The role of adhesions between homologous cancer cells in tumor progression and targeted therapy

The role of PKP1 in tumor progression in melanoma: Analysis of a cell adhesion-related model

The incidence rate of melanoma varies across regions, with Europe, the United States, and Australia having 10-25, 20-30, and 50-60 cases per 1 00 000 people. In China, patients with melanoma exhibit different clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, and outcomes. Current treatments include surgery, adjuvant therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Nonetheless, complications may arise during treatment. Melanoma development is heavily reliant on cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and studying these molecules could provide new research directions for metastasis and progression. CAMs include the integrin, immunoglobulin, selectin, and cadherin families, and they affect multiple processes, such as maintenance, morphogenesis, and migration of adherens junction. In this study, a cell adhesion-related risk prognostic signature was constructed using bioinformatics methods, and survival analysis was performed. Plakophilin 1 (PKP1) was observed to be crucial to the immune microenvironment and has significant effects on melanoma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and the cell cycle. This signature demonstrates high reliability and has potential for clinical applications.

Cancer cell membrane coated PLGA nanoparticles as biomimetic drug delivery system for improved cancer therapy

Based on the immune escape and homologous adhesion ability of cancer cells, a drug delivery system (DDS) could overcome the dilemma of immune clearance and non-specific binding by coating the cancer cell membrane (CCM). In this study, a biomimetic DDS based on CCM and poly lactic acid-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles was successfully constructed for tumor active and homologous targeting therapy. The doped CCM on the surface of the nanoparticle enabled the DDS to achieve immune escape and had an affinity for tumor tissues. The cellular uptake and in vivo distribution tests showed a superior cellular affinity of CCM coated PLGA nanoparticles (CCMNPs) than that of PLGA nanoparticles (PLGANPs). All of those results proved that CCMNPs endowed with drug-loaded nanoparticles had the abilities of immune escape and homologous targeting through the biological functional proteins retained on the coated CCM. In addition, the tumor inhibition rate of CCMNPs in tumor-bearing nude mice was 1.3 and 2.0-fold compared to PLGANPs and PTX injection, which showed the capacity to efficiently and accurately deliver drugs to cancer sites improved the therapeutic effect of tumor and achieved accurately targeted therapy.

Overview of Nanoparticle-Based Approaches for the Combination of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Chemotherapy at the Preclinical Stage

Simple Summary

The present review represents the outstanding and promising recent literature reports (2017–2022) on nanoparticle-based formulations developed for anticancer therapy with photodynamic therapy (PDT), photosensitizers, and chemotherapeutics. Besides brief descriptions of chemotherapeutics’ classification and of PDT mechanisms and limitations, several examples of nanosystems endowed with different responsiveness (e.g., acidic pH and reactive oxygen species) and peculiarity (e.g., tumor oxygenation capacity, active tumor targeting, and biomimetic features) are described, and for each drug combination, in vitro and in vivo results on preclinical cancer models are reported.

Abstract

The widespread diffusion of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a clinical treatment for solid tumors is mainly limited by the patient’s adverse reaction (skin photosensivity), insufficient light penetration in deeply seated neoplastic lesions, unfavorable photosensitizers (PSs) biodistribution, and photokilling efficiency due to PS aggregation in biological environments. Despite this, recent preclinical studies reported on successful combinatorial regimes of PSs with chemotherapeutics obtained through the drugs encapsulation in multifunctional nanometric delivery systems. The aim of the present review deals with the punctual description of several nanosystems designed not only with the objective of co-transporting a PS and a chemodrug for combination therapy, but also with the goal of improving the therapeutic efficacy by facing the main critical issues of both therapies (side effects, scarce tumor oxygenation and light penetration, premature drug clearance, unspecific biodistribution, etc.). Therefore, particular attention is paid to the description of bio-responsive drugs and nanoparticles (NPs), targeted nanosystems, biomimetic approaches, and upconverting NPs, including analyzing the therapeutic efficacy of the proposed photo-chemotherapeutic regimens in in vitro and in vivo cancer models.

Tumor-Derived Membrane Vesicles: A Promising Tool for Personalized Immunotherapy

Tumor-derived membrane vesicles (TDMVs) are non-invasive, chemotactic, easily obtained characteristics and contain various tumor-borne substances, such as nucleic acid and proteins. The unique properties of tumor cells and membranes make them widely used in drug loading, membrane fusion and vaccines. In particular, personalized vectors prepared using the editable properties of cells can help in the design of personalized vaccines. This review focuses on recent research on TDMV technology and its application in personalized immunotherapy. We elucidate the strengths and challenges of TDMVs to promote their application from theory to clinical practice.

