Cytotoxicity and chemosensitizing activity of amphiphilic poly(glycerol)-poly(alkylene oxide) block copolymers

Biomacromolecules. 2014 Jul 14;15(7):2672-81. doi: 10.1021/bm500521j. Epub 2014 Jun 24.

Abstract

All polymeric chemosensitizers proposed thus far have a linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrophilic block. To testify whether precisely this chemical structure and architecture of the hydrophilic block is a prerequisite for chemosensitization, we tested a series of novel block copolymers containing a hyperbranched polyglycerol segment as a hydrophilic block (PPO-NG copolymers) on multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tumor cells in culture. PPO-NG copolymers inhibited MDR of three cell lines, indicating that the linear PEG can be substituted for a hyperbranched polyglycerol block without loss of the polymers' chemosensitizing activity. The extent of MDR reversal increased with the polymers affinity toward the cells and the expression level of P-glycoprotein. In contrast with Pluronic L61, which increases viability of tumor cells in the absence of drugs, PPO-NG chemosensitizers are completely devoid of this property undesired in cancer therapy, making them promising candidates for application as novel MDR reversal agents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / metabolism
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Drug Synergism
  • Glycerol / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Inhibitory Concentration 50
  • K562 Cells
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Micelles
  • Polyethylene Glycols / pharmacology*
  • Polymers / pharmacology*

Substances

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Micelles
  • Polymers
  • polyglycerol
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Doxorubicin
  • Glycerol