Nanoparticles (NPs)-based
cancer therapeutics are generally impeded by poor
drug penetration into solid
tumors due to their dense
tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). Herein, pH/redox-responsive
dendritic polymer-based NPs are developed to amplify the neighboring effect for improving
drug penetration and driving cell apoptosis via combination
therapy.
Pyropheophorbide a (Ppa) is conjugated with PEGylated dendritic
peptides via
disulfide bonds and
doxorubicin (DOX) encapsulated in the conjugate to construct dual-responsive NPs,
PDPP@D. Delayed released DOX and Ppa from
PDPP@D exert their combination
therapeutic effect to induce cell apoptosis, and then they are liberated out of dying cells to amplify the neighboring effect, resulting in their diffusion through the dense ECM and penetration into solid
tumors. Transcriptome studies reveal that
PDPP@D leads to irreversible stress on the endoplasmic reticulum and inhibits cell protection through blocking the IRE1-dependent survival pathway and unleashing the DR5-mediated
caspase activity to promote cell death. The strategy of amplifying the neighboring effect of NPs through combination
therapy may offer great potential in enhancing
drug penetration and eradicating solid
tumors.