Arif Khan1, Mohammed A Alsahli2, Mohammad A Aljasir2, Hamzah Maswadeh3, Mugahid A Mobark4,5, Faizul Azam6, Khaled S Allemailem2, Faris Alrumaihi2, Fahad A Alhumaydhi2, Ahmad A Almatroudi2, Naif AlSuhaymi7, Masood A Khan1. 1. Department of Basic Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51452, Saudi Arabia. 2. Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51452, Saudi Arabia. 3. Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51452, Saudi Arabia. 4. Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51452, Saudi Arabia. 5. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kordofan, El-Obeid, Sudan. 6. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Unaizah, 51911, Saudi Arabia. 7. Department of Emergency Medical Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, AlQunfudah, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21912, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
Purpose: Thymoquinone (TQ), a phytoconstituent of Nigella sativa seeds, has been studied extensively in various cancer models. However, TQ's limited water solubility restricts its therapeutic applicability. Our work aims to prepare the novel formulation of TQ and assess its chemopreventive potential in chemically induced lung cancer animal model. Methods: The polyethylene glycol coated DOPE/CHEMS incorporating TQ-loaded pH-sensitive liposomes (TQPSL) were prepared and characterized. Mice were exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) thrice a week for 4 weeks to induce lung cancer. TQPSL was administered three times a week for 21 weeks, starting 2 weeks before the first dose of BaP. Results: The prepared TQPSL revealed 85% entrapment efficiency with 128 nm size and -19.5 mv ζ-potential showing high stability of the formulation. The pretreatment of TQPSL showed the recovery in BaP-modulated relative organ weight of lungs, cancer marker enzymes, and antioxidant enzymes in the serum. The histopathological analysis of the tissues showed that TQPSL protected the malignancy in the lungs. The flow cytometry data revealed the induction of apoptosis and decreased intracellular ROS by TQPSL. Molecular docking was performed to predict the TQ's affinity for eight possible anticancer drug targets linked to lung cancer etiology. The data assisted to identify the serine/threonine-protein kinase BRAF as the most suitable target of TQ with binding energy -6.8 kcal/mol. Conclusion: The current findings demonstrated the potential of TQPSL and its possible therapeutic targets of lung cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first research to outline the development of TQ formulation against lung cancer considering its low solubility as well as pulmonary delivery challenges.
Purpose: Thymoquinone (TQ), a phytoconstituent of Nigella sativa seeds, has been studied extensively in various cancer models. However, TQ's limited water solubility restricts its therapeutic applicability. Our work aims to prepare the novel formulation of TQ and assess its chemopreventive potential in chemically induced lung cancer animal model. Methods: The polyethylene glycol coated DOPE/CHEMS incorporating TQ-loaded pH-sensitive liposomes (TQPSL) were prepared and characterized. Mice were exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) thrice a week for 4 weeks to induce lung cancer. TQPSL was administered three times a week for 21 weeks, starting 2 weeks before the first dose of BaP. Results: The prepared TQPSL revealed 85% entrapment efficiency with 128 nm size and -19.5 mv ζ-potential showing high stability of the formulation. The pretreatment of TQPSL showed the recovery in BaP-modulated relative organ weight of lungs, cancer marker enzymes, and antioxidant enzymes in the serum. The histopathological analysis of the tissues showed that TQPSL protected the malignancy in the lungs. The flow cytometry data revealed the induction of apoptosis and decreased intracellular ROS by TQPSL. Molecular docking was performed to predict the TQ's affinity for eight possible anticancer drug targets linked to lung cancer etiology. The data assisted to identify the serine/threonine-protein kinase BRAF as the most suitable target of TQ with binding energy -6.8 kcal/mol. Conclusion: The current findings demonstrated the potential of TQPSL and its possible therapeutic targets of lung cancer. To our knowledge, this is the first research to outline the development of TQ formulation against lung cancer considering its low solubility as well as pulmonary delivery challenges.
Authors: Masood A Khan; Yousef H Aldebasi; Sultan A Alsuhaibani; Mohammed A AlSahli; Mohammad A Alzohairy; Arif Khan; Hina Younus Journal: PLoS One Date: 2018-12-27 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Khaled S Allemailem; Abdullah M Alnuqaydan; Ahmad Almatroudi; Faris Alrumaihi; Aseel Aljaghwani; Habibullah Khalilullah; Hina Younus; Arif Khan; Masood A Khan Journal: Pharmaceutics Date: 2021-05-08 Impact factor: 6.321