Drug Delivery and Translational Research - Featured Article: December 2019
Galactomannan, a natural polymer, recognized to target macrophage mannose receptors, is reported to induce pro-inflammatory polarization in macrophages, suggesting its possible use as an anti-cancer agent. Hydrazinocurcumin, a pyrazole derivative of curcumin, is reported to exhibit increased anti-cancer efficacy over curcumin. Considering these facts, we synthesized self-assembled galactomannan nanoparticles containing hydrazinocurcumin (PSGM-HCNPs). These nanoparticles re-polarized IL-4 polarized macrophage cells from M2- to M1-like phenotype. Conditioned medium of re-polarized macrophages exhibited anti-metastatic potential and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. PSGM-HCNPs reduced tumor burden, increased survival time, decreased M2- and increased M1-like skewness among ascitic tumor-associated macrophages of tumor-bearing mice.
