Triple stimuli-responsive supramolecular nanoassembly with mitochondrial targetability for chemophotothermal therapy

Targeted delivery of rhein via hyaluronic acid modified liposomes for suppression of growth and metastasis of breast cancer

Targeting and suppressing the malignant growth and metastasis of breast cancer has been challenging for years. Herein, a nanocarrier based on hyaluronic acid (HA)-modified cationic liposomes was developed for targeted delivery of rhein to achieve breast cancer therapy. The optimum HA-Lip-rhein had spherical and core-shell-like morphologies with an appropriate size of 189.7 ± 5.2 nm. Moreover, the HA-Lip-rhein exhibited higher cellular uptake in 4 T1 cells and enhanced cytotoxicity compared with unmodified liposomal rhein. Furthermore, in vitro cell migration and invasion inhibition assays showed that the HA-Lip-rhein exhibited superior inhibitory effects on breast cancer metastasis. HA-Lip-rhein improved the tumor targeting ability, anti-breast cancer activity, with good safety profile in the 4 T1 breast cancer-bearing mice compared with free rhein and Lip-rhein. The appearance of metastatic tumor nodules in the lungs and H&E staining of liver and lung organs confirmed that HA-Lip-rhein exerted strong antitumor efficacy and inhibited distant metastasis of breast cancer. Overall, the developed HA-Lip-rhein exhibited a good antitumor effect and suppression effect of distant metastasis, making it a novel and promising nanoplatform for further development.

Transforming Cancer Treatment with Nanotechnology: The Role of Berberine as a Star Natural Compound

Berberine (BBR), recognized as an oncotherapeutic phytochemical, exhibits its anti-cancer properties via multiple molecular pathways. However, its clinical application is hindered by suboptimal tumor accumulation, rapid systemic elimination, and diminished bioactive concentration owing to extensive metabolic degradation. To circumvent these limitations, the strategic employment of nanocarriers and other drugs in combination with BBR is emerging as a focus to potentiate its anti-cancer efficacy. This review introduced the expansive spectrum of BBR's anti-cancer activities, BBR and other drugs co-loaded nanocarriers for anti-cancer treatments, and evaluated the synergistic augmentation of these amalgamated modalities. The aim is to provide an overview of BBR for cancer treatment based on nano-delivery. Berberine (BBR), recognized as an oncotherapeutic phytochemical, exhibits its anti-cancer properties via multiple molecular pathways. However, its clinical application is hindered by suboptimal tumor accumulation, rapid systemic elimination, and diminished bioactive concentration owing to extensive metabolic degradation. To circumvent these limitations, the strategic employment of nanocarriers and other drugs in combination with BBR is emerging as a focus to potentiate its anti-cancer efficacy. Nano-delivery systems increase drug concentration at the tumor site by improving pharmacological activity and tissue distribution, enhancing drug bioavailability. Organic nanocarriers have advantages for berberine delivery including biocompatibility, encapsulation, and controlled release of the drug. While the advantages of inorganic nanocarriers for berberine delivery mainly lie in their efficient loading ability of the drug and their slow release ability of the drug. This review introduced the expansive spectrum of BBR's anti-cancer activities, BBR and other drugs co-loaded nanocarriers for anti-cancer treatments, and evaluated the synergistic augmentation of these amalgamated modalities. The aim is to provide an overview of BBR for cancer treatment based on nano-delivery.

Stimulus-Responsive Nano-Prodrug Strategies for Cancer Therapy: A Focus on Camptothecin Delivery

Camptothecin (CPT) is a highly cytotoxic molecule with excellent antitumor activity against various cancers. However, its clinical application is severely limited by poor water solubility, easy inactivation, and severe toxicity. Structural modifications and nanoformulations represent two crucial avenues for camptothecin's development. However, the potential for further structural modifications is limited, and camptothecin nanoparticles fabricated via physical loading have the drawbacks of low drug loading and leakage. Prodrug-based CPT nanoformulations have shown unique advantages, including increased drug loading, reduced burst release, improved bioavailability, and minimal toxic side effects. Stimulus-responsive CPT nano-prodrugs that respond to various endogenous or exogenous stimuli by introducing various activatable linkers to achieve spatiotemporally responsive drug release at the tumor site. This review comprehensively summarizes the latest research advances in stimulus-responsive CPT nano-prodrugs, including preparation strategies, responsive release mechanisms, and their applications in cancer therapy. Special focus is placed on the release mechanisms and characteristics of various stimulus-responsive CPT nano-prodrugs and their application in cancer treatment. Furthermore, clinical applications of CPT prodrugs are discussed. Finally, challenges and future research directions for CPT nano-prodrugs are discussed. This review to be valuable to readers engaged in prodrug research is expected.

