O Sarcoma de Ewing (ES) é um raro tumor de ossos e tecidos moles com uma característica translocação cromossomal, a fusão EWS/FLI-1, que atua sobre diversos processos oncogênicos. O desenvolvimento da resistência à quimioterapia é comum no tumor e continua como uma das principais causas na falha do tratamento. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar a expressão de genes após a indução de resistência em linhagens celulares de ES. Foi selecionado um conjunto de genes (CCAR1, TUBA1A, POLDIP2, SMARCA4 e SMARCB1) a partir da mineração da literatura em resistência tumoral para duas drogas utilizadas na terapia de ES, doxorrubicina e vincristina. Descrevemos a expressão de cada gene selecionado antes e após as linhagens SK-ES-1 serem submetidas a um protocolo de indução de resistência para ambos os fármacos, que obteve êxito ao induzir as células à resistência. A expressão relativa dos níveis de mRNA foi avaliada e foi encontrada em maior expressão para os genes SMARCA4, SMARCB1 e POLDIP2, e em menor expressão para os genes TUBA1A e CCAR1, quando comparadas às linhagens de controle não-resistentes de cada quimioterápico. Os resultados sugerem o envolvimento de mecanismos de reparo de dano ao DNA, remodelamento de cromatina via SWI/SNF, atividade de microtúbulos e atividade spliceossomal nos processos de resistência quimioterápica em ES. / Ewing Sarcoma (ES) is a rare bone and soft tissue tumor with a characteristic chromosomal translocation, the fusion protein EWS/FLI-1, that drives several oncogenic processes. The development of resistance to chemotherapy is common and remains as the main cause of treatment failure. The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression of selected genes in ES cell lines after induction of resistance. A set of genes (CCAR1, TUBA1A, POLDIP2, SMARCA4 and SMARCB1) was data mined from tumoral resistance literature for two drugs used in ES therapy, doxorubicin and vincristine. We describe the expression of each selected gene before and after SK-ES-1 cell lines were exposed to a drug resistance inducing protocol for doxorubicin and vincristine. Cell lines were successfully induced to be resistant to doxorubicin and vincristine. The relative mRNA expression levels were upregulated for genes SMARCA4, SMARCB1 and POLDIP2 and downregulated for genes TUBA1A and CCAR1, when comparing resistant and non-resistant ES cell lines for each drug. The results suggest involvement of repair pathways, SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling, microtubule and spliceosomal activity processes in drug resistance mechanisms in ES.

O carcinoma hepatocelular (CHC) é a neoplasia maligna primária mais comum do fígado, sendo a quinta mais frequente e a terceira causa de morte por câncer no mundo. Atualmente, nenhum protocolo com resultados satisfatórios no tratamento de CHC foi preconizado. Neste estudo foi determinado o potencial regenerativo e imunomodulador das células-tronco mesenquimais (CTM) associadas ou não aos quimioterápicos doxorrubicina e gencitabina, no modelo ortotópico de CHC em camundongos C57BL/6J. Foi realizado in vitro a determinação da atividade citotóxica dos quimioterápicos doxorrubicina e gencitabina em células de CHC murino (Hepa1c1c7), quantificação da peroxidação de lipídeos da membrana celular (TBARS) e análise das fases do ciclo celular e a expressão de marcadores por citometria de fluxo. A IC50% em células de carcinoma hepatocelular murino (Hepa1c1c7) foi de 1,85 uM para doxorrubicina e 20,8 ?M para gencitabina. A quantificação de TBARS na linhagem celular de CHC murino (Hepa1c1c7) tratados com os quimioterápicos doxorrubicina e gencitabina demonstrou efeito deletério apenas quando tratados nas concentrações (55 a 250 uM) com a doxorrubicina e (1,75 a 7 uM) com gencitabina. Após tratamento com os quimioterápicos, ocorreram modificações nas populações celulares, com o aumento da fase sub-G1 e G0/G1 e diminuição fases S e G2/M. As CTM, apresentaram-se aderentes aos frascos de cultura com morfologia semelhante a fibroblastos e expressão positiva para marcadores CD44, CD73, CD90 e CD105 e negativa para células-tronco hematopoiéticas da medula óssea: CD11b, CD45 