Co-Delivery of Trichosanthin and Albendazole by Nano-Self-Assembly for Overcoming Tumor Multidrug-Resistance and Metastasis

A chitosan-camouflaged nanomedicine triggered by hierarchically stimuli to release drug for multimodal imaging-guided chemotherapy of breast cancer

Breast cancer remains one of the most intractable diseases, especially the malignant form of metastasis, with which the cancer cells are hard to track and eliminate. Herein, the common known carbohydrate polymer chitosan (CS) was innovatively used as a shelter for the potent tumor-killing agent. The designed nanoparticles (NPs) not only enhance the solubility of hydrophobic paclitaxel (PTX), but also provide a "hide" effect for cytotoxic PTX in physiological condition. Moreover, coupled with the photothermal (PTT) properties of MoS2, results in a potent chemo/PTT platform. The MoS2@PTX-CS-K237 NPs have a uniform size (135 ± 17 nm), potent photothermal properties (η = 31.5 %), and environment-responsive (low pH, hypoxia) and near infrared (NIR) laser irradiation-triggered PTX release. Through a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments, the MoS2@PTX-CS-K237 showed high affinity and specificity for breast cancer cells, impressive tumor killing capacity, as well as the effective inhibitory effect of metastasis. Benefit from the unique optical properties of MoS2, this multifunctional nanomedicine also exhibited favorable thermal/PA/CT multimodality imaging effect on tumor-bearing mice. The system developed in this work represents the advanced design concept of hierarchical stimulus responsive drug release, and merits further investigation as a potential nanotheranostic platform for clinical translation.

Boosting Checkpoint Immunotherapy with Biomimetic Nanodrug Delivery Systems

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has achieved unprecedented progress in tumor immunotherapy by blocking specific immune checkpoint molecules. However, the high biodistribution of the drug prevents it from specifically targeting tumor tissues, leading to immune-related adverse events. Biomimetic nanodrug delivery systems (BNDSs) readily applicable to ICB therapy have been widely developed at the preclinical stage to avoid immune-related adverse events. By exploiting or mimicking complex biological structures, the constructed BNDS as a novel drug delivery system has good biocompatibility and certain tumor-targeting properties. Herein, the latest findings regarding the aforementioned therapies associated with ICB therapy are highlighted. Simultaneously, prospective bioinspired engineering strategies can be designed to overcome the four-level barriers to drug entry into lesion sites. In future clinical translation, BNDS-based ICB combination therapy represents a promising avenue for cancer treatment.

Preparation and evaluation of fenbendazole methyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

As an orally effective benzimidazole anthelmintic agent, fenbendazole was not only widely used in agriculture and animal husbandry to prevent and treat parasites, but also shows anti-cancer effects against several types of cancer, exhibits anti-cancer effects in paclitaxel and doxorubicin-resistant cancer cells. However, fenbendazole's poor in water solubility (0.3 µg/mL), limits its clinical applications. Even great efforts were made toward increasing its water solubility, the results were not significant to reach anti-cancer drug delivery requirement (5-10 mg/mL). Through single factor and orthogonal strategy, many complex conditions were designed and used to prepare the complexes, the inclusion complex with methyl-β-cyclodextrin with 29.2 % of inclusion rate and 89.5% of inclusion yield can increase drug's water solubility to 20.21 mg/mL, which is the best result so far. Its structure was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopic image, 1D and 2D NMR spectra in D2O. In its in vitro pharmacokinetic study, fenbendazole was 75% released in 15 min., in its in vivo pharmacokinetic study, the bio-availabilities of fenbendazole, its major metabolic anthelmintic agent oxfendazole and its minor metabolic anthelmintic agent oxfendazole were increased to 138%, 149% and 169% respectively, which would allow for fewer drug doses to achieve the same therapeutic effect and suggest that the complex can be used as a potential anticancer agent.

Repurposing mebendazole against triple-negative breast cancer CNS metastasis

PURPOSE

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) often metastasizes to the central nervous system (CNS) and has the highest propensity among breast cancer subtypes to develop leptomeningeal disease (LMD). LMD is a spread of cancer into leptomeningeal space that speeds up the disease progression and severely aggravates the prognosis. LMD has limited treatment options. We sought to test whether the common anti-helminthic drug mebendazole (MBZ) may be effective against murine TNBC LMD.

METHODS

A small-molecule screen involving TNBC cell lines identified benzimidazoles as potential therapeutic agents for further study. In vitro migration assays were used to evaluate cell migration capacity and the effect of MBZ. For in vivo testing, CNS metastasis was introduced into BALB/c athymic nude mice through internal carotid artery injections of brain-tropic MDA-MB-231-BR or MCF7-BR cells. Tumor growth and spread was monitored by bioluminescence imaging and immunohistochemistry. MBZ was given orally at 50 and 100 mg/kg doses. MBZ bioavailability was assayed by mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Bioinformatic analysis and migration assays revealed higher migratory capacity of TNBC compared to other breast cancer subtypes. MBZ effectively slowed down migration of TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and its brain tropic derivative MDA-MB-231-BR. In animal studies, MBZ reduced leptomeningeal spread, and extended survival in brain metastasis model produced by MDA-MB-231-BR cells. MBZ did not have an effect in the non-migratory MCF7-BR model.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that MBZ is a safe and effective oral agent in an animal model of TNBC CNS metastasis. Our findings are concordant with previous efforts involving MBZ and CNS pathology and support the drug's potential utility to slow down leptomeningeal spread.

Repurposing mebendazole against triple-negative breast cancer leptomeningeal disease

Purpose

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype that often metastasizes to the brain. Leptomeningeal disease (LMD), a devastating brain metastasis common in TNBC, has limited treatment options. We sought to test whether the common anti-helminthic drug mebendazole (MBZ) may be effective against murine TNBC LMD.

Methods

A small-molecule screen involving TNBC cell lines identified benzimidazoles as potential therapeutic agents for further study. In vitro migration assays were used to evaluate cell migration capacity and the effect of MBZ. For in vivo testing, LMD was introduced into BALB/c athymic nude mice through internal carotid artery injections of brain-tropic MDA-MB-231-BR or MCF7-BR cells. Tumor growth and spread was monitored by bioluminescence imaging. MBZ was given orally at 50 and 100 mg/kg doses. MBZ bioavailability was assayed by mass spectrometry.

Results

Bioinformatic analysis and migration assays revealed higher migratory capacity of TNBC compared to other breast cancer subtypes. MBZ effectively slowed down migration of TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and its brain tropic derivative MDA-MB-231-BR. In animal studies, MBZ reduced tumor growth and extended survival in the LMD model produced by MDA-MB-231-BR cells. MBZ did not have an effect in the non-migratory MCF7-BR model.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that MBZ is a safe and effective oral agent in an animal model of TNBC LMD. Our findings are concordant with previous efforts involving MBZ and central nervous system pathology and further support the drug's potential utility as an alternative therapeutic for TNBC LMD.

