Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Science , Xiamen University , Xiamen 361002 , China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou 350002 , China.
Mol Pharm. 2019 Jun 3;16(6):2470-2480. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.9b00072. Epub 2019 Apr 30.
Because of high drug payload and minimized burden of foreign materials in the course of metabolism and excretion, carrier-free nanomedicine based on self-assembly of small-molecule therapeutic agents has attracted considerable attention in cancer therapy. However, obstacles still remained, such as lack of targeting efficiency, poor physiological stability, and serious drug burst release. Herein, we developed a self-dual-targeting prodrug conjugate by coupling methotrexate (MTX) and doxorubicin (DOX) to a hyaluronic acid (HA) backbone which enveloped the small molecular drug coassemblies of DOX and indocyanine green for specific targeting and imaging-guided chemo-photothermal therapy (PTT). The constructed nanosystems exhibited a diameter of ∼200 nm, superior physiological stability, and improved photothermal effect. Taking advantage of functionality of MTX-HA-DOX conjugate, the nanosystems remarkably enhanced the accumulation in the tumor regions by enhanced penetration and retention effect and CD/folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Upon the stimuli of acid, the nanosystems showed the rapid disassembly followed by the accelerated drug release. Consequently, the nanosystems demonstrated highly efficient apoptosis in cancer cells and remarkable tumor ablation by synergy between chemotherapy and PTT upon the irradiation of near-infrared laser. The multifunctional nanosystems based on small molecular theranostic assemblies could provide a promising potential in developing dual-targeting drug delivery and imaging-guided combinational therapy.
由于在代谢和排泄过程中药物载量高且外来物质负担最小,基于小分子治疗剂自组装的无载体纳米医学在癌症治疗中引起了相当大的关注。然而,仍然存在一些障碍,例如靶向效率低、生理稳定性差和药物爆发释放严重。在此,我们通过将甲氨蝶呤 (MTX) 和阿霉素 (DOX) 偶联到透明质酸 (HA) 主链上,开发了一种自双重靶向前药偶联物,HA 主链包裹了 DOX 和吲哚菁绿的小分子药物共组装体,用于特异性靶向和成像引导的化学-光热治疗 (PTT)。所构建的纳米系统表现出约 200nm 的直径、优异的生理稳定性和改善的光热效应。利用 MTX-HA-DOX 缀合物的功能,纳米系统通过增强的渗透和保留效应以及 CD/叶酸受体介导的内吞作用,显著增强了在肿瘤区域的积累。在酸的刺激下,纳米系统表现出快速的解组装,随后加速药物释放。因此,纳米系统通过化学治疗和 PTT 之间的协同作用,在近红外激光照射下,在癌细胞中表现出高效的凋亡和显著的肿瘤消融。基于小分子治疗联合体的多功能纳米系统可为开发双重靶向药物递送和成像引导联合治疗提供有前途的潜力。