Drug Design, Development and Therapy (May 2014)

Improving anticancer efficacy of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate gold nanoparticles in murine B16F10 melanoma cells

  • Chen CC,
  • Hsieh DS,
  • Huang KJ,
  • Chan YL,
  • Hong PD,
  • Yeh MK,
  • Wu CJ

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2014, no. default
pp. 459 – 474

Abstract

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Cheng-Cheung Chen,1,2 Dar-Shih Hsieh,1,3 Kao-Jean Huang,4 Yi-Lin Chan,5 Po-Da Hong,6 Ming-Kung Yeh,6–8,* Chang-Jer Wu1,*1Department of Food Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 2Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 3Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Ren-Ai Hospital, Shulin, New Taipei City, 4Department of Life Science and Institute of Biotechnology, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, 5Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 6Materials Technology Program, Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, 7School of Pharmacy, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 8Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major bioactive constituent in green tea, has been reported to effectively inhibit the formation and development of tumors. To maximize the effectiveness of EGCG, we attached it to nanogold particles (EGCG-pNG) in various ratios to examine in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo anti-cancer activity. EGCG-pNG showed improved anti-cancer efficacy in B16F10 murine melanoma cells; the cytotoxic effect in the melanoma cells treated with EGCG-pNG was 4.91 times higher than those treated with EGCG. The enhancement is achieved through mitochondrial pathway-mediated apoptosis as determined by annexin V assay, JC-10 staining, and caspase-3, -8, -9 activity assay. Moreover, EGCG-pNG was 1.66 times more potent than EGCG for inhibition of tumor growth in a murine melanoma model. In the hemolysis assay, the pNG surface conjugated with EGCG is most likely the key factor that contributes to the decreased release of hemoglobin from human red blood cells.Keywords: gold nanoparticles, EGCG, anticancer, melanoma