Cyclodextrin-Based Hybrid Polymeric Complex to Overcome Dual Drug Resistance Mechanisms for Cancer Therapy

Injectable Supramolecular Hydrogels for In Situ Programming of Car-T Cells toward Solid Tumor Immunotherapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell immunotherapy is approved in the treatment of hematological malignancies, but remains far from satisfactory in solid tumor treatment due to inadequate intra-tumor CAR-T cell infiltration. Herein, an injectable supramolecular hydrogel system, based on self-assembly between cationic polymer mPEG-PCL-PEI (PPP) conjugated with T cell targeting anti-CD3e f(ab')2 fragment and α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), is designed to load plasmid CAR (pCAR) with a T cell specific CD2 promoter, which successfully achieves in situ fabrication and effective accumulation of CAR-T cells at the tumor site in humanized mice models. More importantly, due to this tumor microenvironment reprogramming, secretion of cellular inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-2 (IL-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)) or tumor killer protein granzyme B is significantly promoted, which reverses the immunosuppressive microenvironment and significantly enhances the intra-tumor CAR-T cells and cytotoxic T cells infiltration. To the best of the current knowledge, this is a pioneer report of using injectable supramolecular hydrogel for in situ reprogramming CAR-T cells, which might be beneficial for solid tumor CAR-T immunotherapy.

Sustained release of therapeutic gene by injectable hydrogel for hepatocellular carcinoma

Gene therapy has shown remarkable effectiveness in the management of disease like cancer and inflammation as a revolutionary therapeutic. Nonetheless, therapeutic drug target discovery, efficient gene delivery, and gene delivery vehicles continue to be significant obstacles. Due to their effective gene transport capabilities and low immunogenicity, supramolecular polymers have garnered significant interest. Herein, ABHD5 is identified as a potential therapeutic target since it is dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Interestingly, the downregulation of ABHD5 could induce programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in liver cancer, which may contribute to the immunosuppression. To overcome the immunosuppression caused by PD-L1, an injectable hydrogel is designed to achieve efficient abhydrolase domain containing 5 (ABHD5) gene delivery via the host-guest interaction with branched polyethyleneimine-g-poly (ethylene glycol), poly (ethylene oxide) and poly (propylene oxide) block copolymers and α-CD (PPA/CD), demonstrating the capability for sustained gene release. The co-assembly hydrogel demonstrates good biocompatibility and enhanced gene transfection efficiency, efficiently triggering tumor cell apoptosis. Overall, the results of this study suggest that ABHD5 is a potential therapeutic target, and that a host-guest-based supramolecular hydrogel could serve as a promising platform for the inhibition of HCC.

Recent Development of Supramolecular Cancer Theranostics Based on Cyclodextrins: A Review

With the development of personalized medical demands for precise diagnosis, rational management and effective cancer treatment, supramolecular theranostic systems have received widespread attention due to their reversibly switchable structures, sensitive response to biological stimuli and integration ability for multiple capabilities in a single platform with a programmable fashion. Cyclodextrins (CDs), benefiting from their excellent characteristics, such as non-toxicity, easy modification, unique host-guest properties, good biocompatibility, etc., as building blocks, serve as an all-purpose strategy for the fabrication of a supramolecular cancer theranostics nanodevice that is capable of biosafety, controllability, functionality and programmability. This review focuses on the supramolecular systems of CD-bioimaging probes, CD-drugs, CD-genes, CD-proteins, CD-photosensitizers and CD-photothermal agents as well as multicomponent cooperation systems with regards to building a nanodevice with functions of diagnosis and (or) therapeutics of cancer treatment. By introducing several state-of-the-art examples, emphasis will be placed on the design of various functional modules, the supramolecular interaction strategies under the fantastic topological structures and the hidden "bridge" between their structures and therapeutic efficacy, aiming for further comprehension of the important role of a cyclodextrin-based nanoplatform in advancing supramolecular cancer theranostics.

Cyclodextrins as eminent constituents in nanoarchitectonics for drug delivery systems

Cyclodextrins have been widely employed for drug delivery systems (DDSs) in which drugs are selectively delivered to a target site in the body. Recent interest has been focused on the construction of cyclodextrin-based nanoarchitectures that show sophisticated DDS functions. These nanoarchitectures are precisely fabricated based on three important features of cyclodextrins, namely (1) the preorganized three-dimensional molecular structure of nanometer size, (2) the easy chemical modification to introduce functional groups, and (3) the formation of dynamic inclusion complexes with various guests in water. With the use of photoirradiation, drugs are released from cyclodextrin-based nanoarchitectures at designated timing. Alternatively, therapeutic nucleic acids are stably protected in the nanoarchitectures and delivered to the target site. The efficient delivery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene editing was also successful. Even more complicated nanoarchitectures can be designed for sophisticated DDSs. Cyclodextrin-based nanoarchitectures are highly promising for future applications in medicine, pharmaceutics, and other relevant fields.

