Assessment of hyaluronic acid-modified imatinib mesylate cubosomes through CD44 targeted drug delivery in NDEA-induced hepatic carcinoma.

This study aimed at the development of hyaluronic acid-functionalised imatinib mesylate cubosomes (HA-IM-CBs) that might be useful in CD44 targeting against hepatic cancer. The HA-IM-CBs had a 130.7 ± 2.92 nm particle size, -31.40 ± 2.76 mV zeta potential, and 76.14 ± 2.69% release. The architecture of HA-IM-CBs was confirmed using HR-TEM and AFM. When compared to plain IM and IM-CBs, in vitro experiments revealed that HA-IM-CBs outperformed by significantly reducing cell viability. DAPI staining and ROS corroborated the apoptotic effects. Biodistribution and Pharmacokinetics studies showedthat HA-IM-CBs exhibit a higher drug concentration in tumour tissue and better pharmacokinetic activity. This is the first study to show that HA-IM-CBs had CD44 targeting activity against HCC. CD44 regulates apoptosis via Bcl-2 family proteins and caspases, which interact with HA. Higher levels of e-NOS, BAD, BAX, and Cyt C and lower expressions of Bcl-xl, i-NOS, and Bcl-2 demonstrated the anti-HCC potential of HA-IM-CBs in qrt-PCR investigations. The remarkable therapeutic potential of HA-IM-CBs began with substantial stimulation of CD44 regulated caspase-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, accountable for their anti-HCC activity. The perturbed metabolites are restored to acceptable levels as indicated by metabolomic studies (H NMR). Interestingly, the antineoplastic effect of HA-IM-CBs was proven to be potentially valuable against HCC.