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Tubertini M, Menilli L, Milani C, Martini C, Navacchia ML, Nugnes M, Bartolini M, Naldi M, Tedesco D, Martella E, Guerrini A, Ferroni C, Moret F, Varchi G. HSA-nanobinders crafted from bioresponsive prodrugs for combined cancer chemoimmunotherapy-an in vitro exploration. Front Chem 2024; 12:1378233. [PMID: 38591056 PMCID: PMC7615814 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1378233] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer still lacking effective treatment options. Chemotherapy in combination with immunotherapy can restrict tumor progression and repolarize the tumor microenvironment towards an anti-tumor milieu, improving clinical outcome in TNBC patients. The chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel has been shown to induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), whereas inhibitors of the indoleamine 2,3- dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) enzyme, whose expression is shared in immune regulatory and tumor cells, have been revealed to enhance the anti-tumor immune response. However, poor bioavailability and pharmacokinetics, off-target effects and hurdles in achieving therapeutic drug concentrations at the target tissue often limit the effectiveness of combination therapies. Methods This work describes the development of novel biomimetic and carrier-free nanobinders (NBs) loaded with both paclitaxel and the IDO1 inhibitor NLG919 in the form of bioresponsive and biomimetic prodrugs. A fine tuning of the preparation conditions allowed to identify NB@5 as the most suitable nanoformulation in terms of reproducibility, stability and in vitro effectiveness. Results and discussion Our data show that NB@5 effectively binds to HSA in cell-free experiments, demonstrating its protective role in the controlled release of drugs and suggesting the potential to exploit the protein as the endogenous vehicle for targeted delivery to the tumor site. Our study successfully proves that the drugs encapsulated within the NBs are preferentially released under the altered redox conditions commonly found in the tumor microenvironment, thereby inducing cell death, promoting ICD, and inhibiting IDO1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilde Tubertini
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Menilli
- Pharmacy Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCSS, Padua, Italy
| | - Celeste Milani
- Department of Biology (DiBio), University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Cecilia Martini
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Luisa Navacchia
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Marta Nugnes
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Manuela Bartolini
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina Naldi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBiT), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniele Tedesco
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Elisa Martella
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Guerrini
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudia Ferroni
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesca Moret
- Department of Biology (DiBio), University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Greta Varchi
- Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Bologna, Italy
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