Asian Pacifc Journal of Cancer Prevention, Vol 14, 2013 4229 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2013.14.7.4229 Effects of Abraxane on Cell Kinetic Parameters of Hela Cells Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 14 (7), 4229-4233 Introduction Paclitaxel (PTX) is a chemotherapeutic agent that has been used to treat a variety of cancers, including primary epithelial ovarian, colon, non-small cell lung and metastatic breast cancers. Its mechanism of action is through stabilization of microtubules which promotes polymerization of tubulin, causing cell death by disrupting the dynamics necessary for cell division (Lin et al., 2012). It disrupts the dynamic equilibrium within the microtubule system and blocks cells in the late G 2 phase and M phase of the cell cycle, thereby inhibiting cell replication (Danhier et al., 2009). It has been reported that Taxol ® induces Bcl2 phosphorylation followed by apoptosis (Danhier et al., 2009). Due to its high hydrophobicity and poor solubility in aqueous solutions, PTX is normally formulated with high percentages of additives such as Cremophor EL (polyethoxylated castor oil), which can cause high incidences of adverse effects including hypersensitivity reactions, neurotoxicity, myelosuppression and allergic reactions (Brannon-Peppas and Blanchette, 2004). Numerous investigations have shown that both tissue and cell distribution profles of anticancer drugs can be controlled by their entrapment in submicronic colloidal systems. Accordingly, a number of alternative formulations were investigated for the solubilization of PTX, including liposomes, microspheres, nanoparticles and polymeric micelles. The rationale behind this approach is to increase antitumor effcacy while reducing systemic side effects. Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems have been studied 1 Department of Biology, Institute of Science, 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey *For correspondence: nrcngrss@gmail.com Abstract Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) is a member of the group of nano chemotherapeutics. It is approved for metastatic breast cancer and non small cell lung cancer. Trials for several cancer types including gynecological cancers, head and neck, and prostatic cancer are being studied. In this study, the antiproliferative and apoptotic effect of abraxane was evaluated on HeLa cell line originated from human cervix carcinoma. Three different doses (D 1 =10 nM, D 2 =50 nM, D 3 =100 nM) were administered to HeLa cells for 24, 48 and 72 h. The 50 nM dose of abraxane decreased DNA synthesis from 4.62-0.08%, mitosis from 3.36-1.89% and increased apoptosis from 10.6-30% at 72 h. Additionally, tripolar metaphase plates were seen in mitosis preparations. In this study, abraxane effected cell kinetic parameters signifcantly. This results are consistent with other studies in the literature. Keywords: Abraxane - cervical cancer - HeLa - nanodrugs - nab-paclitaxel - in vitro - 3 H Thymidine RESEARCH ARTICLE The Effect of Abraxane on Cell Kinetic Parameters of HeLa Cells Nurcan Gurses 1 *, Mehmet Topcul 2 for several decades now, and many of the features that make them attractive drug carriers are well known. Moreover, nanoparticles can escape from the vasculature through the leaky endothelial tissue that surrounds the tumor and then accumulate in certain solid tumors by the so-called Enhanced Permeation and Retention (EPR) effect (Danhier et al., 2009). To avoid the toxicities associated with Cremophor EL, a biologically interactive, nanometer-sized albumin- bound PTX particle Abraxane, has been developed (hydrodynamic diameter of ca. 110 nm), which uses the unique properties of albumin, a natural carrier of lipophilic molecules in humans (Kratz, 2008). Abraxane contains nanoparticles of paclitaxel bound to human serum albumin, the paclitaxel being in an amorphous state. Albumin is known to mediate endothelial transcytosis of plasma constituents and in vitro studies have demonstrated that the presence of albumin enhances paclitaxel transport across endothelial cells (www.has-sante.frportailuploaddocsapplicationpdf2011- 01abraxane_ct_7088.pdf 10.02.2013). Abraxane ® , has recently been approved by the FDA for recurrent metastatic breast cancer (Danhier et al., 2009) in 2005 and for non small cell lung cancer in 2012 (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/InformationOnDrugs/ ApprovedDrugs/ucm323668.htm 16.05.2013). Materials and Methods Cell culture The HeLa cell line used in this experiment was obtained from European Cell Culture Collection (CCL).