Qiu Tian, Li Xingrun, Sun Hui, Zhang Simeng, An Yan, Li Jianxiang, Zhong Xiaoyan
Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Major Chronic Non-communicable Diseases, MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, China.
Biophys Rep. 2025 Aug 31;11(4):258-282. doi: 10.52601/bpr.2024.240055.
Algae, especially microalgae, are versatile in terms of nutrition, feed, biofertilizers, biofuel, and so on. In the realm of oncotherapy, algal extracts have been extensively used as anti-cancer active ingredients; however, what has been ignored is the anti-cancer value induced by themselves. Thanks to their unparalleled advantages, for example, intrinsic tumor homing, immunogenicity, and production of anti-cancer agents, algae pave a new way in anti-cancer research. Algae have been reported about selective cytotoxicity to cancer cells and could work for oxygen-dependent strategies such as photodynamic therapy, owing to their natural photosynthetic abilities. Interestingly, integrating with customized nanomaterials (NMs), algae have been demonstrated to have unprecedented potential in overcoming barriers to existing treatment methods. Thus, in this review, starting from the classification of algae, the diverse effects of algae are thoroughly introduced, followed by the current engineering strategies of algae; lastly, the emerging development of algae-based therapeutics is timely summarized with an emphasis on the intelligent creation of biohybrid systems by choosing algae and tailored NMs. This review presents a comprehensive exploration of engineered algae-involved innovative cancer therapy, with a discussion of the future challenges and outlook, which will help design creative therapy paradigms and facilitate their clinical applications.
藻类，尤其是微藻，在营养、饲料、生物肥料、生物燃料等方面具有多样性。在肿瘤治疗领域，藻类提取物已被广泛用作抗癌活性成分；然而，被忽视的是它们自身所具有的抗癌价值。由于其无与伦比的优势，例如内在的肿瘤归巢性、免疫原性以及抗癌剂的产生，藻类为抗癌研究开辟了一条新途径。据报道，藻类对癌细胞具有选择性细胞毒性，并且由于其天然的光合作用能力，可用于光动力疗法等依赖氧气的治疗策略。有趣的是，与定制的纳米材料（NMs）相结合，藻类已被证明在克服现有治疗方法的障碍方面具有前所未有的潜力。因此，在本综述中，从藻类的分类开始，全面介绍了藻类的多种作用，接着阐述了藻类当前的工程策略；最后，及时总结了基于藻类的治疗方法的新兴发展，重点是通过选择藻类和定制的纳米材料智能创建生物杂交系统。本综述全面探讨了涉及工程藻类的创新癌症治疗方法，并讨论了未来的挑战和前景，这将有助于设计创新的治疗模式并促进其临床应用。