e CD117. O modelo experimental tumoral ortotópico de CHC foi estabelecido no 21° dia após a inoculação das células tumorais. Os efeitos da terapêutica com a CTM mostraram aspectos significativos na redução da massa tumoral (30,5%), os demais grupos experimentais tratados com quimioterapia sistêmica associada à terapia celular também evidenciaram resultados significativos na redução da massa tumoral e atenuação dos efeitos de toxicidade sistêmica. As células tumorais extraídas dos tumores hepáticos encontram-se preferencialmente na fase sub-G1 nos grupos de animais tratados com CTM em associação aos quimioterápicos gencitabina (29%) e doxorrubicina (21%), enquanto o tratamento isolado com a doxorrubicina foi de 22% e de 15% para a gencitabina, além de induzir significativamente diminuição das fases S e G2/M. No grupo de animais tratado com CTM em associação ao quimioterápico gencitabina há um aumento da expressão das caspases 3 e 8, e dos marcadores CD44 e IL-1R. O grupo de animais tratados com CTM apresentou aumento na expressão dos marcadores CD90 e CD14. Os resultados obtidos no tratamento do modelo ortotópico de CHC com CTM associadas aos quimioterápicos doxorrubicina e gencitabina apresentaram eficácia na redução da massa tumoral e atenuação dos efeitos colaterais causados pelo tratamento quimioterápico sistêmico, além do seu potencial efeito imunomodulador / Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver, the most frequent fifth and the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. Currently, no protocol with satisfactory results in the treatment of CHC was recommended. In this study we determined the regenerative potential immunomodulatory and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) associated or not to chemotherapy doxorubicin and gemcitabine, in the orthotopic model of CHC in C57BL / 6J mice. Was determined in vitro the cytotoxic activity of doxorubicin and gemcitabine chemotherapy in a murine cells (Hepa1c1c7), quantification of cell membrane lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and analysis of the phases of the cell cycle and expression of markers by flow cytometry. IC50% in murine carcinoma cells (Hepa1c1c7) was 1.85 uM and 20.8 uM for doxorubicin to gemcitabine. The quantification of TBARS in cell line (Hepa1c1c7) treated with the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin and gemcitabine showed a deleterious effect only when treated at concentrations (55-250 uM) doxorubicin and (1.75 to 7 uM) with gemcitabine. After treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, there were changes in the cell population, with increased phase sub-G1 and G0 / G1 phase and reduced S and G2 / M. MSC presented to adhere to culture flasks with morphology similar to fibroblasts and positive expression of markes: CD44, CD73, CD90 and CD105 and negative hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow: CD11b, CD45 and CD117. The tumor orthotopic experimental model of HCC was established on day 21 after tumor cell inoculation. The effects of therapy CTM showed significant aspects in reducing the tumor mass (30.5%), the other experimental groups treated with systemic chemotherapy associated with cell therapy also showed significant results in reducing the tumor mass and mitigation of systemic toxicity effects. The extracted tumor cells of liver tumors are preferably in the sub-G1 phase in groups of animals treated with MSC in association with gemcitabine (29%) and doxorubicin (21%) chemotherapy, whereas the single treatment with was 22% doxorubicin and 15% for gemcitabine in addition to significantly induce reduction of phases S and G2 / M. In the group of animals treated with MTC in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy there is an increased expression of caspase 3 and 8 and IL-1R and CD44. The group of animals treated with MSCs showed increased markers expression of CD90 and CD14. The results obtained in the treatment of orthotopic HCC model with MSC associated with the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin and gemcitabine showed efficacy in reducing tumor burden and attenuation of the side effects caused by systemic chemotherapy, as well its potential immunomodulatory effect

