Aptamer Circuit-Engineered Bio-Nanovesicles With Self-Promoted Tumor-Targeting Loop for Efficient Immunogenic...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Therapy

Background:

• Targeted drug delivery is crucial for effective chemotherapy, minimizing side effects.
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) show promise as drug carriers but lack sufficient tumor-targeting ability.
• Developing advanced strategies to enhance EV tumor specificity is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design an aptamer-based cascade recognition system to improve EV tumor targeting.
• To engineer a self-promoted targeting loop to amplify drug delivery to cancer cells.
• To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of this enhanced EV system in cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• Constructed an aptamer circuit for sequential signal transduction and cascade recognition.
• Utilized Doxorubicin Hydrochloride (DOX)-loaded EVs for drug delivery.
• Investigated the role of PDL1 marker upregulation in tumor targeting.
• Assessed the induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD) and anti-tumor immune response.

Main Results:

• The aptamer circuit enabled preferential binding of EVs to cancer cells over non-cancerous cells.
• DOX release triggered a self-promoted targeting loop, upregulating PDL1 and enhancing tumor accumulation.
• The engineered EVs successfully induced ICD and stimulated an anti-tumor immune response.
• Improved therapeutic outcomes were observed with the vesicle-based drug carrier.

Conclusions:

• A self-promoted tumor-targeting strategy for EV-based carriers was successfully developed.
• Coupling cascade recognition and a tumor-targeting loop significantly enhances therapeutic effects.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for immunogenic chemotherapy and cancer treatment.