title: Study of the enhanced anticancer efficacy of gambogic acid on Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells when mediated via magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gambogic acid (GA), a potent anticancer agent, is limited in clinical administration due to its poor water solubility. The aim of this study was to explore a drug delivery system based on magnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (MNP-Fe(3)O(4)) conjugated with GA to increase water solubility of the drug and enhance its chemotherapeutic efficiency for pancreatic cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  GA was conjugated with the MNP-Fe(3)O(4) colloidal suspension by mechanical absorption polymerization to construct GA-loaded MNP-Fe(3)O(4), which acted as a drug delivery system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Combination therapy with GA and MNP-Fe(3)O(4) induced remarkable improvement in anticancer activity, which was demonstrated by optical microscopic observations, MTT assay, and nuclear DAPI staining. Furthermore, the possible signaling pathway was explored by Western blot. In Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells, our observations demonstrated that this strategy could enhance potential anticancer efficiency by inducing apoptosis. The mechanisms of the synergistic effect may be due to reducing protein expression of Bcl-2 and enhancing that of Bax, caspase 9, and caspase 3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings demonstrate that a combination of GA and MNPs-Fe(3)O(4) represents a promising approach to the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cailian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Baoan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Wenwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D053453:Caspase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008954:Models, Biological; D050997:Nanomedicine; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D044004:Xanthones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; C494826:BAX protein, human; D004337:Drug Carriers; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D044004:Xanthones; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; C052659:gambogic acid; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; C506433:CASP9 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D053453:Caspase 9