Strategic disruption of cancer's powerhouse: precise nanomedicine targeting of mitochondrial metabolism

Mitochondria occupy a central role in the biology of most eukaryotic cells, functioning as the hub of oxidative metabolism where sugars, fats, and amino acids are ultimately oxidized to release energy. This crucial function fuels a variety of cellular activities. Disruption in mitochondrial metabolism is a common feature in many diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and cardiovascular diseases. Targeting tumor cell mitochondrial metabolism with multifunctional nanosystems emerges as a promising strategy for enhancing therapeutic efficacy against cancer. This review comprehensively outlines the pathways of mitochondrial metabolism, emphasizing their critical roles in cellular energy production and metabolic regulation. The associations between aberrant mitochondrial metabolism and the initiation and progression of cancer are highlighted, illustrating how these metabolic disruptions contribute to oncogenesis and tumor sustainability. More importantly, innovative strategies employing nanomedicines to precisely target mitochondrial metabolic pathways in cancer therapy are fully explored. Furthermore, key challenges and future directions in this field are identified and discussed. Collectively, this review provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state and future potential of nanomedicine in targeting mitochondrial metabolism, offering insights for developing more effective cancer therapies.

ROS-responsive and triple-synergistic mitochondria-targeted polymer micelles for efficient induction of ICD in tumor therapeutics

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) represents a modality of apoptosis distinguished by the emanation of an array of damage-related molecular signals. This mechanism introduces a novel concept in the field of contemporary tumor immunotherapy. The inception of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within tumor cells stands as the essential prerequisite and foundation for ICD induction. The formulation of highly efficacious photodynamic therapy (PDT) nanomedicines for the successful induction of ICD is an area of significant scientific inquiry. In this work, we devised a ROS-responsive and triple-synergistic mitochondria-targeted polymer micelle (CAT/CPT-TPP/PEG-Ce6, CTC) that operates with multistage amplification of ROS to achieve the potent induction of ICD. Utilizing an "all-in-one" strategy, we direct both the PDT and chemotherapeutic units to the mitochondria. Concurrently, a multistage cyclical amplification that caused by triple synergy strategy stimulates continuous, stable, and adequate ROS generation (domino effect) within the mitochondria of cells. Conclusively, influenced by ROS, tumor cell-induced ICD is effectively activated, remodeling immunogenicity, and enhancing the therapeutic impact of PDT when synergized with chemotherapy. Empirical evidence from in vitro study substantiates that CTC micelles can efficiently provoke ICD, catalyzing CRT translocation, the liberation of HMGB1 and ATP. Furthermore, animal trials corroborate that polymer micelles, following tail vein injection, can induce ICD, accumulate effectively within tumor tissues, and markedly inhibit tumor growth subsequent to laser irradiation. Finally, transcriptome analysis was carried out to evaluate the changes in tumor genome induced by CTC micelles. This work demonstrates a novel strategy to improve combination immunotherapy using nanotechnology.

A self-assembly active nanomodulator based on berberine for photothermal immunotherapy of breast cancer via dual regulation of immune suppression

Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant global health concern, especially affecting women, necessitating the development of effective treatment strategies. Photothermal immunotherapy has holds promise for addressing BC by eradicating tumors, preventing metastasis, and reducing recurrence rates. However, the dynamic amplification of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO-1) and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) triggered by photothermal therapy (PTT) poses presents a significant barrier to immune cell infiltration, thus promoting immune evasion. To enhance overall efficiency, a hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated berberine (BBR)-indocyanine green self-assembly active nano modulator (HBI NDs) was successfully developed. This nano modulator aims to reverse immune resistance and further contribute to the synergistic anti-tumor effects. The prepared HBI NDs demonstrated a uniform spherical morphology, high drug loading, and favorable optical properties. The results based on in vitro cell experiments and tumor animal models confirmed that HBI NDs selectively accumulated in tumor tissues, downregulated PD-L1 and IDO-1 protein expression, and induced elevated cell apoptosis. Consequently, these effects result in efficient immune infiltration and positive anti-tumor outcomes. In conclusion, the HBI NDs nanodrug exhibits considerable potential as a novel agent for enhancing anticancer efficacy and promoting immune infiltration.

