Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China.
School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081, China.
ACS Nano. 2023 Oct 24;17(20):19793-19809. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03838. Epub 2023 Oct 8.
In pancreatic cancer, excessive desmoplastic stroma severely impedes drug access to tumor cells. By reverting activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) to quiescence, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) can attenuate their stromal synthesis and remodel the tumor-promoting microenvironment. However, its modulatory effects have been greatly weakened due to its limited delivery to PSCs. Therefore, we constructed a tripeptide RFC-modified gelatin/oleic acid nanoparticle (RNP@ATRA), which delivered ATRA in an enzyme-triggered popcorn-like manner and effectively resolved the delivery challenges. Specifically, surface RFC was cleaved by aminopeptidase N (APN) on the tumor endothelium to liberate l-arginine, generating nitric oxide (NO) for tumor-specific vasodilation. Then, massive nanoparticles were pushed from the vessels into tumors, showing 5.1- and 4.0-fold higher intratumoral accumulation than free ATRA and APN-inert nanoparticles, respectively. Subsequently, in the interstitium, matrix metalloproteinase-2-induced gelatin degradation caused RNP@ATRA to rapidly release ATRA, promoting its interstitial penetration and PSC delivery. Thus, activated PSCs were efficiently reverted to quiescence, and stroma secretion and vascular compression were reduced, thereby enhancing intratumoral delivery of small-molecule or nanosized chemotherapeutics. Ultimately, RNP@ATRA combined with chemotherapeutics markedly suppressed tumor growth and metastasis without causing additional toxicities. Overall, this work provides a potential nanoplatform for the efficient delivery of PSC-modifying agents in pancreatic cancer and other stroma-rich tumors.
在胰腺癌中,过度的纤维组织严重阻碍了药物到达肿瘤细胞。全反式维甲酸(ATRA)通过使活化的胰腺星状细胞(PSCs)静止,可以减弱其基质合成并重塑促进肿瘤的微环境。然而,由于其向 PSCs 的递送受到限制,其调节作用大大减弱。因此,我们构建了一种三肽 RFC 修饰的明胶/油酸纳米颗粒(RNP@ATRA),它以酶触发的爆米花样方式递送 ATRA,并有效地解决了递送挑战。具体而言,肿瘤内皮细胞上的氨肽酶 N(APN)可切割表面 RFC,释放 l-精氨酸,生成一氧化氮(NO)以实现肿瘤特异性血管扩张。然后,大量的纳米颗粒从血管中被推到肿瘤中,与游离 ATRA 和 APN 惰性纳米颗粒相比,分别实现了 5.1 倍和 4.0 倍的肿瘤内蓄积。随后,在细胞间质中,基质金属蛋白酶 2 诱导的明胶降解导致 RNP@ATRA 迅速释放 ATRA,促进其间质渗透和 PSC 递送。因此,活化的 PSCs 被有效地恢复到静止状态,基质分泌和血管压迫减少,从而增强了小分子或纳米化疗药物的肿瘤内递送。最终,RNP@ATRA 联合化疗药物显著抑制了肿瘤生长和转移,而没有引起额外的毒性。总之,这项工作为胰腺癌症和其他富含基质的肿瘤中PSC 修饰剂的有效递送提供了一种潜在的纳米平台。
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