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Effective Skin Cancer Treatment by Topical Co-delivery of Curcumin and STAT3 siRNA Using Cationic Liposomes

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of iontophoretic co-delivery of curcumin and anti-STAT3 siRNA using cationic liposomes against skin cancer. Curcumin was encapsulated in DOTAP-based cationic liposomes and then complexed with STAT3 siRNA. This nanocomplex was characterized for the average particle size, zeta-potential, and encapsulation efficiency. The cell viability studies in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells have shown that the co-delivery of curcumin and STAT3 siRNA significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the cancer cell growth compared with either liposomal curcumin or STAT3 siRNA alone. The curcumin-loaded liposomes were able to penetrate up to a depth of 160 μm inside the skin after iontophoretic (0.47 mA/cm2) application. The in vivo efficacy studies were performed in the mouse model of melanoma skin cancer. Co-administration of the curcumin and STAT3 siRNA using liposomes significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the tumor progression as measured by tumor volume and tumor weight compared with either liposomal curcumin or STAT3 siRNA alone. Furthermore, the iontophoretic administration of curcumin-loaded liposome-siRNA complex showed similar effectiveness in inhibiting tumor progression and STAT3 protein suppression compared with intratumoral administration. Taken together, cationic liposomes can be utilized for topical iontophoretic co-delivery of small molecule and siRNA for effective treatment of skin diseases.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by a grant from Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (DST) (SR/S0/HS-0059/2012), Government of India. Particle size analyzer and multimode plate reader were procured using a grant from Department of Science and Technology—fund for improvement of science and technology infrastructure (DST FIST).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shameerpet, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500078, India

    Anup Jose, Suman Labala, Kunal Manoj Ninave, Sudeep Kumar Gade & Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti

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  1. Anup Jose
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  2. Suman Labala
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  3. Kunal Manoj Ninave
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  4. Sudeep Kumar Gade
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  5. Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti
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Correspondence to Venkata Vamsi Krishna Venuganti.

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Jose, A., Labala, S., Ninave, K.M. et al. Effective Skin Cancer Treatment by Topical Co-delivery of Curcumin and STAT3 siRNA Using Cationic Liposomes. AAPS PharmSciTech 19, 166–175 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-017-0833-y

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