Nanomedicine Combats Drug Resistance in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the second most prevalent cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Surgery, chemotherapy, molecular targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy are currently available as treatment methods. However, drug resistance is a significant factor in the failure of lung cancer treatments. Novel therapeutics have been exploited to address complicated resistance mechanisms of lung cancer and the advancement of nanomedicine is extremely promising in terms of overcoming drug resistance. Nanomedicine equipped with multifunctional and tunable physiochemical properties in alignment with tumor genetic profiles can achieve precise, safe, and effective treatment while minimizing or eradicating drug resistance in cancer. Here, this work reviews the discovered resistance mechanisms for lung cancer chemotherapy, molecular targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy, and outlines novel strategies for the development of nanomedicine against drug resistance. This work focuses on engineering design, customized delivery, current challenges, and clinical translation of nanomedicine in the application of resistant lung cancer.

Anti-cancer effect of fenbendazole-incorporated PLGA nanoparticles in ovarian cancer

OBJECTIVE

Fenbendazole (FZ) has potential anti-cancer effects, but its poor water solubility limits its use for cancer therapy. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer effect of FZ with different drug delivery methods on epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in both in vitro and in vivo models.

METHODS

EOC cell lines were treated with FZ and cell proliferation was assessed. The effect of FZ on tumor growth in cell line xenograft mouse model of EOC was examined according to the delivery route, including oral and intraperitoneal administration. To improve the systemic delivery of FZ by converting fat-soluble drugs to hydrophilic, we prepared FZ-encapsulated poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles (FZ-PLGA-NPs). We investigated the preclinical efficacy of FZ-PLGA-NPs by analyzing cell proliferation, apoptosis, and in vivo models including cell lines and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) of EOC.

RESULTS

FZ significantly decreased cell proliferation of both chemosensitive and chemoresistant EOC cells. However, in cell line xenograft mouse models, there was no effect of oral FZ treatment on tumor reduction. When administered intraperitoneally, FZ was not absorbed but aggregated in the intraperitoneal space. We synthesized FZ-PLGA-NPs to obtain water solubility and enhance drug absorption. FZ-PLGA-NPs significantly decreased cell proliferation in EOC cell lines. Intravenous injection of FZ-PLGA-NP in xenograft mouse models with HeyA8 and HeyA8-MDR significantly reduced tumor weight compared to the control group. FZ-PLGA-NPs showed anti-cancer effects in PDX model as well.

CONCLUSION

FZ-incorporated PLGA nanoparticles exerted significant anti-cancer effects in EOC cells and xenograft models including PDX. These results warrant further investigation in clinical trials.

Dual-drug codelivery nanosystems: An emerging approach for overcoming cancer multidrug resistance

Multidrug resistance (MDR) promotes tumor recurrence and metastasis and heavily reduces anticancer efficiency, which has become a primary reason for the failure of clinical chemotherapy. The mechanisms of MDR are so complex that conventional chemotherapy usually fails to achieve an ideal therapeutic effect and even accelerates the occurrence of MDR. In contrast, the combination of chemotherapy with dual-drug has significant advantages in tumor therapy. A novel dual-drug codelivery nanosystem, which combines dual-drug administration with nanotechnology, can overcome the application limitation of free drugs. Both the characteristics of nanoparticles and the synergistic effect of dual drugs contribute to circumventing various drug-resistant mechanisms in tumor cells. Therefore, developing dual-drug codelivery nanosystems with different multidrug-resistant mechanisms has an important reference value for reversing MDR and enhancing the clinical antitumor effect. In this review, the advantages, principles, and common codelivery nanocarriers in the application of dual-drug codelivery systems are summarized. The molecular mechanisms of MDR and the dual-drug codelivery nanosystems designed based on different mechanisms are mainly introduced. Meanwhile, the development prospects and challenges of codelivery nanosystems are also discussed, which provide guidelines to exploit optimized combined chemotherapy strategies in the future.

Recent progress in nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems for antitumour metastasis

Tumour metastasis is one of the major factors leading to poor prognosis as well as lower survival among cancer patients. A number of studies investigating the inhibition of tumour metastasis have been conducted. It is difficult to achieve satisfactory results with surgery alone for distant metastatic tumours, and chemotherapy can boost the healing rate and prognosis of patients. However, the poor therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapy drugs due to their low solubility, lack of tumour targeting, instability in vivo, high toxicity and multidrug resistance hinder their application. Immunotherapy is beneficial to the treatment of metastatic cancers, but it also has disadvantages such as adverse reactions and acquired resistance. Fortunately, delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs with nanocarriers can reduce systemic reactions caused by chemotherapeutic agents and inhibit metastasis. This review discusses the underlying mechanisms of metastasis, therapeutic approaches for antitumour metastasis, the advantages of nanodrug delivery systems and their application in reducing metastasis.

Multistage O2-producing liposome for MRI-guided synergistic chemodynamic/chemotherapy to reverse cancer multidrug resistance

Reduced drug uptake and elevated drug efflux are two major mechanisms in cancer multidrug resistance (MDR). In the present study, a new multistage O₂-producing liposome with NAG/R8-dual-ligand and stimuli-responsive dePEGylation was developed to address the abovementioned issues simultaneously. The designed C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip could also achieve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided synergistic chemodynamic/chemotherapy (CDT/CT). In vitro and in vivo studies showed that C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip enhanced circulation time by PEG and targeted the tumor site. After tumor accumulation, endogenous l-cysteine was administered, and the PEG-attached disulfide bond was broken, resulting in the dissociation of PEG shells. The previously hidden positively charged R8 by different lengths of PEG chains was exposed and mediated efficient internalization. In addition, the oxygen (O₂) generated by C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip relieved the hypoxic environment within the tumor, thus reducing the efflux of chemotherapeutic drug. O₂ was able to burst liposomes and triggered the release of PTXL. The toxic hydroxyl radical (·OH), which was produced by H₂O₂ and Mn²⁺, strengthened CDT/CT. C-NAG-R8-PTXL/MnO₂-lip was also used as MRI contrast agent, which blazed the trail to rationally design theranostic agents for tumor imaging.

