Department of Pharmaceutics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Pharmaceutical Preparations and Excipients, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
Biomater Sci. 2023 May 2;11(9):3321-3334. doi: 10.1039/d2bm02032g.
Ferroptosis has been proposed as one form of iron-dependent cell death, overgeneration of high-toxicity hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) tumor sites Fenton reactions induced cell membrane damage. However, the insufficient intracellular concentrations of both iron and HO limited the anticancer performance of ferroptosis. In this study, ROS-sensitive prodrug nanoassemblies composed of a PEG2000-ferrous compound and a single thioether bond bridged dihydroartemisinin-paclitaxel prodrug were constructed, which fully tapped ex/endogenous iron, ferroptosis inducers, and chemotherapeutic agents. Following cellular uptake, the intracellular oxidizing environment accelerated the self-destruction of nanoassemblies and triggered drug release. In addition to the chemotherapeutic effect, the activated dihydroartemisinin was capable of acting as a toxic ˙OH amplifier the reinforced Fenton reaction, simultaneously depleting intracellular GSH, as well as inducing glutathione peroxidase 4 inactivation, further enhancing ferroptosis-dependent cancer cell proliferation inhibition. Meanwhile, the ROS generation-inductive and cell cycle arrest effect from the paclitaxel augmented synergetic ferroptotic-chemotherapy of cancer. Thus, the prodrug integrating dihydroartemisinin with paclitaxel a single thioether bond represents a potent nanoplatform to exert amplified ferroptotic-chemotherapy for improved anticancer efficacy.
铁死亡被认为是一种铁依赖性细胞死亡形式,肿瘤部位的 Fenton 反应会导致过多的高毒性羟基自由基(˙OH)生成,从而损伤细胞膜。然而,细胞内铁和 HO 的浓度不足限制了铁死亡的抗癌性能。在这项研究中,构建了由聚乙二醇 2000-亚铁化合物和单硫醚键桥连的二氢青蒿素-紫杉醇前药组成的 ROS 敏感前药纳米组装体,充分利用了外源性/内源性铁、铁死亡诱导剂和化疗药物。细胞摄取后,细胞内氧化环境加速纳米组装体的自毁,并触发药物释放。除了化疗作用外,激活的二氢青蒿素能够充当有毒的˙OH 放大器,增强 Fenton 反应,同时耗竭细胞内 GSH,并诱导谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶 4 失活,进一步增强铁死亡依赖性癌细胞增殖抑制。同时,紫杉醇的 ROS 生成诱导和细胞周期阻滞作用增强了协同铁死亡-化疗的抗癌作用。因此,将二氢青蒿素与紫杉醇结合并带有单硫醚键的前药代表了一种强大的纳米平台,可发挥增强的铁死亡-化疗作用,提高抗癌疗效。
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024-9-11