Co-delivery of IOX1 and doxorubicin for antibody-independent cancer chemo-immunotherapy

Liposomes-enabled cancer chemoimmunotherapy

Chemoimmunotherapy is an emerging paradigm in the clinic for treating several malignant diseases, such as non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and large B-cell lymphoma. However, the efficacy of this strategy is still restricted by serious adverse events and a high therapeutic termination rate, presumably due to the lack of tumor-targeted distribution of both chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents. Targeted drug delivery has the potential to address this issue. Among the most promising nanocarriers in clinical translation, liposomes have drawn great attention in cancer chemoimmunotherapy in recent years. Liposomes-enabled cancer chemoimmunotherapy has made significant progress in clinics, with impressive therapeutic outcomes. This review summarizes the latest preclinical and clinical progress in liposome-enabled cancer chemoimmunotherapy and discusses the challenges and future directions of this field.

Antitumor effects of IOX1 combined with bevacizumab-induced apoptosis and immunity on colorectal cancer cells

Colorectal cancer (CRC), as a fatal cancer, is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Although the standard treatment for colorectal cancer is well researched and established, long-term patient survival remains poor, and mortality remains high. Therefore, more and more effective treatment options are needed. To evaluate the efficacy of bevacizumab, the histone demethylase inhibitor IOX1, or their combination for the treatment of colorectal cancer, we examined the effects of IOX1, bevacizumab, and IOX1 combined with bevacizumab on cell activity, proliferation, and migration of colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116, RKO, and CT26 by CCK8, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, and transwell assay. The effects of the drugs alone as well as in combination on apoptosis in colorectal cancer cell lines were examined by flow cytometry and further validated by Western blotting for apoptosis-related proteins. The antitumor effects of treatment alone or in combination on colorectal cancer cells were examined in animal models. Mice were injected subcutaneously with CT26 cells and the growth and immune infiltration in tumor tissues were detected by IHC after drug treatment. We found that IOX1 could effectively inhibit the activity of CRC cells and had a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation and migration of CRC cells. The apoptosis rate increased in a dose-dependent manner after IOX1 treatment on colorectal cancer cells, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins changed accordingly. Further combination with bevacizumab revealed that the combination had a more significant effect on the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of CRC cells than either IOX1 or bevacizumab alone. In vivo experiments have found that both alone and combination drugs can inhibit the growth of mouse tumors, but the effect of combination inhibition is the most obvious. Combination therapy significantly inhibited the expression of proliferative marker (Ki67) in tumor xenograft models, and increased content of antigen-specific CD4+, CD8+T cell growth, and granzymeB (GZMB), which is associated with T cell cytotoxicity, was detected in combination therapy. Immunoassays suppressed the expression of relevant PD-1 and decreased. The anticancer drug bevacizumab and the histone demethylase inhibitor IOX1 may inhibit colon cancer cell growth by regulating apoptosis. The inhibitory effect of combination therapy on tumor growth may be achieved, in part, through upregulation of infiltration-mediated tumor immunity by T lymphocytes. The combination of IOX1 and bevacizumab produced significant synergistic effects. This study aims to provide a new direction for CRC combination therapy.

Rebooting the Adaptive Immune Response in Immunotherapy-Resistant Lung Adenocarcinoma Using a Supramolecular Albumin

Despite the availability of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICBs) significantly prolonging the life expectancy of some lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients, their implementation and long-term effectiveness are hampered by the growing issue of acquired resistance. Herein, the bioinformatics analysis of immunotherapy-resistant LUAD patients and the system analysis of Anti-PD1-resistant mice models once again validate that the resistance-associated Wnt/β-catenin pathway offers a promising avenue for ICB sensitization. Consequently, a mild and convenient self-assembly between albumin and carnosic acid (CA), a Wnt inhibitor is employed, to develop a supramolecular albumin known as ABCA, serving as a reactivator for ICB. As anticipated, ABCA effectively suppress the Wnt/β-catenin cascade in vitro and leads to significant inhibition of cell proliferation while promoting apoptosis. Most notably, ABCA restores the anticancer efficacy of Anti-PD1 in immunotherapy-resistant LUAD orthotopic allografting mice models by reinvigorating the adaptive immune response mediated by T lymphocytes. Furthermore, ABCA exhibits minimal adverse effects during treatment and high-dose toxicity tests, underscoring its excellent potential for clinical translation. Collectively, the present work possesses the potential to provide innovative perspectives on the advancement of optimized immunotherapies targeting drug resistance, while also presenting a promising avenue for translating Wnt inhibitors into immunotherapeutic drugs for their clinical application.

A NIR-II Organic Dendrimer with Superb Photothermal Performance Based on Electron-Donor Iteration for Photothermal Immunotherapy

Organic photothermal materials have attracted extensive attention due to their designable molecular structure, tunable excited-state properties, and excellent biocompatibility, however, the development of near-infrared II (NIR-II) absorbing organic photothermal materials with high photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) and molar extinction coefficient (ɛ) remains challenging. Herein, a novel "electron-donor iteration" strategy is proposed to construct organic photothermal dendrimers (CR-DPA-T, CR-(DPA)2-T and CR-(DPA)3-T) with donor-π-acceptor-π-donor (D-π-A-π-D) features and diradical characteristics. Owing to the enhanced D-A effect and intramolecular motions, their absorption and photothermal capacity increase as the generation grows. Surprisingly, an excellent photothermal performance (ɛ1064 × PTCE1064) with a superb value of 2.85 × 104 in the NIR-II region is achieved for CR-(DPA)3-T nanoparticles (CR-(DPA)3-T NPs) compared to most reported counterparts. Besides, CR-(DPA)3-T NPs exhibit superior antitumor efficacy by the synergistic effect of photothermal therapy (PTT) and immunotherapy, efficiently inhibiting the growth of both primary and distant tumors. To the best knowledge, organic photothermal dendrimer is for the first time reported, and a universal donor engineering strategy is offered to develop NIR-II-absorbing organic photothermal materials for photothermal immunotherapy.

Biopolymer immune implants co-loaded with TMZ, R848 and IOX1 for perioperative therapy of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM), a prevalent and aggressive brain tumor, poses significant treatment challenges due to its rapid progression and the difficulty in achieving complete surgical resection. The current treatment regime, primarily surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, offers limited success, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 %. For addressing the challenges faced in the treatment of GBM, an approach using a biopolymer implant constructed with dynamic reversible covalent bonds, was designed to achieve controlled and constant-rate release of chemotherapy drug (Temozolomide, TMZ), immune adjuvant (Resiquimod, R848) and checkpoint inhibitor (5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline, IOX1). The safety evaluation demonstrated the biocompatibility of the implants, with no significant inflammatory response or adverse effects on various systemic organs. In vivo antitumor study showed that the local delivery of drug combination via this implant significantly inhibited tumor recurrence of orthotopic GBM. Immune analysis revealed that the combination of the three drugs effectively activated systemic antitumor immune responses and induced memory effects. The synergistic mechanism of the drug combination was further validated by RNA whole sequencing. The innovative approach of combining chemotherapy and immunotherapy in biopolymer immune implants for GBM treatment showed promising and opens new avenues for treating GBM, particularly in addressing postoperative recurrence. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Our research introduces a pioneering approach in treating orthotopic brain glioblastoma (GBM), characterized by inevitable tumor recurrence, poor immune infiltration and the restrictive nature of the blood-brain barrier. To break the impasse of ineffective treatment for GBM, the innovative use of dynamically reversible covalent bonds in polymer matrix ensures the controlled, stable and sustained release of drug combinations of the chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide, immune adjuvants and checkpoint inhibitors, which maintains the optimal concentration in the tumor, overcoming problems associated with conventional chemotherapy such as systemic toxicity and low tumor targeting. Empirical evidence from in vivo experiments on the rat GBM model demonstrates significant outcomes: 90 % tumor size reduction and prolonged survival with over 70 % tumor cure rate.

