Synergistic Anticancer Effects Achieved by Co-Delivery of TRAIL and Paclitaxel Using Cationic Polymeric Micelles

Cationic micellar nanoparticles self-assembled from a biodegradable amphiphilic copolymer have been used to deliver human TRAIL and paclitaxel simultaneously. Polyplexes formed between paclitaxel-loaded nanoparticles and TRAIL are stable with a size of approximate to 180 nm and a zeta potential at approximate to 75 mV. Anticancer effects and apoptotic pathway mechanisms of this drug-and-protein co-delivery system are investigated in various human breast cancer cell lines with different TRAIL sensitivity. The co-delivery nanoparticulate system induces synergistic anti-cancer activities with limited toxicity in non-cancerous cells. An advantage of this co-delivery is a significantly higher anti-cancer effect as compared to free drug and protein formulations.