Abstract: Objective: To study the antitumor effect and the relevant mechanism of the hepatic targeted polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles of diallyl trisulfide (DATS-PBCA-NP) on orthotopic transplanted HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma in nude mice. Methods: The orthotopic transplantation HCC models were established by implanting HCC HepG2 xenograft bits under the envelope of the mice liver. Then, they were divided into 4 groups: the normal saline (NS) group, the empty nanoparticles group, the diallyl trisulfide (DATS) group, and the DATS-PBCA-NP group. Two weeks later, the tumor volume was determined, the PCNA expression in cancer tissues was determined by using immunohistochemistry, and the apoptosis and cell proliferation were determined by Western blot. Results: The successful rate of tumor orthotopic transplantation was 100%. Intravenous administration of DATS-PBCA-NP significantly delayed the growth of orthotopic transplantation hepatoma in nude mice (compared with the other three groups, all P＜0.05). The results of immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis showed that tumors from DATS-PBCA-NP-treated mice exhibited a markedly down-regulating expression of PCNA compared with the control tumor. There was no significant difference in the expression of Fas and FasL proteins among the four groups (P＞0.05). Conclusion: DATS-PBCA-NP has a significant antitumor effect on the orthotopic transplantation HCC model in association with the suppression of proliferation tumor cells.

Key words: Allicin, Nanoparticles, Hepatocellular, Model, orthotopic transplantation