Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 19;9(2):186-198.
doi: 10.7150/ntno.109280. eCollection 2025.

Doxorubicin-NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide Gold Complex Nanovector (DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs): Efficacy Evaluation in a mouse transplantation tumor model induced by PANC-1/ADR human pancreatic cancer resistant strain cells

Hui Liu  1 , Qiqian Liu  2 , Xiaowu Li  1 , Abdelkader Boucetta  2 , Joel Eyer  3 , Jolanda Spadavecchia  2
Affiliations

Doxorubicin-NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide Gold Complex Nanovector (DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs): Efficacy Evaluation in a mouse transplantation tumor model induced by PANC-1/ADR human pancreatic cancer resistant strain cells

Hui Liu et al. Nanotheranostics. .

Abstract

The key role of the NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide (BIOT-NFL) is to target and destroy glioma cancer cells. Recently we have performed a novel peptide-hybrid-gold nanovector (BIOT-NFL-PEG-AuNPs) capable to destroy microtubule network of pancreatic cancer cells (PDAC) exhibiting a decrease of tumor index with a real anti-angiogenic effect. In order to improve the scientific background of our study, we conceived a chemotherapeutic hybrid nanovector based on gold-doxorubicin (DOX) functionalized with the NFL-TBS.40-63 peptide (BIOT-NFL) as a promising therapeutic in PDAC cancer. Mouse transplantation tumor model induced by PANC-1/ADR human pancreatic cancer resistant strain cells, was used to evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs as chemotherapeutic nano-drug. Our results indicate that DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs have a great impact on the decrease of the tumor growth and decreased the tumor index with a relevant effect on cytokines and ROS levels, thus confirming the impact of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs to boost the immune system.

Keywords: BIOT-NFL peptide; Doxorubicin; Gold Complex; PDAC; immune system..

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Schematic design of the chemical methodology to obtain DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs (Method IN).
Figure 1
Figure 1
A) UV-Vis absorption of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs (black line); each step of gold complex formation was carried out: AuCl2- DOX-NFL (blue line); DOX-NFL-AuCl2-PEG Diacide (red line); B) TEM images of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs. Scale bars: 100 nm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A) Effect of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs on the body weight of pancreatic cancer in mice. Body weight was shown as Mean ± SD by Two-way ANOVA. Model group compared with DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs group, *p
Figure 3
Figure 3
Statistical analysis of DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs (C1-A-C1-B groups) and model groups as reference (Model, DOX, C2; C3-A; C3-B) on the ROS content of PANC-1 cancer cell after i.v. onto mice. Data was shown as Mean ± SD. Data was analyzed by One-way ANOVA, *p
Figure 4
Figure 4
DOX IN-NFL@AuNPs cytokine effect on the content of inflammatory factors in pancreatic cancer mice. Data was shown as Mean ± SD. The data was analyzed by One-way ANOVA, *p
Figure 5
Figure 5
Higher distribution of nanomaterials in tumor tissue of pancreatic cancer mice. Data was shown as Mean ± SD. The data was analyzed by One-way ANOVA, *p
Figure 6
Figure 6
Histological sections of the heart, pancreas and tumor stained by H&E.
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Schematic representation for mechanism of co-delivery of doxorubicin and BIOT-NFL by complexation method for enhanced synergistic cancer therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Ushio J, Kanno A, Ikeda B, Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Epidemiology and Risk Factors. Diagnostics. 2021. 11. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lan X, Robin G, Kasnik J, Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency among Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancers. 2023. 15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Quiñonero F, Mesas C, Doello K. et al. The challenge of drug resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a current overview. Cancer Biology and Medicine. 2019;16:688–699. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schober M, Jesenofsky R, Faissner R. et al. Desmoplasia and chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer. Cancers. 2014;6:2137–54. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chandana S, Babiker HM, Mahadevan D. Therapeutic trends in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2019;28:161–177. - PubMed