Metabolic reprogramming by histone deacetylase inhibition preferentially targets NRF2-activated tumors

The interplay between metabolism and chromatin signaling is implicated in cancer progression. However, whether and how metabolic reprogramming in tumors generates chromatin vulnerabilities remain unclear. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) tumors frequently harbor aberrant activation of the NRF2 antioxidant pathway, which drives aggressive and chemo-resistant disease. Using a chromatin-focused CRISPR screen, we report that NRF2 activation sensitizes LUAD cells to genetic and chemical inhibition of class I histone deacetylases (HDACs). This association is observed across cultured cells, mouse models, and patient-derived xenografts. Integrative epigenomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis demonstrates that HDAC inhibition causes widespread redistribution of H4ac and its reader protein, which transcriptionally downregulates metabolic enzymes. This results in reduced flux into amino acid metabolism and de novo nucleotide synthesis pathways that are preferentially required for the survival of NRF2-active cancer cells. Together, our findings suggest NRF2 activation as a potential biomarker for effective repurposing of HDAC inhibitors to treat solid tumors.

Targeted Therapy for Cancers: From Ongoing Clinical Trials to FDA-Approved Drugs

The development of targeted therapies has revolutionized cancer treatment, offering improved efficacy with reduced side effects compared with traditional chemotherapy. This review highlights the current landscape of targeted therapy in lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer, focusing on key molecular targets. Moreover, it aligns with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs and drug candidates. In lung cancer, mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangements have emerged as significant targets. FDA-approved drugs like osimertinib and crizotinib specifically inhibit these aberrant pathways, providing remarkable benefits in patients with EGFR-mutated or ALK-positive lung cancer. Colorectal cancer treatment has been shaped by targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and EGFR. Bevacizumab and cetuximab are prominent FDA-approved agents that hinder VEGF and EGFR signaling, significantly enhancing outcomes in metastatic colorectal cancer patients. In prostate cancer, androgen receptor (AR) targeting is pivotal. Drugs like enzalutamide, apalutamide, and darolutamide effectively inhibit AR signaling, demonstrating efficacy in castration-resistant prostate cancer. This review further highlights promising targets like mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), ROS1, BRAF, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymeras (PARP) in specific cancer subsets, along with ongoing clinical trials that continue to shape the future of targeted therapy.

Fabrication of a Novel Au Star@AgAu Yolk-Shell Nanostructure for Ovarian Cancer Early Diagnosis and Targeted Therapy

Purpose

A novel CYPA-targeted, SiO₂ encapsulated Au star@AgAu yolk-shell nanostructure (YSNS) was synthesized and used for ovarian cancer early diagnosis and therapy.

Methods

Diverse spectroscopic and microscopic methods were utilized to investigate the pattern of the yolk-shell nanostructure. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out.

Results

It can be found that the ratio of HAuCl₄ and AgNO₃ played a critical role in the constitution of the yolk-shell nanostructure. The as-prepared yolk-shell nanostructure showed excellent SERS performance, which could be utilized as SERS substrate for specific sensitivity analysis of ovarian cancer markers cyclophilin A (CYPA) with detectable limit of 7.76*10^-10 μg/mL. In addition, the as-prepared yolk-shell nanostructure possessed outstanding photothermal performance, which could be used as photothermal agent for ovarian cancer therapy. Experiments in vitro and in vivo proved that the as-prepared yolk-shell nanostructures are ideal candidate for early diagnosis and therapy for ovarian cancer in one platform.

Conclusion

This work holds promise to offer a new method for the detection and therapy of ovarian cancer in the early stage.

Recent Advances in Transcription Factors Biomarkers and Targeted Therapies Focusing on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Transcription factors involve many proteins in the process of transactivating or transcribing (none-) encoded DNA to initiate and regulate downstream signals, such as RNA polymerase. Their unique characteristic is that they possess specific domains that bind to specific DNA element sequences called enhancer or promoter sequences. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in cancer progression. Many dysregulated transcription factors-such as Myc, SNAIs, Twists, and ZEBs-are key drivers of tumor metastasis through EMT regulation. This review summarizes currently available evidence related to the oncogenic role of classified transcription factors in EMT editing and epigenetic regulation, clarifying the roles of the classified conserved transcription factor family involved in the EMT and how these factors could be used as therapeutic targets in future investigations.

