Scorpiones,Scolopendra and Gekko Inhibit Lung Cancer Growth and Metastasis by Ameliorating Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment via PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1αSignaling Pathway

Objective:To investigate whether Buthus martensii karsch(Scorpiones),Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans L.Koch(Scolopendra)and Gekko gecko Linnaeus(Gekko)could ameliorate the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and inhibit lung cancer growth and metastasis by regulating phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin/hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1α)signaling pathway.Methods:Male C57BL/6J mice were inoculated with luciferase labeled LL/2-luc-M38 cell suspension to develop lung cancer models,with rapamycin and cyclophosphamide as positive controls.Carboxy methyl cellulose solutions of Scorpiones,Scolopendra and Gekko were administered intragastrically as 0.33,0.33,and 0.83 g/kg,respectively once daily for 21 days.Fluorescent expression were detected every 7 days after inoculation,and tumor growth curves were plotted.Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine CD31 and HIF-1αexpressions in tumor tissue and microvessel density(MVD)was analyzed.Western blot was performed to detect the expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1αsignaling pathway-related proteins.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to detect serum basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF),transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in mice.Results:Scorpiones,Scolopendra and Gekko prolonged the survival time and inhibited lung cancer metastasis and expression of HIF-1α(all P<0.01).Moreover,Scorpiones,Scolopendra and Gekko inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT and ribosomal protein S6 kinase(p70S6K)(P<0.05 or P<0.01).In addition,they also decreased the expression of CD31,MVD,bFGF,TGF-β1 and VEGF compared with the model group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion:Scorpiones,Scolopendra and Gekko all showed beneficial effects on lung cancer by ameliorating the hypoxic tumor microenvironment via PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF-1αsignaling pathway.

Upconverting nanoparticle-containing erythrocyte-sized hemoglobin microgels that generate heat,oxygen and reactive oxygen species for suppressing hypoxic tumors

Inspired by erythrocytes that contain oxygen-carrying hemoglobin(Hb)and that exhibit photo-driven activity,we introduce homogenous-sized erythrocyte-like Hb microgel(μGel)systems(5-6μm)that can(i)emit heat,(ii)supply oxygen,and(iii)generate reactive oxygen species(ROS;1O2)in response to near-infrared(NIR)laser irradiation.Hb μGels consist of Hb,bovine serum albumin(BSA),chlorin e6(Ce6)and erbium@lutetium upconverting nanoparticles(UCNPs;~35 nm)that effectively convert 808 nm NIR light to 660 nm visible light.These Hb μGels are capable of releasing oxygen to help generate sufficient reactive oxygen species(^(1)O_(2))from UCNPs/Ce6 under severely hypoxic condition upon NIR stimulation for efficient photodynamic activity.Moreover,the Hb μGels emit heat and increase surface temperature due to NIR light absorption by heme(iron protoporphyrin IX)and display photothermal activity.By changing the Hb/UCNP/Ce6 ratio and controlling the amount of NIR laser irradiation,it is possible to formulate bespoke Hb μGels with either photothermal or photodynamic activity or both in the context of combined therapeutic effect.These Hb μGels effectively suppress highly hypoxic 4T1 cell spheroid growth and xenograft mice tumors in vivo.

Sono-ReCORMs for synergetic sonodynamic-gas therapy of hypoxic tumor

Carbon monoxide(CO)gas therapy,a novel anti-tumor technique based on the cytotoxicity from the CO released in situ,has become one of the hot topics in cancer treatment.Since the technique is oxygenindependent,it displays promising therapeutic effect for hypoxic tumor where traditional photodynamic therapy shows limited efficacy and insufficient penetration depth.To fully address these limitations of PDT,we propose a synergetic sonodynamic-CO gas releasing strategy for the therapy of hypoxic tumor.In this work,two rhenium(Ⅰ)tricarbonyl complexes with different substituted ligands are investigated for US-triggered ROS generation and CO release.Our results indicated that the electron-donating NMe2-substituted complex(Re-NMe2)exhibits stronger luminescence intensity and generates more singlet oxygen(1O2)than the electron-withdrawing NO2-substituted complex(Re-NO2).In addition,Re-NMe2displays release of CO triggered by US,thus showing high sono-cytotoxicity to tumor cells in-vitro and in-vivo.The strong ROS-generating capability combined with rapid CO-releasing feature from Re-NMe2has made it a powerful tool for the efficient treatment of hypoxic tumor.

Cyanobacteria-based near-infrared light-excited self-supplying oxygen system for enhanced photodynamic therapy of hypoxic tumors

Tumor hypoxia has been considered to induce tumor cell resistance to radiotherapy and anticancer chemotherapy,as well as predisposing for increased tumor metastases.Therefore,strategies for the eradication of the hypoxic tumor are highly desirable.Photodynamic therapy(PDT)is a new technique that can be used to treat tumors using laser irradiation to photochemically activate a photosensitizer.Compared to traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy,photodynamic therapy has many advantages,such as good selectivity,low toxicity,and less trauma and resistance.However,PDT is oxygen-dependent,and the lack of oxygen in hypoxic tumors renders photodynamic therapy ineffective.Cyanobacteria,the earliest photosynthetic oxygen-generating organisms,can utilize water as an electron donor to reduce CO_(2) into organic carbon compounds along with continuously releasing oxygen under sunlight.Inspired by this,herein,cyanobacteria were used as a living carrier of photosensitizer conjugated upconversion nanoparticles(UCNP)to construct a self-supplying oxygen PDT system.Improvement in the PDT efficiency for hypoxic tumors can be achieved as a result of in situ oxygen production by cyanobacteria under near-infrared(NIR)light using UCNP as a light harvesting antenna.A successful demonstration of this concept would be of great significance and could open the door to a new generation of carrier systems in the field of hypoxia-targeted drug transport platforms.

