Nifuroxazide-loaded cubosomes for pulmonary delivery attenuates bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis

By Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al

This study highlights the importance of cubosomes as a drug delivery
system in enhancing the bioavailability of nifuroxazide (NXZD), a poorly soluble STAT3 inhibitor. NXZD loaded cubosomes (NXZD-LC) were in vitro and in vivo evaluated. In vitro, cubosomes presented a poly-angular
nanosized particles with a mean size and zeta potential of 223.73 ± 4.73 nm and 20.93 ± 2.38 mV, respectively. The entrapment efficiency of nifuroxazide was 90.56 ± 4.25%. The in vivo pharmacokinetic study and the
lung tissue accumulation of NXZD were performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after oral administration to rats. The nanoparticles exhibited a two-fold increase and 1.33 times of bioavailability and lung tissue concentration of NXZD compared to NXZD dispersion, respectively. In view of this, NXZD-LC effectively
attenuated PF by targeting STAT3 and NF-κB signals. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.

NXZD-loaded cubosomes; Mean plasma concentration-time profile (mean ± SD) after intra-gastric administration of NXZD suspension and
NXZD-loaded cubosomes. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZD-loaded cubosomes on lung tissue histological features in intratracheal bleomycin-exposed rats. BLMC group exhibited a massive
inflammatory-cell infiltration (arrows), alveolar wall thickening (arrowhead), and the highest inflammation score. BLMC + NXZD showed moderate
inflammatory-cell infiltration (arrow) and alveolar wall thickening (arrowhead) and a non-significant difference in the inflammatory score compared with that of
BLMC group.Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZD-loaded cubosomes on lung tissue fibrotic changes in intratracheal bleomycin-exposed rats: significant decrease in the A% of
fibrosis compared with that of BLMC group.Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr,
Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZDloaded
cubosomes on the levels of LDH (a)
and BALF total protein (b) in intratracheal
bleomycin-exposed rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZDloaded
cubosomes on MDA (a), NOx (b), GSH
(c) and SOD (d) in intratracheal bleomycinexposed
rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZD-loaded cubosomes on COL1A1 mRNA expression (a), hydroxyproline (b) and ICAM-1 (c) in lung tissue in intratracheal
bleomycin-exposed rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZD-loaded
cubosomes on TLR4 mRNA expression (a), TLR4 (b),
IL-6 (c), TNF-α (d) and MCP-1 (e) in lung tissue in
intratracheal bleomycin-exposed rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr,
Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZDloaded
cubosomes on TGF-β1 mRNA expression
(a), TGF-β1 (b), PDGF-BB (c) and TIMP-1
(d) in intratracheal bleomycin-exposed rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr,
Simona Cavalu & al.
Effect of NXZD suspension and NXZD-loaded cubosomes on NF-κB p65 DNA binding activity (a), STAT3 mRNA expression (b) and p-STAT3 (Tyr 705) (c) in
intratracheal bleomycin-exposed rats. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr,
Simona Cavalu & al.

Nifuroxazide showed a potential anti-inflammatory effect, improved antioxidant defense, and suppressed fibrogenic mediators in the lung tissue. To conclude, cubosomes represent an advantageous pharmaceutical delivery system for enhancing pulmonary delivery of poorly soluble drugs. Additionally, since NXZD does induce cross-resistance to other antibacterial agents and does not adversely affect the physiological intestinal bacterial flora, repurposing NXZD as an antifibrotic agent is a promising challenge and new therapeutic approach for unmet therapeutic needs. Copyright Sameh Saber, Mohamed Nasr, Simona Cavalu & al.

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