Enhanced Anti-Tumor Effect of Folate-Targeted FA-AMA-hyd-DOX Conjugate in a Xenograft Model of Human Breast Cancer

Folate-aminocaproic acid-doxorubicin (FA-AMA-hyd-DOX) was firstly synthesized by our group. It was indicated that FA-AMA-hyd-DOX was pH-responsive, and had strong cytotoxicity on a folate receptor overexpressing cell line (KB cells) in vitro. The aim of our study was to further explore the potential use of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX as a new therapeutic drug for breast cancer. The cellular uptake and the antiproliferative activity of the FA-AMA-hyd-DOX in MDA-MB-231 cells were measured. Compared with DOX, FA-AMA-hyd-DOX exhibited higher targeting ability and cytotoxicity to FR-positive tumor cells. Subsequently, the tissue distribution of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX was studied, and the result confirmed that DOX modified by FA can effectively increase the selectivity of drugs in vivo. After determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX in MDA-MB-231 tumor-bearing nude mice, the antitumor effects and the in vivo safety of FA-AMA-hyd-DOX were systematically evaluated. The data showed that FA-AMA-hyd-DOX could effectively increase the dose of DOX tolerated by tumor-bearing nude mice and significantly inhibit MDA-MB-231 tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, FA-AMA-hyd-DOX treatment resulted in almost no obvious damage to the mice. All the positive data suggest that FA-targeted FA-AMA-hyd-DOX is a promising tumor-targeted compound for breast cancer therapy.

The Immunogenic Potential of Recurrent Cancer Drug Resistance Mutations: An In Silico Study

Cancer somatic mutations have been identified as a source of antigens that can be targeted by cancer immunotherapy. In this work, expanding on previous studies, we analyze the HLA-presentation properties of mutations that are known to drive resistance to cancer targeted-therapies. We survey a large dataset of mutations that confer resistance to different drugs and occur in numerous genes and tumor types. We show that a significant number of them are predicted in silico to be potentially immunogenic across a large proportion of the human population. Further, by analyzing a cohort of patients carrying a small subset of these resistance mutations, we provide evidence that what is observed in the general population may be indicative of the mutations' immunogenic potential in resistant patients. Two of the mutations in our dataset had previously been experimentally validated by others and it was confirmed that some of their associated neopeptides elicit T-cell responses in vitro. The identification of potent cancer-specific antigens can be instrumental for developing more effective immunotherapies. In this work, we propose a novel list of drug-resistance mutations, several of which are recurrent, that could be of particular interest in the context of off-the-shelf precision immunotherapies such as therapeutic cancer vaccines.

Folic Acid-Functionalized Black Phosphorus Quantum Dots for Targeted Chemo-Photothermal Combination Cancer Therapy

Due to the inherent limitations, single chemo or photothermal therapies (PTT) are always inefficient. The combination of chemotherapy and PTT for the treatment of cancers has attracted a great interest during the past few years. As a photothermal agent, black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) possess an excellent extinction coefficient, high photothermal conversion efficacy, and good biocompatibility. Herein, we developed a photo- and pH-sensitive nanoparticle based on BPQDs for targeted chemo-photothermal therapy. Doxorubicin (DOX) was employed as a model drug. This nanosystem displayed outstanding photothermal performance both in vitro and in vivo. Folic acid conjugation onto the surface endowed this system an excellent tumor-targeting effect, which was demonstrated by the cellular targeting assay. The BPQDs-based drug delivery system exhibited pH- and photo-responsive release properties, which could reduce the potential damage to normal cells. The in vitro cell viability study showed a synergistic effect in suppressing cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, this BPQDs-based drug delivery system has substantial potential for future clinical applications.

Self-Assembly of Therapeutic Peptide into Stimuli-Responsive Clustered Nanohybrids for Cancer-Targeted Therapy

Clinical translation of therapeutic peptides, particularly those targeting intracellular protein-protein interactions (PPIs), has been hampered by their inefficacious cellular internalization in diseased tissue. Therapeutic peptides engineered into nanostructures with stable spatial architectures and smart disease targeting ability may provide a viable strategy to overcome the pharmaceutical obstacles of peptides. This study describes a strategy to assemble therapeutic peptides into a stable peptide-Au nanohybrid, followed by further self-assembling into higher-order nanoclusters with responsiveness to tumor microenvironment. As a proof of concept, an anticancer peptide termed β-catenin/Bcl9 inhibitors is copolymerized with gold ion and assembled into a cluster of nanohybrids (pCluster). Through a battery of in vitro and in vivo tests, it is demonstrated that pClusters potently inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in several animal models through the impairment of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, while maintaining a highly favorable biosafety profile. In addition, it is also found that pClusters synergize with the PD1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. This new strategy of peptide delivery will likely have a broad impact on the development of peptide-derived therapeutic nanomedicine and reinvigorate efforts to discover peptide drugs that target intracellular PPIs in a great variety of human diseases, including cancer.

