Lin Hou,Dandan Chen,Lisha Hao,Chunyu Tian,Yingshan Yan,Ling Zhu,Huijuan Zhang,Yi Zhang,Zhenzhong Zhang
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are important barriers for nanoparticles (NPs) to deeply penetrate into tumors and severely limit the antitumor efficacy of nanomedicines. Herein, we proposed a CAF-triggered transformable drug delivery system based on a cleavable peptide responsive to fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP-α) specifically overexpressed on the surface of CAFs. The NPs were composed of cationic poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers cross-linked by our designed peptide, a chemotherapeutical drug was incorporated onto PAMAM using disulfide bonds and finally, hyaluronic acid (HA) was conjugated to improve the tumor targetability as well as biocompatibility through electrostatic interactions. These NPs had an initial size of ∼200 nm and negative zeta potential favorable for stable blood circulation; however, after docking with CAFs, they dissociated into smaller NPs and exposed the relative positive surface charge to facilitate penetration and enter the tumor cells together with CAFs. An interesting finding was that this system intracellularly released different levels of drugs in these two kinds of cells, which was beneficial for the disruption of the stromal barrier and increasing the local drug accumulation. Our investigation confirmed that the constructed system could alleviate the biological barriers and hold promising therapeutic efficiency for desmoplastic solid tumors.
Chen Jian,Tingting Wu,Lulu Wang,Chen Gao,Zhiwen Fu,Qian Zhang,Chen Shi
Radiation resistance in breast cancer resulting in residual lesions or recurrence is a significant cause to radiotherapy failure. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and radiotherapy-induced senescent CAFs can further lead to radiation resistance and tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Here, an engineering cancer-cell-biomimetic nanoplatform is constructed for dual-targeted clearance of CAFs as well as senescent CAFs. The nanoplatform is prepared by 4T1 cell membrane vesicles chimerized with FAP single-chain fragment variable as the biomimetic shell for targeting of CAFs and senescent CAFs, and PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) co-encapsulated with nintedanib and ABT-263 as the core for clearance of CAFs and senescent CAFs, which are noted as FAP-CAR-CM@PLGA-AB NPs. It is evidenced that FAP-CAR-CM@PLGA-AB NPs directly suppressed the tumor-promoting effect of senescent CAFs. It also exhibits prolonged blood circulation and enhanced tumor accumulation, dual-cleared CAFs and senescent CAFs, improved radiation resistance in both acquired and patient-derived radioresistant tumor cells, and effective antitumor effect with the tumor suppression rate of 86.7%. In addition, FAP-CAR-CM@PLGA-AB NPs reverse the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment and enhance systemic antitumor immunity. The biomimetic system for dual-targeted clearance of CAFs and senescent CAFs provides a potential strategy for enhancing the radio-sensitization of breast cancer.