Tumor-Specific Silencing of Tissue Factor Suppresses Metastasis and Prevents Cancer-Associated Hypercoagulability

Peptides for microbe-induced cancers: latest therapeutic strategies and their advanced technologies

Cancer is a significant global health concern associated with multiple distinct factors, including microbial and viral infections. Numerous studies have elucidated the role of microorganisms, such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), as well as viruses for example human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), in the development of human malignancies. Substantial attention has been focused on the treatment of these microorganism- and virus-associated cancers, with promising outcomes observed in studies employing peptide-based therapies. The current paper provides an overview of microbe- and virus-induced cancers and their underlying molecular mechanisms. We discuss an assortment of peptide-based therapies which are currently being developed, including tumor-targeting peptides and microbial/viral peptide-based vaccines. We describe the major technological advancements that have been made in the design, screening, and delivery of peptides as anticancer agents. The primary focus of the current review is to provide insight into the latest research and development in this field and to provide a realistic glimpse into the future of peptide-based therapies for microbe- and virus-induced neoplasms.

Effectiveness of D-dimer in predicting distant metastasis in colorectal cancer

PURPOSE

Patients with cancer often present with a hypercoagulable state, which is closely associated with tumor progression. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic efficacy of D-dimer in predicting distant metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS

This study included 529 patients diagnosed with CRC at our hospital between January 2020 and December 2022. Plasma coagulation indicators and tumor markers were collected prior to treatment and their diagnostic efficacy for predicting CRC metastasis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Independent risk factors for evaluating tumor metastasis were obtained by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The level of D-dimer in the metastatic group was significantly higher than that in the non-metastatic group (P<0.001). The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that lower level of prealbumin and platelet, and higher level of glucose, CEA and D-dimer were independent risk factors for distant metastasis in patients with CRC (P<0.05, respectively). The combination of prealbumin, glucose, D-dimer, platelet and tumor markers (PRE2) was found to be significantly more effective in predicting metastasis of CRC when compared to the combination of tumor marker alone (PRE1, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Plasma D-dimer may be a novel tumor marker for screening metastases of CRC.

Photothermal Responsive Microcarriers Encapsulated With Cangrelor and 5-Fu for Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Localized chemotherapy is emerging as a potential strategy for cancer treatment due to its low systemic toxicity. However, the immune evasion of tumor cells and the lack of an intelligent design of the delivery system limit its clinical application. Herein, photothermal responsive microcarriers are designed by microfluidic electrospray for colorectal tumor treatment. The microcarriers loaded with Cangrelor, 5-FU and MXene (G-M@F/C+NIR) show sustained delivery of antiplatelet drug Cangrelor, thus inhibiting the activity of platelets, interactions of platelet-tumor cell, as well as the tumor cells invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In addition, the sustained delivery of chemotherapeutics 5-FU and the photothermal effect provided by MXene enable the microcarriers to inhibit tumor cells proliferation and migration. In vivo studies validate that the G-M@F/C+NIR microcarriers significantly inhibites tumor growth, decreased the expression of Ki-67 in tumor cells and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the tumor microenvironment, while increased the expression of E-cadherin. It is believe that by means of the proposed photothermal responsive microcarriers, the synergistic strategy of platelet inhibition, chemotherapy, and photothermal therapy can find practical applications in cancer treatment.

Direct contact between tumor cells and platelets initiates a FAK-dependent F3/TGF-β positive feedback loop that promotes tumor progression and EMT in osteosarcoma

Platelets have received growing attention for their roles in hematogenous tumor metastasis. However, the tumor-platelet interaction in osteosarcoma (OS) remains poorly understood. Here, using platelet-specific focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-deficient mice, we uncover a FAK-dependent F3/TGF-β positive feedback loop in OS. Disruption of the feedback loop by inhibition of F3, TGF-β, or FAK significantly suppresses OS progression. We demonstrate that OS F3 initiated the feedback loop by increasing platelet TGF-β secretion, and platelet-derived TGF-β promoted OS F3 expression in turn and modulated OS EMT process. Immunofluorescence results indicate platelet infiltration in OS niche and we verified it was mediated by platelet FAK. In addition, platelet FAK was proved to mediate platelet adhesion to OS cells, which was vital for the initiation of F3/TGF-β feedback loop. Collectively, these findings provide a rationale for novel therapeutic strategies targeting tumor-platelet interplay in metastatic OS.

Assessment of Hidden Blood Loss in Spinal Metastasis Surgery: A Comprehensive Approach with MRI-Based Radiomics Models

BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis are predisposed to hidden blood loss (HBL), which is associated with poor surgical outcomes but unpredictable.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the role of MRI-based radiomics models for assess the risk of HBL in patients undergoing spinal metastasis surgery.

STUDY TYPE

Retrospective.

SUBJECTS

202 patients (42.6% female) operated on for spinal metastasis with a mean age of 58 ± 11 years were divided into a training (n = 162) and a validation cohort (n = 40).

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE

1.5T or 3.0T scanners. Sagittal T1-weighted and fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging sequences.

ASSESSMENT

HBL was calculated using the Gross formula. Patients were classified as low and high HBL group, with 1000 mL as the threshold. Radiomics models were constructed with radiomics features. The radiomics score (Radscore) was obtained from the optimal radiomics model. Clinical variables were accessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Independent risk variables were used to build a clinical model. Clinical variables combined with Radscore were used to establish a combined model.

STATISTICAL TESTS

Predictive performance was evaluated using area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score. Calibration curves and decision curves analyses were produced to evaluate the accuracy and clinical utility.

RESULTS

Among the radiomics models, the fusion (T1WI + FS-T2WI) model demonstrated the highest predictive efficacy (AUC: 0.744, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.576-0.914). The Radscore model (AUC: 0.809, 95% CI: 0.664-0.954) performs slightly better than the clinical model (AUC: 0.721, 95% CI: 0.524-0.918; P = 0.418) and the combined model (AUC: 0.752, 95% CI: 0.593-0.911; P = 0.178).

DATA CONCLUSION

A radiomics model may serve as a promising assessment tool for the risk of HBL in patients undergoing spinal metastasis surgery, and guide perioperative planning to improve surgical outcomes.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Tissue factor binds to and inhibits interferon-α receptor 1 signaling

Tissue factor (TF), which is a member of the cytokine receptor family, promotes coagulation and coagulation-dependent inflammation. TF also exerts protective effects through unknown mechanisms. Here, we showed that TF bound to interferon-α receptor 1 (IFNAR1) and antagonized its signaling, preventing spontaneous sterile inflammation and maintaining immune homeostasis. Structural modeling and direct binding studies revealed binding of the TF C-terminal fibronectin III domain to IFNAR1, which restricted the expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Podocyte-specific loss of TF in mice (PodΔF3) resulted in sterile renal inflammation, characterized by JAK/STAT signaling, proinflammatory cytokine expression, disrupted immune homeostasis, and glomerulopathy. Inhibiting IFNAR1 signaling or loss of Ifnar1 expression in podocytes attenuated these effects in PodΔF3 mice. As a heteromer, TF and IFNAR1 were both inactive, while dissociation of the TF-IFNAR1 heteromer promoted TF activity and IFNAR1 signaling. These data suggest that the TF-IFNAR1 heteromer is a molecular switch that controls thrombo-inflammation.

