Jin-Xuan Fan

Carbon-Dot-Decorated Carbon Nitride Nanoparticles for Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy against Hypoxic Tumor via Water Splitting

Hypoxia, a typical feature of solid tumors, remarkably restricts the efficiency of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Here, a carbon nitride (C3N4)-based multifunctional nanocomposite (PCCN) for light-driven water splitting was used to solve this problem. Carbon dots were first doped with C3N4 to enhance its red region absorption because red light could be used to trigger the in vivo water splitting process. Then, a polymer containing a protoporphyrin photosensitizer, a polyethylene glycol segment, and a targeting Arg-Gly-Asp motif was synthesized and introduced to carbon-dot-doped C3N4 nanoparticles. In vitro study showed that PCCN, thus obtained, could increase the intracellular O2 concentration and improve the reactive oxygen species generation in both hypoxic and normoxic environments upon light irradiation. Cell viability assay demonstrated that PCCN fully reversed the hypoxia-triggered PDT resistance, presenting a satisfactory growth inhibition of cancer cells in an O2 concentration of 1%. In vivo experiments also indicated that PCCN had superior ability to overcome tumor hypoxia. The use of water splitting materials exhibited great potential to improve the intratumoral oxygen level and ultimately reverse the hypoxia-triggered PDT resistance and tumor metastasis.

Evaluating the Effects of Charged Oligopeptide Motifs Coupled with RGD on Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Mesenchymal stem cells, due to their multilineage differentiation potential, have emerged as a promising cell candidate for cell-based therapy. In recent years, biomaterials were artificially synthesized to control the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. In this study, a series of charged or neutral oligopeptide motifs coupled with RGD were synthesized and used for surface modification using quartz substrates as model. Cell behaviors on the modified surfaces with different charged oligopeptide motifs were studied. It was found that these different charged oligopeptide motifs coupled with RGD were biocompatible for cell proliferation and adhesion. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the positively charged oligopeptide motif could inhibit osteogenic differentiation, while the negatively charged and neutral oligopeptide motifs could enhance osteogenic differentiation in the presence of RGD. This work may bring us enlightenment that different charged oligopeptide motifs coupled with RGD may be used for biomaterial surface modification for different stem cell-based therapies.

Fluorescence light-up AIE probe for monitoring cellular alkaline phosphatase activity and detecting osteogenic differentiation

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is an important monophosphate hydrolase during cell mineralization and osteogenic differentiation. Though traditional methods are provided for evaluating the ALP expression in the fixed and lysed cells, at present it is still challenging to monitor the ALP activity in living cells. In this work, three phosphorylated tetraphenylethylene (TPE) probes (TPE-PA, TPE-2PA and TPE-4PA) with different numbers of -PO3H2 groups were synthesized for monitoring the ALP activity. It was found that in aqueous solution, both the TPE-PA and TPE-2PA probes were highly sensitive to ALP. In the presence of ALP, they could be quickly hydrolysed, resulting in an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) to light up ALP. While in living cells, only TPE-2PA showed good cell penetrability and high fluorescence signal-to-noise ratio during osteogenic differentiation. This probe provides us a new strategy to screen the ALP activity in living stem cells for detecting osteogenic differentiation.

Photocatalyzing CO2 to CO for Enhanced Cancer Therapy

Continuous exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) can sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy while protect normal cells from apoptosis. The Janus face of CO thus provides an ideal strategy for cancer therapy. Here, a photocatalytic nanomaterial (HisAgCCN) is introduced to transform endogenous CO2 to CO for improving cancer therapy in vivo. The CO production rate of HisAgCCN reaches to 65 µmol h-1 gmat-1 , which can significantly increase the cytotoxicity of anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX) by 70%. Interestingly, this study finds that HisAgCCN can enhance mitochondria biogenesis and aggravate oxidative stress in cancer cells, whereas protect normal cells from chemotherapy-induced apoptosis as well. Proteomics and metabolomics studies reveal that HisAgCCN can enhance mitochondria biogenesis and aggravate oxidative stress in cancer cells specifically. In vivo studies indicate that HisAgCCN/DOX combination therapy presents a synergetic tumor inhibition, which might provide a new direction for clinical cancer therapy.

A metal–semiconductor nanocomposite as an efficient oxygen-independent photosensitizer for photodynamic tumor therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is regarded as one of the most promising cancer treatments, and oxygen-independent photosensitizers have been intensively explored for advancing the development of PDT. Here, we reported on a superior hybrid nanocomposite (HNC) consisting of a metal (Au deposition) and a semiconductor (CdSe-seeded/CdS nanorods) as a photosensitizer. Under visible light, the photogenerated holes were three-dimensionally confined to the CdSe quantum dots and the delocalized electrons were transferred to the Au tips, which provided hydrogen and oxygen evolution sites for water splitting to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) with no need for oxygen participation. Compared with semiconductors without deposited metal (i.e. raw CdSe-seeded/CdS nanorods (NRs)) under a normoxic or hypoxic environment, the HNCs exhibited substantially enhanced light-triggered ROS generation in vitro. After being modified with an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide sequence, the nanocomposite was deemed as a tumor-targeting, long-lived and oxygen-independent photosensitizer with promoted PDT efficiency for in vivo anti-tumor therapy. This oxygen-independent nanocomposite successfully overcame the hypoxia-related PDT resistance by water splitting, which opened a window to develop conventional semiconductors as photosensitizers for effective PDT.

