Capturing "Extraordinary" Soft-Assembled Charge-Like Polypeptides as a Strategy for Nanocarrier Design

Rational design of a poly-L-glutamic acid-based combination conjugate for hormone-responsive breast cancer treatment

Breast cancer represents the most prevalent tumor type worldwide, with hormone-responsive breast cancer the most common subtype. Despite the effectiveness of endocrine therapy, advanced disease forms represent an unmet clinical need. While drug combination therapies remain promising, differences in pharmacokinetic profiles result in suboptimal ratios of free drugs reaching tumors. We identified a synergistic combination of bisdemethoxycurcumin and exemestane through drug screening and rationally designed star-shaped poly-L-glutamic acid-based combination conjugates carrying these drugs conjugated through pH-responsive linkers for hormone-responsive breast cancer treatment. We synthesized/characterized single and combination conjugates with synergistic drug ratios/loadings. Physicochemical characterization/drug release kinetics studies suggested that lower drug loading prompted a less compact conjugate conformation that supported optimal release. Screening in monolayer and spheroid breast cancer cell cultures revealed that combination conjugates possessed enhanced cytotoxicity/synergism compared to physical mixtures of single-drug conjugates/free drugs; moreover, a combination conjugate with the lowest drug loading outperformed remaining conjugates. This candidate inhibited proliferation-associated signaling, reduced inflammatory chemokine/exosome levels, and promoted autophagy in spheroids; furthermore, it outperformed a physical mixture of single-drug conjugates/free drugs regarding cytotoxicity in patient-derived breast cancer organoids. Our findings highlight the importance of rational design and advanced in vitro models for the selection of polypeptide-based combination conjugates.

Critical Design Strategies Supporting Optimized Drug Release from Polymer-Drug Conjugates

The importance of an adequate linking moiety design that allows controlled drug(s) release at the desired site of action is extensively studied for polymer-drug conjugates (PDCs). Redox-responsive self-immolative linkers bearing disulfide moieties (SS-SIL) represent a powerful strategy for intracellular drug delivery; however, the influence of drug structural features and linker-associated spacers on release kinetics remains relatively unexplored. The influence of drug/spacer chemical structure and the chemical group available for conjugation on drug release and the biological effect of resultant PDCs is evaluated. A "design of experiments" tool is implemented to develop a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method to perform the comprehensive characterization required for this systematic study. The obtained fit-for-purpose analytical protocol enables the quantification of low drug concentrations in drug release studies and the elucidation of metabolite presence. and provides the first data that clarifies how drug structural features influence the drug release from SS-SIL and demonstrates the non-universal nature of the SS-SIL. The importance of rigorous linker characterization in understanding structure-function correlations between linkers, drug chemical functionalities, and in vitro release kinetics from a rationally-designed polymer-drug nanoconjugate, a critical strategic crafting methodology that should remain under consideration when using a reductive environment as an endogenous drug release trigger.

siRNA Delivery against Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Mediated by Reversibly Camouflaged Biomimetic Nanocomplexes

siRNA-mediated management of myocardial ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury is greatly hampered by the inefficient myocardial enrichment and cardiomyocyte transfection. Herein, nanocomplexes (NCs) reversibly camouflaged with a platelet-macrophage hybrid membrane (HM) are developed to efficiently deliver Sav1 siRNA (siSav1) into cardiomyocytes, suppressing the Hippo pathway and inducing cardiomyocyte regeneration. The biomimetic BSPC@HM NCs consist of a cationic nanocore assembled from a membrane-penetrating helical polypeptide (P-Ben) and siSav1, a charge-reversal intermediate layer of poly(l-lysine)-cis-aconitic acid (PC), and an outer shell of HM. Due to HM-mediated inflammation homing and microthrombus targeting, intravenously injected BSPC@HM NCs can efficiently accumulate in the IR-injured myocardium, where the acidic inflammatory microenvironment triggers charge reversal of PC to shed off both HM and PC layers and allow the penetration of the exposed P-Ben/siSav1 NCs into cardiomyocytes. In rats and pigs, BSPC@HM NCs remarkably downregulates Sav1 in IR-injured myocardium, promotes myocardium regeneration, suppresses myocardial apoptosis, and recovers cardiac functions. This study reports a bioinspired strategy to overcome the multiple systemic barriers against myocardial siRNA delivery, and holds profound potential for gene therapy against cardiac injuries.