Nanotechnology-Boosted Biomaterials for Osteoarthritis Treatment: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent global health concern, posing a significant and increasing public health challenge worldwide. Recently, nanotechnology-boosted biomaterials have emerged as a highly promising strategy for OA therapy due to their exceptional physicochemical properties and capacity to regulate pathological processes. However, there is an urgent need for a deeper understanding of the potential therapeutic applications of these biomaterials in the clinical management of diseases, particularly in the treatment of OA. In this comprehensive review, we present an extensive discussion of the current status and future prospects concerning nanotechnology-boosted biomaterials for OA therapy. Initially, we discuss the pathophysiology of OA and the constraints associated with existing treatment modalities. Subsequently, various types of nanomaterials utilized for OA therapy, including nanoparticles, nanofibers, and nanocomposites, are thoroughly discussed and summarized, elucidating their respective advantages and challenges. Furthermore, we analyze recent preclinical and clinical studies that highlight the potential of nanotechnology-boosted biomaterials in OA therapy. Additionally, future research directions in this evolving field are highlighted. By establishing a link between the structural properties of nanotechnology-boosted biomaterials and their therapeutic functions in OA treatment, we aim to foster advances in designing sophisticated nanomaterials for OA, ultimately resulting in improved therapeutic efficacy of OA therapy through translation into clinical setting in the near future.

Biomimetic dual-responsive bioengineered nanotheranostics for intracellular cascade-synthesizing chemo-drugs and efficient oncotherapy

Intracellular-synthesized chemo-drugs based on the inherent characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been extensively applied in oncotherapy. However, combining other therapeutic strategies to convert nontoxic small molecules into toxic small-molecule chemo-drugs in the TME is still a huge challenge. To address this issue, herein we have developed a biomimetic dual-responsive bioengineered nanotheranostics system via the supramolecular co-assembly of the nontoxic small-molecule 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) and small-molecule photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) followed by surface cloaking through red blood cell membranes (RBCs) for intracellular cascade-synthesizing chemo-drugs and efficient oncotherapy. Such nanotheranostics with a suitable diameter, core-shell structure, ultrahigh dual-drug payload rate, and excellent stability can efficiently accumulate in tumor regions and then internalize into tumor cells. Under the dual stimulations of near-infrared laser irradiation and acidic lysosomes, the nanotheranostics system exhibited exceptional instability under heat-primed membrane rupture and pH decrease, thereby achieving rapid disassembly and on-demand drug release. Furthermore, the released ICG can efficiently convert ³O₂ into ¹O₂. After that, the generated ¹O₂ can efficiently oxidize the released nontoxic DHN into the highly toxic chemo-drug juglone, thereby realizing intracellular cascade-synthesizing chemo-drugs and synergistic photodynamic-chemotherapy while reducing detrimental side effects on normal cells or tissues. Overall, it is envisioned that RBC-cloaked nanotheranostics with intracellular cascade-synthesizing chemo-drugs can provide a promising strategy for intracellular chemo-drug synthesis-based oncotherapy.

Berberine and folic acid co-modified pH-sensitive cascade-targeted PTX-liposomes coated with Tween 80 for treating glioma

Chemotherapy is a conventional treatment for glioma, but its efficacy is greatly limited due to low blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and lack of specificity. Herein, intelligent and tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive folic acid (FA) derivatives and mitochondria-targeting berberine (BBR) derivatives co-modified liposome coated with Tween 80 loading paclitaxel (PTX-Tween 80-BBR + FA-Lip) was constructed. Specifically speaking, liposomes modified by FA can be effectively target ed to glioma cells. BBR, due to its delocalized positive electricity and lipophilicity, can be attracted by mitochondrial membrane potential and concentrate on mitochondria to achieve mitochondrial targeting and induce cell apoptosis. By simultaneously modifying the liposome with FA and BBR to deliver drugs, leads to a good therapeutic effect of glioma through FA-based glioma targeting and BBR-based mitochondrial targeting. In addition, the surface of the liposome was coated with Tween 80 to further improve BBB penetration. All results exhibited that PTX-Tween 80-BBR + FA-Lip can observably improve the chemotherapy therapeutic efficacy through the highly specific tumor targeting and mitochondrial targeting, which can provide new ideas and methods for the targeted therapy of glioma.

