Hou Yixuan, Li Wei, Yang Jiaying, Yu Haoyang, Wang Congcong, Li Yanru, Lv Shuang, Zhang Ling
College of Basic Medical Sciences, The Medical Basic Research Innovation Center of Airway Disease in North China, Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Cell Death Dis. 2025 Jul 28;16(1):568. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07866-9.
Cancer currently stands as a formidable challenge confronting humanity. Patients afflicted with malignancies typically endure diminished survival rates and compromised quality of life. Consequently, the paramount objective of oncological research lies in redefining cancer from a terminal diagnosis to a clinically manageable condition, thereby realizing this transformative medical paradigm. The development of multiple innovative therapeutic strategies may enhance the antitumor immune response. Notably, pyroptosis is considered both a form of programmed cell death and a highly inflammatory type of immunogenic cell death. Its activation may accelerate cancer cell death and exert antitumor effects as a promising scenario to reverse immunosuppression. This article elaborates on the following three main aspects: the molecular mechanisms underlying pyroptosis and the development of promising therapeutics that target pyroptosis, the relationship between pyroptosis, inflammation, and tumors, and the application of nano-targeting materials in tumor treatments. These interactive therapeutic patterns may catalyze a paradigm shift in oncology. In this review, we probe the synergistic effects of pyroptosis and nanomaterials, forecast achievements in the field of tumor treatments, detail optimized therapeutic strategies, and shed promising light on the potential for the improvement and development of clinical drugs based on pyroptosis.
癌症目前是人类面临的一项严峻挑战。罹患恶性肿瘤的患者通常生存率降低，生活质量受损。因此，肿瘤学研究的首要目标在于将癌症从终末期诊断重新定义为临床可管理的疾病，从而实现这一变革性的医学模式。多种创新治疗策略的发展可能增强抗肿瘤免疫反应。值得注意的是，细胞焦亡既被视为一种程序性细胞死亡形式，也是一种高度炎症性的免疫原性细胞死亡。其激活可能加速癌细胞死亡，并作为逆转免疫抑制的一种有前景的情形发挥抗肿瘤作用。本文从以下三个主要方面进行阐述：细胞焦亡的分子机制以及靶向细胞焦亡的有前景治疗方法的开发、细胞焦亡、炎症与肿瘤之间的关系，以及纳米靶向材料在肿瘤治疗中的应用。这些相互作用的治疗模式可能促使肿瘤学发生范式转变。在本综述中，我们探究细胞焦亡与纳米材料的协同效应，预测肿瘤治疗领域的成果，详述优化的治疗策略，并为基于细胞焦亡的临床药物的改进和开发潜力带来希望之光。
