Targeted co-delivery of a photosensitizer and an antisense oligonucleotide based on an activatable hyaluronic acid nanosystem with endogenous oxygen generation for enhanced photodynamic therapy of hypoxic tumors.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment modality with advantages of minimal invasiveness, repeatable therapy, and mild systemic toxicity. However, the limited bioavailability of photosensitizer (PS), tumor hypoxia, and the presence of antiapoptotic proteins in cancer cells, has hampered the efficiency of PDT. To address these limitations, herein, we developed a hyaluronic acid (HA) based nanosystem (HA-Ce6-Hemin@DNA-Protamine NPs, HCH@DP) loaded with chlorin e6 (Ce6, as PS), hemin (as mimetic catalase) and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) anti-apoptosis protein via a simple electrostatic self-assembly method for enhanced PDT of hypoxic solid tumors. The HCH@DP can target deliver the PS and ASO to tumor cells via cancer cell overexpressed HA receptors (i.e., CD44 or RHAMM). The Ce6 was released from HA-ss-Ce6 (HSC conjugates) after the reaction of cleavable disulfide bond with glutathione (GSH), which recovered the fluorescence and phototoxicity of Ce6 upon laser irradiation. Meanwhile, the catalase-mimicking hemin (degradation of HA-eda-hemin by hyaluronidase) decomposed the tumor overdressed endogenous H2O2 to oxygen, which relieved tumor hypoxia and further overcome hypoxia-associated resistance of PDT. Furthermore, the inhibition of Bcl-2 expression by Bcl-2 ASO also greatly improved the cellular sensitivity to PDT. Both in vitro and in vivo results showed the tumor cell targeting ability, hypoxia relief and significantly enhanced antitumor PDT efficacy of HCH@DP for hypoxic tumor cells upon laser irradiation. Thus, by improving the target delivery of PS and ASO, relieving tumor hypoxia, and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins, this HCH@DP nanosystem achieved enhanced PDT efficiency against hypoxic tumors. In general, our work provided a promising strategy to increase the utilization of key components (PS and oxygen) of PDT and the cell sensitivity to PDT by targeting co-delivery PS and oligonucleotides to tumor cells via a biocompatible HA based carrier, thereby achieving efficiently PDT treatment of hypoxic solid tumors with potential translation possibility. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The efficiency of PDT against solid tumor is severely restricted by the limited bioavailability of photosensitizer, tumor hypoxia, and the presence of antiapoptotic proteins in cancer cells. Herein, we have developed an activatable hyaluronic acid (HA) based nanosystem (HA-Ce6-Hemin@DNA-Protamine NPs, HCH@DP) via a simple electrostatic self-assembly method for PDT treatment of hypoxic solid tumors. The HCH@DP enabled to target co-delivery of photosensitizer and antisense oligonucleotide to tumor cells, overcoming tumor hypoxia through in situ oxygen production and improving cellular sensitivity by efficiently reducing anti-apoptosis effect of cancer cells for synergistically enhancing PDT efficiency. This work suggests a promising strategy to develop small molecule drug and oligonucleotides co-delivery nanoplatforms for efficiently PDT treatment of hypoxic solid tumor.

Wu Y ，Ding L ，Zheng C ，Li H ，Wu M ，Sun Y ，Liu X ，Zhang X ，Zeng Y ... -  《-》

Catalase-Integrated Hyaluronic Acid as Nanocarriers for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy in Solid Tumor.

Phua SZF ，Yang G ，Lim WQ ，Verma A ，Chen H ，Thanabalu T ，Zhao Y ... -  《-》

Oxygen-producing catalase-based prodrug nanoparticles overcoming resistance in hypoxia-mediated chemo-photodynamic therapy.