Nano-drug co-delivery system of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment: a review

Chemotherapy drugs have been used for a long time in the treatment of cancer, but serious side effects are caused by the inability of the drug to be solely delivered to the tumor when treating cancer with chemotherapy. Natural products have attracted more and more attention due to the antitumor effect in multiple ways, abundant resources and less side effects. Therefore, the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs may be an effective antitumor strategy, which can inhibit the growth of tumor and multidrug resistance, reduce side effects of chemotherapy drugs. Nano-drug co-delivery system (NDCDS) can play an important role in the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the research status and application prospect of nano-delivery strategies for the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs, aiming to provide a basis for the development of anti-tumor drugs.

Current trends in the use of human serum albumin for drug delivery in cancer

INTRODUCTION

Human serum albumin is the most abundant transport protein in plasma, which has recently been extensively utilized to form nanoparticles for drug delivery in cancer. The primary reason for selecting albumin protein as drug delivery cargo is its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, and non-immunogenicity. Moreover, the albumin structure containing three homologous domains constituted of a single polypeptide (585 amino acid) incorporates various hydrophobic drugs by non-covalent interactions. Albumin shows active tumor targeting via their interaction with gp60 and SPARC proteins abundant in the tumor-associated endothelial cells and the tumor microenvironment.

AREAS COVERED

The review discusses the importance of albumin as a drug-carrier system, general procedures to prepare albumin NPs, and the current trends in using albumin-based nanomedicines to deliver various chemotherapeutic agents. The various applications of albumin in the nanomedicines, such as NPs surface modifier and fabrication of hybrid/active-tumor targeted NPs, are delineated based on current trends.

EXPERT OPINION

Nanomedicines have the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment. However, clinical translation is limited majorly due to the lack of suitable nanomaterials offering systemic stability, optimum drug encapsulation, tumor-targeted delivery, sustained drug release, and biocompatibility. The potential of albumin could be explored in nanomedicines fabrication for superior treatment outcomes in cancer.

Repurposing of Benzimidazole Anthelmintic Drugs as Cancer Therapeutics

Simple Summary

Although non-prescription anthelmintics are often used for cancer treatment, there is a lack of information regarding their anti-cancer effects in clinical settings. The aims of our review are to describe the possibilities and limitations of the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole anthelmintics and to suggest ways to overcome these limitations. The results of the current review illustrate the potential development of anthelmintics as a useful strategy for cancer treatment based on much preclinical evidence. Furthermore, they suggest that more rigorous studies on whole anti-cancer pathways and development strategies, including formulations, could result in significantly enhanced anti-cancer effects of benzimidazoles as a repurposed cancer therapy in clinical settings.

Abstract

Benzimidazoles have shown significant promise for repurposing as a cancer therapy. The aims of this review are to investigate the possibilities and limitations of the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole anthelmintics and to suggest ways to overcome these limitations. This review included studies on the anti-cancer effects of 11 benzimidazoles. Largely divided into three parts, i.e., preclinical anti-cancer effects, clinical anti-cancer effects, and pharmacokinetic properties, we examine the characteristics of each benzimidazole and attempt to elucidate its key properties. Although many studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazoles, there is limited evidence regarding their effects in clinical settings. This might be because the clinical trials conducted using benzimidazoles failed to restrict their participants with specific criteria including cancer entities, cancer stages, and genetic characteristics of the participants. In addition, these drugs have limitations including low bioavailability, which results in insufficient plasma concentration levels. Additional studies on whole anti-cancer pathways and development strategies, including formulations, could result significant enhancements of the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazoles in clinical situations.

Nanocarriers for intracellular co-delivery of proteins and small-molecule drugs for cancer therapy

In the past few decades, the combination of proteins and small-molecule drugs has made tremendous progress in cancer treatment, but it is still not satisfactory. Because there are great differences in molecular weight, water solubility, stability, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and the ways of release and action between macromolecular proteins and small-molecule drugs. To improve the efficacy and safety of tumor treatment, people are committed to developing protein and drug co-delivery systems. Currently, intracellular co-delivery systems have been developed that integrate proteins and small-molecule drugs into one nanocarrier via various loading strategies. These systems significantly improve the blood stability, half-life, and biodistribution of proteins and small-molecule drugs, thus increasing their concentration in tumors. Furthermore, proteins and small-molecule drugs within these systems can be specifically targeted to tumor cells, and are released to perform functions after entering tumor cells simultaneously, resulting in improved effectiveness and safety of tumor treatment. This review summarizes the latest progress in protein and small-molecule drug intracellular co-delivery systems, with emphasis on the composition of nanocarriers, as well as on the loading methods of proteins and small-molecule drugs that play a role in cells into the systems, which have not been summarized by others so far.

Anti-cancer effects of fenbendazole on 5-fluorouracil-resistant colorectal cancer cells

Benzimidazole anthelmintic agents have been recently repurposed to overcome cancers resistant to conventional therapies. To evaluate the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole on resistant cells, various cell death pathways were investigated in 5-fluorouracil-resistant colorectal cancer cells. The viability of wild-type and 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 colorectal cancer cells was assayed, followed by Western blotting. Flow cytometry assays for cell death and cell cycle was also performed to analyze the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole. When compared with albendazole, fenbendazole showed higher susceptibility to 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells and was used in subsequent experiments. Flow cytometry revealed that fenbendazole significantly induces apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase on both cells. When compared with wild-type SNU-C5 cells, 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells showed reduced autophagy, increased ferroptosis and ferroptosis-augmented apoptosis, and less activation of caspase-8 and p53. These results suggest that fenbendazole may be a potential alternative treatment in 5-fluorouracil-resistant cancer cells, and the anticancer activity of fenbendazole does not require p53 in 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells.

Albendazole-induced autophagy blockade contributes to elevated apoptosis in cholangiocarcinoma cells through AMPK/mTOR activation

Albendazole (ABZ) is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drug that exhibits antitumor effects against several carcinomas. The effects of ABZ on cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Our study aims to investigate the role of ABZ in inducing autophagy-mediated apoptosis of cholangiocarcinoma cells. The antitumor effects of ABZ were evaluated against CCA cells and HIBEC intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells. Furthermore, the apoptosis rates, and autophagy flux in RBE and FRH-0201 cells treated with ABZ were investigated. ABZ inhibited proliferation, induced cell death and apoptosis in CCA cells in vitro. In vivo, tumors from ABZ- treated BALB/c nude mice were significantly smaller than untreated mice. ABZ also induced the initiation of autophagy via AMPK/mTOR pathways, resulting in the formation of autophagosome. In addition, ABZ blocked autophagic flux by inhibiting the fusion of autophagosome-lysosome, which increased the apoptotic death of CCA cells. However, the apoptotic death of CCA cells induced by ABZ was reversed by 3-methyladenine (3-MA), an autophagosome formation inhibitor, but increased by chloroquine (CQ), an autophagosome-lysosome fusion inhibitor.Our work provides novel mechanisms for anti-tumor effects of ABZ on CCA, suggesting that ABZ may be used as a potent autophagy inhibitor in the treatment of CCA.

