Coordinated regulation of BACH1 and mitochondrial metabolism through tumor-targeted self-assembled nanoparticles for effective triple negative breast cancer combination therapy

Natural products and derivatives for breast cancer treatment: From drug discovery to molecular mechanism

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer stands as the most common malignancy among women globally and a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Conventional treatments, such as surgery, hormone therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and small-molecule targeted therapy, often fall short of addressing the complexity and heterogeneity of certain breast cancer subtypes, leading to drug resistance and metastatic progression. Thus, the search for novel therapeutic targets and agents is imperative. Given their low toxicity and abundant variety, natural products and their derivatives are increasingly considered valuable sources for small-molecule anticancer drugs.

PURPOSE

This review aims to elucidate the pharmacological impacts and underlying mechanisms of active compounds found in select natural products and their derivatives, primarily focusing on breast cancer treatment. It intends to underscore the potential of these substances in combating breast cancer and guide future research directions for the development of natural product-based therapeutics.

METHODS

We conducted comprehensive searches in electronic databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus until October 2023, using keywords such as 'breast cancer', 'natural products', 'derivatives', 'mechanism', 'signaling pathways', and various keyword combinations.

RESULTS

The review presents a spectrum of phytochemicals, including but not limited to flavonoids, polyphenols, and alkaloids, and examines their actions in various animal and cellular models of breast cancer. The anticancer effects of these natural products and derivatives are manifested through diverse mechanisms, including induction of cell death via apoptosis and autophagy, and suppression of tumor angiogenesis.

CONCLUSION

An increasing array of natural products and their derivatives are proving effective against breast cancer. Future therapeutic strategies can benefit from strategic enhancement of the anticancer properties of natural compounds, optimization for targeted action, improved bioavailability, and minimized side effects. The forthcoming research on natural products should prioritize these facets to maximize their therapeutic potential.

Biodynamer Nano-Complexes and -Emulsions for Peptide and Protein Drug Delivery

Background

Therapeutic proteins and peptides offer great advantages compared to traditional synthetic molecular drugs. However, stable protein loading and precise control of protein release pose significant challenges due to the extensive range of physicochemical properties inherent to proteins. The development of a comprehensive protein delivery strategy becomes imperative accounting for the diverse nature of therapeutic proteins.

Methods

Biodynamers are amphiphilic proteoid dynamic polymers consisting of amino acid derivatives connected through pH-responsive dynamic covalent chemistry. Taking advantage of the amphiphilic nature of the biodynamers, PNCs and DEs were possible to be prepared and investigated to compare the delivery efficiency in drug loading, stability, and cell uptake.

Results

As a result, the optimized PNCs showed 3-fold encapsulation (<90%) and 5-fold loading capacity (30%) compared to DE-NPs. PNCs enhanced the delivery efficiency into the cells but aggregated easily on the cell membrane due to the limited stability. Although DE-NPs were limited in loading capacity compared to PNCs, they exhibit superior adaptability in stability and capacity for delivering a wider range of proteins compared to PNCs.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the potential of formulating both PNCs and DE-NPs using the same biodynamers, providing a comparative view on protein delivery efficacy using formulation methods.

Mitocytosis Mediated by an Enzyme-Activable Mitochondrion-Disturbing Polymer-Drug Conjugate Enhances Active Penetration in Glioblastoma Therapy

