Liposomal nanoparticles reduce dose-dependent behavior of paclitaxel against MDA-MB 468 breast cancer

Owing to its anti-cancer and anti-oxidant properties, Kaempferol (KAE) has become an ideal candidate to be more welcome into clinical practice. However, Due to its low water solubility and bioavailability, we aimed to design and address a new liposomal formulation with KAE and evaluate its anti-cancer activity against MDA-MB 468 breast cancer cells.

To characterize the physicochemical features, pharmaceutical parameters such as nanoparticle size, morphology of particles under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and zeta potential were measured. The optimum liposomal formulation along with paclitaxel was incubated to investigate their biological activity against breast cancer cells. Furthermore, molecular mechanisms related to program cell death (apoptosis) and their gene expression were measured by flowcytometric and real-time PCR, respectively.

SEM images showed narrow distributed and scattered particles with the size of 80.3 nm (KAE) formulated in liposomes. IC50 values for KAE and paclitaxel were determined to be as 44 ± 0.52 μM and 1.75 ± 0.36 nM, respectively. Cell proliferation averaged from 44 ± 3.9% to 56 ± 26.8% (p <0.05) after treatment with KAE-loaded liposomes. Co-administration of nanoparticles containing KAE and paclitaxel in cancer cells significantly increased the percentage of apoptosis (P <0.05).

Taking our data into consideration, we suggest that insertion of KAE into liposomal carriers not only improved the bioavailability of this flavonoid but also surged the anti-cancer efficacy of paclitaxel.