Anti-HPV Nanoemulsified-Imiquimod: A New and Potent Formulation to Treat Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) and nowadays is the fourth most frequent cancer among women. One of the treatments for this disease is based on the application of imiquimod. In this study, we postulated that the use of imiquimod in nanoemulsion results in a better...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AAPS PharmSciTech 2020-01, Vol.21 (2), p.54, Article 54
Main Authors: Frank, Luiza Abrahão, Gazzi, R. P., Mello, P. A., Chaves, P., Peña, F., Beck, R. C. R., Buffon, A., Pohlmann, A. R., Guterres, Silvia S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Biotechnology
Cell Line, Tumor
Drug Compounding
Emulsions
Female
Humans
Imiquimod - administration & dosage
Nanoparticles
Papillomaviridae - drug effects
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Pharmacy
Research Article
Swine
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - drug therapy
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - virology
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Summary:Cervical cancer is associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) and nowadays is the fourth most frequent cancer among women. One of the treatments for this disease is based on the application of imiquimod. In this study, we postulated that the use of imiquimod in nanoemulsion results in a better antitumoral effect than the drug administered in its nonencapsulated form for the treatment of cervical cancer. Permeability studies using vaginal mucosa, as membrane, and in vitro studies involving cervical cancer cells (viability, clonogenic assay, and cell death analysis) were performed. We showed that low amount of encapsulated imiquimod permeated the vaginal mucosa. However, a higher percentage of cells died after the treatment with low amount (3.0 μmol L −1 ) of the formulation compared to the free drug. In addition, the innovative formulation presented a combinatory mechanism of cell death involving autophagy and apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that the imiquimod-loaded nanoemulsioncan be an alternative product for the treatment of cervical cancer validating the hypothesis.
ISSN:1530-9932
1530-9932
DOI:10.1208/s12249-019-1558-x