The application of nanomedicines for glioblastoma (GBM) therapy is hampered by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the dense glioblastoma tissue. To achieve efficient BBB crossing and deep GBM penetration, this work demonstrates a strategy of active transcellular transport of a mitochondrion-disturbing nanomedicine, pGBEMA22-b-pSSPPT9 (GBEPPT), in the GBM tissue through mitocytosis. GBEPPT is computer-aided designed and prepared by self-assembling a conjugate of an amphiphilic block polymer and a drug podophyllotoxin (PPT). When GBEPPT is delivered to the tumor site, overexpressed γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) on the brain-blood endothelial cell, or the GBM cell triggered enzymatic hydrolysis of γ-glutamylamide on GBEPPT to reverse its negative charge to positive. Positively charged GBEPPT rapidly enter into the cell and target the mitochondria. These GBEPPT disturb the homeostasis of mitochondria, inducing mitocytosis-mediated extracellular transport of GBEPPT to the neighboring cells via mitosomes. This intracellular-to-intercellular delivery cycle allows GBEPPT to penetrate deeply into the GBM parenchyma, and exert sustainable action of PPT released from GBEPPT on the tumor cells along its penetration path at the tumor site, thus improving the anti-GBM effect. The process of mitocytosis mediated by the mitochondrion-disturbing nanomedicine may offer great potential in enhancing drug penetration through malignant tissues, especially poorly permeable solid tumors.

Potential Application of Self-Assembled Peptides and Proteins in Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer

Ongoing research is gradually broadening the idea of cancer treatment, with attention being focused on nanoparticles to improve the stability, therapeutic efficacy, targeting, and other important metrics of conventional drugs and traditional drug delivery methods. Studies have demonstrated that drug delivery carriers based on biomaterials (e.g., protein nanoparticles and lipids) and inorganic materials (e.g., metal nanoparticles) have potential anticancer effects. Among these carriers, self-assembled proteins and peptides, which are highly biocompatible and easy to standardize and produce, are strong candidates for the preparation of anticancer drugs. Breast cancer (BC) and cervical cancer (CC) are two of the most common and deadly cancers in women. These cancers not only threaten lives globally but also put a heavy burden on the healthcare system. Despite advances in medical care, the incidence of these two cancers, particularly CC, which is almost entirely preventable, continues to rise, and the mortality rate remains steady. Therefore, there is still a need for in-depth research on these two cancers to develop more targeted, efficacious, and safe therapies. This paper reviews the types of self-assembling proteins and peptides (e.g., ferritin, albumin, and virus-like particles) and natural products (e.g., soy and paclitaxel) commonly used in the treatment of BC and CC and describes the types of drugs that can be delivered using self-assembling proteins and peptides as carriers (e.g., siRNAs, DNA, plasmids, and mRNAs). The mechanisms (including self-assembly) by which the natural products act on CC and BC are discussed. The mechanism of action of natural products on CC and BC and the mechanism of action of self-assembled proteins and peptides have many similarities (e.g., NF-KB and Wnt). Thus, natural products using self-assembled proteins and peptides as carriers show potential for the treatment of BC and CC.

Marine biomaterials in biomedical nano/micro-systems

Marine resources in unique marine environments provide abundant, cost-effective natural biomaterials with distinct structures, compositions, and biological activities compared to terrestrial species. These marine-derived raw materials, including polysaccharides, natural protein components, fatty acids, and marine minerals, etc., have shown great potential in preparing, stabilizing, or modifying multifunctional nano-/micro-systems and are widely applied in drug delivery, theragnostic, tissue engineering, etc. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the most current marine biomaterial-based nano-/micro-systems developed over the past three years, primarily focusing on therapeutic delivery studies and highlighting their potential to cure a variety of diseases. Specifically, we first provided a detailed introduction to the physicochemical characteristics and biological activities of natural marine biocomponents in their raw state. Furthermore, the assembly processes, potential functionalities of each building block, and a thorough evaluation of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of advanced marine biomaterial-based systems and their effects on molecular pathophysiological processes were fully elucidated. Finally, a list of unresolved issues and pivotal challenges of marine-derived biomaterials applications, such as standardized distinction of raw materials, long-term biosafety in vivo, the feasibility of scale-up, etc., was presented. This review is expected to serve as a roadmap for fundamental research and facilitate the rational design of marine biomaterials for diverse emerging applications.

