Turky NO, Abdelmonem NA, Tammam SN, Gad MZ, Breitinger HG, Breitinger U. Antibacterial and in vitro anticancer activities of the antimicrobial peptide NRC-07 encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles.
J Pept Sci 2024;
30:e3550. [PMID:
37853814 DOI:
10.1002/psc.3550]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics and chemotherapy in the treatment of multidrug-resistant pathogens and drug-resistant cancers. Clinical application of AMPs is limited due to low stability and inefficient transport. Encapsulation in nanocarriers may improve their therapeutic potential. Chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) are efficient carriers for proteins and peptides, improving the treatment of microbial infections and targeted drug delivery. We examined toxicity against cancer cell lines and antibacterial activities of the pleurocidin-like AMP NRC-07 upon encapsulation in CS-NPs by ionotropic gelation. The biological activities of various formulations of free and encapsulated NRC-07 and free nanoparticles were evaluated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and breast cancer cells, using assays for cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase cytolysis with non-cancer cell lines as controls. NRC-07-containing nanoparticles decreased the bacterial and cancer cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Activities of encapsulated peptide were >2-fold higher than those of free NRC-07 peptide. Unloaded CS-NPs and free peptide were not cytotoxic against control cells. Encapsulation of NRC-07 into CS-NPs enhanced the antibacterial and selective cytotoxicity of the peptide, possibly enhancing anticancer activities. Encapsulation presents a promising tool for the development of efficient drug delivery systems.
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