Degradable Bottlebrush Polypeptides and the Impact of their Architecture on Cell Uptake, Pharmacokinetics, and Biodistribution In Vivo

Bottlebrush polymers are highly promising as unimolecular nanomedicines due to their unique control over the critical parameters of size, shape and chemical function. However, since they are prepared from biopersistent carbon backbones, most known bottlebrush polymers are non-degradable and thus unsuitable for systemic therapeutic administration. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of novel poly(organo)phosphazene-g-poly(α-glutamate) (PPz-g-PGA) bottlebrush polymers with exceptional control over their structure and molecular dimensions (Dh ≈ 15-50 nm). These single macromolecules show outstanding aqueous solubility, ultra-high multivalency and biodegradability, making them ideal as nanomedicines. While well-established in polymer therapeutics, it has hitherto not been possible to prepare defined single macromolecules of PGA in these nanosized dimensions. A direct correlation was observed between the macromolecular dimensions of the bottlebrush polymers and their intracellular uptake in CT26 colon cancer cells. Furthermore, the bottlebrush macromolecular structure visibly enhanced the pharmacokinetics by reducing renal clearance and extending plasma half-lives. Real-time analysis of the biodistribution dynamics showed architecture-driven organ distribution and enhanced tumor accumulation. This work, therefore, introduces a robust, controlled synthesis route to bottlebrush polypeptides, overcoming limitations of current polymer-based nanomedicines and, in doing so, offers valuable insights into the influence of architecture on the in vivo performance of nanomedicines.

Conjugation, Prodrug, and Co-Administration Strategies in Support of Nanotechnologies to Improve the Therapeutic Efficacy of Phytochemicals in the Central Nervous System

Phytochemicals, produced as secondary plant metabolites, have shown interesting potential therapeutic activities against neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Unfortunately, poor bioavailability and rapid metabolic processes compromise their therapeutic use, and several strategies are currently proposed for overcoming these issues. The present review summarises strategies for enhancing the central nervous system's phytochemical efficacy. Particular attention has been paid to the use of phytochemicals in combination with other drugs (co-administrations) or administration of phytochemicals as prodrugs or conjugates, particularly when these approaches are supported by nanotechnologies exploiting conjugation strategies with appropriate targeting molecules. These aspects are described for polyphenols and essential oil components, which can improve their loading as prodrugs in nanocarriers, or be part of nanocarriers designed for targeted co-delivery to achieve synergistic anti-glioma or anti-neurodegenerative effects. The use of in vitro models, able to simulate the blood-brain barrier, neurodegeneration or glioma, and useful for optimizing innovative formulations before their in vivo administration via intravenous, oral, or nasal routes, is also summarised. Among the described compounds, quercetin, curcumin, resveratrol, ferulic acid, geraniol, and cinnamaldehyde can be efficaciously formulated to attain brain-targeting characteristics, and may therefore be therapeutically useful against glioma or neurodegenerative diseases.

Current hurdles to the translation of nanomedicines from bench to the clinic

The field of nanomedicine has significantly influenced research areas such as drug delivery, diagnostics, theranostics, and regenerative medicine; however, the further development of this field will face significant challenges at the regulatory level if related guidance remains unclear and unconsolidated. This review describes those features and pathways crucial to the clinical translation of nanomedicine and highlights considerations for early-stage product development. These include identifying those critical quality attributes of the drug product essential for activity and safety, appropriate analytical methods (physical, chemical, biological) for characterization, important process parameters, and adequate pre-clinical models. Additional concerns include the evaluation of batch-to-batch consistency and considerations regarding scaling up that will ensure a successful reproducible manufacturing process. Furthermore, we advise close collaboration with regulatory agencies from the early stages of development to assure an aligned position to accelerate the development of future nanomedicines.

Chitosan-derived nanoparticles impede signal transduction in T790M lung cancer therapy

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) treated patients ultimately develop disease progression, about 50% of which are involved in the emergence of a p.Thr790Met (T790M) mutation acquiring drug resistance. In order to solve the aforementioned problem, a therapeutic nanoparticles DGA is developed to overcome EGFR-T790M resistance via downstream anti-apoptotic signal transduction blocking by a combination with persuading mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibiting miRNA expression. As the concept of design, chitosan-derived nanocarrier DCAFP, capable of persuading mitochondrial dysfunction, is demonstrated to convey gefitinib (GFT) and miR21 inhibitor (anti-miR21) to form DGA nanoparticles. The superior accumulation of antitumor therapeutics and synergistic blocking of downstream signal transduction by mitochondrial dysfunction and miRNA regulation lead to high sensitivity of DGA nanoparticles to EGFR-T790M mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells with significant inhibition of tumor cell growth. The in vivo study demonstrates superior safety and antitumor efficacy of EGFR^T790M mutated lung cancer mouse models. These results highlight the promise of DGA nanoparticles for enhancing GFT sensitivity to EGFR^T790M NSCLC.

An Inspection into Multifarious Ways to Synthesize Poly(Amino Acid)s

Poly(α-amino acid)s (PAAs) attract growing attention due to their essential role in the application as biomaterials. To synthesize PAAs with desired structures and properties, scientists have developed various synthetic techniques with respective advantages. Here, different approaches to preparing PAAs are inspected. Basic features and recent progresses of these methods are summarized, including polymerizations of amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs), amino acid N-thiocarboxyanhydrides (NTAs), and N-phenoxycarbonyl amino acids (NPCs), as well as other synthetic routes. NCA is the most classical monomer to prepare PAAs with high molecular weights (MWs). NTA polymerizations are promising alternative pathways to produce PAAs, which can tolerate nucleophiles including alcohols, mercaptans, carboxyl acids, and water. By various techniques including choosing appropriate solvents or using organic acids as promoters, NTAs polymerize to produce polypeptoids and polypeptides with narrow dispersities and designed MWs up to 55.0 and 57.0 kg mol^-1 , respectively. NPC polymerizations are phosgene-free ways to synthesize polypeptides and polypeptoids. For the future prospects, detail investigations into polymerization mechanisms of NTA and NPC are expected. The synthesis of PAAs with designed topologies and assembly structures is another intriguing topic. The advantages and unsettled problems in various synthetic ways are discussed for readers to choose appropriate approaches for PAAs.

Polymer Conjugation of Docosahexaenoic Acid Potentiates Cardioprotective Therapy in Preclinical Models of Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

While coronary angioplasty represents an effective treatment option following acute myocardial infarction, the reperfusion of the occluded coronary artery can prompt ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury that significantly impacts patient outcomes. As ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have proven, yet limited cardioprotective abilities, an optimized polymer-conjugation approach is reported that improves PUFAs bioavailability to enhance cardioprotection and recovery in animal models of I/R-induced injury. Poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA) conjugation improves the solubility and stability of di-docosahexaenoic acid (diDHA) under physiological conditions and protects rat neonatal ventricular myocytes from I/R injury by reducing apoptosis, attenuating autophagy, inhibiting reactive oxygen species generation, and restoring mitochondrial membrane potential. Enhanced protective abilities are associated with optimized diDHA loading and evidence is provided for the inherent cardioprotective potential of PGA itself. Pretreatment with PGA-diDHA before reperfusion in a small animal I/R model provides for cardioprotection and limits area at risk (AAR). Furthermore, the preliminary findings suggest that PGA-diDHA administration in a swine I/R model may provide cardioprotection, limit edema and decrease AAR. Overall, the evaluation of PGA-diDHA in relevant preclinical models provides evidence for the potential of polymer-conjugated PUFAs in the mitigation of I/R injury associated with coronary angioplasty.

Targeting Alzheimer's disease with multimodal polypeptide-based nanoconjugates

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent form of dementia, remains incurable mainly due to our failings in the search for effective pharmacological strategies. Here, we describe the development of targeted multimodal polypeptide-based nanoconjugates as potential AD treatments. Treatment with polypeptide nanoconjugates bearing propargylamine moieties and bisdemethoxycurcumin or genistein afforded neuroprotection and displayed neurotrophic effects, as evidenced by an increase in dendritic density of pyramidal neurons in organotypic hippocampal culture. The additional conjugation of the Angiopep-2 targeting moiety enhanced nanoconjugate passage through the blood-brain barrier and modulated brain distribution with nanoconjugate accumulation in neurogenic areas, including the olfactory bulb. Nanoconjugate treatment effectively reduced neurotoxic β amyloid aggregate levels and rescued impairments to olfactory memory and object recognition in APP/PS1 transgenic AD model mice. Overall, this study provides a description of a targeted multimodal polyglutamate-based nanoconjugate with neuroprotective and neurotrophic potential for AD treatment.

Polyglutamic acid-based crosslinked doxorubicin nanogels as an anti-metastatic treatment for triple negative breast cancer

Treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)-associated metastasis represents an unmet clinical need, and we lack effective therapeutics for a disease that exhibits high relapse rates and associates with poor patient outcomes. Advanced nanosized drug delivery systems may enhance the efficacy of first-line chemotherapeutics by altering drug pharmacokinetics and enhancing tumor/metastasis targeting to significantly improve efficacy and safety. Herein, we propose the application of injectable poly-amino acid-based nanogels (NGs) as a versatile hydrophilic drug delivery platform for the treatment of TNBC lung metastasis. We prepared biocompatible and biodegradable cross-linked NGs from polyglutamic acid (PGA) loaded with the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX). Our optimized synthetic procedures generated NGs of ~100 nm in size and 25 wt% drug loading content that became rapidly internalized in TNBC cell lines and displayed IC50 values comparable to the free form of DOX. Importantly, PGA-DOX NGs significantly inhibited lung metastases and almost completely suppressed lymph node metastases in a spontaneously metastatic orthotopic mouse TNBC model. Overall, our newly developed PGA-DOX NGs represent a potentially effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of TNBC metastases.

Designing peptide nanoparticles for efficient brain delivery

The targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds to the brain is arguably the most significant open problem in drug delivery today. Nanoparticles (NPs) based on peptides and designed using the emerging principles of molecular engineering show enormous promise in overcoming many of the barriers to brain delivery faced by NPs made of more traditional materials. However, shortcomings in our understanding of peptide self-assembly and blood-brain barrier (BBB) transport mechanisms pose significant obstacles to progress in this area. In this review, we discuss recent work in engineering peptide nanocarriers for the delivery of therapeutic compounds to the brain: from synthesis, to self-assembly, to in vivo studies, as well as discussing in detail the biological hurdles that a nanoparticle must overcome to reach the brain.

Supramolecular polymer bottlebrushes

The field of supramolecular chemistry has long been known to generate complex materials of different sizes and shapes via the self-assembly of single or multiple low molar mass building blocks. Matching the complexity found in natural assemblies, however, remains a long-term challenge considering its precision in organizing large macromolecules into well-defined nanostructures. Nevertheless, the increasing understanding of supramolecular chemistry has paved the way to several attempts in arranging synthetic macromolecules into larger ordered structures based on non-covalent forces. This review is a first attempt to summarize the developments in this field, which focus mainly on the formation of one-dimensional, linear, cylindrical aggregates in solution with pendant polymer chains - therefore coined supramolecular polymer bottlebrushes in accordance with their covalent equivalents. Distinguishing by the different supramolecular driving forces, we first describe systems based on π-π interactions, which comprise, among others, the well-known perylene motif, but also the early attempts using cyclophanes. However, the majority of reported supramolecular polymer bottlebrushes are formed by hydrogen bonds as they can for example be found in linear and cyclic peptides, as well as so called sticker molecules containing multiple urea groups. Besides this overview on the reported motifs and their impact on the resulting morphology of the polymer nanostructures, we finally highlight the potential benefits of such non-covalent interactions and refer to promising future directions of this still mostly unrecognized field of supramolecular research.

Polyornithine-based polyplexes to boost effective gene silencing in CNS disorders

Gene silencing therapies have successfully suppressed the translation of target proteins, a strategy that holds great promise for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Advances in the current knowledge on multimolecular delivery vehicles are concentrated on overcoming the difficulties in delivery of small interfering (si)RNA to target tissues, which include anatomical accessibility, slow diffusion, safety concerns, and the requirement for specific cell uptake within the unique environment of the CNS. The present work addressed these challenges through the implementation of polyornithine derivatives in the construction of polyplexes used as non-viral siRNA delivery vectors. Physicochemical and biological characterization revealed biodegradability and biocompatibility of our polyornithine-based system and the ability to silence gene expression in primary oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) effectively. In summary, the well-defined properties and neurological compatibility of this polypeptide-based platform highlight its potential utility in the treatment of CNS disorders.

Fluorinated α-Helical Polypeptides Synchronize Mucus Permeation and Cell Penetration toward Highly Efficient Pulmonary siRNA Delivery against Acute Lung Injury

The mucus layer and cell membrane are two major barriers against pulmonary siRNA delivery. Commonly used polycationic gene vectors can hardly penetrate the mucus layer due to the adsorption of mucin glycoproteins that trap and destabilize the polyplexes. Herein, guanidinated and fluorinated bifunctional helical polypeptides were developed to synchronizingly overcome these two barriers. The guanidine domain and α-helix facilitated trans-membrane siRNA delivery into macrophages, whereas fluorination of the polypeptides dramatically enhanced the mucus permeation capability by ∼240 folds, because incorporated fluorocarbon segments prevented adsorption of mucin glycoproteins onto polyplexes surfaces. Thus, when delivering TNF-α siRNA intratracheally, the top-performing polypeptide P7F7 provoked highly efficient gene knockdown by ∼96% at 200 μg/kg siRNA and exerted pronounced anti-inflammatory effect against acute lung injury. This study thus provides an effective strategy for transmucosal gene delivery, and it also renders promising utilities for the noninvasive, localized treatment of inflammatory pulmonary diseases.

