin Levels.

It has been proven that olive associated products such as olive leaf extract (OLE) causes significant reduction in cancer cells viability and proliferation. Female BALB/c adult mice were divided into four groups. Three days prior to oral treatments, tumors were transplanted. First group were treated with distilled water and other three groups were received, respectively, 75, 150, and 225 mg/kg/day of OLE for three weeks. For assessment of anti-angiogenesis and pro-apoptotic effect of OLE on tumor tissue, tumor volume, cell mitosis and apoptosis, and also vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endostatin levels were assessed. OLE treatment with 150 and 225 mg/kg/day lead to significant reduction in tumor volume and cell mitosis compared with the control group, while the same doses significantly increase tumor cell apoptosis. OLE treatment with 150 mg/kg/day increase endostatin levels, while the same dose did not significantly decrease VEGF levels. The VEGF level is significantly reduced by the treatment with OLE 225 mg/kg/day for three weeks. Although, further studies are needed to clarify anti-angiogenesis and anti-apoptotic mechanism of OLE, consumption of OLE polyphenols after tumor transplantation reduced spontaneous mouse mammary tumor growth.