Maximum amplitude and mean platelet volume in the blood as biomarkers to detect lung adenocarcinoma cancer featured with ground-glass nodules

Objectives

The development and progression of malignancies are closely linked to hypercoagulability. As an early type of lung adenocarcinoma, ground glass nodules (GGNs) have been detected increasingly. Blood Maximum amplitude (MA) and mean platelet volume (MPV) are related to various conditions of hypercoagulability. Therefore, the role of MA and MPV in diagnosing lung adenocarcinoma cancer featured with GGNs was investigated in this case-control study.

Methods

The analyzed data of this study is derived from GGNs patients and healthy individuals in West China (Airport) Hospital Sichuan University. The differences between GGNs patients and healthy individuals were determined by one-way ANOVA, logistic regression or chi-squared test. The accuracy of diagnostic was performed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The relative mRNA expressions were studied by RT-qPCR.

Results

470 patients diagnosed with GGNs which benign lesions (BN group) are inflammatory and malignant lesions (LC group) are adenocarcinoma in stage IA, and 235 healthy subjects (HC group) were enrolled in this study. Levels of MA and MPV were increased in LC group compared with BN and HC group ( p < 0.001, p < 0.001). When we combined MA and MPV, MA and MPV presented a sensitivity (SEN) of 0.809 and a specificity (SPE) of 0.774. And the area under the curve (AUC) increased to 0.871 (0.837–0.900) when confidence interval was 95%.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that there have been systemic changes in coagulation disorders in the pathogenesis of GGNs. The diagnostic ability to different lung adenocarcinoma cancer featured with GGNs from benign or healthy controls can be improved by the combination of MA and MPV. Maximum amplitude and MPV may be used as biomarkers to detect lung adenocarcinoma cancer featured with GGNs.

Hirudin inhibits glioma growth through mTOR-regulated autophagy

Glioma is the most common primary malignant brain tumour, and survival is poor. Hirudin has anticancer pharmacological effects through suppression of glioma cell progression, but the molecular target and mechanism are poorly understood. In this study, we observed that hirudin dose- and time-dependently inhibited glioma invasion, migration and proliferation. Mechanistically, hirudin activated LC3-II but not Caspase-3 to induce the autophagic death of glioma cells by decreasing the phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream substrates ULK1, P70S6K and 4EBP1. Furthermore, hirudin inhibited glioma growth and induced changes in autophagy in cell-derived xenograft (CDX) nude mice, with a decrease in mTOR activity and activation of LC3-II. Collectively, our results highlight a new anticancer mechanism of hirudin in which hirudin-induced inhibition of glioma progression through autophagy activation is likely achieved by inhibition of the mTOR signalling pathway, thus providing a molecular basis for hirudin as a potential and effective clinical drug for glioma therapy.

The role of coagulome in the tumor immune microenvironment

The rising incidence and persistent thrombosis in multiple cancers including those that are immunosuppressive highlight the need for understanding the tumor coagulome system and its role beyond hemostatic complications. Immunotherapy has shown significant benefits in solid organ tumors but has been disappointing in the treatment of hypercoagulable cancers, such as glioblastoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. Thus, targeting thrombosis to prevent immunosuppression seems a clinically viable approach in cancer treatment. Hypercoagulable tumors often develop fibrin clots within the tumor microenvironment (TME) that dictates the biophysical characteristics of the tumor tissue. The application of systems biology and single-cell approaches highlight the potential role of coagulome or thrombocytosis in shaping the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). In-depth knowledge of the tumor coagulome would provide unprecedented opportunities to better predict the hemostatic complications, explore how thrombotic stroma modulates tumor immunity, reexamine the significance of clinical biomarkers, and enable steering the stromal versus systemic immune response for boosting the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer treatment. We focus on the role of coagulation factors in priming a suppressive TIME and the huge potential of existing anticoagulant drugs in the clinical settings of cancer immunotherapy.

Advances and Challenges of Stimuli-Responsive Nucleic Acids Delivery System in Gene Therapy

Gene therapy has emerged as a powerful tool to treat various diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, ocular diseases and cancer diseases. In 2018, the FDA approved Patisiran (the siRNA therapeutic) for treating amyloidosis. Compared with traditional drugs, gene therapy can directly correct the disease-related genes at the genetic level, which guarantees a sustained effect. However, nucleic acids are unstable in circulation and have short half-lives. They cannot pass through biological membranes due to their high molecular weight and massive negative charges. To facilitate the delivery of nucleic acids, it is crucial to develop a suitable delivery strategy. The rapid development of delivery systems has brought light to the gene delivery field, which can overcome multiple extracellular and intracellular barriers that prevent the efficient delivery of nucleic acids. Moreover, the emergence of stimuli-responsive delivery systems has made it possible to control the release of nucleic acids in an intelligent manner and to precisely guide the therapeutic nucleic acids to the target site. Considering the unique properties of stimuli-responsive delivery systems, various stimuli-responsive nanocarriers have been developed. For example, taking advantage of the physiological variations of a tumor (pH, redox and enzymes), various biostimuli- or endogenous stimuli-responsive delivery systems have been fabricated to control the gene delivery processes in an intelligent manner. In addition, other external stimuli, such as light, magnetic fields and ultrasound, have also been employed to construct stimuli-responsive nanocarriers. Nevertheless, most stimuli-responsive delivery systems are in the preclinical stage, and some critical issues remain to be solved for advancing the clinical translation of these nanocarriers, such as the unsatisfactory transfection efficiency, safety issues, complexity of manufacturing and off-target effects. The purpose of this review is to elaborate the principles of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers and to emphasize the most influential advances of stimuli-responsive gene delivery systems. Current challenges of their clinical translation and corresponding solutions will also be highlighted, which will accelerate the translation of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers and advance the development of gene therapy.