T cell exhaustion in human cancers

T cell exhaustion refers to a progressive state in which T cells become functionally impaired due to sustained antigenic stimulation, which is characterized by increased expression of immune inhibitory receptors, but weakened effector functions, reduced self-renewal capacity, altered epigenetics, transcriptional programme and metabolism. T cell exhaustion is one of the major causes leading to immune escape of cancer, creating an environment that supports tumor development and metastatic spread. In addition, T cell exhaustion plays a pivotal role to the efficacy of current immunotherapies for cancer. This review aims to provide a comprehensive view of roles of T cell exhaustion in cancer development and progression. We summerized the regulatory mechanisms that involved in T cell exhaustion, including transcription factors, epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming events, and various microenvironmental factors such as cytokines, microorganisms, and tumor autocrine substances. The paper also discussed the challenges posed by T cell exhaustion to cancer immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies and chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, highlightsing the obstacles encountered in ICB therapies and CAR-T therapies due to T cell exhaustion. Finally, the article provides an overview of current therapeutic options aimed to reversing or alleviating T cell exhaustion in ICB and CAR-T therapies. These therapeutic approaches seek to overcome T cell exhaustion and enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies in treating tumors.

Tumor phagocytosis-driven STING activation invigorates antitumor immunity and reprograms the tumor micro-environment

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) holds the potential for in situ tumor vaccination while concurrently eradicating tumors and stimulating adaptive immunity. Most ICD inducers, however, elicit insufficient immune responses due to negative feedback against ICD biomarkers, limited infiltration of antitumoral immune cells, and the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment (TME). Recent findings highlight the pivotal roles of stimulators of interferon gene (STING) activation, particularly in stimulating antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and TME reprogramming, addressing ICD limitations. Herein, we introduced 'tumor phagocytosis-driven STING activation', which involves the activation of STING in APCs during the recognition of ICD-induced cancer cells. We developed a polypeptide-based nanocarrier encapsulating both doxorubicin (DOX) and diABZI STING agonist 3 (dSA3) to facilitate this hypothesis in vitro and in vivo. After systemic administration, nanoparticles predominantly accumulated in tumor tissue and significantly enhanced anticancer efficacy by activating tumor phagocytosis-driven STING activation in MC38 and TC1 tumor models. Immunological activation of APCs occurred within 12 h, subsequently leading to the activation of T cells within 7 days, observed in both the TME and spleen. Furthermore, surface modification of nanoparticles with cyclic RGD (cRGD) moieties, which actively target integrin αvβ3, enhances tumor accumulation and eradication, thereby verifying the establishment of systemic immune memory. Collectively, this study proposes the concept of tumor phagocytosis-driven STING activation and its effectiveness in generating short-term and long-term immune responses.

Mitochondria-Targeted Multifunctional Nanoparticles Combine Cuproptosis and Programmed Cell Death-1 Downregulation for Cancer Immunotherapy

The combination of cuproptosis and immune checkpoint inhibition has shown promise in treating malignant tumors. However, it remains a challenge to deliver copper ions and immune checkpoint inhibitors efficiently and simultaneously to tumors. Herein, a mitochondria-targeted nanoscale coordination polymer particle, Cu/TI, comprising Cu(II), and a triphenylphosphonium conjugate of 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (TI), for effective cuproptosis induction and programmed cell death-1 (PD-L1) downregulation is reported. Upon systemic administration, Cu/TI efficiently accumulates in tumor tissues to induce immunogenic cancer cell death and reduce PD-L1 expression. Consequently, Cu/TI promotes the intratumoral infiltration and activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to greatly inhibit tumor progression of colorectal carcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer in mouse models without causing obvious side effects.

Targeted Liposomal Co-delivery of an Immunogenic Cell Death Inducer and a Toll-Like Receptor 4 Agonist for Enhanced Cancer Chemo-immunotherapy

Anticancer chemo-immunotherapy has gained considerable attention across various scientific domains as a prospective approach for the comprehensive eradication of malignant tumors. Recent research has particularly been focused on traditional anthracycline chemo drugs, such as doxorubicin and mitoxantrone. These compounds trigger apoptosis in tumor cells and evoke immunogenic cell death (ICD). ICD is a pivotal initiator of the cancer-immunity cycle by facilitating the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The resultant DAMPs released from cancer cells effectively activate the immune system, resulting in an increase in tumor-infiltrating T cells. In this study, we have innovated a co-delivery strategy involving folate-modified liposomes to deliver doxorubicin and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) simultaneously to tumor tissue. The engineered liposomes exploit the overexpression of folate receptors within the tumor tissues. Delivered doxorubicin initiates ICD at the tumor cells, further enhancing the immunogenic stimulus. Additionally, MPLA helps T cell priming by activating antigen-presenting cells. This intricate interplay culminates in a synergistic effect, ultimately resulting in an augmented and potentiated anticancer chemo-immunotherapeutic liposomal treatment.

Bio-orthogonal click chemistry strategy for PD-L1-targeted imaging and pyroptosis-mediated chemo-immunotherapy of triple-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The combination of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and immunogenic cell death (ICD)-inducing chemotherapy has shown promise in cancer immunotherapy. However, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients undergoing this treatment often face obstacles such as systemic toxicity and low response rates, primarily attributed to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME).

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, PD-L1-targeted theranostic systems were developed utilizing anti-PD-L1 peptide (APP) conjugated with a bio-orthogonal click chemistry group. Initially, TNBC was treated with azide-modified sugar to introduce azide groups onto tumor cell surfaces through metabolic glycoengineering. A PD-L1-targeted probe was developed to evaluate the PD-L1 status of TNBC using magnetic resonance/near-infrared fluorescence imaging. Subsequently, an acidic pH-responsive prodrug was employed to enhance tumor accumulation via bio-orthogonal click chemistry, which enhances PD-L1-targeted ICB, the pH-responsive DOX release and induction of pyroptosis-mediated ICD of TNBC. Combined PD-L1-targeted chemo-immunotherapy effectively reversed the immune-tolerant TME and elicited robust tumor-specific immune responses, resulting in significant inhibition of tumor progression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study has successfully engineered a bio-orthogonal multifunctional theranostic system, which employs bio-orthogonal click chemistry in conjunction with a PD-L1 targeting strategy. This innovative approach has been demonstrated to exhibit significant promise for both the targeted imaging and therapeutic intervention of TNBC.

KDM3A Ablation Activates Endogenous Retrovirus Expression to Stimulate Antitumor Immunity in Gastric Cancer

The success of immunotherapy for cancer treatment is limited by the presence of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME); Therefore, identifying novel targets to that can reverse this immunosuppressive TME and enhance immunotherapy efficacy is essential. In this study, enrichment analysis based on publicly available single-cell and bulk RNA sequencing data from gastric cancer patients are conducted, and found that tumor-intrinsic interferon (IFN) plays a central role in TME regulation. The results shows that KDM3A over-expression suppresses the tumor-intrinsic IFN response and inhibits KDM3A, either genomically or pharmacologically, which effectively promotes IFN responses by activating endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). KDM3A ablation reconfigures the dsRNA-MAVS-IFN axis by modulating H3K4me2, enhancing the infiltration and function of CD8 T cells, and simultaneously reducing the presence of regulatory T cells, resulting in a reshaped TME in vivo. In addition, combining anti-PD1 therapy with KDM3A inhibition effectively inhibited tumor growth. In conclusions, this study highlights KDM3A as a potential target for TME remodeling and the enhancement of antitumor immunity in gastric cancer through the regulation of the ERV-MAVS-IFN axis.

Ultrasound-Activated PROTAC Prodrugs Overcome Immunosuppression to Actuate Efficient Deep-Tissue Sono-Immunotherapy in Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumor Mouse Models

The degradation of oncoproteins mediated by proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) has emerged as a potent strategy in cancer therapy. However, the clinical application of PROTACs is hampered by challenges such as poor water solubility and off-target adverse effects. Herein, we present an ultrasound (US)-activatable PROTAC prodrug termed NPCe6+PRO for actuating efficient sono-immunotherapy in a spatiotemporally controllable manner. Specifically, US irradiation, which exhibits deep-tissue penetration capability, results in Ce6-mediated generation of ROS, facilitating sonodynamic therapy (SDT) and inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD). Simultaneously, the generated ROS cleaves the thioketal (TK) linker through a ROS-responsive mechanism, realizing the on-demand activation of the PROTAC prodrug in deep tissues. This prodrug activation results in the degradation of the target protein BRD4, while simultaneously reversing the upregulation of PD-L1 expression associated with the SDT process. In the orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic tumors, NPCe6+PRO effectively suppressed tumor growth in conjunction with US stimulation.