Porphyrin-Based Nanoparticles: A Promising Phototherapy Platform

Phototherapy, including photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, is an emerging form of non-invasive treatment. The combination of imaging technology and phototherapy is becoming an attractive development in the treatment of cancer, as it allows for highly effective therapeutic results through image-guided phototherapy. Porphyrins have attracted significant interest in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer due to their excellent phototherapeutic effects in phototherapy and their remarkable imaging capabilities in fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging and photoacoustic imaging. However, porphyrins suffer from poor water solubility, low near-infrared absorption and insufficient tumor accumulation. The development of nanotechnology provides an effective way to improve the bioavailability, phototherapeutic effect and imaging capability of porphyrins. This review highlights the research results of porphyrin-based small molecule nanoparticles in phototherapy and image-guided phototherapy in the last decade and discusses the challenges and directions for the development of porphyrin-based small molecule nanoparticles in phototherapy.

PD-L1-Targeted Co-Delivery of Two Chemotherapeutics for Efficient Suppression of Skin Cancer Growth

To overcome the severe side effects of cancer chemotherapy, it is vital to develop targeting chemotherapeutic delivery systems with the potent inhibition of tumour growth, angiogenesis, invasion and migration at low drug dosages. For this purpose, we co-loaded a conventional antiworm drug, albendazole (ABZ), and a TOPK inhibitor, OTS964, into lipid-coated calcium phosphate (LCP) nanoparticles for skin cancer treatment. OTS- and ABZ-loaded LCP (OTS-ABZ-LCP) showed a synergistic cytotoxicity against skin cancer cells through their specific cancerous pathways, without obvious toxicity to healthy cell lines. Moreover, dual-targeting the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and folate receptor overexpressed on the surface of skin cancer cells completely suppressed the skin tumour growth at low doses of ABZ and OTS. In summary, ABZ and OTS co-loaded dual-targeting LCP NPs represent a promising platform with high potentials against complicated cancers where PD-L1/FA dual targeting appears as an effective approach for efficient and selective cancer therapy.

Advances on Delivery of Cytotoxic Enzymes as Anticancer Agents

Cancer is one of the most serious human diseases, causing millions of deaths worldwide annually, and, therefore, it is one of the most investigated research disciplines. Developing efficient anticancer tools includes studying the effects of different natural enzymes of plant and microbial origin on tumor cells. The development of various smart delivery systems based on enzyme drugs has been conducted for more than two decades. Some of these delivery systems have been developed to the point that they have reached clinical stages, and a few have even found application in selected cancer treatments. Various biological, chemical, and physical approaches have been utilized to enhance their efficiencies by improving their delivery and targeting. In this paper, we review advanced delivery systems for enzyme drugs for use in cancer therapy. Their structure-based functions, mechanisms of action, fused forms with other peptides in terms of targeting and penetration, and other main results from in vivo and clinical studies of these advanced delivery systems are highlighted.

Recent advances in anti-multidrug resistance for nano-drug delivery system

Chemotherapy for tumors occasionally results in drug resistance, which is the major reason for the treatment failure. Higher drug doses could improve the therapeutic effect, but higher toxicity limits the further treatment. For overcoming drug resistance, functional nano-drug delivery system (NDDS) has been explored to sensitize the anticancer drugs and decrease its side effects, which are applied in combating multidrug resistance (MDR) via a variety of mechanisms including bypassing drug efflux, controlling drug release, and disturbing metabolism. This review starts with a brief report on the major MDR causes. Furthermore, we searched the papers from NDDS and introduced the recent advances in sensitizing the chemotherapeutic drugs against MDR tumors. Finally, we concluded that the NDDS was based on several mechanisms, and we looked forward to the future in this field.

N-terminal signal peptides facilitate the engineering of PVC complex as a potent protein delivery system

Extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs) are widespread bacterial nanomachines that resemble T4 phage tail. As a typical eCIS, Photorhabdus virulence cassette (PVC) was proposed to inject toxins into eukaryotic cells by puncturing the cell membrane from outside. This makes it an ideal tool for protein delivery in biomedical research. However, how to manipulate this nanocomplex as a molecular syringe is still undetermined. Here, we identify that one group of N-terminal signal peptide (SP) sequences are crucial for the effector loading into the inner tube of PVC complex. By application of genetic operation, cryo-electron microscopy, in vitro translocation assays, and animal experiments, we show that, under the guidance of the SP, numerous prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins can be loaded into PVC to exert their functions across cell membranes. We therefore might customize PVC as a potent protein delivery nanosyringe for biotherapy by selecting cargo proteins in a broad spectrum, regardless of their species, sizes, and charges.

Versatile Oral Insulin Delivery Nanosystems: From Materials to Nanostructures

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by lack of insulin in the body leading to failure of blood glucose regulation. Diabetes patients usually need frequent insulin injections to maintain normal blood glucose levels, which is a painful administration manner. Long-term drug injection brings great physical and psychological burden to diabetic patients. In order to improve the adaptability of patients to use insulin and reduce the pain caused by injection, the development of oral insulin formulations is currently a hot and difficult topic in the field of medicine and pharmacy. Thus, oral insulin delivery is a promising and convenient administration method to relieve the patients. However, insulin as a peptide drug is prone to be degraded by digestive enzymes. In addition, insulin has strong hydrophilicity and large molecular weight and extremely low oral bioavailability. To solve these problems in clinical practice, the oral insulin delivery nanosystems were designed and constructed by rational combination of various nanomaterials and nanotechnology. Such oral nanosystems have the advantages of strong adaptability, small size, convenient processing, long-lasting pharmaceutical activity, and drug controlled-release, so it can effectively improve the oral bioavailability and efficacy of insulin. This review summarizes the basic principles and recent progress in oral delivery nanosystems for insulin, including physiological absorption barrier of oral insulin and the development of materials to nanostructures for oral insulin delivery nanosystems.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Drug Trichosanthin Addition to BeWo Cell Line

Trichosanthin (TCS) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used to treat some gynecological diseases. Its effective component has diverse biological functions, including antineoplastic activity. The human trophoblast cell line BeWo was chosen as an experimental model for in vitro testing of a drug screen for anticancer properties of TCS. The MTT method was used in this study to get a primary screen result. The result showed that 100 mM had the best IC₅₀ value. Proteomics analysis was then performed for further investigation of the drug effect of TCS on the BeWo cell line. In this differential proteomic expression analysis, the total proteins extracted from the BeWo cell line and their protein expression level after the drug treatment were compared by 2DE. Then, 24 unique three-fold differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Label-free proteomics was run as a complemental method for the same experimental procedure. There are two proteins that were identified in both the 2DE and label-free methods. Among those identified proteins, bioinformatics analysis showed the importance of pathway and signal transduction and gives us the potential possibility for the disease treatment hypothesis.

