Guo Xueli, Liu Zhongyan, Wu Lina, Guo Pan
State Key Laboratory of Component-Based Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 301617, China.
Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 301617, China.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2025 Mar 23;18(4):448. doi: 10.3390/ph18040448.
: Liver cancer, especially hepatocellular carcinoma, a prevalent malignant tumor of the digestive system, poses significant therapeutic challenges. While traditional chemotherapy can inhibit tumor progression, its clinical application is limited by insufficient efficacy. Hydrophobic therapeutic agents further encounter challenges including low tumor specificity, poor bioavailability, and severe systemic toxicity. This study aimed to develop a liver-targeted, glutathione (GSH)-responsive micellar system to synergistically enhance drug delivery and antitumor efficacy. : A GSH-responsive disulfide bond was chemically synthesized to conjugate glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) with curcumin (Cur) at a molar ratio of 1:1, forming a prodrug Cur-GA (CGA). This prodrug was co-assembled with glycyrrhizic acid (GL) at a 300% / loading ratio into micelles. The system was characterized for physicochemical properties, in vitro drug release in PBS (7.4) without GSH and in PBS (5.0) with 0, 5, or 10 mM GSH, cellular uptake in HepG2 cells, and in vivo efficacy in H22 hepatoma-bearing BALB/c mice. : The optimized micelles exhibited a hydrodynamic diameter of 157.67 ± 2.14 nm (PDI: 0.20 ± 0.02) and spherical morphology under TEM. The concentration of CUR in micelles can reach 1.04 mg/mL. In vitro release profiles confirmed GSH-dependent drug release, with 67.5% vs. <40% cumulative Cur release observed at 24 h with/without 10 mM GSH. Flow cytometry and high-content imaging revealed 1.8-fold higher cellular uptake of CGA-GL micelles compared to free drug ( < 0.001). In vivo, CGA-GL micelles achieving 3.6-fold higher tumor accumulation than non-targeted controls ( < 0.001), leading to 58.7% tumor volume reduction ( < 0.001). : The GA/GL-based micellar system synergistically enhanced efficacy through active targeting and stimuli-responsive release, providing a promising approach to overcome current limitations in hydrophobic drug delivery for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy.
肝癌,尤其是肝细胞癌,作为消化系统常见的恶性肿瘤,带来了重大的治疗挑战。虽然传统化疗可以抑制肿瘤进展,但其临床应用受到疗效不足的限制。疏水性治疗药物还面临诸多挑战,包括肿瘤特异性低、生物利用度差和严重的全身毒性。本研究旨在开发一种肝脏靶向、对谷胱甘肽(GSH)有响应的胶束系统,以协同增强药物递送和抗肿瘤疗效。:化学合成了一种对GSH有响应的二硫键,以1:1的摩尔比将甘草次酸(GA)与姜黄素(Cur)偶联,形成前药Cur-GA(CGA)。该前药与甘草酸(GL)以300%的负载率共组装成胶束。对该系统进行了理化性质表征、在无GSH的PBS(7.4)和含0、5或10 mM GSH的PBS(5.0)中的体外药物释放、在HepG2细胞中的细胞摄取以及在荷H22肝癌的BALB/c小鼠中的体内疗效研究。:优化后的胶束在透射电镜下显示流体动力学直径为157.67±2.14 nm(多分散指数:0.20±0.02),呈球形形态。胶束中CUR的浓度可达1.04 mg/mL。体外释放曲线证实了药物释放对GSH的依赖性,在有/无10 mM GSH的情况下,24小时时累积Cur释放分别为67.5%和<40%。流式细胞术和高内涵成像显示,CGA-GL胶束的细胞摄取量比游离药物高1.8倍(<0.001)。在体内,CGA-GL胶束的肿瘤蓄积量比非靶向对照高3.6倍(<0.001),导致肿瘤体积缩小58.7%(<0.001)。:基于GA/GL的胶束系统通过主动靶向和刺激响应释放协同增强了疗效,为克服目前肝细胞癌治疗中疏水性药物递送的局限性提供了一种有前景的方法。
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