Submitted by MARCIA ROVADOSCHI (marciar@unifra.br) on 2018-08-16T18:21:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_MarianaZancanTonel.pdf: 3760171 bytes, checksum: 30f56b8eeff4822bbb2bcb24f32cf7be (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T18:21:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_MarianaZancanTonel.pdf: 3760171 bytes, checksum: 30f56b8eeff4822bbb2bcb24f32cf7be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-30 / Graphene has attracted great interest from the scientific community since it was demonstrated its stability in 2004. Because of their structural and electronic characteristics, offers a wide variety of applications, such as in the electronics industry and medicine. Graphene is a single layer of graphite in which carbon atoms are arranged in hexagonal form. Meanwhile, doxorubicin (DOX) is a drug widely used for the treatment of various cancers. However, this molecule has a high toxicity mainly in the cardiovascular system. Recent experimental studies have demonstrated that the combination of doxorubicin and graphene can kill malignant cells selectively. This process is also associated with ambient temperatures due to the ability of carbon nanostructures such as graphene and carbon nanotube that can convert infrared radiation into vibrational energy generating heat and causing apoptosis of the malign cells. In this work, we present the structural and electronic properties of graphene, pure and vacancy-type defects, interacting with the DOX molecule by density functional theory (DFT) making use of computer code SIESTA. The results showed that DOX interacting with the pure graphene has a biding energy in the range from 0.88 to 1.09 eV (LDA and GGA, respectively) and the graphene vacancy type defect binding energy is about 1.09 to 0.84 eV (LDA and GGA, respectively). Likewise, it is observed that no major changes in the original electronic properties of graphene. Also, in this work was analyzed by ab initio molecular dynamics (MD-AI) position of the molecule DOX against the graphene temperature variation and it is noted that the largest spacing occurs at 300K for both as pure graphene for graphene with vacancy-type defect interacting with DOX. / O grafeno vem atraindo grande interesse da comunidade científica desde que foi demonstrada a sua estabilidade em 2004. Devido as suas características estruturais e eletrônicas, oferece uma grande variedade de aplicações, tais como na indústria eletrônica e na medicina. O grafeno é uma única camada de grafite na qual os átomos de carbono estão arranjados de forma hexagonal. Paralelamente, a doxorrubicina (DOX) é um fármaco amplamente utilizado para o tratamento de diversos tipos de câncer. No entanto, essa molécula possui alta toxicidade principalmente no sistema cardiovascular. Estudos experimentais recentes têm demonstrado que a combinação de grafeno e DOX pode causar a morte seletiva de células malignas. Este processo também está associado com temperatura ambiente, pois nanoestruturas de carbono como grafeno e nanotubo de carbono podem converter a radiação infravermelha em energia vibracional gerando calor causando a apoptose de células malignas. Neste trabalho apresentaremos as propriedades estruturais e eletrônicas do grafeno, puro e com defeito do tipo vacância, interagindo com a molécula de DOX por meio da teoria do funcional de densidade (DFT) fazendo uso do código computacional SIESTA. Os resultados mostram que a DOX interagindo com o grafeno puro tem uma energia de ligação na ordem de 0,88 e 1,09eV (LDA e GGA, respectivamente) e no grafeno com defeito do tipo vacância a energia de ligação é da ordem de 1,09 e 0,84eV (LDA e GGA, respectivamente). Da mesma forma, observa-se que não ocorrem alterações significativas nas propriedades eletrônicas originais do grafeno. Também, neste trabalho, foi analisada através da dinâmica ab initio (DM-AI) a posição da molécula de DOX em relação ao grafeno com a alteração de temperatura e observou-se que o maior afastamento ocorreu à 300K tanto para o grafeno puro como para o grafeno com defeito tipo vacância interagindo com a DOX.

