The Basement Membrane in a 3D Breast Acini Model Modulates Delivery and Anti-Proliferative Effects of Liposomal Anthracyclines

Cell Force-Driven Basement Membrane Disruption Fuels EGF- and Stiffness-Induced Invasive Cell Dissemination from Benign Breast Gland Acini

Local basement membrane (BM) disruption marks the initial step of breast cancer invasion. The activation mechanisms of force-driven BM-weakening remain elusive. We studied the mechanical response of MCF10A-derived human breast cell acini with BMs of tuneable maturation to physical and soluble tumour-like extracellular matrix (ECM) cues. Traction force microscopy (TFM) and elastic resonator interference stress microscopy (ERISM) were used to quantify pro-invasive BM stress and protrusive forces. Substrate stiffening and mechanically impaired BM scaffolds induced the invasive transition of benign acini synergistically. Robust BM scaffolds attenuated this invasive response. Additional oncogenic EGFR activation compromised the BMs’ barrier function, fuelling invasion speed and incidence. Mechanistically, EGFR-PI3-Kinase downstream signalling modulated both MMP- and force-driven BM-weakening processes. We show that breast acini form non-proteolytic and BM-piercing filopodia for continuous matrix mechanosensation, which significantly push and pull on the BM and ECM under pro-invasive conditions. Invasion-triggered acini further shear and compress their BM by contractility-based stresses that were significantly increased (3.7-fold) compared to non-invasive conditions. Overall, the highest amplitudes of protrusive and contractile forces accompanied the highest invasiveness. This work provides a mechanistic concept for tumour ECM-induced mechanically misbalanced breast glands fuelling force-driven BM disruption. Finally, this could facilitate early cell dissemination from pre-invasive lesions to metastasize eventually.

When Albumin Meets Liposomes: A Feasible Drug Carrier for Biomedical Applications

Albumin, the most abundant protein in plasma, possesses some inherent beneficial structural and physiological characteristics that make it suitable for use as a drug delivery agent, such as an extraordinary drug-binding capacity and long blood retention, with a high biocompatibility. The use of these characteristics as a nanoparticle drug delivery system (DDS) offers several advantages, including a longer circulation time, lower toxicity, and more significant drug loading. To date, many innovative liposome preparations have been developed in which albumin is involved as a DDS. These novel albumin-containing liposome preparations show superior deliverability for genes, hydrophilic/hydrophobic substances and proteins/peptides to the targeting area compared to original liposomes by virtue of their high biocompatibility, stability, effective loading content, and the capacity for targeting. This review summarizes the current status of albumin applications in liposome-based DDS, focusing on albumin-coated liposomes and albumin-encapsulated liposomes as a DDS carrier for potential medical applications.

Hyaluronic Acid-Modified and Doxorubicin-Loaded Gold Nanoparticles and Evaluation of Their Bioactivity

Functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been successfully used in many fields as a result of having low cytotoxicity, good biocompatibility, excellent optical properties, and their ability to target cancer cells. Here, we synthesized AuNP carriers that were modified by hyaluronic acid (HA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and adipic dihydrazide (ADH). The antitumor drug doxorubicin (Dox) was loaded into AuNP carriers and attached chemically. The Au nanocomposite AuNPs@MPA-PEG-HA-ADH-Dox was able to disperse uniformly in aqueous solution, with a diameter of 15 nm. The results of a 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated that AuNP carriers displayed very little toxicity toward cells in high doses, although the antitumor properties of Au nanocomposites were significantly enhanced. Cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that AuNPs modified with hyaluronic acid were more readily ingested by HepG2 and HCT-116 cells, as they have a large number of CD44 receptors. A series of experiments measuring apoptosis such as Rh123 and annexin V-FITC staining, and analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) analysis, indicated that apoptosis played a role in the inhibition of cell proliferation by AuNPs@MPA-PEG-HA-ADH-Dox. Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was the principal mechanism by which the Au nanocomposites inhibited cell proliferation, leading to apoptosis. Thus, the Au nanocomposites, which allowed cell imaging in real-time and induced apoptosis in specific cell types, represent theragnostic agents with potential for future clinical applications in bowel cancer.