Cell membrane coated-nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy can effectively inhibit cancer progression by activating the autoimmune system, with low toxicity and high effectiveness. Some of cancer immunotherapy had positive effects on clinical cancer treatment. However, cancer immunotherapy is still restricted by cancer heterogeneity, immune cell disability, tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment and systemic immune toxicity. Cell membrane-coated nanoparticles (CMCNs) inherit abundant source cell-relevant functions, including “self” markers, cross-talking with the immune system, biological targeting, and homing to specific regions. These enable them to possess preferred characteristics, including better biological compatibility, weak immunogenicity, immune escaping, a prolonged circulation, and tumor targeting. Therefore, they are applied to precisely deliver drugs and promote the effect of cancer immunotherapy. In the review, we summarize the latest researches of biomimetic CMCNs for cancer immunotherapy, outline the existing specific cancer immune therapies, explore the unique functions and molecular mechanisms of various cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, and analyze the challenges which CMCNs face in clinical translation.

Cell/Bacteria-Based Bioactive Materials for Cancer Immune Modulation and Precision Therapy

Numerous clinical trials for cancer precision medicine research are limited due to the drug resistance, side effects, and low efficacy. Unsatisfactory outcomes are often caused by complex physiologic barriers and abnormal immune events in tumors, such as tumor target alterations and immunosuppression. Cell/bacteria-derived materials with unique bioactive properties have emerged as attractive tools for personalized therapy in cancer. Naturally derived bioactive materials, such as cell and bacterial therapeutic agents with native tropism or good biocompatibility, can precisely target tumors and effectively modulate immune microenvironments to inhibit tumors. Here, the recent advances in the development of cell/bacteria-based bioactive materials for immune modulation and precision therapy in cancer are summarized. Cell/bacterial constituents, including cell membranes, bacterial vesicles, and other active substances have inherited their unique targeting properties and antitumor capabilities. Strategies for engineering living cell/bacteria to overcome complex biological barriers and immunosuppression to promote antitumor efficacy are also summarized. Moreover, past and ongoing trials involving personalized bioactive materials and promising agents such as cell/bacteria-based micro/nano-biorobotics are further discussed, which may become another powerful tool for treatment in the near future.

Cancer Cell Membrane Camouflaged Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Combined with Immune Checkpoint Blockade for Regulating Tumor Microenvironment and Enhancing Antitumor Therapy

PURPOSE

Although anti-programmed cell death protein 1 antibody (aPD1) immunotherapy and chemotherapy has made much progress in the treatment of melanoma, the efficacy still needs to be further improved.

METHODS

Cancer treatment has been greatly enhanced by the use of nanotechnology. Cancer cell membrane (CCM)-camouflaged nanoparticles have shown promising potential in tumor therapy due to their excellent homologous-targeting ability, long blood circulation and immune escape. This work presents a biocompatible and tumor acidic environmental responsive CCM-camouflaged mesoporous silica nanoparticle (CMSN) that is loaded with dacarbazine (DTIC) and combined with aPD1 to achieve better antitumor efficacy.

RESULTS

In vitro cell experiments demonstrated that DTIC@CMSN exhibits a better anti-tumor killing efficiency and a stronger ability to promote the apoptosis of tumor cells than free DTIC. In vivo antitumor results demonstrated that combination therapy of DTIC@CMSN chemotherapy and aPD1 immunotherapy remarkably suppress the melanoma growth and prolong survival time due to highly selective tumor killing, activation of tumor-specific T cells, and regulation of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In addition, safety evaluation studies of DTIC@CMSN also demonstrate their increased tumor accumulation and decreased systemic toxicity.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a promising nano-platform for the combination of chemotherapy with immunotherapy, which is potentially useful for the treatment of melanoma.

Recent Advances in Cell Membrane-Derived Biomimetic Nanotechnology for Cancer Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy will significantly impact the standard of care in cancer treatment. Recent advances in nanotechnology can improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, concerns regarding efficiency of cancer nanomedicine, complex tumor microenvironment, patient heterogeneity, and systemic immunotoxicity drive interest in more novel approaches to be developed. For this purpose, biomimetic nanoparticles are developed to make innovative changes in the delivery and biodistribution of immunotherapeutics. Biomimetic nanoparticles have several advantages that can advance the clinical efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Thus there is a greater push toward the utilization of biomimetic nanotechnology for developing effective cancer immunotherapeutics that demonstrate increased specificity and potency. The recent works and state-of-the-art strategies for anti-tumor immunotherapeutics are highlighted here, and particular emphasis has been given to the applications of cell-derived biomimetic nanotechnology for cancer immunotherapy.

Nanoparticles Coated with Cell Membranes for Biomedical Applications

Simple Summary

Nanomedicine has developed a new technology based on nanoparticles for drug delivery coated with different cell membranes. Although they were originally developed to increase their blood circulation time and stability though the use of red blood cell membranes, the versatility of this technology has extended to membranes from different cell types, such as white blood cells, platelets, cancer cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and beta cells, among others. Therefore, this cellular diversity and its unique properties, together with the possibility of using a wide range of nanoparticles and different drug dosage forms, has opened a new area for the manufacture of nanoparticles, with many potential applications in the clinic.