Construction of Type I Aggregation-Induced Emission Photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy via Photoinduced Electron Transfer Mechanism

Photodynamic therapy(PDT)as a non-invasive anticancer modality has received increasing attention due to its advantages of noninvasiveness,high temporospatial selectivity,simple and controllable operation,etc.PDT mainly relies on the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species(ROS)by photosensitizers(PSs)under the light irradiation to cause cancer cell apoptosis and death.However,solid tumors usually exhibit an inherent hypoxic microenvironment,which greatly limits the PDT efficacy of these high oxygen-dependent conventional type II PSs.Therefore,it is of great importance to design and develop efficient type I PSs that are less oxygen-dependent for the treatment of hypoxic tumors.Herein,a new strategy for the preparation of efficient type I PSs by introducing the photoinduced electron transfer(PET)mechanism is reported.DR-NO_(2) is obtained by introducing 4-nitrobenzyl to(Z)-2-(5-(4-(diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-4-oxo-3-phenylthiazolidin-2-ylidene)malononitrile(DR-OH)with aggregation-induced emission(AIE)feature.The AIE feature ensures their high ROS generation efficiency in aggregate,and the PET process leads to fluorescence quenching of DR-NO_(2) to promote triplet state formation,which also promotes intramolecular charge separation and electron transfer that is conducive for type I ROS particularly superoxide radicals generation.In addition,DR-NO_(2) nanoparticles are prepared by nanoprecipitation to possess nanoscaled sizes,high cancer cell uptake,and excellent type I ROS generation ability,which results in an excellent performance in PDT ablation of MCF-7 cancer cells.This PET strategy for the development of type I PSs possesses great potential for PDT applications against hypoxic tumors.

Unexpected Photocatalytic Degeneration of NAD^(+) for Inducing Apoptosis of Hypoxia Cancer Cells

Developing customized chemical reactions that could regulate a specific biological process on demand is regarded as an advanced and promising strategy for treating diseases.However,conventional chemical reactions become challenging in complex physiological environments,which demand mild reaction conditions,high efficiency,good biocompatibility,and strong controllability.Moreover,the effects of the achieved reactions on the real biological system are usually further lessened.Herein,we describe an advanced photocatalytic reaction that irreversibly converted nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NAD+)to nicotinamide and adenosine diphosphate(ADP)-ribose by the cationic conjugated poly(fluorene-co-phenylene)(PFP).This reaction was introduced to tumor cells and triggered cell apoptosis.Under white-light illumination,the photocatalytic reaction decreased the NAD+ratio in tumor cells,disrupted the mitochondrial membrane potential,inhibited the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate(ATP),and effectively induced apoptosis.We propose a mechanism of the reaction where PFP is photoexcited to PFP*,and the obtained photoelectrons are transferred from PFP*to NAD+to produce nicotinamide and another unstable intermediate,ADP-ribosyl radical.ADP-ribosyl radical quickly reacts with triethanolamine to form ADP-ribose.This intracellular utilization of a specific photocatalytic reaction could offer a new approach to affect biological function for efficient cancer treatment.

Ultrasound cascade regulation of nano-oxygen hybrids triggering ferroptosis augmented sonodynamic anticancer therapy

Sonodynamic therapy(SDT)has attracted great interest in the field of cancer therapy because of its non-invasiveness,deep penetration,spatiotemporal controllability.However,the sonodynamic effect is severely hindered by hypoxia and a high glutathione(GSH)level in tumor microenvironment.In this work,a new type of nanohybrid sonosensitizer is designed,which incorporates several prominent advantages of organic,inorganic,natural sonosensitizers for imaging-guided SDT and ferroptosis induction.As an endogenous transporter,hemoglobin(Hb)has dual functions of oxygen and iron supplement.Apparently,Hb can transport iron to the tumor site for Fe-dependent ferroptosis,yet this oxygen carrier is able to enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to oxygen-driven SDT.We innovatively hybridized Hb,sinoporphyrin sodium(DVDMS),titanium dioxide(TiO_(2))to prepare an integrated nano-oxygen carrier(designated as HDT)for multifarious cancer theranostics,which not only attained satisfactory sonosensitization of DVDMS/TiO_(2)but also achieved oxygen-boosted SDT and potent ferroptosis via Hb.Under ultrasound irradiation,the oxygenation of HDT markedly amplified the generation of reactive oxygen species(ROS)in hypoxic tumors,promoted the valence transition of Hb to accelerate Fenton reaction,led to ferroptosis.This strategy virtually eradicated tumors in situ and exhibited immunoregulatory potential for augmenting anti-tumor effects in vivo and in vitro through ROS formation,O_(2)self-supplement,GSH depletion,lipid peroxidation.Collectively,HDT demonstrated excellent dual-modal imaging performance,providing a valuable platform for photoacoustic/fluorescence-guided SDT and ferroptosis induction in tumor cells.