O estado de metilação é suscetível a mudanças quando os organismos são expostos a agentes ambientais tais como componentes dos alimentos e medicamentos. Uma dieta rica em metionina (Met) poderia modular a concentração de S-adenosilmetionina (SAM) e S-adenosilhomocisteína (SAH) e alterar o estado de metilação da região promotora de genes supressores de tumores. Tanto a hipometilação global quanto a hipermetilação de genes específicos estão envolvidas na instabilidade genômica e poderiam resultar em dano ao DNA. Este estudo avalia se a dieta suplementada com Met associada a doxorrubicina (DXR), um fármaco antitumoral que induz espécies reativas, resulta em alterações no estado de metilação da região promotora do gene TP53, na razão SAM/SAH, na concentração de glutationa (GSH) e em dano ao DNA. Quarenta ratos machos Wistar foram separados em dois grupos: dieta suplementada com Met (ração comercial acrescida de 2% Met) e dieta controle (ração comercial) por seis semanas. Cada grupo foi subdividido em dois subgrupos que receberam DXR (1mg/Kg) ou solução salina intraperitoneal na terceira e sexta semanas de tratamento. Os rins e fígado foram utilizados para isolamento do DNA, determinação da concentração de SAM, SAH e GSH, e análise da instabilidade genômica. Todos os grupos apresentaram o mesmo estado de metilação da região promotora do gene TP53, determinado pelo método de análise de restrição combinada com bissulfito (COBRA). Este fato poderia ser explicado pelo índice de metilação (razão SAM/SAH) que permaneceu inalterado, possivelmente devido a uma adaptação do ciclo da Met que manteve a concentração de SAM. A depleção de GSH não ocorreu quando DXR foi associada a dieta suplementada com Met. Portanto, a suplementação com Met manteve a concentração de GSH em ratos tratados com DXR. A dieta suplementada com Met não induziu instabilidade genômica e não alterou o dano ao DNA induzido pela DXR. Em conclusão, DXR induz depleção de GSH que é inibida pela suplementação com Met. Entretanto, a mesma suplementação não previne a instabilidade genômica induzida pela DXR. A dieta suplementada com Met aumenta a concentração de SAH renal sem alterar a concentração de SAM e GSH. Tanto a dieta suplementada quanto a DXR não induzem hipermetilação na região promotora do gene TP53. / The DNA methylation status is susceptible to changes when organisms are exposed to environmental agents such as food components and drugs. A methionine-rich (Met) diet may modulate S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) concentrations, which could change the DNA methylation status in the promoter region of tumor suppressor genes. Global hipomethylation and gene-specific hipermethylation are involved in genomic instability and it could result in DNA damage. This study intends to evaluate if a Met-rich diet associated with doxorubicin (DXR), an antitumoral drug that induces reactive species, result in changes in the methylation status of the TP53 gene promoter, in the SAM/SAH ratio, in glutathione levels (GSH) and in DNA damage. Forty male Wistar rats were separated into two groups: Met-rich diet (standard chow plus 2% Met), and control diet (standard chow) for six weeks. Each group was subdivided into another two groups that received DXR (1mg/kg) or saline intraperitoneally in the third and sixth weeks of the experiment. The kidneys and the liver were removed for DNA isolation, SAM, SAH and GSH determination, and genomic instability assay. All groups showed the same unmethylated status in the TP53 promoter according to the Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis (COBRA). This could be explained by the fact that the methylation index (SAM/SAH ratio) remained unchanged, possibly because of an adaptive Met pathway that maintains SAM levels. GSH depletion did not occur when DXR was associated with the Met-rich diet. As a matter of fact, the Met-rich diet improved GSH concentration in DXR-treated rats. Met-rich diet did not induce genomic instability, and it did not alter DNA damage induced by DXR. In conclusion, DXR induces GSH depletion which is inhibited by Met supplementation. However, Met-rich diet may not prevent genomic instability induced by DXR. A Met-rich diet increases SAH levels; however, it does not change GSH and SAM levels. Neither Met supplementation nor DXR induced DNA hypermethylation in the TP53 gene promoter.

