I have recently learned that mononuclear phagocytic cells (monocytes) readily engulf liposomal doxorubicin, both pegylated and non-pegylated, albeit the phagocytic activity is less towards pegylated variants. However they die "shortly after" the liposom has released doxorubicin in cellular interior. But how long is "shortly after"? Minutes? Hours? I can't seem to find this information anywhere.
Would the cells die as quickly if treated with free doxorubicin? Or is cell death induced quicker with liposomal formulations?
The questions relate to experiments in vitro.
Hi Alexandra. You would probably see an acute response within the first hour and a complete cell death after 5-6 hours. Of course, it depends on the formulation and the concentration of dox.
Think about the mechanism of action of dox (the short terms) and you will probably notice that in most cases dox triggers, directly or indirectly, apoptosis. If you think how long apoptosis requires to occur, then you can find the answer to your question. With a caveat. If you use very high concentrations of (free) dox, you may induce a massive membrane disturbance and a faster cell death.
Thank you for the reply! Concentrations I use are in nM-microM range, i.e. trying to mimic the therapeutic blood concentrations.
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