Pharmaceutical Nanoplatforms Based on Self-nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery Systems for Optimal Transport and Co-delivery of siRNAs and Anticancer Drugs

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have the ability to induce selective gene silencing, although siRNAs are vulnerable to degradation in vivo. Various active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are currently used as effective therapeutics in the treatment of cancer. However, routes of administration are limited due to their physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties. This research aimed to develop oral pharmaceutical formulations based on self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) for optimal transport and co-delivery of siRNAs related to cancer and APIs. Formulations were developed using optimal mixing design (Design-Expert 11 software) for SNEDDS loading with siRNA (water/oil emulsion), API (oil/water emulsion), and siRNA-API (multiphase water/oil/water emulsion). The final formulations were characterized physicochemically and biologically. The nanosystems less than 50 nm in size had a drug loading above 48 %. The highest drug release occurred at intestinal pH, allowing drug protection in physiological fluids. SNEDDS-siRNA-APIs showed a twofold toxicity effect than APIs in solution and higher transfection and internalization of siRNA in cancer cells with respect to free siRNAs. In the duodenum, higher permeability was observed with SNEDDS-API than with the API solution, as determined by ex-vivo fluorescence microscopy. The multifunctional formulation based on SNEDDS was successfully prepared, siRNA, hydrophobic chemotherapeutics (doxorubicin, valrubicin and methotrexate) and photosensitizers (rhodamine b and protoporphyrin IX) agents were loaded, using a chitosan-RNA core, and Labrafil® M 1944 CS, Cremophor® RH40, phosphatidylcholine shell, forming stable hybrid SNEDDS as multiphasic emulsion, suitable as co-delivery system with a potent anticancer activity.

Pan-cancer analysis of T-cell proliferation regulatory genes as potential immunotherapeutic targets

T cells are the key to killing tumor cells. However, the exact mechanism of their role in cancer is not fully understood. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the role of T-cell proliferation regulatory genes in tumors is needed. In our study, we investigated the expression levels of genes controlling T-cell proliferation, their impact on prognosis, and their genetic variations. Additionally, we explored their associations with TMB, MSI, ESTIMATEScore, ImmuneScore, StromalScore, and immune cell infiltration. We examined the role of these genes in cancer-related pathways using GSEA. Furthermore, we calculated their activity levels across various types of cancer. Drug analysis was also conducted targeting these genes. Single-cell analysis, LASSO Cox model construction, and prognosis analysis were performed. We observed distinct expression patterns of T-cell proliferation regulatory genes across different malignant tumors. Their abnormal expression may be caused by CNA and DNA methylation. In certain cancers, they also showed complex associations with TMB and MSI. Moreover, in many tumors, they exhibited significant positive correlations with ESTIMATEScores, ImmuneScore, and StromalScore. Additionally, in most tumors, their GSVA scores were significantly positively correlated with various T-cell subtypes. GSEA analysis revealed their involvement in multiple immune pathways. Furthermore, we found that model scores were associated with patient prognosis and related to tumor malignancy progression. T-cell proliferation regulatory genes are closely associated with the tumor immune microenvironment (TIM), especially T cells. Targeting them may be an essential approach for cancer immunotherapy.

Microbial synthesis of anthocyanins and pyranoanthocyanins: current bottlenecks and potential solutions

Anthocyanins (ACNs) are secondary metabolites found in plants. Due to their impressive biological activities, ACNs have gained significant popularity and extensive application within the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. A derivative of ACNs: pyranoanthocyanins (PACNs) possesses more stable properties and interesting biological activities. However, conventional methods for the production of ACNs, including chemical synthesis and plant extraction, involve organic solvents. Microbial synthesis of ACNs from renewable biomass, such as amino acids or flavonoids, is considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for large-scale production of ACNs. Recently, the construction of microbial cell factories (MCFs) for the efficient biosynthesis of ACNs and PACNs has attracted much attention. In this review, we summarize the cases of microbial synthesis of ACNs, and analyze the bottlenecks in reconstructing the metabolic pathways for synthesizing PACNs in microorganisms. Consequently, there is an urgent need to investigate the mechanisms behind the development of MCFs for PACNs synthesis. Such research also holds significant promise for advancing the production of food pigments. Meanwhile, we propose potential solutions to the bottleneck problem based on metabolic engineering and enzyme engineering. Finally, the development prospects of natural food and biotechnology are discussed.

Nanodrugs based on co-delivery strategies to combat cisplatin resistance

Cisplatin (CDDP), as a broad-spectrum anticancer drug, is able to bind to DNA and inhibit cell division. Despite the widespread use of cisplatin since its discovery, cisplatin resistance developed during prolonged chemotherapy, similar to other small molecule chemotherapeutic agents, severely limits its clinical application. Cisplatin resistance in cancer cells is mainly caused by three reasons: DNA repair, decreased cisplatin uptake/increased efflux, and cisplatin inactivation. In earlier combination therapies, the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells prevented the achievement of the desired therapeutic effect even with the accurate combination of two chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, combination therapy using nanocarriers for co-delivery of drugs is considered to be ideal for alleviating cisplatin resistance and reducing cisplatin-related toxicity in cancer cells. This article provides an overview of the design of cisplatin nano-drugs used to combat cancer cell resistance, elucidates the mechanisms of action of cisplatin and the pathways through which cancer cells develop resistance, and finally discusses the design of drugs and related carriers that can synergistically reduce cancer resistance when combined with cisplatin.

Nanoparticle-Mediated Synergistic Chemoimmunotherapy for Cancer Treatment

Until now, there has been a lack of effective strategies for cancer treatment. Immunotherapy has high potential in treating several cancers but its efficacy is limited as a monotherapy. Chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) holds promise to be widely used in cancer treatment. Therefore, identifying their involvement and potential synergy in CIT approaches is decisive. Nano-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs) are ideal delivery systems because they can simultaneously target immune cells and cancer cells, promoting drug accumulation, and reducing the toxicity of the drug. In this review, we first introduce five current immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint blocking (ICB), adoptive cell transfer therapy (ACT), cancer vaccines, oncolytic virus therapy (OVT) and cytokine therapy. Subsequently, the immunomodulatory effects of chemotherapy by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD), promoting tumor killer cell infiltration, down-regulating immunosuppressive cells, and inhibiting immune checkpoints have been described. Finally, the NDDSs-mediated collaborative drug delivery systems have been introduced in detail, and the development of NDDSs-mediated CIT nanoparticles has been prospected.

A fully biodegradable spherical nucleic acid nanoplatform for self-codelivery of doxorubicin and miR122 for innate and adaptive immunity activation

Facile construction of a fully biodegradable spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanoplatform is highly desirable for clinical translations but remains rarely explored. We developed herein the first polycarbonate-based biodegradable SNA nanoplatform for self-codelivery of a chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin (DOX), and a human liver-specific miR122 for synergistic chemo-gene therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of a carbonate monomer leads to a well-defined polycarbonate backbone for subsequent DOX conjugation to the pendant side chains via acidic pH-cleavage Schiff base links and miR122 incorporation to the chain termini via click coupling, affording an amphiphilic polycarbonate-DOX-miR122 conjugate, PBis-Mpa30-DOX-miR122 that can self-assemble into stabilized SNA. Besides the desired biodegradability, another notable merit of this nanoplatform is the use of miR122 not only for gene therapy but also for enhanced innate immune response. Together with the ICD-triggering effect of DOX, PBis-Mpa30-DOX-miR122 SNA-mediated DOX and miR122 codelivery leads to synergistic immunogenicity enhancement, resulting in tumor growth inhibition value (TGI) of 98.1 % significantly higher than those of the groups treated with only drug or gene in a Hepa1-6-tumor-bearing mice model. Overall, this study develops a useful strategy toward biodegradable SNA construction, and presents a drug and gene-based self-codelivery SNA with synergistic immunogenicity enhancement for efficient HCC therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Facile construction of a fully biodegradable SNA nanoplatform is useful for in vivo applications but remains relatively unexplored likely due to the synthetic challenge. We report herein construction of a polycarbonate-based SNA nanoplatform for co-delivering a chemotherapeutic drug, DOX, and a human liver-specific miR-122 for synergistic HCC treatment. In addition to the desired biodegradability properties, this SNA nanoplatform integrates DOX-triggered ICD and miR-122-enhanced innate immunity for simultaneously activating adaptive and innate immunities, which leads to potent antitumor efficiency with a TGI value of 98.1 % in a Hepa1-6-tumor-bearing mice model.

