Abstract
Background and Objective: Alendronate sodium (ALS) is a member of the class bisphosphonates used to treat osteoporosis. Recent reports suggested that ALS may induce cell death and inhibit the proliferation of estrogen-sensitive MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The aim of this work was the combination of ALS and trans-activating regulatory protein (TAT) loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) to potentiate ALS cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Materials and Methods: The ALS and TAT were prepared and loaded in NLCs. The formed NLCs were characterized for entrapment efficiency (%) (EE %), particle size and zeta potential. Cell viability was also carried out for the prepared NLCs. Results: The results revealed that the prepared NLCs were spherical, with particle sizes of 285.2 +/- 14.1 nm and polydispersity index of 0.51. Zeta potential of ALS-TAT-NLCs was +21.1 +/- 3.4 mV. The ALS EE percentage of the prepared NLCs was 12.2 +/- 1.1%. At concentration of 10 mu g mL(-1), the investigated formulations showed cell survival percentage of 6.86, 20.34, 97.53 and 91.55% for ALS-TAT NLCs, raw ALS, raw TAT and plain NLCs, respectively. The IC(50)( )values for the treatments were estimated as follows: ALS-TAT NLCs, 1.98 +/- 0.17 mu g mL(-1), raw ALS, 2.77 +/- 0.36 mu g mL(-1), raw TAT, 1066.67 +/- 21.22 mu g mL(')(-1) and plain NLCs, 10816.2 +/- 112.32 mu g mL(-1). Conclusion: The combination of ALS with TAT protein loaded NLCs offered a dual mechanism of ALS activity potentiation and a promising candidate for breast cancer therapy.