Pharmacogenomics influence on MDR1-associated cancer resistance and innovative drug delivery approaches: advancing precision oncology

Currently, there is a growing concern surrounding the treatment of cancer, a formidable disease. Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine have emerged as significant areas of interest in cancer management. The efficacy of many cancer drugs is hindered by resistance mechanisms, particularly P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux, leading to reduced therapeutic outcomes. Efforts have intensified to inhibit P-gp efflux, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of resistant drugs. P-gp, a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily, specifically the multidrug resistance (MDR)/transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) sub-family B, member 1, utilizes energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to drive efflux. This review focuses on genetic polymorphisms associated with P-gp efflux and explores various novel pharmaceutical strategies to address this challenge. These strategies encompass SEDDS/SNEDDS, liposomes, immunoliposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, lipid core nanocapsules, microemulsions, dendrimers, hydrogels, polymer-drug conjugates, and polymeric nanoparticles. The article aims to elucidate the interplay between pharmacogenomics, P-gp-mediated drug resistance in cancer, and formulation strategies to improve cancer therapy by tailoring formulations to genetically susceptible patients.

Using nanotechnology to progress the utilization of marine natural products in combating multidrug resistance in cancer: A prospective strategy

Achieving targeted, customized, and combination therapies with clarity of the involved molecular pathways is crucial in the treatment as well as overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer. Nanotechnology has emerged as an innovative and promising approach to address the problem of drug resistance. Developing nano-formulation-based therapies using therapeutic agents poses a synergistic effect to overcome MDR in cancer. In this review, we aimed to highlight the important pathways involved in the progression of MDR in cancer mediated through nanotechnology-based approaches that have been employed to circumvent them in recent years. Here, we also discussed the potential use of marine metabolites to treat MDR in cancer, utilizing active drug-targeting nanomedicine-based techniques to enhance selective drug accumulation in cancer cells. The discussion also provides future insights for developing complex targeted, multistage responsive nanomedical drug delivery systems for effective cancer treatments. We propose more combinational studies and their validation for the possible marine-based nanoformulations for future development.

In Vitro Efficacy of Isobutyl Cyanoacrylate Nanoparticles against Fish Bacterial Pathogens and Selection Preference by Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The upsurge in havoc being wreaked by antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to an urgent need for efficacious alternatives to antibiotics. This study assessed the antibacterial efficacy of two isobutyl cyanoacrylate nanoparticles (iBCA-NPs), D6O and NP30, against major bacterial pathogens of fish. In vivo tests on rainbow trout were preceded by in vitro tests of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). NP30 exhibited higher efficacy than D60, but both iBCA-NPs demonstrated dose-dependent and species-specific in vitro antibacterial properties against the bacterial isolates. Generally, Gram-negative bacteria were more resistant to the iBCA-NPs. Streptococcus iniae, Tenacibaculum maritimum, and Photobacterium damselae were particularly sensitive to both iBCA-NPs. Administered to rainbow trout at 3571.4 mg (iBCA-NP)/kg feed, the iBCA-NPs produced a relative gain rate and survival rates comparable to the control (p > 0.05). The condition factor and the hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic indices of fish were indifferentiable (p > 0.05) between the iBCA-NP groups and the control. The iBCA-NPs caused no alteration in stress, oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, SOD), plasma complement titer, or lysozyme activity. This study presents the first report of antibacterial activity of iBCA-NPs against Gram-negative bacteria. The results of this study suggest that D60 and NP30 may contribute to reducing the amounts of antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents used in aquaculture.

Strategies to overcome cancer multidrug resistance (MDR) through targeting P-glycoprotein (ABCB1): An updated review

The emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in malignant tumors is one of the leading threats encountered currently in many chemotherapeutic agents. The overexpression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters is involved in MDR. P-glycoprotein (P-gp)/ABCB1 is a member of the ABC transporter family that significantly increases the efflux of various anticancer drugs from tumor cells. Therefore, targeting P-gp with small molecule inhibitors is an effective therapeutic strategy to overcome MDR. Over the past four decades, diverse compounds with P-gp inhibitory activity have been identified to sensitize drug-resistant cells, but none of them has been proven clinically useful to date. Research efforts continue to discover an effective approach for circumventing MDR. This review has provided an overview of the most recent advances (last three years) in various strategies for circumventing MDR mediated by P-gp. It may be helpful for the scientists working in the field of drug discovery to further synthesize and discover new chemical entities/therapeutic modalities with less toxicity and more efficacies to overcome MDR in cancer chemotherapy.

Chemoenzymatic surface decoration of Nisin-shelled nanoemulsions: Novel targeted drug-nanocarriers for cancer applications

Nisin, a peptide used as a natural food preservative, is employed in this work for the development of a novel nanocarrier system. Stable and uniform nisin-shelled nanoemulsions (NSNE) with a diameter of 100 ± 20 nm were successfully prepared using 20 kHz flow-through ultrasonication technique. The NSNE showed limited toxicity, high bactericidal activity and high drug loading capacity (EE 65 % w/w). In addition, the nisin shell was exploited for the site-specific attachment of a recombinantly produced cancer targeting ligand (αHER2LPETG IgG). Employing a unique two phases (bio-click) approach which involved both Sortase A mediated Azide Bioconjugation (SMAB) and Strain Promoted Azide Alkyne Cycloaddition (SPAAC) reactions, targeted NSNE (NSNEDOX-αHER2 IgG) were successfully assembled and loaded with the chemotherapeutic drug Doxorubicin (DOX). Finally, NSNEDOX-αHER2 IgG showed cancer-specific binding and augmented cytotoxicity to HER2 expressing tumour cells.

Emerging nanotechnology-based therapeutics to combat multidrug-resistant cancer

Cancer often develops multidrug resistance (MDR) when cancer cells become resistant to numerous structurally and functionally different chemotherapeutic agents. MDR is considered one of the principal reasons for the failure of many forms of clinical chemotherapy. Several factors are involved in the development of MDR including increased expression of efflux transporters, the tumor microenvironment, changes in molecular targets and the activity of cancer stem cells. Recently, researchers have designed and developed a number of small molecule inhibitors and derivatives of natural compounds to overcome various mechanisms of clinical MDR. Unfortunately, most of the chemosensitizing approaches have failed in clinical trials due to non-specific interactions and adverse side effects at pharmacologically effective concentrations. Nanomedicine approaches provide an efficient drug delivery platform to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy and improve therapeutic effectiveness. Multifunctional nanomaterials have been found to facilitate drug delivery by improving bioavailability and pharmacokinetics, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs to overcome MDR. In this review article, we discuss the major factors contributing to MDR and the limitations of existing chemotherapy- and nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems to overcome clinical MDR mechanisms. We critically review recent nanotechnology-based approaches to combat tumor heterogeneity, drug efflux mechanisms, DNA repair and apoptotic machineries to overcome clinical MDR. Recent successful therapies of this nature include liposomal nanoformulations, cRGDY-PEG-Cy5.5-Carbon dots and Cds/ZnS core–shell quantum dots that have been employed for the effective treatment of various cancer sub-types including small cell lung, head and neck and breast cancers.