A Sixty-Year Research and Development of Trichosanthin, a Ribosome-Inactivating Protein

Tian Hua Fen, a herbal powder extract that contains trichosanthin (TCS), was used as an abortifacient in traditional Chinese medicine. In 1972, TCS was purified to alleviate the side effects. Because of its clinical applications, TCS became one of the most active research areas in the 1960s to the 1980s in China. These include obtaining the sequence information in the 1980s and the crystal structure in 1995. The replication block of TCS on human immunodeficiency virus in lymphocytes and macrophages was found in 1989 and started a new chapter of its development. Clinical studies were subsequently conducted. TCS was also found to have the potential for gastric and colorectal cancer treatment. Studies on its mechanism showed TCS acts as an rRNA N-glycosylase (EC 3.2.2.22) by hydrolyzing and depurinating A-4324 in α-sarcin/ricin loop on 28S rRNA of rat ribosome. Its interaction with acidic ribosomal stalk proteins was revealed in 2007, and its trafficking in mammalian cells was elucidated in the 2000s. The adverse drug reactions, such as inducing immune responses, short plasma half-life, and non-specificity, somehow became the obstacles to its usage. Immunotoxins, sequence modification, or coupling with polyethylene glycerol and dextran were developed to improve the pharmacological properties. TCS has nicely shown the scientific basis of traditional Chinese medicine and how its research and development have expanded the knowledge and applications of ribosome-inactivating proteins.

α1-Acid Glycoprotein-Decorated Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles for Suppressing Metastasis and Overcoming Drug Resistance Breast Cancer

Robust inflammation-suppressing nanoparticles based on α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP)-conjugated hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (AGP-HA NPs) were designed to regulate breast cancer cells’ sensitivity to chemotherapy and to suppress tumor metastasis. The successful conjugation between AGP and HA NPs was confirmed using FTIR, zeta potential, and UV–vis spectroscopy. In vitro studies on MCF-7 cells indicated the remarkable ability of AGP-HA NPs in suppressing migratory tumor ability by 79% after 24 h. Moreover, the efficacy study showed the high capability of AGP-HA NPs in modulating MDA-MB-231 cells and restoring cell sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX). Furthermore, the finding obtained by flow cytometry and confocal spectroscopy demonstrated that AGP-HA NPs enhanced DOX uptake/retention and aided it to reach cell nucleus within 4 h of incubation. Therefore, AGP-HA NPs represent a viable and effective treatment option to strengthen the anticancer effects of chemotherapeutic agents and potentially improve patients’ survival rates.

Fenbendazole Suppresses Growth and Induces Apoptosis of Actively Growing H4IIE Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via p21-Mediated Cell-Cycle Arrest

Bendimidazole anthelmintics (BAs) have gained interest for their anticancer activity. The anticancer activity is mediated via multiple intracellular changes, which are not consistent under different conditions even in the same cells. We investigated the anticancer activity of fenbendazole (FZ, one of BAs) under two different growth conditions. The growth rate of H4IIE cells was dose-dependently decreased by FZ only in actively growing cells but not in fully confluent quiescent cells. Apoptosis-associated changes were also induced by FZ in actively growing cells. Markers of autophagy were not changed by FZ. The number of cells was markedly increased in sub-G1 phase but decreased in S- and G2/M phases by FZ. FZ up-regulated p21 (an inhibitor of cyclin-CDK) but suppressed the expression of cell cycle-promoting proteins (cyclin D1 and cyclin B1). FZ did not affect integrin αV or n-cadherin expression as well as cell migration. Glycolytic changes (glucose consumption and lactate production) and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were not affected by FZ. Although the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was altered by FZ, the inhibition of MAPKs did not affect the pro-apoptotic activity of FZ. Taken together, FZ selectively suppressed the growth of cells via p21-mediated cell cycle arrest at G1/S and G2/M, and resulted in apoptosis only in actively growing cells but not in quiescent cells. Glucose metabolism, ROS generation, and MAPKs are unlikely targets of FZ at least in H4IIE rat hepatocellular carcinoma cells used in this study.

Curcin C inhibit osteosarcoma cell line U2OS proliferation by ROS induced apoptosis, autophagy and cell cycle arrest through activating JNK signal pathway

Osteosarcoma is a kind of primary bone malignant tumors. Its cure rate has been stagnant in the past decade years. Curcin C belongs to type I ribosome inactivating proteins, extracted from the cotyledons of post-germinated Jatropha curcas seeds. It can inhibit the proliferation of several tumor lines including U2OS cells with extraordinary efficiency. The treated U2OS cells were arrested in both S and G2/M phase, showed typical apoptosis morphological characteristic, formed autophagosomes and increase the ratio of LC3II to LC3I. Meanwhile, the level of ROS in the treated cells was found increasing significantly, with the change of mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities. The application of ROS scavenger NAC not only significantly inhibited the toxicity of Curcin C but also prevented the happen of apoptosis and autophagy to some extent. These results suggested that Curcin C may function through ROS pathway. In addition, the Curcin C treatment could activate JNK and inhibit ERK signal pathway. Sp600125, an inhibitor of JNK signaling pathway, can prevent subsequent apoptosis and autophagy events, suggesting that JNK pathway was at least one of the pathways of Curcin C action. Moreover, the relevant including antagonistic among autophagy, apoptosis and cell cycle arresting induced by Curcin C also was found. In summary, it can be speculated that Curcin C may induce S, G2/M phase arrest, apoptosis and autophagy of human osteosarcoma U2OS cells through activating JNK signal pathway and blocking ERK signal pathway by promoting ROS accumulation in cell, thus finally reflected in the effect of inhibiting tumor cell proliferation.

Cancer Therapy by Silver Nanoparticles: Fiction or Reality?

As an emerging new class, metal nanoparticles and especially silver nanoparticles hold great potential in the field of cancer biology. Due to cancer-specific targeting, the consequently attenuated side-effects and the massive anti-cancer features render nanoparticle therapeutics desirable platforms for clinically relevant drug development. In this review, we highlight those characteristics of silver nanoparticle-based therapeutic concepts that are unique, exploitable, and achievable, as well as those that represent the critical hurdle in their advancement to clinical utilization. The collection of findings presented here will describe the features that distinguish silver nanoparticles from other anti-cancer agents and display the realistic opportunities and implications in oncotherapeutic innovations to find out whether cancer therapy by silver nanoparticles is fiction or reality.

