Reduction-sensitive polymeric carrier for the targeted delivery of a quinazoline derivative for enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species against cancer

Biomater Sci. 2024 May 14;12(10):2626-2638. doi: 10.1039/d3bm02136j.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the deadliest malignant tumors and the development of effective therapeutics against HCC is urgently needed. A novel quinazoline derivative 04NB-03 (Qd04) has been proved to be highly effective against HCC without obvious toxic side-effects. However, the poor water solubility and low bioavailability in vivo severely limit its clinical application. In addition, Qd04 kills tumor cells by inducing an accumulation of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is highly impeded by the overexpression of glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells. Herein, we designed a disulfide cross-linked polyamino acid micelle to deliver Qd04 for HCC therapy. The disulfide linkage not only endowed a tumor-targeted delivery of Qd04 by responding to tumor cell GSH but also depleted GSH to achieve increased levels of ROS generation, which improved the therapeutic efficiency of Qd04. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that the synthesized nanodrug exerted good anti-hepatoma effects, which provided a potential application for HCC therapy in clinics.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / administration & dosage
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry
  • Glutathione / chemistry
  • Glutathione / metabolism
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Liver Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Micelles
  • Polymers* / chemistry
  • Quinazolines* / administration & dosage
  • Quinazolines* / chemistry
  • Quinazolines* / pharmacology
  • Reactive Oxygen Species* / metabolism