Camptothesome-based combination nanotherapeutic regimen for improved colorectal cancer immunochemotherapy

Camptothesome is a sphingomyelin-conjugated camptothecin (SM-CSS-CPT) nanovesicle that fortified the therapeutic delivery of CPT in diverse cancer types. To mitigate the Camptothesome-induced IDO1 negative feedback mechanism, we had co-encapsulated, indoximod (IND, IDO1 inhibitor) into Camptothesome using doxorubicin-derived IND (DOX-IND). To maximize the therapeutic potential of DOX-IND/Camptothesome, herein, we first dissected the synergistic drug ratio (DOX-IND/SM-CSS-CPT) via systematical in vitro screening. DOX-IND/Camptothesome with optimal drug ratio synchronized in vivo drug delivery with significantly higher tumor uptake compared to free drugs. This optimum DOX-IND/Camptothesome outperformed the combination of Camptothesome, Doxil and IND or other IDO1 inhibitors (BMS-986205 or epacadostat) in treating mice bearing late-stage MC38 tumors, and combination with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) enabled it to eradicate 60 % of large tumors. Further, this optimized co-delivery Camptothesome beat Folfox and Folfiri, two first-line combination chemotherapies for colorectal cancer in antitumor efficacy and exhibited no side effects as compared to the severe systemic toxicities associated with Folfox and Folfiri. Finally, we demonstrated that the synergistic DOX-IND/Camptothesome was superior to the combined use of Onivyde + Doxil + IND in curbing the advanced orthotopic CT26-Luc tumors and eliminated 40 % tumors with complete metastasis remission when cooperated with ICB, eliciting stronger anti-CRC immune responses and greater reversal of immunosuppression. These results corroborated that with precise optimal synergistic drug ratio, the therapeutic potential of DOX-IND/Camptothesome can be fully unleased, which warrants further clinical investigation to benefit the cancer patients.

Multi-functional nanomedicines for combinational cancer immunotherapy that transform cold tumors to hot tumors

INTRODUCTION

Currently, cancer immunotherapy is widely used as a groundbreaking method that can completely cure advanced cancers. However, this new immunotherapy has the challenge of low patient response, which is often due to many patients' tumors having an immunosuppressive environment, known as cold tumors.

AREAS COVERED

This review aims to introduce various nanomedicine-derived combinational cancer immunotherapy that can transform cold tumor into hot tumors. Initially, we discuss new technologies for combinational immunotherapy based on multifunctional nanomedicines that can deliver combinational immunogenic cell death (ICD) inducers, immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) and immune modulators (IMs) to targeted tumor tissues at the same time. Ultimately, we highlight how multifunctional nanomedicines for combinational cancer immunotherapy can be used to transform cold tumor into hot tumors against advanced cancers.

EXPERT OPINION

Nanomedicine-derived combinational cancer immunotherapy for delivering multiple ICD inducers, ICBs, and IMs at the same time is recognized as a new potential technology that can activate tumor immunity and simultaneously increase the therapeutic efficacy of immune cells that can transform effectively the cold tumors into hot tumors. Finally, nanomedicine-derived combinational cancer immunotherapy can solve the serious problems of low therapeutic efficacy that occurs when treating single drug or simple combinational drugs in cancer immunotherapy.

In situ injectable hydrogel encapsulating Mn/NO-based immune nano-activator for prevention of postoperative tumor recurrence

Postoperative tumor recurrence remains a predominant cause of treatment failure. In this study, we developed an in situ injectable hydrogel, termed MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel, which was locally formed within the tumor resection cavity. The MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel was fabricated by mixing a thrombin solution, a fibrinogen solution containing all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and a Mn/NO-based immune nano-activator termed MPB-NO@DOX. ATRA promoted the differentiation of cancer stem cells, inhibited cancer cell migration, and affected the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages. The outer MnO2 shell disintegrated due to its reaction with glutathione and hydrogen peroxide in the cytoplasm to release Mn2+ and produce O2, resulting in the release of doxorubicin (DOX). The released DOX entered the nucleus and destroyed DNA, and the fragmented DNA cooperated with Mn2+ to activate the cGAS-STING pathway and stimulate an anti-tumor immune response. In addition, when MPB-NO@DOX was exposed to 808 nm laser irradiation, the Fe-NO bond was broken to release NO, which downregulated the expression of PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells and reversed the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In conclusion, the MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel exhibited excellent anti-tumor efficacy. The results of this study demonstrated the great potential of in situ injectable hydrogels in preventing postoperative tumor recurrence.

Cholesterol-modified sphingomyelin chimeric lipid bilayer for improved therapeutic delivery

Cholesterol (Chol) fortifies packing and reduces fluidity and permeability of the lipid bilayer in vesicles (liposomes)-mediated drug delivery. However, under the physiological environment, Chol is rapidly extracted from the lipid bilayer by biomembranes, which jeopardizes membrane stability and results in premature leakage for delivered payloads, yielding suboptimal clinic efficacy. Herein, we report a Chol-modified sphingomyelin (SM) lipid bilayer via covalently conjugating Chol to SM (SM-Chol), which retains membrane condensing ability of Chol. Systemic structure activity relationship screening demonstrates that SM-Chol with a disulfide bond and longer linker outperforms other counterparts and conventional phospholipids/Chol mixture systems on blocking Chol transfer and payload leakage, increases maximum tolerated dose of vincristine while reducing systemic toxicities, improves pharmacokinetics and tumor delivery efficiency, and enhances antitumor efficacy in SU-DHL-4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma xenograft model in female mice. Furthermore, SM-Chol improves therapeutic delivery of structurally diversified therapeutic agents (irinotecan, doxorubicin, dexamethasone) or siRNA targeting multi-drug resistant gene (p-glycoprotein) in late-stage metastatic orthotopic KPC-Luc pancreas cancer, 4T1-Luc2 triple negative breast cancer, lung inflammation, and CT26 colorectal cancer animal models in female mice compared to respective FDA-approved nanotherapeutics or lipid compositions. Thus, SM-Chol represents a promising platform for universal and improved drug delivery.

Intracellular Magnetic Hyperthermia Enables Concurrent Down-Regulation of CD47 and SIRPα To Potentiate Antitumor Immunity

Harnessing the potential of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to engulf tumor cells offers promising avenues for cancer therapy. Targeting phagocytosis checkpoints, particularly the CD47-signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) axis, is crucial for modulating TAM activity. However, single checkpoint inhibition has shown a limited efficacy. In this study, we demonstrate that ferrimagnetic vortex-domain iron oxide (FVIO) nanoring-mediated magnetic hyperthermia effectively suppresses the expression of CD47 protein on Hepa1-6 tumor cells and SIRPα receptor on macrophages, which disrupts CD47-SIRPα interaction. FVIO-mediated magnetic hyperthermia also induces immunogenic cell death and polarizes TAMs toward M1 phenotype. These changes collectively bolster the phagocytic ability of macrophages to eliminate tumor cells. Furthermore, FVIO-mediated magnetic hyperthermia concurrently escalates cytotoxic T lymphocyte levels and diminishes regulatory T cell levels. Our findings reveal that magnetic hyperthermia offers a novel approach for dual down-regulation of CD47 and SIRPα, reshaping the tumor microenvironment to stimulate immune responses, culminating in significant antitumor activity.

