Improved In Vitro Anti-Tumoral Activity, Intracellular Uptake and Apoptotic Induction of Gemcitabine-Loaded Pegylated Unilamellar Liposomes

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is one of the most aggressive and lethal solid carcinomas affecting humans. A major limit of the chemotherapeutic agents is represented by their low therapeutic index. In this work, we investigated the possibility of improving the anti-tumoral activity of gemcitabine by using pegylated unilamellar liposomes. Liposomes were made up of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospocholine monohydrate/cholesterol/N-(carbonyl-methoxypolyethylene glycol-2000)-1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (6:3:1 molar ratio) and they were prepared with a pH gradient to improve the gemcitabine loading capacity. The anti-tumoral efficacy of the liposomal formulation was tested in vitro on human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells (ARO) in culture, comparing the effects with those of the free drug. Gemcitabine-loaded unilamellar liposomes had a mean size ∼200 nm with a zeta potential ∼–2mV. The liposomal carrier noticeably improved the anti-tumoral activity of gemcitabine against ARO cells in terms of both dose-dependent cytotoxic effect and of drug exposition effect. Namely, gemcitabine-loaded liposomes showed a cytotoxic effect (58.2% increase of cell mortality at 1 μM with respect to free drug) after 12 h incubation, while the free drug showed a significant activity only after 72 h incubation. Moreover, a significant effect on the cell mortality appeared at 0.1 μM and 100% mortality was detected at a concentration of 1 μM of gemcitabine-loaded liposomes, while the free drug elicited the same effect at a concentration of 100 μM. The improved anti-tumoral activity of gemcitabine determined by the liposomal carrier was due to a greater intracellular uptake. The intracellular gemcitabine levels as a function of time showed a sinusoidal profile with peaks after 2 h, 6 h and 11 h, related to the cellular cycle of ARO. PARP cleavage and DNA fragmentation analysis provided clear evidence of the apoptosis induction in ARO cells by treatment with liposomally entrapped gemcitabine after 72 h incubation. Thus, gemcitabine-loaded liposomes may have a potential therapeutic relevance for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.