A insuficiência cardíaca (IC) é o estágio final de diversas patologias cardíacas e apresenta alta morbimortalidade. Dentre as causas, estão os efeitos cardiotóxicos em pacientes tratados com doxorrubicina (Dox). A fisiopatologia da IC apresenta aumento da atividade barorreflexa e marcada hiperatividade simpática (HS), estado compensatório à redução do débito cardíaco. Porém, a HS prolongada culmina em alterações deletérias para o sistema cardiovascular (SC) com piora do quadro de sintomas. Atualmente muito se discute sobre o papel dos corpúsculos carotídeos (CC) na fisiopatologia da IC devido ao seu reflexo simpatotônico e a melhora de pacientes portadores de IC após a remoção dos CC. O nosso objetivo foi avaliar a influência do CC na evolução da IC induzida pela DOX. Para tal, 35 ratos Wistar machos foram dispostos em 4 grupos: controle Salina (CSAL; n=7) e Controle Dox (CDOX; n=12), Desnervado Salina (DSAL; n=4) e Desnervado Doxo (DDOX; n=12). A desnervação consistiu na ressecção do nervo sinusal bilateral prévia à administração de Dox; a indução da IC ocorreu através de 6 aplicações de Dox, na dose de 2.5mg/kg, pela via IP a cada 4 dias. Após 15 dias do término da indução, os animais foram avaliados pelo ecocardiograma e canulados para registro de pressão arterial invasiva e avaliação hemodinâmica, autonômica, barorreflexa e quimiorreflexa. A análise dos resultados mostra que o grupo CDOX apresentou redução do peso corporal, da sensibilidade baro e quimiorreflexa, hiperatividade simpática acompanhada de redução vagal, redução da morfologia cardíaca associada à disfunção diastólica e sistólica e redução do peso bruto cardíaco e ventricular. A desnervação não foi capaz de reverter os efeitos deletérios causados pela Dox, inclusive a desnervação acentuou a disfunção diastólica e sistólica induzida pela Dox. Concluiu-se que a desnervação carotídea não foi eficiente em melhorar a insuficiência cardíaca induzida pela Dox no modelo experimental proposto / Heart failure (HF) is the final stage of several cardiac pathologies and results in high morbimortality. Among the causes, we can mention the cardiotoxic effects in patients treated with doxorubicin (Dox). The pathophysiology of HF has increased baroreflex activity and marked sympathetic hyperactivity (HS), a compensatory state to the reduction of cardiac output. However, prolonged HS results in worsening of the symptoms. Currently, the role of carotid corpuscles (CC) in the pathophysiology of HF is discussed due improvement of sympathetic reflex presents in patients with HF after CC removal. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of CC on the evolution of HF induced by DOX for this method 35 Male Wistar rats arranged in 4 groups: Salina control (CSAL; n = 7) and Dox Control (CDOX; n = 12) Salina Denerved (DSAL; n = 4) and Dox Denerved (DDOX; n = 12). A denervation consisted of bilateral sinus nerve resection prior to Dox administration, induction of HF through 6 Dox applications at a dose of 2.5mg / kg, via IP every 4 days. After 15 days of the end of the induction, the animals were evaluated by echocardiogram and cannulated to record invasive blood pressure and hemodynamic, autonomic, baroreflex and chemorreflex evaluation. Our experiment demonstrated that the CDOX group had reduction of body weight, baro and chemoreflex sensitivity, sympathetic hyperactivity accompanied by vagal reduction, reduction of cardiac morphology associated with diastolic and systolic dysfunction and reduction of gross cardiac and ventricular weight. The denervation is not able to reverse the deleterious effects caused by Dox, including denervation accentuated by Dox-induced diastolic and systolic dysfunction. Based on our results on a carotid denervation it was not effective in improving heart failure induced by Dox

O gênero Streptomyces tem sido estudado nas últimas décadas, pela sua capacidade de produzir vários produtos naturais bioativos. Os microrganismos produtores de antibióticos exigem um ou mais mecanismos de resistência durante a produção destes. Streptomyces olindensis DAUFPE 5622 produz o antitumoral cosmomicina D que faz parte da família das antraciclinas. Neste estudo, se apresenta um modelo de resistência que é expresso conjuntamente com a biossíntese do antibiótico. Os três mecanismos incluem uma bomba de efluxo, um mecanismo enzimático envolvido na resposta a espécies reativas de oxigênio, e um mecanismo envolvido no reparo do DNA, pela ação da proteína homóloga UvrA. Os genes de resistência de S. olindensis foram clonados e expressos em S. albus, contendo o plasmídeo de expressão PEM4A com o promotor constitutivo ermE*p. Avaliou-se a capacidade de resistência à diferentes concentrações das antraciclinas cosmomicina D e doxorubicina. A expressão de cada um dos mecanismos de resistência incrementou a resposta às antraciclinas. / Streptomyces produce various bioactive natural products and possess resistance systems for these metabolites, which are co-regulated with antibiotic biosynthesis genes. Antibiotic producer microorganisms require one or more self-resistance determinants to survival during antibiotic production. Streptomyces olindensis DAUFPE 5622 produces the antitumoral Cosmomycin D, a member of the anthracycline family. In this study we show the resistance genes in Cosmomycin D biosynthetic cluster that provide self-resistance, including an ATP-dependent efflux pump, resistance to DNA damage through UvrA class IIa protein, and response to reactive oxygen species by the enzyme Glutathione peroxidase. We cloned and expressed the resistance genes from S. olindensis in <i.S. albus, containing the expression plasmid PEM4A with the constitutive promoter ermE*p. We evaluated the capacity of resistance to different concentrations of anthracyclines Cosmomycin D and the commercial Doxorubicin. The expression of each resistance component increment the response to anthracyclines.