Immunogenic Bifunctional Nanoparticle Suppresses Programmed Cell Death-Ligand 1 in Cancer and Dendritic Cells to Enhance Adaptive Immunity and Chemo-Immunotherapy

Blockade of programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoints with monoclonal antibodies has shown great promise for cancer treatment, but these antibodies can cause immune-related adverse events in normal organs. Here we report a dual-cell targeted chemo-immunotherapeutic nanoscale coordination polymer (NCP), OxPt/BP, comprising oxaliplatin (OxPt) and 2-bromopalmitic acid (BP), for effective downregulation of PD-L1 expression in both cancer cells and dendritic cells (DCs) by inhibiting palmitoyl acyltransferase DHHC3. OxPt/BP efficiently promotes DC maturation by increasing intracellular oxidative stress and enhancing OxPt-induced immunostimulatory immunogenic cancer cell death. Systemic administration of OxPt/BP reduces the growth of subcutaneous and orthotopic colorectal carcinoma by facilitating the infiltration and activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes together with reducing the population of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells. As a result, OxPt/BP significantly extends mouse survival without causing side effects. This work highlights the potential of NCPs in simultaneously reprogramming cancer cells and DCs for potent cancer treatment.

Nuclear-Targeted Nanostrategy Regulates Spatiotemporal Communication for Dual Antitumor Immunity

Intercellular communication between tumor cells and immune cells regulates tumor progression including positive communication with immune activation and negative communication with immune escape. An increasing number of methods are employed to suppress the dominant negative communication in tumors such as PD-L1/PD-1. However, how to effectively improve positive communication is still a challenge. In this study, a nuclear-targeted photodynamic nanostrategy is developed to establish positive spatiotemporal communication, further activating dual antitumor immunity, namely innate and adaptative immunity. The mSiO2 -Ion@Ce6-NLS nanoparticles (NPs) are designed, whose surface is modified by ionic liquid silicon (Ion) and nuclear localization signal peptide (NLS: PKKKRKV), and their pores are loaded with the photosensitizer hydrogen chloride e6 (Ce6). Ion-modified NPs enhance intratumoral enrichment, and NLS-modified NPs exhibit nuclear-targeted characteristics to achieve nuclear-targeted photodynamic therapy (nPDT). mSiO2 -Ion@Ce6-NLS with nPDT facilitate the release of damaged double-stranded DNA from tumor cells to activate macrophages via stimulator of interferon gene signaling and induce the immunogenic cell death of tumor cells to activate dendritic cells via "eat me" signals, ultimately leading to the recruitment of CD8+ T-cells. This therapy effectively strengthens positive communication to reshape the dual antitumor immune microenvironment, further inducing long-term immune memory, and eventually inhibiting tumor growth and recurrence.

Nanoscale Covalent Organic Framework with Staggered Stacking of Phthalocyanines for Mitochondria-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy

Phthalocyanine photosensitizers (PSs) have shown promise in fluorescence imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of malignant tumors, but their practical application is limited by the aggregation-induced quenching (AIQ) and inherent photobleaching of PSs. Herein, we report the synthesis of a two-dimensional nanoscale covalent organic framework (nCOF) with staggered (AB) stacking of zinc-phthalocyanines (ZnPc), ZnPc-PI, for fluorescence imaging and mitochondria-targeted PDT. ZnPc-PI isolates and confines ZnPc PSs in the rigid nCOF to reduce AIQ, improve photostability, enhance cellular uptake, and increase the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation via mitochondrial targeting. ZnPc-PI shows efficient tumor accumulation, which allowed precise tumor imaging and nanoparticle tracking. With high cellular uptake and tumor accumulation, intrinsic mitochondrial targeting, and enhanced ROS generation, ZnPc-PI exhibits potent PDT efficacy with >95% tumor growth inhibition on two murine colon cancer models without causing side effects.

A nanocomposite hydrogel for co-delivery of multiple anti-biofilm therapeutics to enhance the treatment of bacterial biofilm-related infections

The characteristics of biofilms have exacerbated the issue of clinical antibiotic resistance, rendering it a pressing challenge in need of resolution. The combination of biofilm-dispersing agents and antibiotics can eliminate biofilms and promote healing synergistically in infected wounds. In this study, we developed a novel nanocomposite hydrogel (NC gel) comprised of the poly(lactic acid)-hyperbranched polyglycerol (PLA-HPG) based bioadhesive nanoparticles (BNPs) and a hydrophilic carboxymethyl chitosan (CS) network. The NC gel was designed to co-deliver two biofilm-dispersing agents (an NO-donor SNO, and an α-amylase Am) and an antibiotic, cefepime (Cef), utilizing a synergistic anti-biofilm mechanism in which Am loosens the matrix structure and NO promotes the release of biofilm bacteria via quorum sensing, and Cef kills bacteria. The drug-loaded NC gel (SNO/BNP/CS@Am-Cef) demonstrated sustained drug release, minimal cytotoxicity, and increased drug-bacterial interactions at the site of infection. When applied to mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms in vivo, SNO/BNP/CS@Am-Cef enhanced biofilm elimination and promoted wound healing compared to traditional antibiotic treatments. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of the co-delivery of biofilm-dispersing agents and antibiotics using the NC gel and presents a promising approach for the polytherapy of bacterial biofilm-related infections.

Advances on structure, bioactivity, and biosynthesis of amino acid-containing trans-AT polyketides

Trans-AT polyketides represent a class of natural compounds utilizing independent acyltransferase during their biosynthesis. They are well known for their diverse chemical structures and potent bioactivities. Trans-AT polyketides are synthesized through biosynthetic gene clusters predominantly composed of polyketide synthases (PKS), but often found in hybrid with non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). This genetic hybridization results in the incorporation of amino acid residues into polyketide structures, significantly enhancing their structural diversity. Numerous amino acid-containing trans-AT polyketides have been identified, drawing significant attention to the mechanisms underlying amino acid incorporation and their impact on the biological activity of polyketides. Here, we discussed their origins, structures, biological activities, and the specific roles of amino acids in modulating both the bioactivity and biosynthesis of 38 trans-AT polyketides containing amino acids for the first time. This comprehensive analysis will serve as a crucial reference for the exploration of novel compounds and the improvement of structures and activities.

Improving nanochemoimmunotherapy efficacy by boosting "eat-me" signaling and downregulating "don't-eat-me" signaling with Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide-based drug delivery

To address the challenges posed by low immunogenicity and immune checkpoints during cancer treatment, we propose an alternative strategy that combines immunogenic cell death (ICD) effects with CD47/SIRPα blockade to reactivate phagocytosis of tumor cells by macrophages with polysaccharide-based drug delivery. In this study, the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib was identified as a novel CD47 modulator, which promoted the translocation of CD47 molecules from the cell membrane to endosomes through the EGFR-Rab5 pathway, leading to reduced cell surface CD47 levels and limiting interaction with SIRPα. Based on this finding, we developed prophagocytic mixed nanodrugs to enhance macrophage phagocytosis by encapsulating ICD inducer doxorubicin and CD47 inhibitor gefitinib with immunostimulatory polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum. This approach downregulated cell surface CD47 expression to attenuate "don't-eat-me" signaling, while increasing doxorubicin accumulation in tumors by inhibiting drug-resistance proteins, leading to more exposure of calreticulin and amplifying the "eat-me" signaling. In vivo experiments demonstrated that this approach significantly suppressed intraperitoneal tumor dissemination, reversed doxorubicin-induced weight loss, and effectively induced macrophage polarization, dendritic cell maturation, and CD8+ T cell activation. These findings highlighted the significant potential of our macrophage-centered therapeutic strategy using polysaccharide-based nanocarriers and provided new perspectives for chemoimmunotherapy.

