Engineered photoresponsive biohybrids for tumor therapy

Preclinical Assessment of Living Therapeutic Materials: State-of-Art and Challenges

Living Therapeutic Materials represent a promising technology to tackle therapeutic problems that classical materials cannot address. Despite the advancements on new functions of these devices, new applications, and new fabrication methods, the preclinical evaluation of Living Therapeutic Materials is still very limited and new challenges appear when incorporating the living devices in contact with the host. This is a critical bottleneck in the path to translation to the clinic. Therefore, we have compiled the literature on Living Therapeutic Materials, with a focus on microorganism-based living therapeutic materials, and summarized the investigations carried out to assess their biocompatibility, safety, and efficacy. We have split the investigations in three parts: in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo assessments, where we describe common practices and remaining challenges.

Targeted Microglial Membrane-Coated MicroRNA Nanosponge Mediates Inhibition of Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent primary brain tumor. Recent research emphasizes the crucial role of microRNAs (miRs) in GBM pathogenesis, and targeting miRs offers an effective approach for precise GBM therapy. However, inhibiting a single miR may not be sufficient due to the compensatory mechanisms of GBM. Herein, we developed a miR-nanosponge capable of specifically capturing multiple miRs involved in tumor growth, migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and the creation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment, thereby offering a comprehensive treatment for GBM. Coated with BV2 cell membrane (BM) for enhanced blood-brain barrier (BBB) crossing and GBM targeting, the BM@miR-nanosponge targets miR-9, miR-21, miR-215, and miR-221, significantly inhibiting GBM progression and modulating the immune system for a thorough GBM eradication. The BM@miR-nanosponge notably extended the median survival time of GBM-bearing mice and outperformed the standard treatment drug temozolomide (TMZ). This study introduces a comprehensive miR-based strategy for GBM treatment and highlights the importance of targeting multiple miRs associated with tumor survival for effective therapy.

Photothermal Responsive Microcarriers Encapsulated With Cangrelor and 5-Fu for Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Localized chemotherapy is emerging as a potential strategy for cancer treatment due to its low systemic toxicity. However, the immune evasion of tumor cells and the lack of an intelligent design of the delivery system limit its clinical application. Herein, photothermal responsive microcarriers are designed by microfluidic electrospray for colorectal tumor treatment. The microcarriers loaded with Cangrelor, 5-FU and MXene (G-M@F/C+NIR) show sustained delivery of antiplatelet drug Cangrelor, thus inhibiting the activity of platelets, interactions of platelet-tumor cell, as well as the tumor cells invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In addition, the sustained delivery of chemotherapeutics 5-FU and the photothermal effect provided by MXene enable the microcarriers to inhibit tumor cells proliferation and migration. In vivo studies validate that the G-M@F/C+NIR microcarriers significantly inhibites tumor growth, decreased the expression of Ki-67 in tumor cells and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the tumor microenvironment, while increased the expression of E-cadherin. It is believe that by means of the proposed photothermal responsive microcarriers, the synergistic strategy of platelet inhibition, chemotherapy, and photothermal therapy can find practical applications in cancer treatment.

Biomimetic Hydrogel Strategies for Cancer Therapy

Recent developments in biomimetic hydrogel research have expanded the scope of biomedical technologies that can be used to model, diagnose, and treat a wide range of medical conditions. Cancer presents one of the most intractable challenges in this arena due to the surreptitious mechanisms that it employs to evade detection and treatment. In order to address these challenges, biomimetic design principles can be adapted to beat cancer at its own game. Biomimetic design strategies are inspired by natural biological systems and offer promising opportunities for developing life-changing methods to model, detect, diagnose, treat, and cure various types of static and metastatic cancers. In particular, focusing on the cellular and subcellular phenomena that serve as fundamental drivers for the peculiar behavioral traits of cancer can provide rich insights into eradicating cancer in all of its manifestations. This review highlights promising developments in biomimetic nanocomposite hydrogels that contribute to cancer therapies via enhanced drug delivery strategies and modeling cancer mechanobiology phenomena in relation to metastasis and synergistic sensing systems. Creative efforts to amplify biomimetic design research to advance the development of more effective cancer therapies will be discussed in alignment with international collaborative goals to cure cancer.