Molecularly Stimuli-Responsive Self-Assembled Peptide Nanoparticles for Targeted Imaging and Therapy

Self-assembly has emerged as an extensively used method for constructing biomaterials with sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers. Peptides have been extensively investigated for self-assembly. They are widely applied owing to their desirable biocompatibility, biodegradability, and tunable architecture. The development of peptide-based nanoparticles often requires complex synthetic processes involving chemical modification and supramolecular self-assembly. Stimuli-responsive peptide nanoparticles, also termed "smart" nanoparticles, capable of conformational and chemical changes in response to stimuli, have emerged as a class of promising materials. These smart nanoparticles find a diverse range of biomedical applications, including drug delivery, diagnostics, and biosensors. Stimuli-responsive systems include external stimuli (such as light, temperature, ultrasound, and magnetic fields) and internal stimuli (such as pH, redox environment, salt concentration, and biomarkers), facilitating the generation of a library of self-assembled biomaterials for biomedical imaging and therapy. Thus, in this review, we mainly focus on peptide-based nanoparticles built by self-assembly strategy and systematically discuss their mechanisms in response to various stimuli. Furthermore, we summarize the diverse range of biomedical applications of peptide-based nanomaterials, including diagnosis and therapy, to demonstrate their potential for medical translation.

Peptide cargo administration: current state and applications

Effective delivery of drug molecules to the target site is a challenging task. In the last decade, several innovations in the drug delivery system (DDS) have tremendously improved the therapeutic efficacy of drug molecules. Among various DDS, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) based DDS have gathered notable attention owing to their safety, efficacy, selectivity, specificity, and ease of synthesis. CPPs are emerging as an efficient and effective pharmaceutical nanocarriers-based platforms for successful management of various important human health disorders. Failure of several current chemotherapeutic strategies is attributed to low solubility, reduced bioavailability, and off-target delivery of several anti-cancer drugs. Similarly, development of therapeutics for vision-threatening disorders is challenged by the anatomical as well as physiological complexity of the eye. Such therapeutic challenges in cancer and ocular disease management can be overcome by developing cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) based peptide drug conjugates (PDCs). CPPs can be used to deliver various types of cargo molecules including nucleic acids, small molecules, and peptides/proteinaceous agents. In this review, we have briefly introduced CPPs and the linker strategies employed for the development of PDCs. Furthermore, recent studies employing CPP-based PDCs for cancer and ocular disease management have been discussed in detail highlighting their significance over conventional DDS. Later sections of the review are focused on the current status of clinical trials and future implications of CPP-based PDCs in vaccine development. KEY POINTS: • Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) can deliver a variety of cargo macromolecules via covalent and non-covalent conjugation. • CPP-based peptide drug conjugates (PDCs) can overcome drawbacks of conventional drug delivery methods such as biocompatibility, solubility, stability, and specificity. • Various PDCs are in clinical trial phase for cancer and ocular therapeutics.

Peptide-functionalized therapeutic nanoplatform for treatment orthotopic triple negative breast cancer and bone metastasis

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is a promising therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Recently, specific EGFR-targeting peptide GE11-based delivery nano-system shows excellent potential because of its chemical versatility and good targeting ability. However, no further research focusing on the downstream of EGFR after binding with GE11 was explored. Hence, we tailor-designed a self-assembled nanoplatform named GENP using amphiphilic molecule of stearic acid-modified GE11. After loading doxorubicin (DOX), the resulted nanoplatform GENP@DOX demonstrated high loading efficiency and sustainable drug release. Importantly, our findings proved that GENP alone significantly suppressed the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells via EGFR-downstream PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, contributing to the synergistic treatment with its DOX release. Further work illustrated remarkable therapeutic efficacy both in orthotopic TNBC and its bone metastasis models with minimal biotoxicity. Together, the results highlight that our GENP-functionalized nanoplatform is a promising strategy for the synergistic therapeutic efficacy targeting EGFR-overexpressed cancer.

Copper-Based Metal-Organic Framework Induces NO Generation for Synergistic Tumor Therapy and Antimetastasis Activity

The interaction between platelets and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) contributes to distal tumor metastasis by protecting CTCs from immunological assault and shear stress, which can be disrupted by nitric oxide (NO) through inhibiting platelet-mediated adhesion. To eradicate primitive tumors and inhibit CTC-based pulmonary metastasis, a novel biomimetic nanomedicine (mCuMNO) is designed by encapsulating Cu⁺ -responsive S-nitrosoglutathione as a NO donor into a copper-based metal-organic framework (CuM). This work discovers that mCuMNO can target tumor regions and deplete local glutathione (GSH) to reduce Cu²⁺ to Cu⁺ , followed by triggering NO release and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) production, thereby interrupting platelet/CTC interplay and contributing to chemodynamic therapy. Detailed studies demonstrate that mCuMNO exhibits high efficiency and safety in tumor therapy and antimetastasis activity, sheding new light on the development of CuM-based tumor synthetic therapy.

A narrative review for platelets and their RNAs in cancers: New concepts and clinical perspectives

Recent years have witnessed a growing body of evidence suggesting that platelets are involved in several stages of the metastatic process via direct or indirect interactions with cancer cells, contributing to the progression of neoplastic malignancies. Cancer cells can dynamically exchange components with platelets in and out of blood vessels, and directly phagocytose platelets to hijack their proteome, transcriptome, and secretome, or be remotely regulated by metabolites or microparticles released by platelets, resulting in phenotypic, genetic, and functional modifications. Moreover, platelet interactions with stromal and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment lead to alterations in their components, including the ribonucleic acid (RNA) profile, and complicate the impact of platelets on cancers. A deeper understanding of the roles of platelets and their RNAs in cancer will contribute to the development of anticancer strategies and the optimization of clinical management. Encouragingly, advances in high-throughput sequencing, bioinformatics data analysis, and machine learning have allowed scientists to explore the potential of platelet RNAs for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and guiding treatment. However, the clinical application of this technique remains controversial and requires larger, multicenter studies with standardized protocols. Here, we integrate the latest evidence to provide a broader insight into the role of platelets in cancer progression and management, and propose standardized recommendations for the clinical utility of platelet RNAs to facilitate translation and benefit patients.

Harnessing NK Cells to Control Metastasis

In recent years, tumor immunotherapy has produced remarkable results in tumor treatment. Nevertheless, its effects are severely limited in patients with low or absent pre-existing T cell immunity. Accordingly, metastasis remains the major cause of tumor-associated death. On the other hand, natural killer (NK) cells have the unique ability to recognize and rapidly act against tumor cells and surveil tumor cell dissemination. The role of NK cells in metastasis prevention is undisputable as an increase in the number of these cells mostly leads to a favorable prognosis. Hence, it is reasonable to consider that successful metastasis involves evasion of NK-cell-mediated immunosurveillance. Therefore, harnessing NK cells to control metastasis is promising. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are the seeds for distant metastasis, and the number of CTCs detected in the blood of patients with tumor is associated with a worse prognosis, whereas NK cells can eliminate highly motile CTCs especially in the blood. Here, we review the role of NK cells during metastasis, particularly the specific interactions of NK cells with CTCs, which may provide essential clues on how to harness the power of NK cells against tumor metastasis. As a result, a new way to prevent or treat metastatic tumor may be developed.