Nanoparticles from biodegradable polymers are considered one of the most promising systems for biomedical application as drug delivery systems. Therefore, the synthesis and characterization of a new aliphatic biodegradable copolyester named PBS/PBDL (poly(butylene succinate-co- butylene dilinoleate)) intended to the application as drug delivery system is reported in the thesis. Surfactant-free biodegradable and narrowly distributed, nanosized spherical particles (RH < 60 nm) have been produced from the biodegradable material by applying a single-step nanoprecipitation protocol. The size of the generated polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) could be controlled by adjusting the polymer concentration, the choice of organic solvent, mixing different organic solvents or by changing temperature and ionic strength. By optimizing such parameters sub-100 nm uniform PNPs can be produced through this methodology including the advantage and ability to scale-up production. The nanoparticles structure was characterized in detail by employing a variety of scattering techniques and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Combined static light scattering (SLS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements suggested that the nanoparticles comprise a porous core conferring them a non-compact characteristic. Their porosity...

Une faible biodisponibilité et une haute toxicité des médicaments anticancéreux, ajoutées à une résistance aux médicaments, constituent des obstacles majeurs pour le traitement du cancer. L'application des nanotechnologies pour la délivrance de médicaments est largement pressentie pour aborder ces problèmes. Premièrement, nous avons utilisé un peptide CRGDK comme ligand spécifique pour les cellules cancéreuses que nous avons conjugué au DSPE-PEG2000 pour préparer les nanomicelles encapsulant le médicament anticancéreux doxorubicine. Le peptide CRGDK conjugué aux nanomicelles provoque la liaison aux récepteurs à NRP-1, conduisant à l'absorption cellulaire spécifique et à l’amélioration de l'activité anticancéreuse in vitro. Les résultats in vivo ont également confirmé que les nanomicelles décorées de CRGDK pourraient efficacement pénétrer et s’accumuler dans les tumeurs profondes.Deuxièmement, nous avons a été consacrée à la mise au point de nanomicelles originales utilisant un dendrimère amphiphile (AmDM). Ces nanomicelles sont capables d’encapsuler efficacement la doxorubicine. Les taux de remplissage de ces nanomicelles sont extrêmement élevés. Ces nanomicelles montrent une efficacité supérieure à la doxorubicine libre et ceci sur divers types de cellules cancéreuses. De plus, ce mécanisme de pénétration cellulaire permet à ces nanomicelles de contourner le relargage du médicament médié par la pompe à efflux glycoprotéine, et ainsi surmonter la résistance à la doxorubicine. L’étude sur souris montre également un excellent effet anticancéreux associé à une diminution des effets toxiques de la doxorubicine. / Poor tumor penetration and high toxicity of anticancer drugs, together with the developed drug resistance constitute challenging hurdles for cancer therapy. The application of nanotechnology for anticancer drug delivery is expected to address these issues and bring new hope for cancer treatment. In the first part of my PhD thesis, we used a new tumor-penetrating peptide, CRGDK, to conjugate onto the surface of doxorubicin encapsulated DSPE-PEG2000 nanomicelles. The CRGDK peptide conjugated on the nanomicelles triggered specific binding to Nrp-1 receptors, leading to enhanced cellular uptake and anticancer activity in vitro. The in vivo results further confirmed that the CRGDK-decorated nanomicelles could efficiently accumulate and penetrate into deeper tumors. In the second part of my PhD thesis, we established an original nanomicellar drug delivery system based on an amphiphilic dendrimer (AmDM), which could generate supramolecular micelles to effectively encapsulate the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) with high drug loading capacity (> 40%), thanks to the unique dendritic structure creating large void space for drug accommodation. The resulting AmDM/DOX nanomicelles are able to specifically accumulate at tumor sites via EPR effect and penetrate deeper into tumor tissues thanks to their small size. Most importantly, these nanomicelles exhibit significantly improved anticancer activity and reduced systemic toxicity, and are very effective even towards drug resistant cancers by virtue of their macropinocytotic cell uptake mechanism and their ability to bypass cell drug efflux pumps.