Extreme hypoxia inside solid tumors is the primary barrier against the advance of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT). To address this problem, a hybrid nano-enzyme prodrug system was developed to alleviate hypoxia as well as simultaneously sensitize chemo-photodynamic therapy. Lactobionic acid (LA) and doxorubicin (DOX) precursor (cis-aconitic anhydride-linked doxorubicin, CAD) were pre-conjugated onto the side chain of catalase (CAT), then co-assembled with chlorin e6 (Ce6) to form LA-CAT-CAD@Ce6 nanoparticles (LCC@Ce6-NPs). LA as the active-targeting ligand increased cellular internalization, CAD as the pH-sensitive component triggered rapid drug release, Ce6 as the photosensitizer induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and CAT decomposed intracellular H2O2 to produce oxygen in situ. Oxygen production efficiently decreased the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which enhanced chemotherapy efficiency. In addition, sufficient oxygen further amplified PDT-mediated cell-killing and apoptosis in hypoxic tumor. In vivo studies showed that combined chemo-photodynamic therapy by LCC@Ce6-NPs led to the most effective inhibition of tumor growth (TGI>90%), and even partially ablated tumor. Thus, this nano-enzyme prodrug platform can be a potentially effective treatment in clinical cancer therapy, and married to other therapeutic agents. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Hypoxia in solid tumors seriously impedes the efficacy of chemotherapy or photodynamic therapy. Herein, we designed hybrid nano-enzyme prodrug particles to improve hypoxia-mediated limitations on cancer therapy. Lactobionic acid (LA) as the hydrophilic outer layer of particles increased cellular uptake by receptor-mediated endocytosis, and cis-aconitic anhydride-linked doxorubicin (CAD) as the pH sensitive component inside particles efficiently triggered DOX and Ce6 release. More importantly, catalase (CAT) as the backbone of particles was capable of greatly relieving tumor hypoxia through catalyzing the decomposition of H2O2 in situ. Oxygen re-generation not only prevented hypoxia-mediated chemo-resistance, but also amplified PDT-induced ROS cell-killing ability. As a result, the multiple combination action of this nano-system could simultaneously sensitize chemo-photodynamic therapy, thus significantly enhancing tumor therapy.

Cheng X ，He L ，Xu J ，Fang Q ，Yang L ，Xue Y ，Wang X ，Tang R ... -  《-》

Catalytic nanographene oxide with hemin for enhanced photodynamic therapy.

Hypoxia is a hallmark of many malignant solid tumors. The inadequate oxygen concentration in the hypoxic regions of a solid tumor impedes the efficiency of photodynamic therapy (PDT) because the generation of reactive oxygen species during the PDT process is directly dependent on the available oxygen. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of PDT, we have developed a novel catalytic nanoplatform (nGO-hemin-Ce6) by co-encapsulating hemin as a catalase-mimetic nanozyme and chlorin e6 (Ce6) as a photosensitizer into Pluronic-coated nanographene oxide through simple hydrophobic interaction and π-π stacking. The nanosystem showed high cellular uptake in the breast cancer cells but did not show any cytotoxicity in the dark condition. nGO-hemin-Ce6 showed efficient O2 generation capacity in the presence of H2O2, through the catalase-mimetic activity of hemin. In the in vitro cell experiments, only nGO-hemin-Ce6 could show comparable PDT effect in normoxia as well as hypoxia due to the in situ O2 generation capability. Upon intravenous administration, nGO-hemin-Ce6 nanosystem showed high tumor accumulation through passive targeting owing to their small size (~ 50 nm). Within the tumor, hemin generated O2 from the endogenous H2O2 and attenuated hypoxia as evidenced by the reduced expression of HIF-1α, a prominent hypoxia marker. Meanwhile, catalytically generated O2 markedly improved the therapeutic efficiency of PDT in a mouse tumor xenograft model by aiding the light-induced ROS production by Ce6. Compared to a control nanosystem without hemin (nGOCe6), the catalytic nanosystem of nGO-hemin-Ce6 exhibited significantly higher tumor suppression ability.

Sahu A ，Min K ，Jeon J ，Yang HS ，Tae G ... -  《-》

CD44 Receptor-Mediated/Reactive Oxygen Species-Sensitive Delivery of Nanophotosensitizers against Cervical Cancer Cells.

Yoon J ，Kim H ，Jeong YI ，Yang HS ... -  《INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES》