Combinatorial miRNA-34a replenishment and irinotecan delivery via auto-fluorescent polymeric hybrid micelles for synchronous colorectal cancer theranostics

Mapping the function of MicroRNAs as a critical regulator of tumor-immune cell communication in breast cancer and potential treatment strategies

Among women, breast cancer ranks as the most prevalent form of cancer, and the presence of metastases significantly reduces prognosis and diminishes overall survival rates. Gaining insights into the biological mechanisms governing the conversion of cancer cells, their subsequent spread to other areas of the body, and the immune system's monitoring of tumor growth will contribute to the advancement of more efficient and targeted therapies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in the interaction between tumor cells and immune cells, facilitating tumor cells' evasion of the immune system and promoting cancer progression. Additionally, miRNAs also influence metastasis formation, including the establishment of metastatic sites and the transformation of tumor cells into migratory phenotypes. Specifically, dysregulated expression of these genes has been associated with abnormal expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, thereby facilitating tumor development. This study aims to provide a concise overview of the significance and function of miRNAs in breast cancer, focusing on their involvement as tumor suppressors in the antitumor immune response and as oncogenes in metastasis formation. Furthermore, miRNAs hold tremendous potential as targets for gene therapy due to their ability to modulate specific pathways that can either promote or suppress carcinogenesis. This perspective highlights the latest strategies developed for miRNA-based therapies.

Innovative Nanoparticulate Strategies in Colon Cancer Treatment: A Paradigm Shift

As a major public health issue, colorectal cancer causes 9.4% of total cancer-related deaths and comprises 10% of new cancer diagnoses worldwide. In the year 2023, an estimated 153,020 people are expected to receive an identification of colorectal cancer (CRC), resulting in roughly 52,550 fatalities anticipated as a result of this illness. Among those impacted, approximately 19,550 cases and 3750 deaths are projected to occur in individuals under the age of 50. Irinotecan (IRN) is a compound derived from the chemical structure of camptothecin, a compound known for its action in inhibiting DNA topoisomerase I. It is employed in the treatment strategy for CRC therapies. Comprehensive in vivo and in vitro studies have robustly substantiated the anticancer efficacy of these compounds against colon cancer cell lines. Blending irinotecan in conjunction with other therapeutic cancer agents such as oxaliplatin, imiquimod, and 5 fluorouracil enhanced cytotoxicity and improved chemotherapeutic efficacy. Nevertheless, it is linked to certain serious complications and side effects. Utilizing nano-formulated prodrugs within "all-in-one" carrier-free self-assemblies presents an effective method to modify the pharmacokinetics and safety portfolio of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. This review focuses on elucidating the mechanism of action, exploring synergistic effects, and innovating novel delivery approaches to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of irinotecan.

Coordinated modulation of long non-coding RNA ASBEL and curcumin co-delivery through multicomponent nanocomplexes for synchronous triple-negative breast cancer theranostics

BACKGROUND

Abnormally regulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) functions in cancer emphasize their potential to serve as potential targets for cancer therapeutic intervention. LncRNA ASBEL has been identified as oncogene and an anti-sense transcript of tumor-suppressor gene of BTG3 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

RESULTS

Herein, multicomponent self-assembled polyelectrolyte nanocomplexes (CANPs) based on the polyelectrolytes of bioactive hyaluronic acid (HA) and chitosan hydrochloride (CS) were designed and prepared for the collaborative modulation of oncogenic lncRNA ASBEL with antago3, an oligonucleotide antagonist targeting lncRNA ASBEL and hydrophobic curcumin (Cur) co-delivery for synergetic TNBC therapy. Antago3 and Cur co-incorporated CANPs were achieved via a one-step assembling strategy with the cooperation of noncovalent electrostatic interactions, hydrogen-bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. Moreover, the multicomponent assembled CANPs were ulteriorly decorated with a near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) Cy-5.5 dye (FCANPs) for synchronous NIRF imaging and therapy monitoring performance. Resultantly, MDA-MB-231 cells proliferation, migration, and invasion were efficiently inhibited, and the highest apoptosis ratio was induced by FCANPs with coordination patterns. At the molecular level, effective regulation of lncRNA ASBEL/BTG3 and synchronous regulation of Bcl-2 and c-Met pathways could be observed.

CONCLUSION

As expected, systemic administration of FCANPs resulted in targeted and preferential accumulation of near-infrared fluorescence signal and Cur in the tumor tissue. More attractively, systemic FCANPs-mediated collaborative modulating lncRNA ASBEL/BTG3 and Cur co-delivery significantly suppressed the MDA-MB-231 xenograft tumor growth, inhibited metastasis and extended survival rate with negligible systemic toxicity. Our present study represented an effective approach to developing a promising theranostic platform for combating TNBC in a combined therapy pattern.

