Dual-drug codelivery nanosystems: An emerging approach for overcoming cancer multidrug resistance
Jianing Gong1, Taoran Shi1, Jinfeng Liu1
1School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 301617, China.
Abstract:
Multidrug resistance (MDR) promotes tumor recurrence and metastasis and heavily reduces anticancer efficiency, which has become a primary reason for the failure of clinical chemotherapy. The mechanisms of MDR are so complex that conventional chemotherapy usually fails to achieve an ideal therapeutic effect and even accelerates the occurrence of MDR. In contrast, the combination of chemotherapy with dual-drug has significant advantages in tumor therapy. A novel dual-drug codelivery nanosystem, which combines dual-drug administration with nanotechnology, can overcome the application limitation of free drugs. Both the characteristics of nanoparticles and the synergistic effect of dual drugs contribute to circumventing various drug-resistant mechanisms in tumor cells. Therefore, developing dual-drug codelivery nanosystems with different multidrug-resistant mechanisms has an important reference value for reversing MDR and enhancing the clinical antitumor effect. In this review, the advantages, principles, and common codelivery nanocarriers in the application of dual-drug codelivery systems are summarized. The molecular mechanisms of MDR and the dual-drug codelivery nanosystems designed based on different mechanisms are mainly introduced. Meanwhile, the development prospects and challenges of codelivery nanosystems are also discussed, which provide guidelines to exploit optimized combined chemotherapy strategies in the future.
Insights
Dual-drug codelivery nanosystems offer a promising strategy to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer therapy. These systems combine nanotechnology with synergistic drug combinations to enhance anticancer efficiency and combat tumor recurrence.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nanotechnology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Multidrug resistance (MDR) significantly reduces chemotherapy effectiveness, leading to tumor recurrence and metastasis.
- Complex MDR mechanisms often render conventional chemotherapy inadequate and can accelerate resistance development.
- Dual-drug chemotherapy combined with nanotechnology offers advantages in overcoming drug limitations and resistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the advantages and principles of dual-drug codelivery nanosystems for overcoming MDR.
- To summarize common nanocarriers used in these systems.
- To discuss molecular mechanisms of MDR and nanosystem designs targeting them.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of dual-drug codelivery nanosystems.
- Analysis of MDR mechanisms and their circumvention by nanosystems.
- Discussion of nanocarrier types and their roles in codelivery.
Main Results:
- Dual-drug codelivery nanosystems can overcome limitations of free drugs by leveraging nanoparticle properties and synergistic drug effects.
- These systems are designed to circumvent various drug-resistant mechanisms in tumor cells.
- The combination strategy shows significant potential for reversing MDR.
Conclusions:
- Dual-drug codelivery nanosystems are valuable for reversing MDR and improving clinical antitumor effects.
- Further development of these systems offers guidelines for optimized combined chemotherapy strategies.
- Addressing challenges in codelivery nanosystem development is crucial for future clinical translation.
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