Glycolysis in human cancers: Emphasis circRNA/glycolysis axis and nanoparticles in glycolysis regulation in cancer therapy

The metabolism of cancer has been an interesting hallmark and metabolic reprogramming, especially the change from oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria to glucose metabolism known as glycolysis occurs in cancer. The molecular profile of glycolysis, related molecular pathways and enzymes involved in this mechanism such as hexokinase have been fully understood. The glycolysis inhibition can significantly decrease tumorigenesis. On the other hand, circRNAs are new emerging non-coding RNA (ncRNA) molecules with potential biological functions and aberrant expression in cancer cells which have received high attention in recent years. CircRNAs have a unique covalently closed loop structure which makes them highly stable and reliable biomarkers in cancer. CircRNAs are regulators of molecular mechanisms including glycolysis. The enzymes involved in the glycolysis mechanism such as hexokinase are regulated by circRNAs to modulate tumor progression. Induction of glycolysis by circRNAs can significantly increase proliferation rate of cancer cells given access to energy and enhance metastasis. CircRNAs regulating glycolysis can influence drug resistance in cancers because of theirimpact on malignancy of tumor cells upon glycolysis induction. TRIM44, CDCA3, SKA2 and ROCK1 are among the downstream targets of circRNAs in regulating glycolysis in cancer. Additionally, microRNAs are key regulators of glycolysis mechanism in cancer cells and can affect related molecular pathways and enzymes. CircRNAs sponge miRNAs to regulate glycolysis as a main upstream mediator. Moreover, nanoparticles have been emerged as new tools in tumorigenesis suppression and in addition to drug and gene delivery, then mediate cancer immunotherapy and can be used for vaccine development. The nanoparticles can delivery circRNAs in cancer therapy and they are promising candidates in regulation of glycolysis, its suppression and inhibition of related pathways such as HIF-1α. The stimuli-responsive nanoparticles and ligand-functionalized ones have been developed for selective targeting of glycolysis and cancer cells, and mediating carcinogenesis inhibition.

A Dual-Targeting Liposome Enhances Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Chemoimmunotherapy through Inducing Immunogenic Cell Death and Inhibiting STAT3 Activation

Immunotherapy gains increasing focus in treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), while its efficacy is greatly restricted owing to low tumor immunogenicity and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITM). Herein, a LyP-1 and chondroitin sulfate (CS) dual-modified liposome co-loaded with paclitaxel (PTX) and cryptotanshinone (CTS), namely CS/LyP-1-PC Lip, is engineered for TNBC chemoimmunotherapy via induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD) and inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcript-3 (STAT3) activation. CS/LyP-1-PC Lip enhances cellular uptake through p32 and CD44 dual receptor-mediated endocytosis. Within the tumor, the CS layer is continuously detached by hyaluronidase to release drugs. Subsequently, CTS sensitizes the cytotoxicity of PTX to 4T1 tumor cells. PTX induces ICD of tumor cells and facilitates infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocyte to provoke immune response. Meanwhile, the concomitant delivery of CTS inhibits STAT3 activation to decrease infiltration of regulatory T cell, M2-type tumor-associated macrophage, and myeloid-derived suppressor cell, thus reversing ITM. Markedly, the dual-targeting liposome shows superior anti-tumor efficacy in subcutaneous TNBC mice and significant lung metastasis suppression in tumor metastasis model. Overall, this work offers a feasible combination regimen and a promising nanoplatform for the development of TNBC chemoimmunotherapy.

Self-assembled nanoformulations of paclitaxel for enhanced cancer theranostics

Chemotherapy has occupied the critical position in cancer therapy, especially towards the post-operative, advanced, recurrent, and metastatic tumors. Paclitaxel (PTX)-based formulations have been widely used in clinical practice, while the therapeutic effect is far from satisfied due to off-target toxicity and drug resistance. The caseless multi-components make the preparation technology complicated and aggravate the concerns with the excipients-associated toxicity. The self-assembled PTX nanoparticles possess a high drug content and could incorporate various functional molecules for enhancing the therapeutic index. In this work, we summarize the self-assembly strategy for diverse nanodrugs of PTX. Then, the advancement of nanodrugs for tumor therapy, especially emphasis on mono-chemotherapy, combinational therapy, and theranostics, have been outlined. Finally, the challenges and potential improvements have been briefly spotlighted.