Apoptosis Induction, a Sharp Edge of Berberine to Exert Anti-Cancer Effects, Focus on Breast, Lung, and Liver Cancer

Cancer is the leading cause of death and one of the greatest barriers to increased life expectancy worldwide. Currently, chemotherapy with synthetic drugs remains one of the predominant ways for cancer treatment, which may lead to drug resistance and normal organ damage. Increasing researches have suggested that apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, is a promising way for cancer therapy. Furthermore, natural products are important sources for finding new drugs with high availability, low cost and low toxicity. As a well-known isoquinoline alkaloid, accumulating evidence has revealed that berberine (BBR) exerts potential pro-apoptotic effects on multiple cancers, including breast, lung, liver, gastric, colorectal, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers. The related potential signal pathways are AMP-activated protein kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and protein kinase B pathways. In this review, we provide a timely and comprehensive summary of the detailed molecular mechanisms of BBR in treating three types of cancer (breast, lung and liver cancer) by inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, we also discuss the existing challenges and strategies to improve BBR’s bioavailability. Hopefully, this review provides valuable information for the comprehension of BBR in treating three types of cancer and highlight the pro-apoptotic effects of BBR, which would be beneficial for the further development of this natural compound as an effective clinical drug for treating cancers.

FC-BBR/IND-induced glucose oxidase nanodrugs for targeted combination therapy

Targeted therapy from cells to mitochondria can improve the bioavailability and therapeutic effects of drugs. Combination therapy by combining two or more therapeutic methods comes to be seen a hopeful strategy to overcome the emergence of resistance. Ferrocene (FC) derivatives of the sandwich structure can not only directly inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells but also catalyze the Fenton reaction to enhance chemodynamic therapy. Berberine (BBR) is a Chinese herbal extract with mitochondria-targeted anticancer activity. In our work, glucose oxidase (GOD) was induced to self-assemble by ferrocene-berberine conjugate (FC-BBR) and indomethacin (IND), which was then encapsulated by hyaluronic acid (HA) and formed nanodrugs (FC-BBR/IND@GOD@HA NPs). Molecular simulation results showed that the drugs could be bound to multiple sites of GOD and induce its self-assembly. The prepared nanoassembly could inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of HepG2 cells, which might be the result of targeted chemodynamic therapy and starvation therapy. Moreover, the FC-BBR/IND@GOD@HA NPs could also promote the production of reactive oxygen species and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and block the cells in S phase. More importantly, it could inhibit the movement and migration of cancer cells, which gave it the potential to prevent tumor metastasis.

Combination of mitochondria impairment and inflammation blockade to combat metastasis

Targeted induction of mitochondria impairment has emerged as a promising strategy for anti-metastasis therapy. However, problems such as limited mitochondria targeting efficiency, undesired drug leakage and insufficient drug release inside mitochondria remain crucial challenges for mitochondria-targeting therapy. Here, we constructed an N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) polymer based cationic system that could target to mitochondria and facilitate on demand drug release in response to excessive mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Whereas, this drug delivery system is still challenged by limitations of (1) in vivo application, and (2) inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME). On one aspect, to prolong blood circulation and increase tumor targeting, we designed a nanocomposite (PDT-NCs) that assembled from the cationic HPMA polymer and anionic hyaluronic acid via electrostatic interaction. On another aspect, a celecoxib loaded liposome (Lip-Cel) was further fabricated to alleviate inflammation in TME by downregulating various metastasis-associated factors. Ultimately, PDT-NCs and Lip-Cel led to a drastic improvement in the suppression of primary tumor growth and distant lung metastasis. Our work provided a generalizable approach of mitochondria dysfunction and inflammation blockade to combat metastatic tumors.

Small-Molecule Prodrug Nanoassemblies: An Emerging Nanoplatform for Anticancer Drug Delivery

The antitumor efficiency and clinical translation of traditional nanomedicines is mainly restricted by low drug loading, complex preparation technology, and potential toxicity caused by the overused carrier materials. In recent decades, small-molecule prodrug nanoassemblies (SMP-NAs), which are formed by the self-assembly of prodrugs themselves, have been widely investigated with distinct advantages of ultrahigh drug-loading and negligible excipients-trigged adverse reaction. Benefited from the simple preparation process, SMP-NAs are widely used for chemotherapy, phototherapy, immunotherapy, and tumor diagnosis. In addition, combination therapy based on the accurate co-delivery behavior of SMP-NAs can effectively address the challenges of tumor heterogeneity and multidrug resistance. Recent trends in SMP-NAs are outlined, and the corresponding self-assembly mechanisms are discussed in detail. Besides, the smart stimuli-responsive SMP-NAs and the combination therapy based on SMP-NAs are summarized, with special emphasis on the structure-function relationships. Finally, the outlooks and potential challenges of SMP-NAs in cancer therapy are highlighted.

Hypoxia-Mediated ROS Amplification Triggers Mitochondria-Mediated Apoptotic Cell Death via PD-L1/ROS-Responsive, Dual-Targeted, Drug-Laden Thioketal Nanoparticles

Amalgamation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive stimulus with nanoparticles has gained considerable interest owing to their high tumor specificity. Hypoxia plays a pivotal role in the acceleration of intracellular ROS production. Herein, we report the construction of a cancer cell (PD-L1)- and ROS-responsive, dual-targeted, temozolomide (TMZ)-laden nanosystem which offers a better anticancer effect in a hypoxic tumor microenvironment. A dual-targeted system boosted permeation in the cancer cells. Hypoxic conditions elevating the high ROS level accelerated the in situ release of TMZ from anti-PD-L1-TKNPs. Hyperaccumulated ROS engendered from TMZ caused oxidative damage leading to mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. TMZ fabricated in the multifunctional nanosystem (anti-PD-L1-TMZ-TKNPs) provided excellent tumor accumulation and retarded tumor growth under in vivo conditions. The elevated apoptosis effect with the activation of an apoptotic marker, DNA double-strand breakage marker, and downregulation of the angiogenesis marker in the tumor tissue following treatment with anti-PD-L1-TMZ-TKNPs exerts robust anticancer effect. Collectively, the nanoconstruct offers deep tumor permeation and high drug release and broadens the application of the ROS-responsive nanosystem for a successful anticancer effect.

Van der Waals force-driven indomethacin-ss-paclitaxel nanodrugs for reversing multidrug resistance and enhancing NSCLC therapy

The high expression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) in cancer cells caused serious multidrug resistance (MDR), which limited the effectiveness of paclitaxel (PTX) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) chemotherapy. Indomethacin (IND), a kind of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which has been confirmed to be a potential MRP1 inhibitor. Taking into account the advantages of old drugs without extra controversial biosafety issue, in this manuscript, the disulfide bond (-S-S-) was employed for connecting IND and PTX to construct conjugate IND-S-S-PTX, which was further self-assembled and formed nanodrug (IND-S-S-PTX NPs). The particle size of IND-S-S-PTX NPs was ~160 nm with a narrow PDI value of 0.099, which distributed well in water and also exhibited a stable characteristic. Moreover, due to the existence of disulfide bond, the NPs were sensitive to the high level of glutathione (GSH) in tumor microenvironment. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation presented the process of self-assembly in detail. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the main driving force in self-assembly process was originated from the van der waals force. In addition, this carrier-free nano drug delivery systems (nDDs) could reverse the MDR by downregulating the expression of MRP1 protein in A549/taxol.

Advances in Indocyanine Green-Based Codelivery Nanoplatforms for Combinatorial Therapy

Indocyanine green (ICG), a near-infrared (NIR) agent with an excellent imaging performance, has captivated enormous interest from researchers owing to its excellent therapeutic and imaging abilities. Although various nanoplatforms-based drug delivery systems (DDS) with the ability to overcome the clinical limitations of ICG has been reported, ICG-medicated conventional cancer diagnosis and photorelated therapies still lack in exhibiting the therapeutic efficacy, resulting in incomplete or partly tumor elimination. In the view of addressing these concerns, various DDSs have been engineered for the efficient codelivery of combined therapeutic agents with ICG, aiming to achieve promising therapeutic results due to multifunctional imaging-guided synergistic antitumor effects. In this article, we will systematically review currently available nanoplatforms based on polymers, inorganic, proteins, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), among others, for codelivery of ICG along with other therapeutic agents, providing a foundation for future clinical development of ICG. In addition, codelivery systems for ICG and different mechanism-based therapeutic agents will be illustrated. In summary, we conclude the review with the challenges and perspectives of ICG-based versatile nanoplatforms in detail.