Inhibition of demethylase by IOX1 modulates chromatin accessibility to enhance NSCLC radiation sensitivity through attenuated PIF1

Chromatin accessibility is a critical determinant of gene transcriptional expression and regulated by histones modification. However, the potential for manipulating chromatin accessibility to regulate radiation sensitivity remains unclear. Our findings demonstrated that the histone demethylase inhibitor, 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (IOX1), could enhance the radiosensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, IOX1 treatment reduced chromatin accessibility in the promoter region of DNA damage repair genes, leading to decreased DNA repair efficiency and elevated DNA damage induced by γ irradiation. Notably, IOX1 treatment significantly reduced both chromatin accessibility and the transcription of phytochrome interacting factor 1 (PIF1), a key player in telomere maintenance. Inhibition of PIF1 delayed radiation-induced DNA and telomeric DNA damage repair, as well as increased radiosensitivity of NSCLC in vitro and in vivo. Further study indicated that the above process was regulated by a reduction of transcription factor myc-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) binding to the distal intergenic region of the PIF1. Taken together, IOX1-mediated demethylase inactivation reduced chromatin accessibility, leading to elevated telomere damage which is partly due to PIF1 inhibition, thereby enhancing NSCLC radiosensitivity.

IOX1 epigenetically enhanced photothermal therapy of 3D-printing silicene scaffolds against osteosarcoma with favorable bone regeneration

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the third most common malignancy in adolescence. Currently, the treatments of OS confront great obstacles of tumor recurrence and critical bone defects after surgery, severely affecting the survival rates and living qualities of patients. Hence, it is urged to develop distinct biomaterials with both efficient tumor therapeutic and osteogenic functions. Although photothermal therapy (PTT) has aroused expanding interest, characterizing negligible invasiveness and high spatiotemporal adjustment, few studies discussed its drawbacks, such as thermal injury to adjacent normal tissue and exceeded laser power density, implying that focusing on sensitizing OS to PTT instead of simply elevating the laser power density may be a fresh way to enhance the PTT efficacy and attenuate the side/adverse effects. Herein, we successfully constructed 3D-printing silicene bioactive glass scaffolds with preferable PTT efficacy at the second near-infrared (NIR-II) biowindow and outstanding osteogenic biofunctions owing to the release of bioactive elements during degradation. Impressively, a histone demethylase inhibitor, IOX1, was introduced before PTT to sensitize OS to thermal therapy and minimize the side/adverse effects. This work offered a distinctive paradigm for optimizing the PTT efficacy of osteogenic scaffolds against OS with epigenetic modulation agents.

Nanoscale coordination polymer synergizes photodynamic therapy and toll-like receptor activation for enhanced antigen presentation and antitumor immunity

While activating antitumor immunity with toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists provides a promising approach toward cancer immunotherapy, existing TLR agonists, including resiquimod (R848), have shown poor tumor selectivity and ineffective TLR activation in tumors for optimal antitumor effects. We hypothesized that improved delivery of TLR agonists to tumors and their effective combination with tumor antigens could significantly enhance their antitumor efficacy. Here, we report a novel nanoscale coordination polymer, Ce6/R848, for the co-delivery of Ce6 photosensitizer to elicit immunogenic cell death via photodynamic therapy (PDT) and cholesterol-conjugated R848 (Chol-R848) for tumor-selective TLR7/8 activation. Upon light irradiation, Ce6-mediated PDT released tumor antigens while selectively delivered R848 activated TLR7/8 in the tumors to synergistically activate antigen-presenting cells and prime T cells for enhanced innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses. Ce6/R848 achieved a 50% cure rate and 99.4% inhibition of tumor growth in subcutaneous MC38 colorectal tumors with minimal systemic toxicity.

Chemotherapy-Induced Neoantigen Nanovaccines Enhance Checkpoint Blockade Cancer Immunotherapy

Chemotherapeutics have the potential to increase the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies by stimulating the production of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and eliciting mutations that result in the production of neoantigens, thereby increasing the immunogenicity of cancerous lesions. However, the dose-limiting toxicity and limited immunogenicity of chemotherapeutics are not sufficient to induce a robust antitumor response. We hypothesized that cancer cells in vitro treated with ultrahigh doses of various chemotherapeutics artificially increased the abundance, variety, and specificity of DAMPs and neoantigens, thereby improving chemoimmunotherapy. The in vitro chemotherapy-induced (IVCI) nanovaccines manufactured from cell lysates comprised multiple neoantigens and DAMPs, thereby exhibiting comprehensive antigenicity and adjuvanticity. Our IVCI nanovaccines exhibited enhanced immune responses in CT26 tumor-bearing mice, with a significant increase in CD4+/CD8+ T cells in tumors in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The concept of IVCI nanovaccines provides an idea for manufacturing and artificial enhancement of immunogenicity vaccines to improve chemoimmunotherapy.

Dual Synergistic Tumor-Specific Polymeric Nanoparticles for Efficient Chemo-Immunotherapy

Chemo-immunotherapy has made significant progress in cancer treatment. However, the cancer cell self-defense mechanisms, including cell cycle checkpoint and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) upregulation, have greatly hindered the therapeutic efficacy. Herein, norcantharidin (NCTD)-platinum (Pt) codelivery nanoparticles (NC-NP) with tumor-sensitive release profiles are designed to overcome the self-defense mechanisms via synergistic chemo-immunotherapy. NC-NP remains stable under normal physiological conditions but quickly releases 1,2-diaminocyclohexane-platinum(II) (DACHPt, a parent drug of oxaliplatin) and NCTD in response to the tumor acidity. NCTD inhibits protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity to relieve cell cycle arrest and downregulates the tumor PD-L1 expression to disrupt the programmed cell death-1 (PD-1)/PD-L1 interaction, synergistically enhancing Pt-based chemotherapy and immunogenic cell death-induced immunotherapy. As a result, NC-NP exhibits potent synergistic cytotoxicity and promotes T cell recruitment to generate robust antitumor immune responses. The dual synergism exhibits potent antitumor activity against orthotopic 4T1 tumors, providing a promising chemo-immunotherapy paradigm for cancer treatment.

NIR diagnostic imaging of triple-negative breast cancer and its lymph node metastasis for high-efficiency hypoxia-activated multimodal therapy

BACKGROUND

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) possesses special biological behavior and clinicopathological characteristics, which is highly invasive and propensity to metastasize to lymph nodes, leading to a worse prognosis than other types of breast cancer. Thus, the development of an effective therapeutic method is significant to improve the survival rate of TNBC patients.

RESULTS

In this work, a liposome-based theranostic nanosystem (ILA@Lip) was successfully prepared by simultaneously encapsulating IR 780 as the photosensitizer and lenvatinib as an anti-angiogenic agent, together with banoxantrone (AQ4N) molecule as the hypoxia-activated prodrug. The ILA@Lip can be applied for the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence diagnostic imaging of TNBC and its lymph node metastasis for multimodal therapy. Lenvatinib in ILA@Lip can inhibit angiogenesis by cutting oxygen supply, thereby leading to enhanced hypoxia levels. Meanwhile, large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were produced while IR 780 was irradiated by an 808 nm laser, which also rapidly exhausted oxygen in tumor cells to worsen tumor hypoxia. Through creating an extremely hypoxic in TNBC, the conversion of non-toxic AQ4N to toxic AQ4 was much more efficiency for hypoxia-activated chemotherapy. Cytotoxicity assay of ILA@Lip indicated excellent biocompatibility with normal cells and tissues, but showed high toxicity in hypoxic breast cancer cells. Also, the in vivo tumors treated by the ILA@Lip with laser irradiation were admirably suppressed in both subcutaneous tumor model and orthotopic tumor models.

CONCLUSION

Utilizing ILA@Lip is a profound strategy to create an extremely hypoxic tumor microenvironment for higher therapeutic efficacy of hypoxia-activated chemotherapy, which realized collective suppression of tumor growth and has promising potential for clinical translation.

