Detachable MOF-based core/shell nanoreactor for cancer dual-starvation therapy with reversing glucose and glutamine metabolisms

• Main Authors: Du, Huiping, Meng, Siyu, Geng, Meijuan, Zhao, Pan, Gong, Liyang, Zheng, Xinmin, Li, Xiang, Yuan, Zhang, Yang, Hui, Zhao, Yanli, Dai, Liangliang
• Other Authors: School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences; Dual-starvation Therapy; Glucose Metabolism Suppression
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/170329
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Tumor-dependent glucose and glutamine metabolisms are essential for maintaining survival, while the accordingly metabolic suppressive therapy is limited by the compensatory metabolism and inefficient delivery efficiency. Herein, a functional metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanosystem composed of the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment-activated detachable shell and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive disassembled MOF nanoreactor core is designed to co-load glycolysis and glutamine metabolism inhibitors glucose oxidase (GOD) and bis-2-(5-phenylacetmido-1,2,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) ethyl sulfide (BPTES) for tumor dual-starvation therapy. The nanosystem excitingly improves tumor penetration and cellular uptake efficiency via integrating the pH-responsive size reduction and charge reversal and ROS-sensitive MOF disintegration and drug release strategy. Furthermore, the degradation of MOF and cargoes release can be self-amplified via additional self-generation H2 O2 mediated by GOD. Last, the released GOD and BPTES collaboratively cut off the energy supply of tumors and induce significant mitochondrial damage and cell cycle arrest via simultaneous restriction of glycolysis and compensatory glutamine metabolism pathways, consequently realizing the remarkable triple negative breast cancer killing effect in vivo with good biosafety via the dual starvation therapy.