Near-infrared enhances antiangiogenic potentiality of quinacrine-gold hybrid nanoparticles in breast cancer stem cells via deregulation of HSP-70/TGF-β.

This study aimed to explore the antiangiogenic mechanism of quinacrine-gold hybrid nanoparticle (QAuNP) and near-infrared (NIR) radiation in patient-derived primary breast cancer stem cells. Various cell-based angiogenesis and patient-derived xenograft mouse systems were used as models for the study. The experimental results showed that QAuNP + NIR treatment deregulated the HSP-70/TGF-β physical interaction in primary breast cancer stem cells. Reduced TGF-β secretion in the tumor microenvironment inhibited angiogenesis activation in endothelial cells by deregulating the TGF-β-mediated PI3K/AKT/mTOR cascade. This study revealed that QAuNP + NIR irradiation downregulated HSP-70 expression, inhibited the HSP-70/TGF-β interaction, reduced the secretion of TGF-β in the tumor microenvironment and ultimately inhibited TGF-β-mediated angiogenesis.