Magnetic nanoparticles enhance the anticancer activity of cathelicidin LL-37 peptide against colon cancer cells.
Niemirowicz. Katarzyna K; Prokop. Izabela I; Wilczewska. Agnieszka Z AZ; Wnorowska. Urszula U; Piktel. Ewelina E; Wątek. Marzena M; Savage. Paul B PB; Bucki. Robert R
Key Findings
- LL‑37 alone reduces colon cancer cell viability
- Attaching LL‑37 to magnetic nanoparticles (MNP@LL‑37) further decreases viability and raises apoptosis
- The synthetic analog CSA‑13 and its nanoparticle form (MNP@CSA‑13) also strongly induce cancer cell death
- Both nanoparticle‑peptide complexes are taken up by cancer cells, suggesting a delivery advantage
Practical Outcomes
- At this point the findings are not ready for personal use; they highlight a potential way to deliver LL‑37 more powerfully, but no dosage, safety, or human protocol exists yet. Biohackers should view this as a proof‑of‑concept rather than a ready‑to‑apply supplement or treatment.
Summary
Scientists linked the natural peptide LL‑37 to tiny magnetic particles and found it killed colon cancer cells more effectively in lab dishes than the peptide alone. The same boost was seen with a synthetic version called CSA‑13. While promising, this work is still early‑stage and done only in cell cultures, not in people.
Abstract
The pleiotropic activity of human cathelicidin LL-37 peptide includes an ability to suppress development of colon cancer cells. We hypothesized that the anticancer activity of LL-37 would improve when attached to the surface of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Using colon cancer culture (DLD-1 cells and HT-29 cells), we evaluated the effects of MNPs, LL-37 peptide, its synthetic analog ceragenin CSA-13, and two novel nanosystems, ie, MNP@LL-37 and MNP@CSA-13, on cancer cell viability and apoptosis. Treatment of cancer cells with the LL-37 peptide linked to MNPs (MNP@LL-37) caused a greater decrease in cell viability and a higher rate of apoptosis compared with treatment using free LL-37 peptide. Additionally, we observed a strong ability of ceragenin CSA-13 and MNP@CSA-13 to induce apoptosis of DLD-1 cells. We found that both nanosystems were successfully internalized by HT-29 cells, and cathelicidin LL-37 and ceragenin CSA-13 might play a key role as novel homing molecules. These results indicate that the previously described anticancer activity of LL-37 peptide against colon cancer cells might be significantly improved using a theranostic approach.
Study Information
pubmed
2015
2015-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
10.2147/ijn.s76104