D-dimer, a predictor of bad outcome in gastric cancer patients undergoing radical resection

As a marker of hypercoagulability, plasma D-dimer is associated with progression of many cancers but remains controversial in gastric cancer (GC). We aim to investigate the predictive value of D-dimer for postoperative outcomes after radical gastrectomy of GC patients. We enrolled 903 consecutive patients with GC who underwent radical gastrectomy and the clinicopathological characteristics were compared. Risk factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were determined using multivariate cox regression analysis. We also compared the survival difference based on Kaplan-Meier method after a one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM). Patients with elevated D-dimer had older age (p < 0.001), advanced TNM stage (p < 0.001), larger tumor size (p = 0.005), lower 5-year OS rate (32.8% vs 62.6%, p < 0.001) and DFS (29% vs 59.6%, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, elevated D-dimer was independently associated with shorter OS [hazard ratio (HR): 1.633, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.178-2.264, p = 0.003] and DFS (HR: 1.58, 95% CI 1.151-2.169, P = 0.005). After PSM, the 5-year OS rate of patients with elevated D-dimer was still significantly lower than matched group (32.8% vs 40.6%, p = 0.005), so was DFS (29% vs 36.6%, p = 0.008). Preoperative elevated D-dimer is an independent risk factor for GC patients undergoing curative gastrectomy.

Tissue factor: a neglected role in cancer biology

Tissue factor (TF), an initiator of extrinsic coagulation pathway, is positively correlated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) of tumor patients. Beyond thrombosis, TF plays a vital role in tumor progression. TF is highly expressed in cancer tissues and circulating tumor cell (CTC), and activates factor VIIa (FVIIa), which increases tumor cells proliferation, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stem cells(CSCs) activity. Furthermore, TF and TF-positive microvesicles (TF⁺MVs) activate the coagulation system to promote the clots formation with non-tumor cell components (e.g., platelets, leukocytes, fibrin), which makes tumor cells adhere to clots to form CTC clusters. Then, tumor cells utilize clots to cause its reducing fluid shear stress (FSS), anoikis resistance, immune escape, adhesion, extravasation and colonization. Herein, we review in detail that how TF signaling promotes tumor metastasis, and how TF-targeted therapeutic strategies are being in the preclinical and clinical trials.

Multifunctional DNAzyme-Anchored Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient Suppression of Tumor Metastasis

High mortality and rapid development of metastasis requires the development of more effective antimetastasis strategies. However, conventional therapeutic methods, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, show less effectiveness in curbing the metastatic spread of cancer cells and the formation of metastases. A therapeutic platform, targeting the early stage of metastasis cascade, could effectively prevent metastasis dissemination. Herein, Fe/Mn-based metal-organic frameworks (FMM) were constructed for the delivery of a specific DNAzyme with high catalytic cleavage activity on the metastasis-involved Twist mRNA, thus efficiently inhibiting the invasion of cancer cells through DNAzyme-catalyzed gene silencing. Highly potent combined gene/chemodynamic therapy is achieved from the self-supplied DNAzyme cofactors and efficient glutathione depletion. Importantly, by virtue of the intrinsic photo-to-thermal conversion of the FMM nanocarriers, our combined therapeutic strategy could be further promoted under photothermal stimuli to speed up the Fenton reaction and to accelerate the release of the Twist DNAzyme with efficient gene therapy. Consequently, the effective elimination of tumors and the blockage of metastasis are simultaneously achieved under photothermal/magnetic resonance imaging guidance. This work aims at developing versatile theranostic agents to combat metastatic tumors.

In vivo self-assembled drug nanocrystals for metastatic breast cancer all-stage targeted therapy

Chemotherapy is still the mainstay treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) currently in clinical practice. The unmet needs of chemotherapy for metastatic TNBC are mainly from the insufficient drug delivery and unavailable targeting strategy that thwart the whole progression of metastatic TNBC. The in vivo ligands-mediated active targeting efficiency is usually affected by protein corona. While, the protein corona-bridged natural targeting, in turn, provides a new way for specific drug delivery. Herein, we develop a novel metastatic progression-oriented in vivo self-assembled Cabazitaxel nanocrystals (CNC) delivery system (PC/CNC) through the CNC automatically absorbing functional plasma proteins (transferrin, apolipoprotein A-IV and apolipoprotein E) in vivo, aiming to achieve the simultaneously targeted delivery to primary tumors, circulating tumor cells and metastatic lesions. With the unique advantages of superhigh drug-loading and protein corona empowered active targeting properties to tumor cells, HUVECs, active-platelets and blood-brain barrier/blood-tumor barrier, the PC/CNC exhibits a significantly improved therapeutic effect in metastatic TNBC therapy compared with free drug and CNC-loaded liposomes.

Targeted Inhibition of Tumor Inflammation and Tumor-Platelet Crosstalk by Nanoparticle-Mediated Drug Delivery Mitigates Cancer Metastasis

Sowing malignant cells (the "seeds" of metastasis) to engraft secondary sites requires a conducive premetastatic niche (PMN, the "soil" of metastasis). Inflammation and tumor associated platelet (TAP) has been hijacked by primary tumors to induce PMN "soil" in distant organs, as well as facilitate the dissemination of "seeds". This study reports a combinatory strategy with activated platelet-targeting nanoparticles to aim at the dynamic process of entire cancer metastasis, which exerts robust antimetastasis efficacy by simultaneously inhibiting tumor inflammation and tumor-platelet crosstalk. Our results reveals that the PSN peptide (a P-selectin-targeting peptide) modification enriched the accumulation of nanoparticles in primary tumor, pulmonary PMN, and metastases via capturing activated platelet. Such characteristics contribute to the efficient inhibition on almost every crucial and consecutive step of the metastasis cascade by retarding epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression within tumors, specifically blocking the tumor-platelet crosstalk to remove the platelets "protective shield" around disseminated "seeds", and reversing the inflammatory microenvironment to interfere with the "soil" formation. Consisting of inflammation inhibiting and TAP impeding nanoparticles, this approach prominently reduces various metastasis in abscopal lung, including spontaneous metastasis, disseminated tumor cells metastasis, and post-operative metastasis. This work provides a generalizable nanoplatform of parallel inflammation disturbance and tumor-TAP crosstalk blockade to resist metastatic tumors.

