摘要
The immune checkpoint blockade therapy has profoundly revolutionized the field of cancer immunotherapy. However, despite great promise for a variety of cancers, the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors is still low in colorectal cancer(CRC). This is mainly due to the immunosuppressive feature of the tumor microenvironment(TME). Emerging evidence reveals that certain chemotherapeutic drugs induce immunogenic cell death(ICD), demonstrating great potential for remodeling the immunosuppressive TME. In this study, the potential of ginsenoside Rg3(Rg3) as an ICD inducer against CRC cells was confirmed using in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches. The ICD efficacy of Rg3 could be significantly enhanced by quercetin(QTN) that elicited reactive oxygen species(ROS). To amelioratein vivo delivery barriers associated with chemotherapeutic drugs, a folate(FA)-targeted polyethylene glycol(PEG)-modified amphiphilic cyclodextrin nanoparticle(NP) was developed for co-encapsulation of Rg3 and QTN. The resultant nanoformulation(CD-PEG-FA.Rg3.QTN) significantly prolonged blood circulation and enhanced tumor targeting in an orthotopic CRC mouse model, resulting in the conversion of immunosuppressive TME. Furthermore, the CD-PEG-FA.Rg3.QTN achieved significantly longer survival of animals in combination with Anti-PD-L1. The study provides a promising strategy for the treatment of CRC.
基金
financial support from the Department of Education of Jilin Province,China(JJKH20190099KJ)
the Outstanding Youth Foundation from the Department of Science and Technology of Jilin Province,China(20170520046JH)
Health Commission of Jilin Province,China(2020Q012)
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(China)
Talents Cultivation Program of Jilin University
financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(81774240,82074154)
Siming Scholar from Shanghai Shuguang Hospital(SGXZ-201904,China)
financial support from Science Foundation Ireland co-funded under the European Regional Development:Centre for Research in Medical Devices,CURAM(13/RC/2073,Ireland)
Synthesis and Solid State Cluster,SSPC(12/RC/2275,Ireland),and Centre for Advanced Materials and Bio Engineering Research,AMBER(12/RC/2275,Ireland)。