Brain endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles with a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer effectively treat glioblastoma by hijacking the blood-brain barrier

Glioblastoma(GBM)is the most aggressive malignant brain tumor and has a high mortality rate.Photodynamic therapy(PDT)has emerged as a promising approach for the treatment of malignant brain tumors.However,the use of PDT for the treatment of GBM has been limited by its low blood-brain barrier(BBB)permeability and lack of cancer-targeting ability.Herein,brain endothelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles(bEVs)were used as a biocompatible nanoplatform to transport photosensitizers into brain tumors across the BBB.To enhance PDT efficacy,the photosensitizer chlorin e6(Ce6)was linked to mitochondria-targeting triphenylphosphonium(TPP)and entrapped into bEVs.TPPconjugated Ce6(TPP-Ce6)selectively accumulated in the mitochondria,which rendered brain tumor cells more susceptible to reactive oxygen species-induced apoptosis under light irradiation.Moreover,the encapsulation of TPP-Ce6 into b EVs markedly improved the aqueous stability and cellular internalization of TPP-Ce6,leading to significantly enhanced PDT efficacy in U87MG GBM cells.An in vivo biodistribution study using orthotopic GBM-xenografted mice showed that b EVs containing TPP-Ce6[b EV(TPP-Ce6)]substantially accumulated in brain tumors after BBB penetration via transferrin receptor-mediated transcytosis.As such,b EV(TPP-Ce6)-mediated PDT considerably inhibited the growth of GBM without causing adverse systemic toxicity,suggesting that mitochondria are an effective target for photodynamic GBM therapy.

Targeted and effective photodynamic therapy for cancer using functionalized nanomaterials

Photodynamic therapy(PDT) is an emerging, non-invasive therapeutic strategy that involves photosensitizer(PS) drugs and external light for the treatment of diseases. Despite the great progress in PS-mediated PDT, their clinical applications are still hampered by poor water solubility and tissue/cell specificity of conventional PS drugs. Therefore, great efforts have been made towards the development of nanomaterials that can tackle fundamental challenges in conventional PS drug–mediated PDT for cancer treatment. This review highlights recent advances in the development of nano-platforms, in which various functionalized organic and inorganic nanomaterials are integrated with PS drugs, for significantly enhanced efficacy and tumor-selectivity of PDT.

Mitochondria-targeting drug conjugates for cytotoxic, anti-oxidizing and sensing purposes:current strategies and future perspectives

mitochondrial-targeting moieties to anticancer drugs, antioxidants and sensor molecules. Among them, the most widely applied mitochondrial targeting moiety is triphenylphosphonium(TPP), which is a delocalized cationic lipid that readily accumulates and penetrates through the mitochondrial membrane due to the highly negative mitochondrial membrane potential. Other moieties, including short peptides,dequalinium, guanidine, rhodamine, and F16, are also known to be promising mitochondrial targeting agents. Direct conjugation of mitochondrial targeting moieties to anticancer drugs, antioxidants and sensors results in increased cytotoxicity, anti-oxidizing activity and sensing activity, respectively,compared with their non-targeting counterparts, especially in drug-resistant cells. Although many mitochondria-targeted anticancer drug conjugates have been investigated in vitro and in vivo, further clinical studies are still needed. On the other hand, several mitochondria-targeting antioxidants have been analyzed in clinical phases I, II and III trials, and one conjugate has been approved for treating eye disease in Russia. There are numerous ongoing studies of mitochondria-targeted sensors.