Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2018 Feb 19:1-11. doi: 10.1080/21691401.2018.1434185. [Epub ahead of print]

Nano-loaded human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells as targeted carriers of doxorubicin for breast cancer therapy.

Cao S¹, Guo J¹, He Y², Alahdal M¹, Tang S¹, Zhao Y¹, Yang Z¹, Gao H¹, Hu W¹, Jiang H², Qin L³, Jin L¹.

Abstract

The main challenge of anticancer drugs is poor tumor targeting. Now cellular carriers are widely investigated to deliver anticancer agents. As an ideal cellular candidate, human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) possess inherent tropism potential to tumor. Here, we constructed hUC-MSCs carrying transferrin-inspired-nanoparticles that contain doxorubicin(hUC-MSCs-Tf-inspired-NPs) to achieve enhanced anti-tumor efficacy and made an evaluation. Results represented that hUC-MSCs-Tf-inspired-NPs not only exhibit the controlled-release property of Tf-inspired-NPs, but also integrate tumor tropism and penetrative abilities of MSCs. The tumor volume of nude mice bearing breast cancer MCF-7 treated with hUC-MSCs-Tf-inspired-NPs, was remarkably reduced compared to those treated with free drug or Tf-inspired-NPs. Thus, Tf-inspired-NPs loaded hUC-MSCs have a potential to deliver anticancer drugs.