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Intravital Microscopy of Tumor-associated Vasculature Using Advanced Dorsal Skinfold Window Chambers on Transgenic Fluorescent Mice
Published on: January 19, 2018
Emerging nanotechnological approaches to regulating tumor vasculature for cancer therapy
Chunling Wang1, Junchao Xu2, Yinlong Zhang3
1CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials & Nanosafety, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China; Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research, Sino-Danish College of UCAS, Beijing 100190, China.
Abstract:
Abnormal angiogenesis stands for one of the most striking manifestations of malignant tumor. The pathologically and structurally abnormal tumor vasculature facilitates a hostile tumor microenvironment, providing an ideal refuge exclusively for cancer cells. The emergence of vascular regulation drugs has introduced a distinctive class of therapeutics capable of influencing nutrition supply and drug delivery efficacy without the need to penetrate a series of physical barriers to reach tumor cells. Nanomedicines have been further developed for more precise regulation of tumor vasculature with the capacity of co-delivering multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients, which overall reduces the systemic toxicity and boosts the therapeutic efficacy of free drugs. Additionally, precise structure design enables the integration of specific functional motifs, such as surface-targeting ligands, droppable shells, degradable framework, or stimuli-responsive components into nanomedicines, which can improve tissue-specific accumulation, enhance tissue penetration, and realize the controlled and stimulus-triggered release of the loaded cargo. This review describes the morphological and functional characteristics of tumor blood vessels and summarizes the pivotal molecular targets commonly used in nanomedicine design, and then highlights the recent cutting-edge advancements utilizing nanotechnologies for precise regulation of tumor vasculature. Finally, the challenges and future directions of this field are discussed.
Insights
Abnormal tumor angiogenesis creates a hostile environment for cancer. Nanomedicines offer precise vascular regulation, improving drug delivery and reducing toxicity for enhanced cancer therapy.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Abnormal tumor angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer, creating a unique microenvironment that supports tumor growth and metastasis.
- Tumor vasculature is structurally and functionally distinct from normal vasculature, presenting challenges for drug delivery.
- Vascular-targeting drugs and nanomedicines offer strategies to disrupt tumor blood supply and enhance therapeutic outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the characteristics of tumor blood vessels and identify key molecular targets for nanomedicine design.
- To highlight advancements in nanotechnologies for precise regulation of tumor vasculature.
- To discuss challenges and future directions in nanomedicine for cancer therapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on tumor angiogenesis and nanomedicine.
- Analysis of molecular targets in tumor vasculature relevant to nanomedicine design.
- Synthesis of recent research on nanotechnologies for vascular regulation in cancer.
Main Results:
- Nanomedicines enable precise regulation of tumor vasculature and co-delivery of therapeutics.
- Functional motifs in nanomedicines improve tissue accumulation, penetration, and controlled release.
- Targeting tumor vasculature with nanomedicines reduces systemic toxicity and enhances therapeutic efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Nanomedicines represent a promising approach for precise regulation of tumor vasculature.
- Targeted nanomedicine design can overcome limitations of conventional cancer therapies.
- Further research is needed to address challenges and optimize nanomedicine applications in oncology.
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