Genoprotective role of pembrolizumab liposome in isolated lymphocytes from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients compared to those from healthy individuals in vitro

Abstract

Pembrolizumab has shown significant anticancer effects against various human cancers. The present study investigated the effects of pembrolizumab liposome and nano (naked) forms in treated lymphocytes from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients compared to healthy individuals. The level of oxidative DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was also investigated. A concentration of 10 µg/ml of pembrolizumab liposome was used to treat the lymphocytes in the Comet and micronucleus assays based on the preliminary dosage optimization tests. To determine the cellular pathways involved in the protective role of pembrolizumab against H₂O₂, several proteins involved in apoptosis (P53, P21 and Bcl-2) were assessed. Pembrolizumab significantly reduced DNA damage and decreased the number of micronuclei in lymphocytes from HNSCC patients (p < 0.01) compared with healthy individuals. The 10 µg/ml of pembrolizumab liposome significantly reduced the oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂ and was effective in healthy and HNSCC groups using the Comet and micronucleus assays (p < 0.001). To our knowledge, this is the first report of pembrolizumab in liposome and naked forms exhibiting a protective effect on DNA damage in the treatment of HNSCC patients.

Keywords:

• Pembrolizumab
• liposome
• head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)
• lymphocytes
• oxidative stress
• DNA damage
• micronuclei

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the clinical staff of Bradford Royal Infirmary Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital for their assistance in this study. The Sponsorship by Libyan embassy of a PhD studentship to Nagah Bobtina is gratefully acknowledged. The sponsor played no part in the conduct of the work or the writing of the manuscript.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.