A smart fluorescence nanoprobe for the detection of cellular alkaline phosphatase activity and early osteogenic differentiation

In the past decades, biomaterials were designed to induce stem cell toward osteogenic differentiation. However, conventional methods for evaluation osteogenic differentiation all required a process of cell fixation or lysis, which induce waste of a large number of cells. In this study, a fluorescence nanoprobe was synthesized by combining phosphorylated fluoresceinamine isomer I (FLA) on the surface of mesoporous silica-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4@mSiO2) nanoparticles. In the presence of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the phosphorylated FLA on the nanoprobe would be hydrolyzed, resulting in a fluorescence recovery of FLA. During early osteogenic differentiation, a high-level expression of cellular ALP was induced, which accelerated the hydrolysis of phosphorylated FLA, resulting in an enhancement of cellular fluorescence intensity. This fluorescence nanoprobe provides us a rapid and non-toxic method for the detection of cellular ALP activity and early osteogenic differentiation.

Bacteria-Mediated Tumor Therapy Utilizing Photothermally-Controlled TNF-α Expression via Oral Administration

Oral drug administration is widely adopted for diverse drugs and is convenient to use due to the capability of reaching different parts of the body via the bloodstream. However, it is generally not feasible for biomacromolecular antitumor drugs such as protein and nucleic acids due to the limited absorption through gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the poor tumor targeting. Here, we report a noninvasive thermally sensitive programmable therapetic system using bacteria E. coli MG1655 as an vehicle for tumor treatments via oral administration. Thermally sensitive programmable bacteria (TPB) are transformed with plasmids expressing therapeutic protein TNF-α and then decorated with biomineralized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to obtain TPB@Au. AuNPs and TNF-α plasmids efficaciously protected by TPB in the gut can be transported into internal microcirculation via transcytosis of microfold cells (M cells). After that, the bacteria-based antitumor vehicles accumulate at tumor sites due to the anaerobic bacterial feature of homing to tumor microenvironments. In vitro and in vivo experiments verify the successful delivery of AuNPs and TNF-α plasmids by TPB. Importantly, under remote activation the expression of TNF-α in tumor sites can be procisely controlled by the heat generated from photothermal AuNPs to exert therapeutic actions. The biological security evaluation demonstrates that this strategy would not disturb the balance of intestinal flora.

A Metal–Polyphenol Network Coated Nanotheranostic System for Metastatic Tumor Treatments

As a characteristic trait of most tumor types, metastasis is the major cause of the death of patients. In this study, a photothermal agent based on gold nanorod is coated with metal (Gd3+ )-organic (polyphenol) network to realize combination therapy for metastatic tumors. This nanotheranostic system significantly enhances antitumor therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo with the combination of photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy, also can remarkably prevent the invasion and metastasis due to the presence of polyphenol. After the treatment, an 81% decrease in primary tumor volumes and a 58% decrease in lung metastasis are observed. In addition, the good performance in magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, and photothermal imaging of the nanotheranostic system can realize image-guided therapy. The multifunctional nanotheranostic system will find a great potential in diagnosis and treatment integration in tumor treatments, and broaden the applications of PTT treatment.

Self-Assembly Drug Delivery System Based on Programmable Dendritic Peptide Applied in Multidrug Resistance Tumor Therapy

In recent decades, diverse drug delivery systems (DDS) constructed by self-assembly of dendritic peptides have shown advantages and improvable potential for cancer treatment. Here, an arginine-enriched dendritic amphiphilic chimeric peptide CRRK(RRCG(Fmoc))2 containing multiple thiol groups is programmed to form drug-loaded nano-micelles by self-assembly. With a rational design, the branched hydrophobic groups (Fmoc) of the peptides provide a strong hydrophobic force to prevent the drug from premature release, and the reduction-sensitive disulfide linkages formed between contiguous peptides can control drug release under reducing stimulation. As expected, specific to multidrug resistance (MDR) tumor cells, the arginine-enriched peptide/drug (PD) nano-micelles show accurate nuclear localization ability to prevent the drug being pumped by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in vitro, as well as exhibiting satisfactory efficacy for MDR tumor treatment in vivo. This design successfully realizes stimuli-responsive drug release aimed at MDR tumor cells via an ingenious sequence arrangement.

Photo-Activatable Substrates for Site-Specific Differentiation of Stem Cells

In this report, a UV sensitive, PEGylated PFSSTKTC (Pro-Phe-Ser-Ser-Thr-Lys-Thr-Cys) peptide was modified on quartz substrate to investigate the spatial controlled differentiation of stem cells. This substrate could restrict the cell adhesion due to the steric hindrance of PEG shell. With UV irradiation, PFSSTKTC became exposed owing to the breakage of o-nitrobenzyl group with the detachment of PEG shell. The irradiation boundary on substrate was stable in the long term. The in vitro osteogenic differentiation results revealed that under the site-specific irradiation, the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could specifically differentiate into osteoblast under the induction of PFSSTKTC peptide. This photoactivatable biomaterial shows great potential for region controllable and precise MSCs differentiation.