A novel targeted co-delivery nanosystem for enhanced ovarian cancer treatment via multidrug resistance reversion and mTOR-mediated signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the main challenge of successful chemotherapy for ovarian cancer patients, with 50% to 75% of ovarian cancer patients eventually relapsed due to it. One of the effective strategies for treating MDR and improving therapeutic efficiency of ovarian cancer is to use nanotechnology-based targeted drug delivery systems. In this study, a novel nano targeted co-delivery system modified by hyaluronic acid (HA) was developed by using gold nanorods coated with functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HA-PTX/let-7a-GNR@MSN) for combined delivery of hydrophobic chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel (PTX) and lethal-7a (let-7a), a microRNA (miR), to overcome MDR in ovarian cancer. Furthermore, we also analyzed the molecular mechanism of this nanotherapeutic system in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

RESULTS

HA-modified nanocomplexes can specifically bind to the CD44 receptor, which is highly expressed in SKOV3/SKOV3TR cells, achieving effective cell uptake and 150% enhancement of tumor site permeability. The nanosystem realized the stable combination and protective transportation of PTX and miRs. Analysis of drug-resistant SKOV3TR cells and an SKOV3TR xenograft model in BALB/c-nude mice showed significant downregulation of P-glycoprotein in heterogeneous tumor sites, PTX release, and subsequent induction of apoptosis. More importantly, this nanosystem could synergistically inhibit the growth of ovarian tumors. Further studies suggest that mTOR-mediated signaling pathways play an important role in reversing drug resistance and inducing apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

To sum up, these data provide a model for overcoming PTX resistance in ovarian cancer.

Relationship between Hypercoagulable State and Circulating Tumor Cells in Peripheral Blood, Pathological Characteristics, and Prognosis of Lung Cancer Patients

Objective

To analyze the relationship between hypercoagulable state and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood, pathological characteristics, and prognosis of lung cancer patients.

Method

A total of 148 patients with primary lung cancer diagnosed and treated in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2019 were selected as the research objects. According to the CTC test results, the patients were divided into CTC-positive group and CTC-negative group. Also, the coagulation index of patients was tested. According to the blood coagulation index test results, patients were divided into hypercoagulable group and non-hypercoagulable group. The relationship between hypercoagulable state and pathological characteristics of lung cancer patients was analyzed by single factor analysis and multiple logistic regression model. Kaplan–Meier survival curve was applied to analyze the relationship between hypercoagulable state and the prognosis of lung cancer patients.

Results

The platelets (PLTs), fibrinogen (FIB), D-dimer (D-D), and prothrombin time (PT) in CTC-positive group were significantly higher than those in CTC-negative group. There was no significant relationship between the patient's gender, smoking history, pathological type, and the hypercoagulable state of the patients. The proportion of patients aged 60 years or older, with TMN stage III or IV and lymph node metastasis, in the hypercoagulable group was significantly higher than that in the non-hypercoagulable group. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was an independent relationship between the patient's age, lymph node metastasis, and hypercoagulable state. As of January 2020, among the 148 patients with lung cancer follow-up, 5 patients were lost and 52 died. The median survival time of patients in the hypercoagulable group was 82 weeks, which was significantly lower than the 104 weeks in the nonhypercoagulable group.

Conclusion

There is a certain relationship between hypercoagulable state and CTC positive in lung cancer patients. There is an independent relationship between the patient's age, lymph node metastasis, and the hypercoagulable state. The median survival time of patients in the hypercoagulable group was significantly lower than that in the non-hypercoagulable group.

Searching for essential genes and drug discovery in breast cancer and periodontitis via text mining and bioinformatics analysis

The primary purpose of the study was (1) to search for the essential genes associated with breast cancer and periodontitis, and (2) to identify candidate drugs targeted to these genes for expanding the potential drug indications. The genes related to both breast cancer and periodontitis were determined by text mining. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis were performed on these genes, and protein-protein interaction analysis was carried out to export significant module genes. Drug-gene interaction database was employed for potential drug discovery. We identified 221 genes common to both breast cancer and periodontitis. The top six significant enrichment terms and 15 enriched signal pathways were selected. Among 24 significant genes demonstrated as a gene cluster, we found SERPINA1 and TF were significantly related to poor overall survival between the relatively high and low groups in patients. Using the final two genes, 12 drugs were identified that had potential therapeutic effects. SERPINA1 and TF were screened out as essential genes related to both breast cancer and periodontitis, targeting 12 candidate drugs that may expand drug indications. Drug discovery using text mining and analysis of different databases can promote the identification of existing drugs that have the potential of administration to improve treatment in breast cancer.

Advances of nanomedicines in breast cancer metastasis treatment targeting different metastatic stages

Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women, and the metastasis further increases the malignancy with extremely high mortality. However, there is almost no effective method in the clinic to completely inhibit breast cancer metastasis due to the dynamic multistep process with complex pathways and scattered occurring site. Nowadays, nanomedicines have been evidenced with great potential in treating cancer metastasis. In this review, we summarize the latest research advances of nanomedicines in anti-metastasis treatment. Strategies are categorized according to the metastasis dynamics, including primary tumor, circulating tumor cells, pre-metastatic niches and secondary tumor. In each different stage of metastasis process, nanomedicines are designed specifically with different functions. At the end of the review, we give our perspectives on current limitations and future directions in anti-metastasis therapy. We expect the review provides comprehensive understandings of anti-metastasis therapy for breast cancer, and boosts the clinical translation in the future to improve women's health.

Emerging nanomedicine-based therapeutics for hematogenous metastatic cascade inhibition: Interfering with the crosstalk between "seed and soil"

Despite considerable progresses in cancer treatment, tumor metastasis is still a thorny issue, which leads to majority of cancer-related deaths. In hematogenous metastasis, the concept of “seed and soil” suggests that the crosstalk between cancer cells (seeds) and premetastatic niche (soil) facilitates tumor metastasis. Considerable efforts have been dedicated to inhibit the tumor metastatic cascade, which is a highly complicated process involving various pathways and biological events. Nonetheless, satisfactory therapeutic outcomes are rarely observed, since it is a great challenge to thwart this multi-phase process. Recent advances in nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have shown great potential in the field of anti-metastasis, especially compared with conventional treatment methods, which are limited by serious side effects and poor efficacy. In this review, we summarized various factors involved in each phase of the metastatic cascade ranging from the metastasis initiation to colonization. Then we reviewed current approaches of targeting these factors to stifle the metastatic cascade, including modulating primary tumor microenvironment, targeting circulating tumor cells, regulating premetastatic niche and eliminating established metastasis. Additionally, we highlighted the multi-phase targeted drug delivery systems, which hold a better chance to inhibit metastasis. Besides, we demonstrated the limitation and future perspectives of nanomedicine-based anti-metastasis strategies.