Review of the Role of Nanotechnology in Overcoming the Challenges Faced in Oral Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Throughout the world, oral cancer is a common and aggressive malignancy with a high risk of morbidity, mortality, and recurrence. The importance of early detection in cancer prevention and disease treatment cannot be overstated. Conventional therapeutic strategies have minor difficulties but considerable side effects and unfavourable consequences in clinical applications. Hence, there is a requirement for effective ways for early detection and treatment of oral cancer. At present, numerous forms of nanoparticles have piqued researchers' interest as a potentially useful tool for diagnostic probes and medicinal devices. Because of their inherent physicochemical properties and customizable surface modification, they are able to circumvent some of restrictions and accomplish the intended diagnostic and therapeutic impact. Nanotechnology is a unique field that has revolutionised the industry and is paving the way for new treatments for oral cancer. It can help with a better diagnosis with less harmful substances and is setting current guidelines for treatment. The use of nanotechnology in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and care improves clinical practise dramatically. The different types of nanoparticles that have been developed for the diagnosis and therapy of oral cancers will be covered in this study. The difficulties and potential uses of nanoparticles in the treatment and diagnosis of oral cancer are then highlighted. In order to emphasise existing difficulties and potential remedies for oral cancer, a prospective view of the future is also provided.

Role of β-catenin in PD-L1 expression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a particular type of tumor connected to Epstein-Barr virus infection, genetic, and environmental factors. It is typically discovered late, with few therapeutic options and poor clinical outcomes. Cellular immune responses can be attenuated when programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) are combined. Although PD-1 inhibitors have a different anti-tumor response rate than chemotherapy alone, they can nevertheless considerably outperform chemotherapy in patients with metastatic or recurrent NPC. The nuclear β-catenin can bind to the CD274 promoter region, promoting transcription and upregulating the expression of tumor-specific PD-L1. Separation of β-catenin from E-cadherin and translocation it into nucleus were both aided by β-catenin phosphorylates at the Tyr654 site. Its function in NPC and the expression of PD-L1 have not yet been investigated. This study investigated the predictive significance of PD-L1 and p-β-catenin^Tyr654 expressions in NPC. Our findings indicated that patients with distant metastases or poor prognoses exhibited higher levels of PD-L1 and p-β-catenin^Tyr654 expressions. According to Cox multivariate prognostic analysis, PD-L1 was also an effective indicator for predicting the survival status of patients with NPC. We subsequently demonstrated that PD-L1 transcription and protein production could be downregulated by targeting inhibition of the level of β-catenin in NPC cells. This is for developing the β-catenin or TCF4 inhibitor as a potential new option for immune checkpoint immunosuppression in NPC.

Glutathione-Scavenging Nanoparticle-Mediated PROTACs Delivery for Targeted Protein Degradation and Amplified Antitumor Effects

PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (PROTACs) are an emerging class of promising therapeutic modalities that selectively degrade intracellular proteins of interest by hijacking the ubiquitin-proteasome system. However, the lack of techniques to efficiently transport these degraders to targeted cells and consequently the potential toxicity of PROTACs limit their clinical applications. Here, a strategy of nanoengineered PROTACs, that is, Nano-PROTACs, is reported, which improves the bioavailability of PROTACs and maximizes their capacity to therapeutically degrade intracellular oncogenic proteins for tumor therapy. The Nano-PROTACs are developed by encapsulating PROTACs in glutathione (GSH)-responsive poly(disulfide amide) polymeric (PDSA) nanoparticles and show that ARV@PDSA Nano-PROTAC, nanoengineered BRD4 degrader ARV-771, improves BRD4 protein degradation and decreases the downstream oncogene c-Myc expression. Benefiting from the GSH-scavenging ability to amply the c-Myc-related ferroptosis and cell cycle arrest, this ARV@PDSA Nano-PROTACs strategy shows superior anti-tumor efficacy with a low dose administration and good biocompatibility in vivo. The findings reveal the potential of the Nano-PROTACs strategy to treat a broad range of diseases by dismantling associated pathogenic proteins.

Lipid-based nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy

As the fourth most important cancer management strategy except surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, cancer immunotherapy has been confirmed to elicit durable antitumor effects in the clinic by leveraging the patient's own immune system to eradicate the cancer cells. However, the limited population of patients who benefit from the current immunotherapies and the immune related adverse events hinder its development. The immunosuppressive microenvironment is the main cause of the failure, which leads to cancer immune evasion and immunity cycle blockade. Encouragingly, nanotechnology has been engineered to enhance the efficacy and reduce off-target toxicity of their therapeutic cargos by spatiotemporally controlling the biodistribution and release kinetics. Among them, lipid-based nanoparticles are the first nanomedicines to make clinical translation, which are now established platforms for diverse areas. In this perspective, we discuss the available lipid-based nanoparticles in research and market here, then describe their application in cancer immunotherapy, with special emphasis on the T cells-activated and macrophages-targeted delivery system. Through perpetuating each step of cancer immunity cycle, lipid-based nanoparticles can reduce immunosuppression and promote drug delivery to trigger robust antitumor response.

Breaking Spatiotemporal Barriers of Immunogenic Chemotherapy via an Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane-Assisted Liposomal Drug Delivery

Immunogenic chemotherapy is a promising approach in cancer treatment, but the number of drugs capable of inducing immunogenic cell death is limited, and chronic immunogenic exposure can delay antitumor immune response and be counteracted by immunosuppressive factors. In this study, we used single-cell and multilevel analyses to highlight the critical importance of the first exposure to calreticulin (CRT) in eliciting immunogenicity. We then developed the ERASION (endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to assist (AS) the presentation of intrinsic onco-immunogenicity (ION)) strategy, leveraging the high expression of functional proteins, including CRT, on the ER membrane. ER membrane-coated liposome (ER@PLip) was able to target the tumor and immune effectors and promoted dendritic cell maturation and T cell infiltration. This enabled eliciting an immunogenic effect from a nonimmunogenic chemotherapeutic drug. By utilizing the ER membrane-associated STING protein, ERASION enabled activating the STING pathway and the generation of adaptive antitumor immunity. This study presents a potential universal platform for integrating traditional chemotherapy and therapeutic modalities.

Advanced Biomaterials with Intrinsic Immunomodulation Effects for Cancer Immunotherapy

In recent years, tumor immunotherapy has achieved significant success in tumor treatment based on immune checkpoint blockers and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. However, about 70-80% of patients with solid tumors do not respond to immunotherapy due to immune evasion. Recent studies found that some biomaterials have intrinsic immunoregulatory effects, except serve as carriers for immunoregulatory drugs. Moreover, these biomaterials have additional advantages such as easy functionalization, modification, and customization. In this review, the recent advances of these immunoregulatory biomaterials in cancer immunotherapy and their interaction with cancer cells, immune cells, and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment are summarized. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of immunoregulatory biomaterials used in the clinic and the prospect of their future in cancer immunotherapy are discussed.

A Three-in-One Nanoscale Coordination Polymer for Potent Chemo-Immunotherapy

The addition of immune checkpoint blockade to standard chemotherapy has changed the standards of care for some cancer patients. However, current chemo-immunotherapy strategies do not benefit most colorectal cancer patients and many triple-negative breast cancer patients. Here, the design of a three-in-one nanoscale coordination polymer (NCP), OX/GC/CQ, comprising prodrugs of oxaliplatin (OX), gemcitabine (GC), and 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (CQ) for triple-modality chemo-immunotherapy is reported. OX/GC/CQ exhibits optimal pharmacokinetics and enhanced particle accumulation and drug release in acidic tumor tissues, wherein CQ greatly enhances immunogenic cell death induced by OX/GC and downregulates programmed cell death-ligand 1  expression in cancer cells. Consequently, OX/GC/CQ efficiently promotes infiltration and activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, while decreasing the proportion of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells. Intravenous injection of OX/GC/CQ reduces the growth of colorectal carcinoma and triple-negative breast cancer, prevents metastasis to lungs, and extends mouse survival by 30-40 days compared to free drugs. This work highlights the potential of NCPs in co-delivering synergistic chemo-immunotherapeutics for the treatment of advanced and aggressive cancers.