(cRGD)2 peptides modified nanoparticles increase tumor-targeting therapeutic effects by co-delivery of albendazole and iodine-131

Albendazole (ABZ), a clinical antiparasitic drug, has shown potential antitumor effects in various tumors. Herein, we prepared dimeric cRGD [(cRGD)2] modified human serum albumin (HSA) nanosystem to co-delivery of albendazole (ABZ) and iodine-131 (131I) for chemoradiotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). HSA@ABZ NPs were synthesized by the self-assembly method. 131I-(cRGD)2/HSA@ABZ NPs were fabricated through covalently binding HSA@ABZ NPs with (cRGD)2 peptides, followed by chloramine T direct labeling with 131I. In vitro therapeutic effects on TNBC (MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 cells) were determined using MTT assay, crystal violet assay, wound-healing assay and western blotting analysis. In vivo treatment was performed using 4T1-bearing mice, and the tumor-targeting efficacy was assessed by gamma imaging. The distribution of NPs was quantitatively analyzed by detecting the gamma counts in tumor and main organs. The nanoparticles possessed negative charge, moderate size and good polydispersity index. Dual responding to pH and redox, the in vitro release rate of ABZ was more than 80% in 72 h. In vitro, NPs inhibited the proliferation of TNBC cells in a concentration-dependent manner and decreased cell migration. Western blotting analysis showed that the NPs, as well as free ABZ, cell-dependently induced autophagy and apoptosis by restraining or promoting the expression of p-p38 and p-JNK MAPK. In vivo, gamma imaging exhibited an earlier and denser radioactivity accumulation in tumor of 131I-(cRGD)2/HSA@ABZ NPs compared to NPs free of (cRGD)2 conjugating. Furthermore, 131I-(cRGD)2/HSA@ABZ NPs significantly suppressed tumor growth by restraining proliferation and promoting apoptosis in vivo. Our study suggested that the nanoparticles we developed enhanced tumor-targeting of ABZ and increased antitumor effects by combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

pH-Sensitive Molecular-Switch-Containing Polymer Nanoparticle for Breast Cancer Therapy with Ferritinophagy-Cascade Ferroptosis and Tumor Immune Activation

Ferritin internalized into tumor cells is degraded and releases iron ions via ferritinophagy. Iron ions participate in Fenton reaction to produce reactive oxygen species for lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. Inhibition of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) decreases tryptophan elimination to induce T cells activation for tumor immunosuppression relief. The active tumor targeting nanoparticles containing ferritin and a pH-sensitive molecular-switch (FPBC@SN) are developed to utilize ferritinophagy-cascade ferroptosis and tumor immunity activation for cancer therapy. FPBC@SN disintegrates in acidic cytoplasm and releases sorafenib (SRF) and IDO inhibitor (NLG919). SRF upregulates nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4) to induce ferritin and endogenous iron pool degradation by ferritinophagy, then obtained iron ions participate in the Fenton reaction to produce lipid peroxide (LPO). Meanwhile, SRF blocks glutathione synthesis to downregulate glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) which can scavenge LPO as a different pathway from ferritinophagy to promote ferroptosis in tumor cells. NLG919 inhibits IDO to reduce tryptophan metabolism, so immunity in tumors is aroused to anti-tumor. In vitro and in vivo experiments prove FPBC@SN inhibits tumor cell growth and metastasis, indicating the potential of FPBC@SN for breast cancer therapy based on the combination of ferritinophagy-cascade ferroptosis and tumor immunity activation.

Repurposing drugs as novel triple negative breast cancer therapeutics

BACKGROUND

Among all the types of breast cancer (BC), triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive form having high metastasis and recurrence rate with limited treatment options. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have lots of toxic side effects and also no FDA approved therapies are available till now. Repurposing of old clinically approved drugs towards various targets of TNBC is the new approach with lesser side effects and also leads to successful inexpensive drug development with less time consuming. Medicinal plants containg various phytoconstituents (flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, essential oils, tanins, glycosides, lactones) plays very crucial role in combating various types of diseases and used in drug development process because of having lesser side effects.

OBJECTIVE

The present review focuses in summarization of various categories of repurposed drugs against multitarget of TNBC and also summarizes the phytochemical categories that targets TNBC singly or in combination with synthetic old drugs.

METHODS

Literature information was collected from various databases such as Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Medline to understand and clarify the role and mechanism of repurposed synthetic drugs and phytoconstituents aginst TNBC by using keywords like "breast cancer", "repurposed drugs", "TNBC" and "phytoconstituents".

RESULTS

Various repurposed drugs and phytochemicals targeting different signaling pathways that exerts their cytotoxic activities on TNBC cells ultimately leads to apoptosis of cells and also lowers the recurrence rate and stops the metastasis process.

CONCLUSION

Inhibitory effects seen in different levels, which provides information and evidences to researchers towards drug developments process and thus further more investigations and researches need to be taken to get the better therapeutic treatment options against TNBC.

Near-infrared light triggered activation of pro-drug combination cancer therapy and induction of immunogenic cell death

Disulfiram copper complex [Cu(DDC)2] nanoparticles have been explored as promising anticancer agents but with concerns of toxic side effects. To improve tumor specificity and enhance anticancer efficacy, we developed a novel [copper sulfide nanoparticle (CuS NP) + disulfiram prodrug (DQ) micelle + near-infrared (NIR) laser] (CDL) combination therapy. DQ, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive prodrug, can be selectively activated at the tumor site with elevated ROS to release DDC and form Cu(DDC)2in situ. The CuS NP + NIR laser treatment can effectively increase the intra-tumor ROS levels and efficiently activate the DQ prodrug. The CDL therapy kills cancer cells through multiple mechanisms, including ROS amplification cascade and Cu(DDC)2 chemotherapy. NIR light-triggered tumor-specific "nontoxic-to-toxic" transition can significantly improve the specificity of anticancer effects and reduce systemic toxicity. Also, CDL therapy can effectively induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) and has the potential of eliciting antitumor immunity.

Smart stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for the cancer therapy – nanomedicine

Nanomedicine is ongoing current research in the applications of nanotechnology for cancer therapy. Simply from a technology perspective, this field of research has an enormous broadening and success to date. Recently, nanomedicine has also made inroads in the treatment of cancer. Stimuli-responsive nanoparticles are an emerging field of research because its targeting capacity is of great interest in the treatment of cancer. The responsive nanoparticles are efficient in encountering different internal biological stimuli (acidic, pH, redox, and enzyme) and external stimuli (temperature, ultrasounds, magnetic field, and light), which are used as smart nanocarriers for delivery of the chemotherapeutic and imaging agents for cancer therapy. In-depth, the responsive nanocarrier that responds to the biological cues is of pronounced interest due to its capability to provide a controlled release profile at the tumor-specific site. The outlook of this review focuses on the stimuli-responsive nanocarrier drug delivery systems in sequence to address the biological challenges that need to be evaluated to overcome conventional cancer therapy.

