Reduction of the Cisplatin Toxicity by Its Conjugation with Arabinogalactan

Cisplatin is an effective anticancer drug used to treat various types of cancer. The main disadvantage of the drug is its high toxicity. To reduce the toxic effect of cisplatin, we conjugated it with arabinogalactan, which is capable of forming soluble globules and bind poorly soluble pharmacological compounds by confining them inside spheroid globules. In this study, we compared the biological effect and mechanism of action of cisplatin and its complex with arabinogalactan (AG–Pt) on the growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo. It has been shown that the conjugates of arabinogalactan with cisplatin exerted a strong antitumor effect despite the fact that the dose of cisplatin in the composition of the conjugates was 10 times less than the standard dose. At the same time, the conjugates of arabinogalactan with cisplatin were virtually nontoxic. It has been established that the antitumor effect of cisplatin and its conjugates with arabinogalactan is due to the induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. It is assumed that a decrease in toxicity and an increase in the efficacy of cisplatin-arabinogalactan conjugates compared to pure cisplatin are associated with its more efficient accumulation in tumor cells.