Bioreducible, arginine-rich polydisulfide-based siRNA nanocomplexes with excellent tumor penetration for efficient gene silencing

RNA interference (RNAi) technology has great potential in cancer therapy, e.g., small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be exploited to silence specific oncogenes related to tumor growth and progression. However, it is critical to achieve high transfection efficiency while reducing cytotoxicity. In this paper, we report an siRNA delivery strategy targeting the oncogene KRAS based on arginine-modified poly(disulfide amine)/siRNA nanocomplexes. The poly(disulfide amine) is synthesized via aza-Michael polyaddition followed by the introduction of arginine groups onto its backbone to afford poly((N,N'-bis(acryloyl)cystamine-co-ethylenediamine)-g-Nω-p-tosyl-l-arginine) (PBR) polycations. Thus multiple interactions including electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding and a hydrophobic effect are introduced simultaneously between PBR and siRNA or cell membranes to improve transfection efficiency. By optimizing the grafting density of arginine groups, PBR/siRNA nanocomplexes achieve high cellular uptake efficiency, successful endosomal/lysosomal escape, and rapid biodegradation in the presence of high GSH concentration in the cytoplasm, and finally release siRNA to activate the RNAi mechanism. Additionally, compared to commercially available PEI 25K, PBR/siRNA nanocomplexes possess a significantly increased gene silencing effect on human pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1) with decreased cytotoxicity and enhanced tumor penetration ability in PANC-1 multicellular spheroids in vitro. Overall, with both GSH-responsiveness and excellent tumor penetration, this safe and efficient poly(disulfide amine)-based siRNA delivery system is expected to provide a new strategy for gene therapy of pancreatic cancer and other stromal-rich tumors.

CD142 plays a key role in the carcinogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma by inhibiting BCL2-dependent autophagy

CD142 is expressed on the surface of multiple malignant tumors and contributes to various carcinogenesis. However, the role of CD142 in the pathogenesis of GAC remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of CD142 in GAC carcinogenesis. Our results showed that CD142 expression was significantly increased in GAC cancer tissues, especially in those with significant invasion or metastasis. The invasion and migration of CD142-positive SNU16 cells were significantly increased compared with those of CD142-negative cells. Moreover, CD142 overexpression promoted the invasion and migration of SGC083 cells, but CD142 silencing was contrary. In addition, there was a positive correlation between CD142 expression of cancer tissues and serum IL-8 levels. CD142 overexpression promotes IL-8 production in SGC083 cells. In vivo analysis showed that the implantation of CD142-positive SNU16 cells promoted the growth of xenograft tumor and the production of IL-8. Mechanistically, CD142 silencing not only inhibited the expression of BCL2 and the interaction between BCL2 and Beclin1, but also promoted the autophagic response in SGC083. Furthermore, CD142 silencing-induced IL-8 degradation was recovered by treatment of autophagy inhibitor 3-MA. CD142 can inhibit autophagic cell death and the autophagic degradation of IL-8 in GAC, which exerts an effective effect on GAC carcinogenesis.

Molecularly engineered truncated tissue factor with therapeutic aptamers for tumor-targeted delivery and vascular infarction

Selective occlusion of tumor vasculature has proven to be an effective strategy for cancer therapy. Among vascular coagulation agents, the extracellular domain of coagulation-inducing protein tissue factor, truncated tissue factor (tTF), is the most widely used. Since the truncated protein exhibits no coagulation activity and is rapidly cleared in the circulation, free tTF cannot be used for cancer treatment on its own but must be combined with other moieties. We here developed a novel, tumor-specific tTF delivery system through coupling tTF with the DNA aptamer, AS1411, which selectively binds to nucleolin receptors overexpressing on the surface of tumor vascular endothelial cells and is specifically cytotoxic to target cells. Systemic administration of the tTF-AS1411 conjugates into tumor-bearing animals induced intravascular thrombosis solely in tumors, thus reducing tumor blood supply and inducing tumor necrosis without apparent side effects. This conjugate represents a uniquely attractive candidate for the clinical translation of vessel occlusion agent for cancer therapy.

Activable Multi-Modal Nanoprobes for Imaging Diagnosis and Therapy of Tumors

Malignant tumors have become one of the major causes of human death, but there remains a lack of effective methods for tiny tumor diagnosis, metastasis warning, clinical efficacy prediction, and effective treatment. In this context, localizing tiny tumors via imaging and non-invasively extracting molecular information related to tumor proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance from the tumor microenvironment have become the most fundamental tasks faced by cancer researchers. Tumor-associated microenvironmental physiological parameters, such as hypoxia, acidic extracellular pH, protease, reducing conditions, and so forth, have much to do with prognostic indicators for cancer progression, and impact therapeutic administrations. By combining with various novel nanoparticle-based activatable probes, molecular imaging technologies can provide a feasible approach to visualize tumor-associated microenvironment parameters noninvasively and realize accurate treatment of tumors. This review focuses on the recent achievements in the design of “smart” nanomedicine responding to the tumor microenvironment-related features and highlights state-of- the-art technology in tumor imaging diagnosis and therapy.

Platelet-Mediated Protection of Cancer Cells From Immune Surveillance - Possible Implications for Cancer Immunotherapy

The growing insights in the complex interactions between metastatic cancer-cells and platelets have revealed that platelet tumor cell interactions in the blood stream are an important factor supporting tumor metastasis. An increased coagulability of platelets facilitates the vascular evasion and establishment of solid tumor metastasis. Furthermore, platelets can support an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment or shield tumor cells directly from engagement of cytotoxic lymphocytes as e.g., natural killer (NK) cells. Platelets are both in the tumor microenvironment and systemically the quantitatively most important source of TGF-β, which is a key cytokine for immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. If similar platelet-tumor interactions are of physiological relevance in hematological malignancies remains less well-studied. This might be important, as T- and NK cell mediated graft vs. leukemia effects (GvL) are well-documented and malignant hematological cells have a high exposure to platelets compared to solid tumors. As NK cell-based immunotherapies gain increasing attention as a therapeutic option for patients suffering from hematological and other malignancies, we review the known interactions between platelets and NK cells in the solid tumor setting and discuss how these could also apply to hematological cancers. We furthermore explore the possible implications for NK cell therapy in patients with solid tumors and patients who depend on frequent platelet transfusions. As platelets have a protective and supportive effect on cancer cells, the impact of platelet transfusion on immunotherapy and the combination of immunotherapy with platelet inhibitors needs to be evaluated.