Abstract

Nanoparticles designed for diagnosing and treating different diseases have impacted the scientific research in biomedicine, and are expected to revolutionize the clinic in the near future through a new area called nanomedicine. In the last few years, a new approach in this field has emerged: the use of cell membranes for coating nanoparticles in an attempt to mimic the ability of cells to interface and interact with physiological environments. Although such functions have been replicated through synthetic techniques, many research groups are now employing naturally derived cell membranes to coat different types of nanoparticles in an attempt to improve their performance for a wide range of applications. This review summarizes the literature on nanoparticles coated with cell membranes and, more importantly, aims at inspiring and encouraging new developments to this technology in the biomedical area.

Cancer-leukocyte hybrid membrane-cloaked magnetic beads for the ultrasensitive isolation, purification, and non-destructive release of circulating tumor cells

Most of the current circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation techniques are based on immunomagnetic beads with antibodies or aptamers that specifically target epithelial cell adhesion molecules (EpCAMs). However, these techniques are unsuitable for the isolation and purification of circulating tumor cells because they fail to recognize EpCAM-negative CTCs and thus lead to the non-specific adsorption of background leucocytes and EpCAM-positive circulating epithelial cells. Moreover, releasing the CTCs from the capture platform without disruption is a big challenge. To address these issues, herein, we developed biomimetic magnetic beads (MBs) by cloaking a cancer cell-leukocyte hybrid membrane on the MBs. These biomimetic MBs inherited homologous CTC binding capability from the cancer cell membrane and less affinity for the background cells from the leukocyte membrane, exhibitng a higher CTC capture efficiency and separation purity than EpCAM-based MBs. Importantly, the captured CTCs could be rapidly released by a facile method i.e. co-incubation with a trypsin-EDTA solution. We demonstrated the excellent performance of these MBs for the highly pure separation and non-destructive release of CTCs in metastatic mammary carcinoma models. Our results indicate that the proposed homologous cancer-leukocyte membrane coating strategy may provide a promising method for the ultrahigh-specific and sensitive detection of CTCs.

Biomimetic Nanocarriers for Cancer Target Therapy

Nanotechnology offers innovative tools for the design of biomimetic nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy. These nano-systems present several advantages such as cargo's protection and modulation of its release, inclusion of stimuli-responsive elements, and enhanced tumoral accumulation. All together, these nano-systems suffer low therapeutic efficacy in vivo because organisms can recognize and remove foreign nanomaterials. To overcome this important issue, different modifications on nanoparticle surfaces were exploited in order to reach the desired therapeutic efficacy eliciting, also, the response of immune system against cancer cells. For this reason, more recently, a new strategy involving cell membrane-covered nanoparticles for biomedical application has been attracting increasing attention. Membranes from red blood cells, platelets, leukocytes, tumor, and stem cells, have been exploited as biomimetic coatings of nanoparticles for evading clearance or stimulated immune system by maintaining in the same way their targeting capability. In this review, the use of different cell sources as coating of biomimetic nanocarriers for cancer therapy is discussed.

Biomimetic hybrid membrane-based nanoplatforms: synthesis, properties and biomedical applications

The rapid clearance and capture by the immune system pose a big challenge in targeted drug delivery using nanocarriers. Cell membrane coating endows nanoplatforms with prolonged blood circulation, enhanced immune escape, and improved targeting capability. However, monotypic cell membrane fails to meet the omnifarious needs of biomedical applications. The combination of different types of cell membranes provides a promising solution to provide multifunctional biomimetic nanoplatforms. In this review, we first discuss the feasibility of constructing biomimetic hybrid membranes and summarize current methods of preparing biomimetic hybrid membrane-based nanoplatforms (BHMNs) and their biomedical applications including drug delivery, cancer detection, detoxification, and cancer vaccines. Finally, the prospects and challenges of utilizing BHMNs for personalized medicine are also discussed.

A Comprehensive Risk Assessment Model for Ovarian Cancer Patients with Phospho-STAT3 and IL-31 as Immune Infiltration Relevant Genes

Introduction

Ovarian carcinoma is a malignant tumor with a high mortality rate and a lack of effective treatment options for patients at advanced stages. For improving outcomes and helping patients with poor prognosis, choose a suitable therapy and an excellent risk assessment model and new treatment options are needed.