P-glycoprotein-targeted photodynamic therapy boosts cancer nanomedicine by priming tumor microenvironment

Cancer nanomedicines only modestly improve the overall survival of patients because their anticancer activity is limited by biological barriers posed by the tumor microenvironment. Currently, all the drugs in FDA-approved cancer nanomedicines are substrates for P-glycoprotein (Pgp), and thus, Pgp-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) remains a hurdle for cancer nanomedicines.

Methods: In this study, Pgp-targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) was developed to enhance the anticancer efficacy of nanomedicines by depleting MDR cancer cells as well as enhancing tumor penetration of nanomedicines. We first examined the Pgp specificity of our targeted PDT approach, and then tested combination therapy of PDT with Doxil in mixed tumor models of MDR cancer cells and stromal cells, mimicking human heterogeneous tumors.

Results: In vitro studies showed that the antibody-photosensitizer conjugates produced Pgp-specific cytotoxicity towards MDR cancer cells upon irradiation with a near-infrared light. The studies with a co-culture model of MDR cancer cells and stromal cells revealed synergistic effects in the combination therapy of PDT with Doxil. Using a mouse model of mixed tumors containing MDR cancer cells and stroma cells, we observed markedly enhanced tumor delivery of Doxil after PDT in vivo. We further examined the effects of the two modalities on individual cell populations and their synergism using an in vivo dual substrate bioluminescence assay. The results indicated that Pgp-targeted PDT specifically depleted MDR cancer cells and further enhanced Doxil's actions on both MDR cancer cells and stromal cells.

Conclusion: We conclude that our targeted PDT approach markedly enhances anticancer actions of nanomedicines by depleting MDR cancer cells and increasing their tumor penetration, and thereby, may provide an effective approach to facilitate translation of cancer nanomedicines.

Free Adriamycin-Loaded pH/Reduction Dual-Responsive Hyaluronic Acid-Adriamycin Prodrug Micelles for Efficient Cancer Therapy

Currently, tumor-targeted nanocarriers self-assembled from amphiphilic polymer-drug conjugates are of great demand. The appeal of these carriers arises mainly through their excellent loading efficiency of homologous drug molecules with microenvironment-triggered drug release. Herein, doxorubicin (DOX) was constructed to a hyaluronic acid (HA) backbone through hydrazone and disulfide linkages to construct pH and reduction coresponsive prodrug conjugates (HA-ss-DOX). During formulation, the amphipathic HA-ss-DOX spontaneously assembled into distinct core/shell micelles in aqueous media and showed conspicuous physical DOX loading capabilities (29.1%, DOX/HA-ss-DOX) based on homologous compatibility. DOX/HA-ss-DOX micelles were shown to be stable in normal physiological environments, while accomplishing selective, rapid DOX release at acidic pH and/or highly reducing conditions. The efficacy of DOX/HA-ss-DOX micelles was tested on A549 human lung cancer cells, wherein flow cytometry and confocal microscopy analysis revealed their HA receptor-mediated endocytosis mechanism. In comparison, DOX-loaded redox-insensitive micelles (DOX/HA-DOX) still demonstrated pH-dependent drug release. However, a more rapid intracellular DOX release profile was achieved in DOX/HA-ss-DOX micelles because of their sensitivity to both acidic and reducing environments. Resultantly, DOX/HA-ss-DOX exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing ability among all tested groups when tested on an A549 cell line and xenograft model.

