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Liu J, Yu X, Braucht A, Smith S, Wang C. N-Cadherin Targeted Melanin Nanoparticles Reverse the Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Vascular Endothelial Cells to Potentially Slow the Progression of Atherosclerosis and Cancer. ACS Nano 2024; 18:8229-8247. [PMID: 38427686 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) of vascular endothelial cells has recently been considered as a key player in the early progression of a variety of vascular and nonvascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, cancer, and organ fibrosis. However, current strategies attempting to identify pharmacological inhibitors to block the regulatory pathways of EndoMT suffer from poor selectivity, unwanted side effects, and a heterogeneous response from endothelial cells with different origins. Furthermore, EndoMT inhibitors focus on preventing EndoMT, leaving the endothelial cells that have already undergone EndoMT unresolved. Here, we report the design of a simple but powerful nanoparticle system (i.e., N-cadherin targeted melanin nanoparticles) to convert cytokine-activated, mesenchymal-like endothelial cells back to their original endothelial phenotype. We term this process "Reversed EndoMT" (R-EndoMT). R-EndoMT allows the impaired endothelial barriers to recover their quiescence and intactness, with significantly reduced leukocyte and cancer cell adhesion and transmigration, which could potentially stop atheromatous plaque formation and cancer metastasis in the early stages. R-EndoMT is achieved on different endothelial cell types originating from arteries, veins, and capillaries, independent of activating cytokines. We reveal that N-cadherin targeted melanin nanoparticles reverse EndoMT by downregulating an N-cadherin dependent RhoA activation pathway. Overall, this approach offers a different prospect to treat multiple EndoMT-associated diseases by designing nanoparticles to reverse the phenotypical transition of endothelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyuan Liu
- Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
- BioSystems Networks & Translational Research (BioSNTR), 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
| | - Xiao Yu
- Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
- BioSystems Networks & Translational Research (BioSNTR), 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
| | - Annaliese Braucht
- Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
- BioSystems Networks & Translational Research (BioSNTR), 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
| | - Steve Smith
- Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
- BioSystems Networks & Translational Research (BioSNTR), 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
| | - Congzhou Wang
- Nanoscience and Biomedical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
- BioSystems Networks & Translational Research (BioSNTR), 501 E St Joseph Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701, United States
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