Chitosan applications in studying and managing osteosarcoma
Chitosan applications in studying and managing osteosarcoma
Parisa Maleki Dana,1Jamal Hallajzadeh ,2,* Zatollah Asemi,3Mohammad Ali Mansournia,4Bahman Yousefi,5
1. Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. 2. Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Research Center for Evidence-Based Health Management, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran. 3. Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. 4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 5. Molecular Medicine Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Introduction: Despite the low incidence of osteosarcoma in the general population, it has a high prevalence among adolescents. Due to the heterogeneity and complexity of osteosarcoma etiology, the underlying molecular processes involved in its pathology are not fully understood. Furthermore, the genotype of osteosarcoma can modify itself rapidly. Thus, targeted molecular methods are not as practical as desired. Osteosarcoma patients with a metastatic or recurrent form of the disease have shown an overall survival rate of 20% during the past 30 years and relapse rates of the disease are approximately 35%. While progressions in the field of osteosarcoma treatment are occurring slowly, conventional treatments of osteosarcoma are still not promising enough. Therefore, there is a need for developing novel therapeutic methods or enhancing currently available approaches.
Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide composed of β--linked D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. This compound is derived from the deacetylation of chitin which is found in exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans as well as fungi cellular walls. Chitosan’s features include but are not limited to low toxicity profile, ability to bind to nucleic acids, bio-adhesiveness, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and the capacity of permeabilization. These characteristics have made chitosan a proper candidate for pharmacological purposes.
Methods: Several in vitro and in vivo articles as well as pre-clinical and clinical trial studies have been gathered and reviewed from multiple databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. In this review, we discuss the potential roles of chitosan in studying and treating osteosarcoma. We review the literature on chitosan’s applications as a drug delivery system and the possible benefits of chitosan in the field of bone tissue engineering and 3D culturing. Furthermore, the anti-cancer activities of different types of chitosan are reviewed.
Results: Chitosan-based formulations are shown to be useful for various purposes in osteosarcoma. The most common type of chitosan-based materials used in the osteosarcoma field are hydrogels, nanoparticles, and scaffolds. These formulations can be used as delivery systems of chemotherapeutic drugs (such as doxorubicin) and genes (e.g. PEDF and LacZ). Chitosan-based compounds are also able to exert anti-tumor effects, including apoptosis induction, inhibiting proliferation, and suppressing metastasis. In addition to the mentioned applications, chitosan-based compounds are useful for culturing different osteosarcoma cells lines which allows studying the pathogenesis of this cancer. Besides, they can be used in bone tissue engineering.
Conclusion: Based on the several studies conducted on the role of chitosan in the treatment of osteosarcoma, this polysaccharide provides a variety of beneficial effects in this field. Moreover, chitosan is an excellent option to use for studying osteosarcoma.