Targeting a novel cancer-driving protein (LAPTM4B-35) by a small molecule (ETS) to inhibit cancer growth and metastasis

Our previous studies demonstrated that LAPTM4B-35 is overexpressed in a variety of solid cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is an independent factor for prognosis. LAPTM4B-35 overexpression causes carcinogenesis and enhances cancer growth, metastasis and multidrug resistance, and thus may be a candidate for therapeutic targeting. The present study shows ethylglyoxal bisthiosemicarbazon (ETS) has effective anticancer activity through LAPTM4B-35 targeting. Bel-7402 and HepG2 cell lines from human HCC were used as cell models in which LAPTM4B-35 is highly expressed, and a human fetal liver cell line was used as a control. The results showed ETS has a specific and pronounced lethal effect on HCC cells, but not on fetal liver cells in culture. ETS also attenuated growth and metastasis of human HCC xenograft in nude mice, and extended the life span of mice with HCC. ETS induced HCC cell apoptosis, and upregulated a large number of proapoptotic genes and downregulated antiapoptotic genes. When endogenous overexpression of LAPTM4B-35 was knocked down with RNAi, the killing effect of ETS on HepG2 cells was significantly attenuated. ETS also inhibited phosphorylation of LAPTM4B-35 Tyr285, which involves in activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway induced by LAPTM4B-35 overexpression. In addition, the induction of alterations in quantity of c-Myc, Bcl-2, Bax, cyclinD1 and Akt-p molecules in HepG2 cells by LAPTM4B-35 overexpression could be reversed by ETS.

CONCLUSION

ETS is a promising candidate for treatment of HCC through LAPTM4B-35 protein targeting.

Conjugation to 10 kDa Linear PEG Extends Serum Half-Life and Preserves the Receptor-Binding Ability of mmTRAIL with Minimal Stimulation of PEG-Specific Antibodies

The poor in vivo potencies of most therapeutic proteins might be attributed to their short serum half-lives. PEGylation is a well-established method and has been clinically proven to improve pharmacokinetics. mmTRAIL exhibited supercytotoxicity in a variety of tumor cells, but its serum half-life was less than 10 min in mice. Here, mmTRAIL-5K, mmTRAIL-10K, and mmTRAIL-20K were produced by N-terminus-specific PEGylation of mmTRAIL with 5, 10, or 20 kDa mPEG, respectively. The particle sizes of mmTRAIL-5K, mmTRAIL-10K, and mmTRAIL-20K were 9.09 ± 2.76, 12.62 ± 4.05, and 15.68 ± 4.95 nm, which were higher than the threshold (∼7 nm) of renal clearance. Accordingly, mmTRAIL-5K exhibited a serum half-life of 30 min only 3 times longer than that of mmTRAIL. However, both mmTRAIL-10K and mmTRAIL-20K exhibited similar serum half-lives ranging from 350 to 400 min, indicating that PEGylation with 10 or 20 kDa mPEG significantly improved the pharmacokinetics of mmTRAIL. However, death receptor binding of mmTRAIL-20K was reduced 5- to 8-fold, resulting in a 3-fold reduction of cytotoxicity. Additionally, repeated administration of mmTRAIL-20K elicited both mPEG-specific IgG and IgM antibody responses in rats. In contrast, the receptor binding and cytotoxicity of mmTRAIL-10K were similar to those of mmTRAIL. Repeated administration of mmTRAIL-10K did not obviously stimulate mPEG-specific antibody responses in rats and rhesus monkeys. Of the three PEGylated mmTRAIL analogues, mmTRAIL-10K exerted the greatest tumor suppression in mice bearing human tumor xenografts. These results demonstrated that conjugation of mmTRAIL to 10 kDa mPEG was better than that to 5 or 20 kDa mPEG for enhancing antitumor effects.

The HGF inhibitory peptide HGP-1 displays promising in vitro and in vivo efficacy for targeted cancer therapy

HGF/MET pathway mediates cancer initiation and development. Thus, inhibition on HGF-initiated MET signaling pathway would provide a new approach to cancer targeted therapeutics. In our study, we identified a targeting peptide candidate binding to HGF which was named HGF binding peptide-1 (HGP-1) via bacterial surface display methods coupled with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). HGP-1 showed the moderate affinity when determined with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique and high specificity in binding to HGF while assessed by fluorescence-based ELISA assay. The results from MTT and in vitro migration assay indicated that HGF-dependent cell proliferation and migration could be inhibited by HGP-1. In vivo administration of HGP-1 led to an effective inhibitory effect on tumor growth in A549 tumor xenograft models. Moreover, findings from Western Blots revealed that HGP-1 could down-regulated the phosphorylation levels of MET and ERK1/2 initiated by HGF, which suggested that HGP-1 could disrupt the activation of HGF/MET signaling to influence the cell activity. All the data highlighted the potential of HGP-1 to be a potent inhibitor for HGF/MET signaling.