Anti-Melanoma Activity of Indomethacin Incorporated into Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. Treatments that directly address tumor survival are required. Indomethacin (IND) is a well-known drug used worldwide. Although widely used as a therapeutic agent, IND has undesirable gastrointestinal effects. Purpose To investigate the antitumor efficacy of IND incorporated into mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs+IND), as well as its toxic potential in a syngeneic murine B16 melanoma model. Methods Antitumor activity was evaluated by measuring tumor size and weight and by histopathological analysis. Possible molecular signaling pathways involved in the antitumor activity were analyzed by Western blot in liver tissue and by immunohistochemistry in tumor tissue. The potential toxicity was evaluated by determining body and organ weights and by biochemical and genotoxic analysis. Results MSNPs+IND treatments inhibited tumor growth by up to 70.09% and decreased the frequency of mitosis in tumor tissues, which was up to 37.95% lower compared to the IND groups. In hepatic tissue, COX-2 levels decreased significantly after treatment with MSNPs+IND and IND. Additionally, MSNPs+IND and IND increased the levels of cleaved caspase-3 (156.25% and 137.50%, respectively), inducing tumor cell apoptosis. Genotoxicity was limited to the group treated with the higher concentration of IND, while MSNPs prevented IND-induced genotoxicity. Conclusions MSNPs may be promising for future applications in cancer therapy.