Effective Nephroprotection Against Acute Kidney Injury with a Star-Shaped Polyglutamate-Curcuminoid Conjugate

The lack of effective pharmacological treatments for acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a significant public health problem. Given the involvement of apoptosis and regulated necrosis in the initiation and progression of AKI, the inhibition of cell death may contribute to AKI prevention/recovery. Curcuminoids are a family of plant polyphenols that exhibit attractive biological properties that make them potentially suitable for AKI treatment. Now, in cultured tubular cells, we demonstrated that a crosslinked self-assembled star-shaped polyglutamate (PGA) conjugate of bisdemethoxycurcumin (St-PGA-CL-BDMC) inhibits apoptosis and necroptosis induced by Tweak/TNFα/IFNγ alone or concomitant to caspase inhibition. St-PGA-CL-BDMC also reduced NF-κB activation and subsequent gene transcription. In vivo, St-PGA-CL-BDMC prevented renal cell loss and preserved renal function in mice with folic acid-induced AKI. Mechanistically, St-PGA-CL-BDMC inhibited AKI-induced apoptosis and expression of ferroptosis markers and also decreased the kidney expression of genes involved in tubular damage and inflammation, while preserving the kidney expression of the protective factor, Klotho. Thus, due to renal accumulation and attractive pharmacological properties, the application of PGA-based therapeutics may improve nephroprotective properties of current AKI treatments.

The generation of stabilized supramolecular nanorods from star-shaped polyglutamates

We developed a new strategy of polyglutamate nanorod preparation based on supramolecular polymers stabilized with hydrophobic drugs.

The influence of directed hydrogen bonds on the self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers in water

HYPOTHESIS

Molecules forming directed intermolecular hydrogen bonds, such as the well-known benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamides (BTA) motif, are known to self-assemble into long fibrous structures. However, only a few of these systems have so far demonstrated the ability to form such anisotropic nanostructures, if they are combined with hydrophilic polymers to create an amphiphilic material. Here, we designed BTA-polymer conjugates to investigate whether the directionality of the hydrogen bonds or the ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic parts of the molecule, and thus the packing parameter, is decisive for obtaining anisotropic supramolecular structures in water.

EXPERIMENTS

Poly(ethylene glycol) was conjugated to BTA moieties with varying lengths of hydrophobic alkyl spacers ranging from two to twelve methylene units. The resulting amphiphilic materials were characterized in aqueous solution by light and small-angle neutron scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, and cryo-transmission electron microscopy.

FINDINGS

While spherical micelles were observed for C₆ and C₁₀ alkyl spacers, anisotropic structures were only present in case of the C₁₂ spacer. The comparison to an analogous material, which lacks the directed hydrogen bonds, revealed that the BTA motif cannot provide a sufficient driving force to induce anisotropic structures, but increases the packing density in the hydrophobic part. Therefore, the packing parameter governs the appearance of anisotropic aggregates.

Super-resolution Microscopy for Nanomedicine Research

Super-resolution microscopy, or nanoscopy, revolutionized the field of cell biology, enabling researchers to visualize cellular structures with nanometric resolution, single-molecule sensitivity, and in multiple colors. However, the impact of these techniques goes beyond biology as the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine can greatly benefit from them, as well. Nanoscopy can visualize nanostructures in vitro and in cells and can contribute to the characterization of their structures and nano-bio interactions. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential of super-resolution imaging for nanomedicine research, its technical challenges, and the future developments we envision for this technology.

Super-resolution Imaging of Structure, Molecular Composition, and Stability of Single Oligonucleotide Polyplexes

The successful application of gene therapy relies on the development of safe and efficient delivery vectors. Cationic polymers such as cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) can condense genetic material into nanoscale particles, called polyplexes, and induce cellular uptake. With respect to this point, several aspects of the nanoscale structure of polyplexes have remained elusive because of the difficulty in visualizing the molecular arrangement of the two components with nanometer resolution. This limitation has hampered the rational design of polyplexes based on direct structural information. Here, we used super-resolution imaging to study the structure and molecular composition of individual CPP-mRNA polyplexes with nanometer accuracy. We use two-color direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) to unveil the impact of peptide stoichiometry on polyplex structure and composition and to assess their destabilization in blood serum. Our method provides information about the size and composition of individual polyplexes, allowing the study of such properties on a single polyplex basis. Furthermore, the differences in stoichiometry readily explain the differences in cellular uptake behavior. Thus, quantitative dSTORM of polyplexes is complementary to the currently used characterization techniques for understanding the determinants of polyplex activity in vitro and inside cells.