Boosting the Ferroptotic Antitumor Efficacy via Site-Specific Amplification of Tailored Lipid Peroxidation.

Abstract

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death pathway that can eradicate certain apoptosis-insensitive cancer cells. The ferroptosis-inducing molecules are tailored lipid peroxides whose efficacy is compromised in hypoxic solid tumor and lack of tumor selectivity. It has been demonstrated that ascorbate (Asc) in pharmacological concentrations can selectively kill cancer cells via accumulating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) only in tumor extracellular fluids. It was hypothesized that Asc-induced, selective enrichment of H2O2 in tumor coupled with Fe3+ codelivery could simultaneously address the above two problems via boosting the levels of hydroxyl radicals and oxygen in the tumor site to ease peroxidation initiation and propagation, respectively. The aim of this work was to synergize the action of Asc with lipid-coated calcium phosphate (CaP) hybrid nanocarrier that can concurrently load polar Fe3+ and nonpolar RSL3, a ferroptosis inducer with the mechanism of inhibiting lipid peroxide repair enzyme (GPX4). The hybrid nanocarriers showed accelerated cargo release at acidic conditions (pH 5.0). The combinational approach (Asc plus nanocarrier) produced significantly elevated levels of hydroxyl radicals, lipid peroxides, and depleted glutathione under hypoxia, which was accompanied with the strong cytotoxicity (IC50 = 1.2 ± 0.2 μM) in the model 4 T1 cells. In the 4 T1 tumor-bearing xenograft mouse model, the intravenous nanocarrier delivery plus intraperitoneal Asc administration resulted in a superior antitumor performance in terms of tumor suppression, which did not produce supplementary adverse effects to the healthy organs. This work provides a novel approach to enhance the potency of ferroptotic nanomedicine against solid tumors without inducing additional side effects.

• Authors: Yang An, Jundong Zhu, Fang Liu, Jian Deng, Xuan Meng, Guangqin Liu, Huiyuan Wu, Aiping Fan, Zheng Wang, Yanjun Zhao
• Journal: ACS applied materials & interfaces (ACS Appl Mater Interfaces) Vol. 11 Issue 33 Pg. 29655-29666 (Aug 21 2019) ISSN: 1944-8252 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 31359759 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Calcium Phosphates
• Lipid Peroxides
• Reactive Oxygen Species
• calcium phosphate
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase
• Glutathione

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (pharmacology)
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Calcium Phosphates
• Cell Death (drug effects)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Survival (drug effects, physiology)
• Ferroptosis (drug effects)
• Glutathione (metabolism)
• Humans
• Hydrogen Peroxide (metabolism)
• Lipid Peroxidation (drug effects)
• Lipid Peroxides (chemistry, metabolism)
• Mice
• Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase (metabolism)
• Reactive Oxygen Species (metabolism)
• Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays