Transferrin/folate dual-targeting Pluronic F127/poly(lactic acid) polymersomes for effective anticancer drug delivery

In situ autophagy regulation in synergy with phototherapy for breast cancer treatment

Autophagy is an important factor in reducing the efficacy of tumor phototherapy (including PTT and PDT). Accurate regulation of autophagy in tumor cells is a new strategy to improve the anti-tumor efficiency of PTT/PDT. This project intended to construct a tumor-activated autophagy regulator to efficiently block PTT/PDT-induced autophagy and realize synergistic sensitization to tumor phototherapy. To achieve this goal, we first synthesized TRANSFERRIN (Tf) biomimetic mineralized nano-tellurium (Tf-Te) as photosensitizer and then used disulfide bond reconstruction technology to induce Tf-Te self-assembly. The autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and iron ions carried by Tf were simultaneously loaded to prepare a tumor-responsive drug reservoir Tf-Te/HCQ. After entering breast cancer cells through the "self-guidance system", Tf-Te/HCQ can generate hyperpyrexia and ROS under NIR laser irradiation, to efficiently induce PTT/PDT effect. Meanwhile, the disulfide bond broke down in response to GSH, and the nanoparticles disintegrated to release Fe2+ and HCQ at fixed points. They simultaneously induce lysosomal alkalinization and increased osmotic pressure, effectively inhibit autophagy, and synergistically enhance the therapeutic effect of phototherapy. In vivo anti-tumor results have proved that the tumor inhibition rate of Tf-Te/HCQ can be as high as 88.6% on 4T1 tumor-bearing mice. This multifunctional drug delivery system might provide a new alternative for more precise and effective tumor phototherapy.

Targeted cancer treatment using folate-conjugated sponge-like ZIF-8 nanoparticles: a review

ZIF-8 (zeolitic imidazolate framework-8) is a potential drug delivery system because of its unique properties, which include a large surface area, a large pore capacity, a large loading capacity, and outstanding stability under physiological conditions. ZIF-8 nanoparticles may be readily functionalized with targeting ligands for the identification and absorption of particular cancer cells, enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapeutic medicines and reducing adverse effects. ZIF-8 is also pH-responsive, allowing medication release in the acidic milieu of cancer cells. Because of its tunable structure, it can be easily functionalized to design cancer-specific targeted medicines. The delivery of ZIF-8 to cancer cells can be facilitated by folic acid-conjugation. Hence, it can bind to overexpressed folate receptors on the surface of cancer cells, which holds the promise of reducing unwanted deliveries. As a result of its importance in cancer treatment, the folate-conjugated ZIF-8 was the major focus of this review.

Recent Advances in the Development of Membrane-derived Vesicles for Cancer Immunotherapy

The surface proteins on cell membranes enable the cells to have different properties, such as high biocompatibility, surface modifiability, and homologous targeting ability. Cell-membrane-derived vesicles have features identical to those of their parental cells, which makes them one of the most promising materials for drug delivery. Recently, as a result of the impressive effects of immunotherapy in cancer treatment, an increasing number of researchers have used cell-membrane-derived vesicles to enhance immune responses. To be more specific, the membrane vesicles derived from immune cells, tumor cells, bacteria, or engineered cells have the antigen presentation capacity and can trigger strong anti-tumor effects of the immune system. In this review, we first indicated a brief description of the vesicles and then introduced the detection technology and drug-loading methods for them. Secondly, we concluded the characteristics and applications of vesicles derived from different sources in cancer immunotherapy.

Efficacy of a novel glioma therapy based on ferroptosis induced by layered double hydroxide loaded with simvastatin

Glioma is the most common primary malignant tumor of the nervous system that starts in the glial cells. Its high invasiveness and recurrence pose major challenges to its effective treatment. Ferroptosis is a new type of programmed cell death characterized by intracellular iron overload and accumulation of lipid peroxides. Existing studies have demonstrated the efficacy of targeted ferroptosis therapy in the treatment of glioma. In this study, folic acid (FA)-modified layered double hydroxide loaded with simvastatin (SIM), a ferroptosis drug, was used to prepare a novel ferroptosis nanodrug (FA-LDH@SIM). The prepared nanodrug improved the therapeutic effect of SIM on glioma. Compared with free SIM, FA-LDH@SIM showed greater cytotoxicity, significantly inhibited glioma cell proliferation, and significantly inhibited glioma invasion and migration ability. Furthermore, SIM could induce changes in certain ferroptosis indicators, including increased intracellular LPO, ROS and MDA level, decreased GSH production, increased divalent iron level, and changes in mitochondrial morphology. Further experiments revealed that SIM induced ferroptosis in tumor cells by down-regulating HMGCR expression and inhibiting the mevalonate pathway to down-regulate GPX4 expression. In addition, the FA-LDH@SIM group significantly inhibited tumor growth after treatment in the animal glioma model. These results indicate that the FA-LDH@SIM nanodrug delivery system exhibits excellent anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo, and is an effective method for the treatment of glioma.