Use of Exogenous Enzymes in Human Therapy: Approved Drugs and Potential Applications

The development of safe and efficacious enzyme-based human therapies has increased greatly in the last decades, thanks to remarkable advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for different diseases, and the characterization of the catalytic activity of relevant exogenous enzymes that may play a remedial effect in the treatment of such pathologies. Several enzyme-based biotherapeutics have been approved by FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and EMA (the European Medicines Agency) and many are undergoing clinical trials. Apart from enzyme replacement therapy in human genetic diseases, which is not discussed in this review, approved enzymes for human therapy find applications in several fields, from cancer therapy to thrombolysis and the treatment, e.g., of clotting disorders, cystic fibrosis, lactose intolerance and collagen-based disorders. The majority of therapeutic enzymes are of microbial origin, the most convenient source due to fast, simple and cost-effective production and manipulation. The use of microbial recombinant enzymes has broadened prospects for human therapy but some hurdles such as high immunogenicity, protein instability, short half-life and low substrate affinity, still need to be tackled. Alternative sources of enzymes, with reduced side effects and improved activity, as well as genetic modification of the enzymes and novel delivery systems are constantly searched. Chemical modification strategies, targeted- and/or nanocarrier-mediated delivery, directed evolution and site-specific mutagenesis, fusion proteins generated by genetic manipulation are the most explored tools to reduce toxicity and improve bioavailability and cellular targeting. This review provides a description of exogenous enzymes that are presently employed for the therapeutic management of human diseases with their current FDA/EMA-approved status, along with those already experimented at the clinical level and potential promising candidates.

Nanoplatform-based natural products co-delivery system to surmount cancer multidrug-resistant

The emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in malignant tumors is the primary reason for invalid chemotherapy. Antitumor drugs are often adversely affected by the MDR of tumor cells. Treatments using conventional drugs, which have specific drug targets, hardly regulate the complex signaling pathway of MDR cells because of the complex formation mechanism of MDR. However, natural products have positive advantages, such as high efficiency, low toxicity, and ability to target multiple mechanism pathways associated with MDR. Natural products, as MDR reversal agents, synergize with chemotherapeutics and enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutics, and the co-delivery of natural products and antitumor drugs with nanocarriers maximizes the synergistic effects against MDR in tumor cells. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of MDR, the advantages of natural products combined with chemotherapeutics in offsetting complicated MDR mechanisms, and the types and mechanisms of natural products that are potential MDR reversal modulators. Meanwhile, aiming at the low bioavailability of cocktail combined natural products and chemotherapeutic in vivo, the advantages of nanoplatform-based co-delivery system and recent research developments are illustrated on the basis of our previous research. Finally, prospective horizons are analyzed, which are expected to considerably improve the nano-co-delivery of natural products and chemotherapeutic systems for MDR reversal in cancer.

Potential Applications of Chitosan-Based Nanomaterials to Surpass the Gastrointestinal Physiological Obstacles and Enhance the Intestinal Drug Absorption

The small intestine provides the major site for the absorption of numerous orally administered drugs. However, before reaching to the systemic circulation to exert beneficial pharmacological activities, the oral drug delivery is hindered by poor absorption/metabolic instability of the drugs in gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the presence of the mucus layer overlying intestinal epithelium. Therefore, a polymeric drug delivery system has emerged as a robust approach to enhance oral drug bioavailability and intestinal drug absorption. Chitosan, a cationic polymer derived from chitin, and its derivatives have received remarkable attention to serve as a promising drug carrier, chiefly owing to their versatile, biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic properties. Several types of chitosan-based drug delivery systems have been developed, including chemical modification, conjugates, capsules, and hybrids. They have been shown to be effective in improving intestinal assimilation of several types of drugs, e.g., antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory drugs. In this review, the physiological challenges affecting intestinal drug absorption and the effects of chitosan on those parameters impacting on oral bioavailability are summarized. More appreciably, types of chitosan-based nanomaterials enhancing intestinal drug absorption and their mechanisms, as well as potential applications in diabetes, cancers, infections, and inflammation, are highlighted. The future perspective of chitosan applications is also discussed.

Toxic proteins application in cancer therapy

Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) as family of anti-cancer drugs recently received much attention due to their interesting anti-cancer mechanism. In spite of small drugs, RIPs use the large-size effect (LSE) to prevent the efflux process governed by drug resistance transporters (DRTs) which prevents inside of the cells against drug transfection. There are many clinical translation obstacles that severely restrict their applications especially their delivery approach to the tumor cells. As the main goal of this review, we will focus on trichosanthin (TCS) and gelonin (Gel) and other types, especially scorpion venom-derived RIPs to clarify that they are struggling with what types of bio-barriers and these challenges could be solved in cancer therapy science. Then, we will try to highlight recent state-of-the-arts in delivery of RIPs for cancer therapy.

Delivery Systems for Nucleic Acids and Proteins: Barriers, Cell Capture Pathways and Nanocarriers

Gene therapy has been used as a potential approach to address the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases and inherited disorders. In this line, non-viral systems have been exploited as promising alternatives for delivering therapeutic transgenes and proteins. In this review, we explored how biological barriers are effectively overcome by non-viral systems, usually nanoparticles, to reach an efficient delivery of cargoes. Furthermore, this review contributes to the understanding of several mechanisms of cellular internalization taken by nanoparticles. Because a critical factor for nanoparticles to do this relies on the ability to escape endosomes, researchers have dedicated much effort to address this issue using different nanocarriers. Here, we present an overview of the diversity of nanovehicles explored to reach an efficient and effective delivery of both nucleic acids and proteins. Finally, we introduced recent advances in the development of successful strategies to deliver cargoes.

Trichosanthin cooperates with Granzyme B to restrain tumor formation in tongue squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is a common type of oral cancer, with a relatively poor prognosis and low post-treatment survival rate. Various strategies and novel drugs to treat TSCC are emerging and under investigation. Trichosanthin (TCS), extracted from the root tubers of Tian-Hua-Fen, has been found to have multiple biological and pharmacological functions, including inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Granzyme B (GrzB) is a common toxic protein secreted by natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells. Our group has reported that TCS combined with GrzB might be a superior approach to inhibit liver tumor progression, but data relating to the use of this combination to treat TSCC remain limited. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of TCS on TSCC processes and underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

First, we screened the potential antitumor activity of TCS using two types of SCC cell lines. Subsequently, a subcutaneous squamous cell carcinoma xenograft model in nude mice was established. These model mice were randomly divided into four groups and treated as follows: control group, TCS treatment group, GrzB treatment group, and TCS/GrzB combination treatment group. Various tumorigenesis parameters, such as Ki67, PCNA, caspase-3, Bcl-2 and VEGFA, et al., were performed to determine the effects of these treatments on tumor development.