Cancer-associated-platelet-inspired nanomedicines for cancer therapy

Platelets, with hemostasis and thrombosis activities, are one of the key components in the blood circulation. As a guard, they rapidly respond to any abnormal blood vessel injury signal and release their granules' contents, which induce their adhesion and aggregation on wound site for hemostasis. Recently, increasing evidence has indicated that platelets are critically involved in the growth and metastasis of cancer cells by releasing a variety of cytokines and chemokines to stimulate cancer cell proliferation and various angiogenic regulators to accelerate tumor angiogenesis. Platelets also secrete active transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cancer cells and their extravasation from primary site, and form microthrombus on the surface of cancer cells to protect them from immune attack and high-speed shear force in the circulation. Therefore, blocking platelet-cancer cell interaction may be an attractive strategy to treat primary tumor and/or prevent cancer metastasis. However, systemic inhibition or depletion of platelets brings risk of severe bleeding complication. Cancer-associated-platelets-targeted nanomedicines and biomimetic nanomedicines coated with platelet membrane can be used for targeted anticancer drug delivery, due to their natural targeting ability to tumor cells and platelets. In the current review, we first summarized the platelet mechanisms of action in physiological condition and their multiple roles in cancer progression and conventional antiplatelet therapeutics. We then highlighted the recent progress on the design and fabrication of cancer-associated-platelet-targeted nanomedicines and platelet membrane coating nanomedicines for cancer therapy. Finally, we discussed opportunities and challenges and offered our thoughts for the future development. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Lipid-Based Structures.

Current Targets and Bioconjugation Strategies in Photodynamic Diagnosis and Therapy of Cancer

Photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) and therapy (PDT) are emerging, non/minimally invasive techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Both techniques require a photosensitizer and light to visualize or destroy cancer cells. However, a limitation of conventional, non-targeted PDT is poor selectivity, causing side effects. The bioconjugation of a photosensitizer to a tumor-targeting molecule, such as an antibody or a ligand peptide, is a way to improve selectivity. The bioconjugation strategy can generate a tumor-targeting photosensitizer conjugate specific for cancer cells, or ideally, for multiple tumor compartments to improve selectivity and efficacy, such as cancer stem cells and tumor neovasculature within the tumor microenvironment. If successful, such targeted photosensitizer conjugates can also be used for specific visualization and detection of cancer cells and/or tumor angiogenesis (an early event in tumorigenesis) with the hope of an early diagnosis of cancer. The purpose of this review is to summarize some current promising target molecules, e.g., tissue factor (also known as CD142), and the currently used bioconjugation strategies in PDT and PDD, with a focus on newly developed protein photosensitizers. These are genetically engineered photosensitizers, with the possibility of generating a fusion protein photosensitizer by recombinant DNA technology for both PDT and PDD without the need of chemical conjugation. We believe that providing an overview of promising targets and bioconjugation strategies will aid in driving research in this field forward towards more effective, less toxic, and non- or minimally invasive treatment and diagnosis options for cancer patients.

Blockade of Platelets Using Tumor-Specific NO-Releasing Nanoparticles Prevents Tumor Metastasis and Reverses Tumor Immunosuppression

The tumor microenvironment maintains a sufficient immunosuppressive state owing to the existence of the immunosuppressive factors. The most prominent such factor is transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), which is mainly provided by platelets. Moreover, platelets have been shown to be the main accomplice in assisting tumor metastasis. Therefore, blocking tumor-associated platelets is endowed with functions of enhancing immunity and reducing metastasis. Herein, we designed a tumor microenvironment-responsive nitric oxide (NO) release nanoparticle, Ptx@AlbSNO, which was able to specifically and safely co-deliver the antiplatelet agent NO and the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel (Ptx) into tumor tissues and inhibit platelet-tumor cell interactions. We discovered that Ptx@AlbSNO could successfully block tumor-specific platelet functions, thereby suppressing the process of tumor epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), preventing platelet adhesion around circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and reducing distant metastasis. In vivo studies demonstrate that the co-delivery of NO and Ptx can suppress primary tumor growth. With the ability to effectively inhibit activated platelets and TGF-β secretion in tumors, Ptx@AlbSNO can enhance intratumoral immune cell infiltration to reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Evaluation of different commercial antibodies for their ability to detect human and mouse tissue factor by western blotting

BACKGROUND

Western blotting is used to measure protein expression in cells and tissues. Appropriate interpretation of resulting data is contingent upon antibody validation.

OBJECTIVES

We assessed several commercial anti-human and anti-mouse tissue factor (TF) antibodies for their ability to detect TF by western blotting.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We used human pancreatic cancer cell lines expressing different levels of TF and a mouse pancreatic cancer cell line expressing TF with a matched knockout derivative.

RESULTS

Human and mouse TF protein detected by western blotting correlated with levels of TF mRNA in these cell lines. The apparent molecular weight of TF is increased by N-linked glycosylation and, as expected, deglycosylation decreased the size of TF based on western blotting. We found that four commercial anti-human TF antibodies detected TF in a TF-positive cell line HPAF-II whereas no signal was observed in a TF-negative cell line MIA PaCa-2. More variability was observed in detecting mouse TF. Two anti-mouse TF antibodies detected mouse TF in a TF-positive cell line and no signal was observed in a TF knockout cell line. However, a third anti-mouse TF antibody detected a nonspecific protein in both the mouse TF-positive and TF-negative cell lines. Two anti-human TF antibodies that are claimed to cross react with mouse TF either recognized a nonspecific band or did not detect mouse TF.

DISCUSSION

Our results indicate that there is a range in quality of commercial anti-TF antibodies.

CONCLUSION

We recommend that all commercial antibodies should be validated to ensure that they detect TF.

CD142 plays an important role in the mobility of colorectal cancer cells

CD142 promotes cell mobility, which contributes to carcinogenesis. However, the role of CD142 on colorectal cancer (CRC) mobility is unclear. This study showed that CD142 expression increased in CRC tissues, especially in those with invasion or metastasis. The positive sorting or overexpression of CD142 promoted the invasion and migration of CRC cells. Overall, CD142 may be responsible for CRC mobility.

Targeting self-assembly peptide for inhibiting breast tumor progression and metastasis

The ubiquitous interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding microenvironment contribute to tumor metastasis, interrupting these communications has, therefore, a great potential for antimetastasis therapy. Here, we describe an in situ self-assembly strategy that limits direct contact between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this strategy, the Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe (KLVFF) peptide motifs are targeted to the tumor by hyaluronic acid (HA) functionalized liposomes and spontaneously undergo self-assembly to form nanofibers with a net-like structure wrapping around tumor cells. The fibrous nanostructures bury the membrane protrusions and thus hinder the migration and invasion of tumor cells, especially the transmigration through the fenestrated endothelium. The nanofibril coatings on tumor cells significantly block tumor cells induced platelet aggregation in vitro and prevent the adhesion of platelet around circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in vivo, thus limit the pro-metastasis effect of platelets and prevent the early metastasis. Furthermore, the nano-nets stably retain in the primary tumor site for over 72 h and effectively prevent the activation of intratumoral platelet, which suppress tumor progression and the spontaneous lung metastasis in 4T1 breast cancer mice model. Our study paves a promising avenue to combat tumor metastasis by regulating the interactions between tumor cells and the TME.

