Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is a pyrimidine catabolic enzyme involved in the initial and rate-limiting step of the catabolic pathway of toxic metabolites of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Several studies have reported that deficiency of DPD and polymorphisms of its gene are related to 5-FU toxicities and death. Association between serum concentration of 5-FU and its related toxicity has also been previously demonstrated. Hence, this study aims to understand the role of DPYD variants in serum level of 5-FU and the risk of developing toxicity to prevent adverse reactions and maximize therapy outcome for personalized medicine.
Gemcitabine (GmcH) is an effective anti-cancer agent used in the chemotherapy of lung cancer. However, the clinical applications of GmcH has been impeded primarily due to its low blood residence time, unfavorable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profile, and poor penetration in the complex environment of lung cancer cells. Thus, the present study aims to formulate GmcH loaded mannosylated solid lipid nanoparticles (GmcH-SLNs) for improving its drug uptake into the lung cancer cells. GmcH-SLNs were prepared by emulsification and solvent evaporation process, and surface modification was done with mannose using ring opening technique. The cellular toxicity and cell uptake studies were performed in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line. The developed nanoformulation appears to be proficient in targeted delivery of GmcH with improved therapeutic effectiveness and enhanced safety.
In situ coating of 5-fluorouracil pellets by ethylcellulose and pectin powder mixture (8:3 weight ratio) in capsule at simulated gastrointestinal media provides colon-specific drug release in vitro. This study probes into pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles of intra-capsular pellets coated in vivo in rats with reference to their site-specific drug release outcomes. The pellets were prepared by extrusion-spheronization technique. In vitro drug content, drug release, in vivo pharmacokinetics, local colonic drug content, tumor, aberrant crypt foci, systemic hematology and clinical chemistry profiles of coated and uncoated pellets were examined against unprocessed drug. In vivo pellet coating led to reduced drug bioavailability and enhanced drug accumulation at colon (179.13 μg 5-FU/g rat colon content vs 4.66 μg/g of conventional in vitro film-coated pellets at 15 mg/kg dose). The in vivo coated pellets reduced tumor number and size, through reforming tubular epithelium with basement membrane and restricting expression of cancer from adenoma to adenocarcinoma. Unlike uncoated pellets and unprocessed drug, the coated pellets eliminated aberrant crypt foci which represented a putative preneoplastic lesion in colon cancer. They did not inflict additional systemic toxicity. In vivo pellet coating to orally target 5-fluorouracil delivery at cancerous colon is a feasible therapeutic treatment approach.