RESULTS

Screening confirmed that the SCC25 line exhibited greater sensitivity than the SCC15 line to TCS in vitro studies. TCS or GrzB treatment significantly inhibited tumor growth compared with the inhibition seen in the control group. The TCS/GrzB combination inhibited tumor growth more than either drug alone. TCS treatment inhibited tumor proliferation by downregulating Ki67 and Bcl2 protein expression while accelerating tumor apoptosis. In the TCS/GrzB-treated group, expression of Ki67 was further downregulated, while the level of activated caspase-3 was increased, compared with their expression in either of the single drug treatment groups.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the TCS/GrzB combination could represent an effective immunotherapy for TSCC.

Development of an albumin decorated lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle for simultaneous delivery of methotrexate and conferone to cancer cells

Aiming to simultaneous target of methotrexate (MTX), as folate antagonist, and conferone (CON) in various cancer cells, the newly lipid/polymer hybrid nanoparticle containing an albumin targeted succinylchitosan shell and lipoid bilayer core composed of hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol was synthesized. The covalently conjugating albumin to the external surface of chitosan was accomplished using N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride and N- hydroxyl succinimide as an activating carboxylic group, and nanoliposomes were fabricated via thin film hydration-sonication method. The molecular structure of MTX@CON-targeted lipid/polymer hybrid nanoparticle (MTX@CON-TLPN) were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, ¹H NMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The newly nanoparticle with high encapsulation efficiency (85.12%, and 78.4%), acceptable loading capacity (9.8% and 4.6% for MTX and CON) and the stimuli responsiveness drug release behavior in simulated physiologic tumor tissue condition (pH 5.4, 40 °C) was successfully synthetized in the spherical shape with mean average size of approximately 290 nm and ζ-potential of +21 mv. The enhanced efficiency of the targeted nanoparticle was further confirmed using MTT endpoints, cell cycle modulation, apoptosis assessment, and cellular internalization assessments. Collectively, these findings establish the utility of our newly prepared nanoparticle for simultaneous delivery of multiple anti-cancer drugs.

Cell penetrating peptides: A versatile vector for co-delivery of drug and genes in cancer

Biological barriers hamper the efficient delivery of drugs and genes to targeted sites. Cell penetrating peptides (CPP) have the ability to rapidly internalize across biological membranes. CPP have been effective for delivery of various chemotherapeutic agents used to combat cancer. CPP can enhance delivery of drugs to a targeted site when combined with tumor targeting peptides. CPP can be linked with various cargos like nanoparticles, micelles and liposomes to deliver drugs and genes to the cancer cell. Here, we focus on CPP mediated delivery of drugs to the tumor sites, delivery of genes (siRNA,pDNA) and co-delivery of drugs and genes to combat drug resistance.

Ce6-Conjugated and polydopamine-coated gold nanostars with enhanced photoacoustic imaging and photothermal/photodynamic therapy to inhibit lung metastasis of breast cancer

Metastasis is the main cause of treatment failure in breast cancer, and integrated phototheranostics is a promising strategy to achieve both precision theranostics and metastasis inhibition. In this work, a multifunctional phototheranostic nanoprobe composed of chlorin e6 (Ce6)-conjugated and polydopamine (PDA)-coated gold nanostars (AuNSs) was synthesized for simultaneous photoacoustic (PA) imaging, photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Under the irradiation of near infrared laser, AuNSs@PDA showed enhanced photothermal conversion and amplified PA imaging performance, compared with single AuNSs. By the covalent conjugation of Ce6, the AuNSs@PDA-Ce6 nanoprobe showed robust stability and excellent singlet oxygen (1O2) generation ability. Under the combination of PTT/PDT, the AuNSs@PDA-Ce6 nanoprobes significantly reduced the growth of 4T1 tumors and suppressed their lung metastasis. All the results demonstrated the considerable potential of AuNSs@PDA-Ce6 phototheranostic nanoprobes for precision theranostics and metastasis inhibition of breast cancer.

Albumin-based nanoparticles: a promising strategy to overcome cancer drug resistance

Circumvention of cancer drug resistance is one of the major investigations in nanomedicine. In this regard, nanotechnology-based drug delivery has offered various implications. However, protein-based nanocarriers have been a versatile choice compared to other nanomaterials, provided by their favorable characteristics and safety profiles. Specifically, albumin-based nanoparticles have been demonstrated to be an effective drug delivery system, owing to the inherent targeting modalities of albumin, through gp60- and SPARC-mediated receptor endocytosis. Furthermore, surface functionalization was exploited for active targeting, due to albumin’s abundance of carboxylic and amino groups. Stimuli-responsive drug release has also been pertained to albumin nano-systems. Therefore, albumin-based nanocarriers could potentially overcome cancer drug resistance through bypassing drug efflux, enhancing drug uptake, and improving tumor accumulation. Moreover, albumin nanocarriers improve the stability of various therapeutic cargos, for instance, nucleic acids, which allows their systemic administration. This review highlights the recent applications of albumin nanoparticles to overcome cancer drug resistance, the nano-fabrication techniques, as well as future perspectives and challenges.

The Antitumor Potentials of Benzimidazole Anthelmintics as Repurposing Drugs

The development of refractory tumor cells limits therapeutic efficacy in cancer by activating mechanisms that promote cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, metastasis, and survival. Benzimidazole anthelmintics have broad-spectrum action to remove parasites both in human and veterinary medicine. In addition to being antiparasitic agents, benzimidazole anthelmintics are known to exert anticancer activities, such as the disruption of microtubule polymerization, the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle (G2/M) arrest, anti-angiogenesis, and blockage of glucose transport. These antitumorigenic effects even extend to cancer cells resistant to approved therapies and when in combination with conventional therapeutics, enhance anticancer efficacy and hold promise as adjuvants. Above all, these anthelmintics may offer a broad, safe spectrum to treat cancer, as demonstrated by their long history of use as antiparasitic agents. The present review summarizes central literature regarding the anticancer effects of benzimidazole anthelmintics, including albendazole, parbendazole, fenbendazole, mebendazole, oxibendazole, oxfendazole, ricobendazole, and flubendazole in cancer cell lines, animal tumor models, and clinical trials. This review provides valuable information on how to improve the quality of life in patients with cancers by increasing the treatment options and decreasing side effects from conventional therapy.