Mediation of synergistic chemotherapy and gene therapy via nanoparticles based on chitosan and ionic polysaccharides

Nanoparticles (NPs)-based on various ionic polysaccharides, including chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and alginate have been frequently summarized for controlled release applications, however, most of the published reviews, to our knowledge, focused on the delivery of a single therapeutic agent. A comprehensive summarization of the co-delivery of multiple therapeutic agents by the ionic polysaccharides-based NPs, especially on the optimization of the polysaccharide structure for overcoming various extracellular and intracellular barriers toward maximized synergistic effects, to our knowledge, has been rarely explored so far. For this purpose, the strategies used for overcoming various extracellular and intracellular barriers in vivo were introduced first to provide guidance for the rational design of ionic polysaccharides-based NPs with desired features, including long-term circulation, enhanced cellular internalization, controllable drug/gene release, endosomal escape and improved nucleus localization. Next, four preparation strategies were summarized including three physical methods of polyelectrolyte complexation, ionic crosslinking, and self-assembly and a chemical conjugation approach. The challenges and future trends of this rapidly developing field were finally discussed in the concluding remarks. The important guidelines on the rational design of ionic polysaccharides-based NPs for maximized synergistic efficiency drawn in this review will promote the future generation and clinical translation of polysaccharides-based NPs for cancer therapy.

Nanoformulation of Polyphenol Curcumin Enhances Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis in Drug-Resistant MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is the aggressive and lethal type of breast malignancy that develops resistance to current therapies. Combination therapy has proven to be an effective strategy on TNBC. We aimed to study whether the nano-formulation of polyphenolic curcumin (Gemini-Cur) would affect the cisplatin-induced toxicity in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with Gemini-Cur, cisplatin and combination of Gemini-Cur/Cisplatin in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Cell viability was studied by using MTT, fluorescence microscopy and cell cycle assays. The mode of death was also determined by Hoechst staining and annexin V-FITC. Real-time PCR and western blotting were employed to detect the expression of BAX and BCL-2 genes. Our data demonstrated that Gemini-Cur significantly sensitizes cancer cells to cisplatin (combination index ≤ 1) and decreases IC50 values in comparison with Gemini-cur or cisplatin. Further studies confirmed that Gemini-Cur/Cisplatin suppresses cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the data confirm the synergistic effect of polyphenolic curcumin on cisplatin toxicity and provide attractive strategy to attain its apoptotic effect on TNBC.

Emerging Nano-Based Strategies Against Drug Resistance in Tumor Chemotherapy

Drug resistance is the most significant causes of cancer chemotherapy failure. Various mechanisms of drug resistance include tumor heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment, changes at cellular levels, genetic factors, and other mechanisms. In recent years, more attention has been paid to tumor resistance mechanisms and countermeasures. Nanomedicine is an emerging treatment platform, focusing on alternative drug delivery and improved therapeutic effectiveness while reducing side effects on normal tissues. Here, we reviewed the principal forms of drug resistance and the new possibilities that nanomaterials offer for overcoming these therapeutic barriers. Novel nanomaterials based on tumor types are an excellent modality to equalize drug resistance that enables gain more rational and flexible drug selectivity for individual patient treatment. With the emergence of advanced designs and alternative drug delivery strategies with different nanomaterials, overcome of multidrug resistance shows promising and opens new horizons for cancer therapy. This review discussed different mechanisms of drug resistance and recent advances in nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies to improve the sensitivity and effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs, aiming to show the advantages of nanomaterials in overcoming of drug resistance for tumor chemotherapy, which could accelerate the development of personalized medicine.

Lovastatin enhances chemosensitivity of paclitaxel-resistant prostate cancer cells through inhibition of CYP2C8

Chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for prostate cancer, with paclitaxel being commonly used for hormone-resistant prostate cancer. However, drug resistance often develops and leads to treatment failure in a variety of prostate cancer patients. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the sensitivity of prostate cancer to chemotherapy. Lovastatin (LV) is a natural compound extracted from Monascus-fermented foods and is an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), which has been approved by the FDA for hyperlipidemia treatment. We have previously found that LV could inhibit the proliferation of refractory cancer cells. Up to now, the effect of LV on chemosensitization and the mechanisms involved have not been evaluated in drug-resistant prostate cancer. In this study, we used prostate cancer cell line PC3 and its paclitaxel-resistant counterpart PC3-TxR as the cell model. Alamar Blue cell viability assay showed that LV and paclitaxel each conferred concentration-dependent inhibition of PC3-TxR cells. When paclitaxel was combined with LV, the proliferation of PC3-TxR cells was synergistically inhibited, as demonstrated by combination index <1. Moreover, colony formation decreased while apoptosis increased in paclitaxel plus LV group compared with paclitaxel alone group. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that the combination of paclitaxel and LV could significantly reduce the expression of CYP2C8, an important drug-metabolizing enzyme. Bioinformatics analysis from the TCGA database showed that CYP2C8 expression was negatively correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) in prostate cancer patients. Our results suggest that LV might increase the sensitivity of resistant prostate cancer cells to paclitaxel through inhibition of CYP2C8 and could be utilized as a chemosensitizer for paclitaxel-resistant prostate cancer cells.