There are currently two types of drug formulation in clinical use in the locoregional treatment of intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the emulsion LIPDOX, the cytostatic agent doxorubicin (DOX) is dissolved in the aqueous phase, which is emulsified with the oily contrast agent Lipiodol® (LIP). In the microparticular system DEBDOX, DOX is loaded into the drug-eluting entity DC Bead™. The overall aim of the thesis was to improve pharmaceutical understanding of the LIPDOX and DEBDOX formulations, in order to facilitate the future development of novel drug delivery systems. In vivo release of DOX from the formulations and the disposition of DOX and its active metabolite doxorubicinol (DOXol) were assessed in an advanced multisampling-site acute healthy pig model and in patients with HCC. The release of DOX and disposition of DOX and DOXol where further analysed using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) and biopharmaceutical (PBBP) modelling. The combination of in vivo investigations and in silico modelling could provide unique insight into the mechanisms behind drug release and disposition. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX is not extended and controlled, as it is from DEBDOX. With both formulations, DOX is released as a burst during the early phase of administration. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX was faster than from DEBDOX in both pigs and patients. The release from DEBDOX was slow and possibly incomplete. The in vivo release of DOX from LIPDOX and DEBDOX could be described by using the PBBP model in combination with in vitro release profiles. The disposition of DOX and DOXol was modelled using a semi-PBPK model containing intracellular binding sites. The contrast agent Lipiodol® did not affect the hepatobiliary disposition of DOX in the pig model. The control substance used in this study, cyclosporine A, inhibited the biliary excretion of DOX and DOXol but did not alter metabolism in healthy pigs. The disposition of DOX is similar in healthy pigs and humans, which was shown by the ease of translation of the semi-PBPK pig model to the human PBBP model.

Hyperthermia is usually used at a sub-lethal level in cancer treatment to potentiate the effects of chemotherapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of heating rate in achieving synergistic cell killing by chemotherapy and hyperthermia. For this purpose, in vitro cell culture experiments with a uterine cancer cell line (MES-SA) and its multidrug resistant (MDR) variant MES-SA/Dx5 were conducted. The cytotoxicitiy, mode of cell death, induction of thermal tolerance and P-gp mediated MDR following the two different modes of heating were studied. Doxorubicin (DOX) was used as the chemotherapy drug. Indocyanine green (ICG), which absorbs near infrared light at 808nm (ideal for tissue penetration), was chosen for achieving rapid rate hyperthermia. A slow rate hyperthermia was provided by a cell culture incubator. The results show that the potentiating effect of hyperthermia to chemotherapy can be maximized by increasing the rate of heating as evident by the results from the cytotoxicity assay. When delivered at the same thermal dose, a rapid increase in temperature from 37 °C to 43 °C caused more cell membrane damage than gradually heating the cells from 37 °C to 43 °C and thus allowed for more intracellular accumulation of the chemotherapeutic agents. Different modes of cell death are observed by the two hyperthermia delivery methods. The rapid rate laser-ICG hyperthermia @ 43 °C caused cell necrosis whereas the slow rate incubator hyperthermia @ 43 °C induced very mild apoptosis. At 43 °C a positive correlation between thermal tolerance and the length of hyperthermia exposure is identified. This study shows that by increasing the rate of heating, less thermal dose is needed in order to overcome P-gp mediated MDR.