TMEM97 is transcriptionally activated by YY1 and promotes colorectal cancer progression via the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

Transmembrane protein 97 (TMEM97) is a conserved integral membrane protein highly expressed in various human cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC), and it exhibits pro-tumor roles in breast cancer, gastric cancer, and glioma. However, whether TMEM97 participates in CRC progression is not fully understood. The expression of mRNA and protein was evaluated by real-time qPCR, western blotting, immunofluorescent, and immunohistochemical staining. TMEM97 functions in cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were assessed by CCK-8, flow cytometry, and transwell assays. The roles of TMEM97 in CRC cells in vivo was investigated using a subcutaneous xenograft model. The transcriptional regulation of TMEM97 was explored by luciferase reporter and ChIP assays. The silencing of TMEM97 inhibited migration and invasion of CRC cells in vitro and led to suppressed growth and enhanced apoptosis in CRC cells and xenografts, whereas overexpression of TMEM97 displayed opposite effects. Mechanistically, TMEM97 knockdown caused a reduction of the proliferating marker PCNA and an increase of pro-apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase 8/3/7 and cleaved PARP) in CRC cells. TMEM97 also positively regulated the β-catenin signaling pathway in CRC cells and xenografts by modulating the phosphorylated-GSK-3β and active (non-phospho) β-catenin levels. Interestingly, YY1, a well-recognized oncogenic transcription factor, was identified to bind to the TMEM97 promoter and enhance its transcriptional activity, and silencing of TMEM97 abolished YY1-mediated pro-tumor effects on CRC cells. Our results suggest that TMEM97 is transcriptionally activated by YY1 and promotes CRC progression via the GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway, providing that TMEM97 might be a novel therapeutic target for preventing CRC development.

Micelles as potential drug delivery systems for colorectal cancer treatment

Despite the significant progress in cancer therapy, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most fatal malignancies worldwide. Chemotherapy is currently the mainstay therapeutic modality adopted for CRC treatment. However, the long-term effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs has been hampered by their low bioavailability, non-selective tumor targeting mechanisms, non-specific biodistribution associated with low drug concentrations at the tumor site and undesirable side effects. Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in using nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems to circumvent these limitations. Various nanoparticles have been developed for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs among which polymeric micelles are attractive candidates. Polymeric micelles are biocompatible nanocarriers that can bypass the biological barriers and preferentially accumulate in tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. They can be easily engineered with stimuli-responsive and tumor targeting moieties to further ensure their selective uptake by cancer cells and controlled drug release at the desirable tumor site. They have been shown to effectively improve the pharmacokinetic properties of chemotherapeutic drugs and enhance their safety profile and anticancer efficacy in different types of cancer. Given that combination therapy is the new strategy implemented in cancer therapy, polymeric micelles are suitable for multidrug delivery and allow drugs to act concurrently at the action site to achieve synergistic therapeutic outcomes. They also allow the delivery of anticancer genetic material along with chemotherapy drugs offering a novel approach for CRC therapy. Here, we highlight the properties of polymeric micelles that make them promising drug delivery systems for CRC treatment. We also review their application in CRC chemotherapy and gene therapy as well as in combination cancer chemotherapy.

Therapeutic Targeting of MicroRNAs in the Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor-microenvironment (TME) is an amalgamation of various factors derived from malignant cells and infiltrating host cells, including cells of the immune system. One of the important factors of the TME is microRNAs (miRs) that regulate target gene expression at a post transcriptional level. MiRs have been found to be dysregulated in tumor as well as in stromal cells and they emerged as important regulators of tumorigenesis. In fact, miRs regulate almost all hallmarks of cancer, thus making them attractive tools and targets for novel anti-tumoral treatment strategies. Tumor to stroma cell cross-propagation of miRs to regulate protumoral functions has been a salient feature of the TME. MiRs can either act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes (oncomiRs) and both miR mimics as well as miR inhibitors (antimiRs) have been used in preclinical trials to alter cancer and stromal cell phenotypes. Owing to their cascading ability to regulate upstream target genes and their chemical nature, which allows specific pharmacological targeting, miRs are attractive targets for anti-tumor therapy. In this review, we cover a recent update on our understanding of dysregulated miRs in the TME and provide an overview of how these miRs are involved in current cancer-therapeutic approaches from bench to bedside.

Co-delivery of 5-fluorouracil and miRNA-34a mimics by host-guest self-assembly nanocarriers for efficacious targeted therapy in colorectal cancer patient-derived tumor xenografts

Rationale: A co-delivery system that can transport chemotherapeutic drugs and nucleotide drugs to distinct targets in tumors is an attractive strategy for cancer therapy. In this study, well-defined targeted quantum dot (QD)-based multifunctional nanocarriers were developed through self-assembly driven by host-guest interactions. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and microRNA-34a mimics (miR-34a(m)) were co-administered to achieve synergistic effects for colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy for the first time. Furthermore, the CRC patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model, which closely mimics human CRC tumor pathological properties, was used for evaluating the therapeutic effect in this research.

Methods: Multiple β-cyclodextrin (CD)-attached QD nanoparticles were used as host molecules. An adamantane (ADA)-modified TCP1 peptide-targeting ligand (TCP1) was used as the guest molecule. 5-FU and miR-34a(m) were loaded into TCP1-CD-QD nanocarriers, which were used to treat CRC in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the CRC PDX model was used to evaluate the treatment efficacy of this co-delivery system.

Results: 5-FU and miR-34a(m) can be efficiently encapsulated into TCP1-CD-QD nanocarriers and delivered into CRC cells, which led to the inhibition of the proliferation and migration of CRC cells in vitro and suppression of tumor growth in a CRC cell-derived tumor xenograft model. The obtained data further suggested that co-delivery of 5-FU and miR-34a(m) could achieve synergistic effects for CRC therapy. Notably, targeted therapy via the co-delivery of 5-FU and miR-34a(m) by TCP1-CD-QD nanocarriers significantly inhibited the growth of PDX tumors.

Conclusions: These studies strongly indicate that such a nanocarrier-based co-delivery system is a promising combined therapeutic strategy that utilizes chemotherapeutic drugs and nucleotide drugs for enhancing colorectal cancer targeting and synergistic therapy.