Lai Chun-Mei, Xu Jia, Zhang Bing-Chen, Li Dong-Miao, Shen Jiang-Wen, Yu Shi-Jing, Shao Jing-Wei
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China.
Dongguan Institute of Clinical Cancer Research, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment for Tumors, Affiliated Dongguan Hospital, Southern Medical University, Dongguan, China.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Nov 15;650(Pt A):526-540. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.074. Epub 2023 Jun 14.
Tumor microenvironment (TME) stimuli-responsive nanoassemblies are emerging as promising drug delivery systems (DDSs), which acquire controlled release by structural transformation under exogenous stimulation. However, the design of smart stimuli-responsive nanoplatforms integrated with nanomaterials to achieve complete tumor ablation remains challenging. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to develop TME-based stimuli-responsive DDSs to enhance drug-targeted delivery and release at tumor sites. Herein, we proposed an appealing strategy to construct fluorescence-mediated TME stimulus-responsive nanoplatforms for synergistic cancer therapy by assembling photosensitizers (PSs) carbon dots (CDs), chemotherapeutic agent ursolic acid (UA), and copper ions (Cu). First, UA nanoparticles (UA NPs) were prepared by self-assembly of UA, then UA NPs were assembled with CDs via hydrogen bonding force to obtain UC NPs. After combining with Cu, the resulting particles (named UCCu NPs) exhibited quenched fluorescence and photosensitization due to the aggregation of UC NPs. Upon entering the tumor tissue, the photodynamic therapy (PDT) and the fluorescence function of UCCu were recovered in response to TME stimulation. The introduction of Cu triggered the charge reversal of UCCu NPs, thereby promoting lysosomal escape. Furthermore, Cu resulted in additional chemodynamic therapy (CDT) capacity by reacting with hydrogen peroxide (HO) as well as by consuming glutathione (GSH) in cancer cells through a redox reaction, hence magnifying intracellular oxidative stress and enhancing the therapeutic efficacy due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) therapy. In summary, UCCu NPs provided an unprecedented novel approach for improving the therapeutic efficacy through the three-pronged (chemotherapy, phototherapy, and heat-reinforced CDT) attacks to achieve synergistic therapy.
肿瘤微环境(TME)刺激响应性纳米组装体正成为一种有前景的药物递送系统(DDS),其通过在外源刺激下的结构转变实现控释。然而,设计与纳米材料集成的智能刺激响应性纳米平台以实现完全肿瘤消融仍然具有挑战性。因此,开发基于TME的刺激响应性DDS以增强药物在肿瘤部位的靶向递送和释放至关重要。在此,我们提出了一种有吸引力的策略,通过组装光敏剂(PSs)、碳点(CDs)、化疗药物熊果酸(UA)和铜离子(Cu)来构建用于协同癌症治疗的荧光介导的TME刺激响应性纳米平台。首先,通过UA的自组装制备UA纳米颗粒(UA NPs),然后通过氢键力将UA NPs与CDs组装以获得UC NPs。与Cu结合后,所得颗粒(命名为UCCu NPs)由于UC NPs的聚集而表现出荧光猝灭和光致敏性。进入肿瘤组织后,UCCu的光动力疗法(PDT)和荧光功能在TME刺激下恢复。Cu的引入引发了UCCu NPs的电荷反转,从而促进溶酶体逃逸。此外,Cu通过与过氧化氢(HO)反应以及通过氧化还原反应消耗癌细胞中的谷胱甘肽(GSH)而产生额外的化学动力疗法(CDT)能力,因此放大了细胞内氧化应激并由于活性氧(ROS)疗法而增强了治疗效果。总之,UCCu NPs提供了一种前所未有的新方法,通过三管齐下(化疗、光疗和热增强CDT)攻击来提高治疗效果,以实现协同治疗。