Doxorubicin Detoxification in Healthy Organs Improves Tolerability to High Drug Doses for Enhanced Antitumor Therapy

With its well-documented toxicity, the use of doxorubicin (Dox) for cancer treatment requires trade-offs between safety and effectiveness. This limited use of Dox also hinders its functionality as an immunogenic cell death inducer, thus impeding its usefulness for immunotherapeutic applications. Here, we develop a biomimetic pseudonucleus nanoparticle (BPN-KP) by enclosing GC-rich DNA within erythrocyte membrane modified with a peptide to selectively target healthy tissue. By localizing treatment to organs susceptible to Dox-mediated toxicity, BPN-KP acts as a decoy that prevents the drug from intercalating into the nuclei of healthy cells. This results in significantly increased tolerance to Dox, thereby enabling the delivery of high drug doses into tumor tissue without detectable toxicity. By lessening the leukodepletive effects normally associated with chemotherapy, dramatic immune activation within the tumor microenvironment was also observed after treatment. In three different murine tumor models, high-dose Dox with BPN-KP pretreatment resulted in significantly prolonged survival, particularly when combined with immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Overall, this study demonstrates how targeted detoxification using biomimetic nanotechnology can help to unlock the full potential of traditional chemotherapeutics.

IOX-1 suppresses metastasis of osteosarcoma by upregulating histone H3 lysine trimethylation

New therapeutic approaches are needed for metastatic osteosarcoma (OS), as survival rates remain low despite surgery and chemotherapy. Epigenetic changes, such as histone H3 methylation, play key roles in many cancers including OS, although the underlying mechanisms are not clear. In this study, human OS tissue and OS cell lines displayed lower levels of histone H3 lysine trimethylation compared with normal bone tissue and osteoblast cells. Treating OS cells with the histone lysine demethylase inhibitor 5-carboxy-8-hydroxyquinoline (IOX-1) dose-dependently increased histone H3 methylation and inhibited cellular migratory and invasive capabilities, suppressed matrix metalloproteinase expression, reversed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by increasing levels of epithelial markers E-cadherin and ZO-1 and decreasing the expression of mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, vimentin, and TWIST, and also reduced stemness properties. An analysis of cultivated MG63 cisplatin-resistant (MG63-CR) cells revealed lower histone H3 lysine trimethylation levels compared with levels in MG63 cells. Exposing MG63-CR cells to IOX-1 increased histone H3 trimethylation and ATP-binding cassette transporter expression, potentially sensitizing MG63-CR cells to cisplatin. In conclusion, our study suggests that histone H3 lysine trimethylation is associated with metastatic OS and that IOX-1 or other epigenetic modulators present promising strategies to inhibit metastatic OS progression.

Carbon Dots and Tumor Antigen Conjugates as Nanovaccines for Elevated Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy has become one of the current research hotspots. However, the deficiencies including restricted immunogenicity, insufficient antigen presentation, and low responsive rate limited their therapeutic applications. Own to the small size and excellent biocompatibility, carbon dots (CDs) can serve as nanovectors to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Herein, a tumor antigen-based nanovaccines (GMal+B16F10-Ag and GMal+CT26-Ag) by the conjugation of CDs with the tumor cell-derived antigens (B16F10-Ag and CT26-Ag) is constructed. These nanovaccines can be effectively taken up by dendritic cells (DC2.4), promote DC cell maturation, cross-present the antigen to T cells, specifically target B16F10 melanoma or CT26 colon cancers, and inhibit tumor growth distinctly. This work illustrates the promise of CDs acting as versatile carriers for antigen delivery to achieve the optimal immunotherapeutic outcomes.

A Polymeric Extracellular Matrix Nanoremodeler for Activatable Cancer Photo-Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy has shown tremendous potential to train the intrinsic immune system against malignancy in the clinic. However, the extracellular matrix (ECM) in tumor microenvironment is a formidable barrier that not only restricts the penetration of therapeutic drugs but also prevents the infiltration of antitumor immune cells. We herein report a semiconducting polymer-based ECM nanoremodeler (SPNcb) to combine photodynamic antitumor activity with cancer-specific inhibition of collagen-crosslinking enzymes (lysyl oxidase (LOX) family) for activatable cancer photo-immunotherapy. SPNcb is self-assembled from an amphiphilic semiconducting polymer conjugated with a LOX inhibitor (β-aminopropionitrile, BAPN) via a cancer biomarker (cathepsin B, CatB)-cleavable segment. BAPN can be exclusively activated to inhibit LOX activity in the presence of the tumor-overexpressed CatB, thus blocking collagen crosslinking and decreasing ECM stiffness. Such an ECM nanoremodeler synergizes immunogenic phototherapy and checkpoint blockade immunotherapy to improve the tumor infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis.

Perylene-Based Reactive Oxygen Species Supergenerator for Immunogenic Photochemotherapy against Hypoxic Tumors

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can act as cytotoxic radicals to directly kill tumor cells and concurrently trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD) to efficiently achieve tumor therapy. Thus motivated, we herein present one perylene monoamide-based ROS supergenerator (PMIC-NC) that not only induces hypoxia-enhanced Type-I ROS burst aided by proton transients but also triggers Type-I/II ROS production by electron or energy transfer under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation and also elicits a strong ICD effect. More interesting, the mitochondria- and lung-specific distribution of PMIC-NC also boosts the tumor therapeutic efficiency. As a result, PMIC-NC was employed for NIR-triggered photodynamic therapy, hypoxia-enhanced chemotherapy and also displayed robust immunogenicity for systemic tumor eradication. This work thus contributes one proof-of-concept demonstration of perylene as an integrated therapeutic platform for efficient immunogenic photochemotherapy against hypoxic tumors.

The regulation of N6-methyladenosine modification in PD-L1-induced anti-tumor immunity

There is growing evidence that programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) has exciting therapeutic efficacy in hematological malignancy and partial solid tumors. However, many patients still face failure with the treatment of immune checkpoint blockade because of PD-L1 expression regulation during transcription and post-transcription processes, including N6-methyladenosine (m6A). Similar to the epigenetic regulation in DNA and histones, recent research has revealed the essential regulation of m6A modification in RNA nuclear export, metabolism and translation. Recent studies have shown that m6A-induced PD-L1 expression emerges as one of the main reasons for the immunological alteration in this process and contributes to the failure of T cell-induced anti-tumor immunity. The results of preclinical studies demonstrate the potential of m6A-targeted therapy in combination with immune checkpoint blockade. The comprehensive expression of m6A-related genes also provided the possibility to indicate the prognosis and to optimize the treatment for patients of various cancer types. In this review, we focus on the m6A modification in PD-L1 mRNA as well as the regulation of PD-L1 expression in cancer cells and summarize its clinical value in anti-PD-L1 cancer immune therapy.

Self-intensified synergy of a versatile biomimetic nanozyme and doxorubicin on electrospun fibers to inhibit postsurgical tumor recurrence and metastasis

Tumor-positive resection margins after surgery can result in tumor recurrence and metastasis. Although adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been adopted in clinical practice, they lack efficacy and result in unavoidable side effects. Herein, a self-intensified in-situ therapy approach using electrospun fibers loaded with a biomimetic nanozyme and doxorubicin (DOX) is developed. The fabricated PEG-coated zeolite imidazole framework-67 (PZIF67) is demonstrated as a versatile nanozyme triggering reactions in cancer cells based on endogenous H₂O₂ and •O₂^-. The PZIF67-generated •OH induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) overload, implementing chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The O₂ produced by PZIF67 inhibits the expression of hypoxia-up-regulated proteins, thereby suppressing tumor progression. PZIF67 also catalyzes the degradation of glutathione, further disturbing the intracellular redox homeostasis and enhancing CDT. Furthermore, the introduced DOX not only kills cancer cells individually, but also replenishes the continuously consumed substrates for PZIF67-catalyzed reactions. The PZIF67-weakened drug resistance strengthens the cytotoxicity of DOX. The combined application of PZIF67 and DOX also suppresses metastasis-associated genes. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the self-intensified synergy of PZIF67 and DOX on electrospun fibers efficiently prevents postsurgical tumor recurrence and metastasis, offering a feasible therapeutic regimen for operable malignant tumors.