%0 Journal Article %A Ortiz, Raúl %A Prados, José %A Melguizo, Consolación %A Arias, José L %A Ruiz, M Adolfina %A Alvarez, Pablo J %A Caba, Octavio %A Luque, Raquel %A Segura, Ana %A Aránega, Antonia %T 5-Fluorouracil-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles combined with phage E gene therapy as a new strategy against colon cancer %D 2012 %@ 1176-9114 %U http://hdl.handle.net/10668/569 %X This work aimed to develop a new therapeutic approach to increase the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of advanced or recurrent colon cancer. 5-FU-loaded biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles (PCL NPs) were combined with the cytotoxic suicide gene E (combined therapy). The SW480 human cancer cell line was used to assay the combined therapeutic strategy. This cell line was established from a primary adenocarcinoma of the colon and is characterized by an intrinsically high resistance to apoptosis that correlates with its resistance to 5-FU. 5-FU was absorbed into the matrix of the PCL NPs during synthesis using the interfacial polymer disposition method. The antitumor activity of gene E from the phage ϕX174 was tested by generating a stable clone (SW480/12/E). In addition, the localization of E protein and its activity in mitochondria were analyzed. We found that the incorporation of 5-FU into PCL NPs (which show no cytotoxicity alone), significantly improved the drug's anticancer activity, reducing the proliferation rate of colon cancer cells by up to 40-fold when compared with the nonincorporated drug alone. Furthermore, E gene expression sensitized colon cancer cells to the cytotoxic action of the 5-FU-based nanomedicine. Our findings demonstrate that despite the inherent resistance of SW480 to apoptosis, E gene activity is mediated by an apoptotic phenomenon that includes modulation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression and intense mitochondrial damage. Finally, a strongly synergistic antiproliferative effect was observed in colon cancer cells when E gene expression was combined with the activity of the 5-FU-loaded PCL NPs, thereby indicating the potential therapeutic value of the combined therapy. %K colon cancer %K combined therapy %K 5-fluorouracil %K gene therapy %K E gene %K poly (ε-caprolactone) %K Neoplasias del Colon %K Terapia de Gen %K Humanos %K Fluorouracilo %K Nanopartículas %K Antineoplásicos %K Apoptosis %~