Abstract
The anti-tumour activity of methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MEBCD), a cyclic oligosaccharide known for its interaction with the plasma membrane, was investigated in vitro and in vivo and compared with that of doxorubicin (DOX) in the human tumour models MCF7 breast carcinoma and A2780 ovarian carcinoma. In vitro proliferation was assessed using the MTT assay. In vivo studies were carried out using xenografted Swiss nude mice injected weekly i.p. with MEBCD at 300 or 800 mg kg(-1) or DOX at 2 mg kg(-1), during 2 months. Under these conditions, MEBCD was active against MCF7 and A2780 cell lines and tumour xenografts. For each tumour model, the tumoral volume of the xenografted mice treated with MEBCD was at least twofold reduced compared with the control group. In the MCF7 model, MEBCD (800 mg kg(-1)) was more active than DOX (2 mg kg(-1)). After 56 days of treatment with MEBCD, no toxicologically meaningful differences were observed in macroscopic and microscopic parameters compared with controls. The accumulation of MEBCD in normal and tumour tissues was also assessed using a chromatographic method. Results indicated that after a single injection of MEBCD, tumour, liver and kidneys accumulated the highest concentrations of MEBCD. These results provided a basis for the potential therapeutic application of MEBCD in cancer therapy.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grosse, P., Bressolle, F. & Pinguet, F. Antiproliferative effect of methyl-β-cyclodextrin in vitro and in human tumour xenografted athymic nude mice. Br J Cancer 78, 1165–1169 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.648
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1998.648
This article is cited by
-
The effect of folate-appended methyl-β-cyclodextrin increases on survival rates in a peritoneal dissemination mouse models of human ovarian cancer
Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry (2022)
-
Methyl-β-cyclodextrin, an actin depolymerizer augments the antiproliferative potential of microtubule-targeting agents
Scientific Reports (2019)
-
The anticonvulsive Phenhydan® suppresses extrinsic cell death
Cell Death & Differentiation (2019)
-
Involvement of mitophagy-mediated cell death in colon cancer cells by folate-appended methyl-β-cyclodextrin
Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry (2017)
-
Application of cyclodextrins in cancer treatment
Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry (2017)