Vimentin prevents a miR-dependent negative regulation of tissue factor mRNA during epithelial-mesenchymal transitions and facilitates early metastasis

Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are high-profile in the field of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). EMT-shifted CTCs are considered to encompass pre-metastatic subpopulations though underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Our previous work identified tissue factor (TF) as an EMT-induced gene providing tumor cells with coagulant properties and supporting metastatic colonization by CTCs. We here report that vimentin, the type III intermediate filament considered a canonical EMT marker, contributes to TF regulation and positively supports coagulant properties and early metastasis. Different evidence further pointed to a new post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism of TF mRNA by vimentin: (1) vimentin silencing accelerated TF mRNA decay after actinomycin D treatment, reflecting TF mRNA stabilization, (2) RNA immunoprecipitation revealed enriched levels of TF mRNA in vimentin immunoprecipitate, (3) TF 3'-UTR-luciferase reporter vector assays implicated the 3'-UTR of TF mRNA in vimentin-dependent TF regulation, and (4) using different TF 3'UTR-luciferase reporter vectors mutated for potential miR binding sites and specific Target Site Blockers identified a key miR binding site in vimentin-dependent TF mRNA regulation. All together, these data support a novel mechanism by which vimentin interferes with a miR-dependent negative regulation of TF mRNA, thereby promoting coagulant activity and early metastasis of vimentin-expressing CTCs.

Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Ameliorating Breast Cancer-Associated Osteolysis

Breast cancer metastases to bone poses a significant challenge for the administration of treatment strategies. The bone microenvironment, metastatic tumor cells, osteoclasts, and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) all play crucial and synergistic roles in creating a favorable environment for the proliferation, progression, and survival of the metastatic tumor, which in turn induces osteoclast-mediated bone destruction. In this study, we functionalized immunostimulatory cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG)-loaded metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles with bone targeting capabilities by surface modification with FDA approved antiresorptive bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid (ZOL). The functionalized bone targeting immunostimulatory MOF (BT-isMOF) nanoparticles demonstrates strong binding to calcium phosphate in vitro and exhibits specific targeting and accumulation in bone tissues in vivo. In vitro cellular and biochemical analyses demonstrated that the BT-isMOF nanoparticles could potently inhibit osteoclast formation and concomitantly induce macrophages polarization toward the M1 pro-inflammatory phenotype. Finally, using the intratibial murine model of breast cancer bone metastasis, we showed that the administration of BT-isMOF nanoparticles significantly suppressed osteoclast-mediated bone destruction and enhanced polarization of tumor-resident macrophages to M1 phenotype. Together, our data provides promising evidence for the potential therapeutic application of the BT-isMOF nanoparticles in the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells-new and exciting players in lung cancer

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to its late diagnosis and poor outcomes. As has been found for other types of tumors, there is increasing evidence that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play important roles in the promotion and progression of LC. Here, we briefly introduce the definition of MDSCs and their immunosuppressive functions. We next specifically discuss the multiple roles of MDSCs in the lung tumor microenvironment, including those in tumor growth and progression mediated by inhibiting antitumor immunity, and the associations of MDSCs with a poor prognosis and increased resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Finally, we also discuss preclinical and clinical treatment strategies targeting MDSCs, which may have the potential to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Silencing KLK12 expression via RGDfC-decorated selenium nanoparticles for the treatment of colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo

Short interfering RNA (siRNA) has been investigated as a promising modality of cancer treatment due to its capability to target specific target genes for downregulation. However, the successful application of this strategy depends on producing a safe and effective carrier system for delivering siRNA to the tumor. Thus, investigation of siRNA delivery carriers is a fundamental step in the field of siRNA-based therapeutics. In the current research, the surface of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were modified with the tumor-targeted molecular RGDfC peptide with positive charge to synthetize the biocompatible siRNA carrier RGDfC-SeNPs. Subsequently, KLK12-siRNA was loaded onto the surface of RGDfC-SeNPs to create functionalized nanoparticles (RGDfC-Se@siRNA) that we tested for in vitro and in vivo antitumor efficacy. We measured significantly greater particle uptake in HT-29 colorectal cancer cells relative to HUVECs, providing evidence for the targeted delivery of RGDfC-Se@siRNA. We found that RGDfC-Se@siRNA could enter HT-29 cells primarily via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Further, these particles experienced faster siRNA release in an acidic microenvironment compared to pH 7.4. The results from quantitative PCR and Western blot assays suggested that the target gene of KLK12 in HT-29 cells were obviously silenced by RGDfC-Se@siRNA. The further biological studies showed that treatment with RGDfC-Se@siRNA had ability to suppress the proliferation and migration/invasion of HT-29 cells, and triggered HT-29 cells apoptosis. RGDfC-Se@siRNA could induce the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) disruption and enhance the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in HT-29 cells, indicating that RGDfC-Se@siRNA induced the HT-29 cells apoptosis possibly by a ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction pathway. Importantly, the in vivo antitumor study also verified that RGDfC-Se@siRNA could significantly suppress the growth of tumor in vivo. In addition, we did not observe any signs of systemic or tissue-specific toxicity after administration of RGDfC-Se@siRNA in mice. As a whole, these findings suggest that RGDfC-Se@siRNA has promising potential as a therapy for colorectal cancer.

Targeting hemostasis-related moieties for tumor treatment

Under normal conditions, the hemostatic system, that includes the involvement of the coagulation response and platelets, is anatomically and functionally inseparable from the vasculature. However, the hemostatic response always occurs in a wide range of tumors because of the high expression of coagulation initiator tissue factor (TF) in many tumor tissues, and due to the leakage of coagulation factors and platelets from the circulation system into the tumor interstitium through abnormal tumor vessels. Therefore, in addition to TF, these coagulation factors, platelets, the central moiety thrombin, the final product fibrin, and fibronectin, which is capable of stabilizing coagulation clots, are also abundant in tumors. These hemostasis-related moieties (HRMs), including TF, thrombin, fibrin, fibronectin, and platelets, are also closely associated with tumor progression, e.g., primary tumor growth and distal metastasis. The hemostatic response only occurs under pathological conditions, such as tumors, thrombosis, and atherosclerosis other than in normal tissues. The HRMs within tumors are also highly specific, establishing functional and therapeutic targets for tumor treatment. Therefore, strategies including active targeting to these moieties, modulation of HRMs deposited in the tumor microenvironment to improve tumor drug delivery, activation of prodrug by the coagulation complex formed during coagulation response, and direct inhibition of the tumor-promoting activity of HRMs could be designed for tumor therapy. In this review, we summarize various strategies that target HRMs for tumor treatment.