Materials and Methods

Ovarian cancer gene expression profile of GSE32062 was downloaded from the NCBI GEO database for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between well and poor prognosis groups using limma package in R (version 3.4.1). Prognosis-related genes and clinical prognostic factors were obtained from univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, and a comprehensive risk assessment model was constructed using a Pathway Dysregulation Score (PDS) matrix, Cox-Proportional Hazards (Cox-PH) regression, as well as L1-least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (L1-LASSO) penalization. Then, significant DEGs were converted to pathways and optimal prognosis-related pathways were screened. Finally, risk prediction models based on pathways, genes involved in pathways, and comprehensive clinical risk factors with pathways were built. Their prognostic functions were assessed in verification sets. Besides, genes involved in immune-pathways were checked for immune infiltration using immunohistochemistry.

Results

A superior risk assessment model involving 9 optimal combinations of pathways and one clinical factor was constructed. The pathway-based model was found to be superior to the gene-based model. Phospho-STAT3 (from JAK-STAT signaling pathway) and IL-31 (from DEGs) were found to be related to immune infiltration.

Conclusion

We have generated a comprehensive risk assessment model consisting of a clinical risk factor and pathways that showed a possible bright foreground. The set of significant pathways might play as a better prognosis model which is more accurate and applicable than the DEG set. Besides, p-STAT3 and IL-31 showing correlation to immune infiltration of ovarian cancer tissues may be potential therapeutic targets for treating ovarian cancers.

Cell Membrane Coating Technology: A Promising Strategy for Biomedical Applications

Cell membrane coating technology is an approach to the biomimetic replication of cell membrane properties, and is an active area of ongoing research readily applicable to nanoscale biomedicine. Nanoparticles (NPs) coated with cell membranes offer an opportunity to unite natural cell membrane properties with those of the artificial inner core material. The coated NPs not only increase their biocompatibility but also achieve effective and extended circulation in vivo, allowing for the execution of targeted functions. Although cell membrane-coated NPs offer clear advantages, much work remains before they can be applied in clinical practice. In this review, we first provide a comprehensive overview of the theory of cell membrane coating technology, followed by a summary of the existing preparation and characterization techniques. Next, we focus on the functions and applications of various cell membrane types. In addition, we collate model drugs used in cell membrane coating technology, and review the patent applications related to this technology from the past 10 years. Finally, we survey future challenges and trends pertaining to this technology in an effort to provide a comprehensive overview of the future development of cell membrane coating technology.

Cancer Cell Membrane-Biomimetic Nanoplatform for Enhanced Sonodynamic Therapy on Breast Cancer via Autophagy Regulation Strategy

Autophagy was considered as a double-edged sword that might cooperate, aggravate, or antagonize apoptosis. We found that the sonodynamic therapy (SDT) in low dosage induced autophagy and might function as a survival pathway for breast cancer and exhibit resistance to SDT-mediated apoptosis. In this sense, it was highly desired to enhance SDT via autophagy regulation strategy. Herein, we reported a biomimetic nanoplatform based on hollow mesoporous titanium dioxide nanoparticles (HMTNPs) by autophagy inhibitor (hydroxychloroquine sulphate, HCQ) loading and cancer cell membrane (CCM) coating. Owing to the biomimetic surface functionalization, the CCM-HMTNPs/HCQ could escape from macrophage phagocytosis, actively recognize and home in on the tumor by homologous targeting ability. Afterward, the released HCQ in response to the ultrasound stimulus was capable of blocking the autophagic flux and cutting off the nutrients supply derived from the damaged organelles, which was anticipated to abrogate the cells' resistance to SDT. Meanwhile, the vessel normalization effect of HCQ alleviated the tumor hypoxia, which was bound to enhance the oxygen-dependent HMTNPs-mediated SDT treatment. Based on the above findings, it was undoubtedly logical that CCM-HMTNPs/HCQ would sensitize breast cancer cells to SDT via autophagy regulation strategy, which held a great promise in cancer treatment.

A Universal Approach to Render Nanomedicine with Biological Identity Derived from Cell Membranes

Biomimetic nanoengineering built through integrating the specific cell membrane with artificially synthetic nanomedicines represents one of the most promising directions for the actualization of personalized therapy. For addressing the technical hurdle against the development of this biomimetic technology, the present report describes the in-depth exploration and optimization over each critical preparation step, including establishment of a nanoparticle-stabilized dispersion system, cargo loading, membrane coating, and product isolation. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles loaded with DOX is used as a typical model for the coating with cancer cell membranes, providing compact DNP@CCCM nanostructure well-characterized by various techniques. Furthermore, the feasibility of this optimized approach in constructing biomimetic membrane-coated nanomedicines has been validated on the basis of the remarkably improved biofunctions, such as the targetability, magnetic property, hemolysis risk, macrophage evasion, in vitro cytotoxicity, in vivo circulation duration, and in vivo principal component analysis postinjection. We hope this study regarding technique optimization will prompt the advancement of biomembrane-camouflaged nanoparticles as a newly emerging biomimetic technology.