Qian Zhao, Di Zhang, Keyan Chen, Feifei Sun, Yixin Chen
{"title":"Novel multifunctional targeted nanozyme as an ultrasound contrast agent for real-time monitoring and treatment of congenital hydronephrosis renal fibrosis.","authors":"Qian Zhao, Di Zhang, Keyan Chen, Feifei Sun, Yixin Chen","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03618-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03618-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Congenital Hydronephrosis (CH) is a common pediatric disorder that often leads to renal fibrosis (RF), significantly impairing kidney function. Oxidative stress (OS) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of RF. Current treatments lack effective monitoring and targeted therapies for CH, thus highlighting the need for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This study explores a novel multifunctional nanozyme, pH-responsive PEG-SH and imidazole-modified gold nanoparticles (PMIZ-AuNPs), for both real-time ultrasound monitoring and treatment of CH-induced RF.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We designed a pH-responsive nanozyme, consisting of PEG-SH and PMIZ-AuNPs. This nanozyme exhibits enhanced ultrasound imaging properties and dual catalytic activities, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), under acidic conditions. In a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mouse model, PMIZ-AuNPs accumulated at injury sites, enhancing ultrasound signal intensity and improving RF. Protein sequencing and bioinformatics analysis identified C9 as a critical gene involved in RF. Further experiments showed that PMIZ-AuNPs reduced C9 expression by inhibiting OS and modulated the TGF-β signaling pathway, leading to significant attenuation of RF in both in vitro and in vivo models.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>PMIZ-AuNPs demonstrate significant potential as a multifunctional tool for the diagnosis and treatment of CH-induced RF. By targeting oxidative stress and modulating C9 expression, PMIZ-AuNPs improve renal function and offer a promising strategy for the clinical management of CH.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"553"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12326633/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144794737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yang Liu, Wentao Xu, Xiaowen Qin, Jiajia Zheng, Bin Zheng, Li Sun, Wenyan Zuo, Dingyi Liu, Zhenghong Liu, Yixuan Mou, Heng Wang, Qi Zhang, Jun Chen, Pu Zhang, Dahong Zhang
{"title":"Intravesical delivery of mucoadhesive and tumor-selective-penetrating nanozymes for enhancing the PDT of bladder cancer.","authors":"Yang Liu, Wentao Xu, Xiaowen Qin, Jiajia Zheng, Bin Zheng, Li Sun, Wenyan Zuo, Dingyi Liu, Zhenghong Liu, Yixuan Mou, Heng Wang, Qi Zhang, Jun Chen, Pu Zhang, Dahong Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03594-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03594-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Intravesical photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising modality for bladder cancer treatment, yet its efficacy is often curtailed by weak muco-adhesion, poor muco-penetration, low tumor-targeting and intra-tumoral oxygen scarcity. In this work, we introduce a drug delivery system leveraging cerium oxide (CeO<sub>2</sub>) nanozymes as the core, polyarginine peptides R11 as the tumor-targeting ligands, and indocyanine green (ICG) as the photosensitizers, with the latter two components assembled on the particle surface. Intravesical ICG@R11-CeO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles displayed enhanced mucoadhesive, mucus-penetrating and tumor-targeting properties, and effectively mitigated the hypoxia threat in the tumor microenvironment to improve the PDT sensitivity. Remarkably, the intravesical PDT via ICG@R11-CeO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles achieved complete tumor inhibition in orthotopic bladder cancer models, offering strong evidence on its clinical translational potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"554"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12330023/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144794735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yan Sun, Yu Zhang, Kai Zhang, Jiangyu Nan, Zixuan Xiong, Wenbin Liu, Yihe Hu, Pengfei Lei
{"title":"Mechanochemically reprogrammed porous tantalum with synergistic antibacterial and osteogenic properties for the treatment of infectious bone defects.","authors":"Yan Sun, Yu Zhang, Kai Zhang, Jiangyu Nan, Zixuan Xiong, Wenbin Liu, Yihe Hu, Pengfei Lei","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03610-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03610-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Infection and poor osseointegration following orthopedic implantation remain significant challenges that can lead to complications, including prosthesis loosening, delayed fracture healing, and even implant failure. Porous tantalum is a game changer in the field of bone implants. In this study, we employed magnetron sputtering technology to modify ZnO particles on the surface of tantalum nanotubes (TaNTs) in porous tantalum, which were mechanochemically reprogrammed to enhance their properties. This approach enabled functionalization without altering the surface microstructure, resulting in the development of a ZnO-modified tantalum nanotube array coating (TaNTs@ZnO) designed to address infection. ZnO coating, applied via magnetron sputtering, exhibits pH-responsive Zn<sup>2+</sup> release and antibacterial activity, achieving over 99% inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli by disrupting bacterial membranes and metabolism. Additionally, TaNTs promote bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) adhesion and osteogenic differentiation, accelerating bone healing and osseointegration in both femoral condyle and infective bone defect models. In conclusion, TaNTs@ZnO show strong antibacterial and osteogenic capabilities, offering a promising solution for bone defect treatment and infection prevention.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"552"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12320291/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144784557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhaolin Xue, Fangmin Liu, Bin Wang, Xin Shi, Pengfei Liu, You Liang, Xili Liu
{"title":"Fabrication of a dual-stimuli-responsive mesoporous organosilica nanoplatform for co-delivery of fungicide and plant immune inducer toward synergistic disease management.","authors":"Zhaolin Xue, Fangmin Liu, Bin Wang, Xin Shi, Pengfei Liu, You Liang, Xili Liu","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03605-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03605-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The multifunctional nanoplatform, featuring stimuli-responsive controlled release and co-delivery of fungicides with distinct modes of action, exhibits considerable promise for plant disease control. In this study, a novel CYM@MON-SA nanoplatform was developed by grafting the plant immune inducer (salicylic acid, SA) onto disulfide-bridged mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MON-NH<sub>2</sub>), followed by loading the fungicide cymoxanil (CYM) into the mesopores. Physicochemical characterization confirmed its successful step-by-step preparation and demonstrated its biodegradability as well as the controlled release of SA and CYM, triggered by dual stimuli-responsiveness to glutathione (GSH) and amidase (AM). Photodegradation experiments revealed that CYM@MON-SA exhibited a significantly extended half-life (3.22-fold) under UV irradiation compared to technical CYM. Importantly, CYM@MON-SA achieved an 86.22% control efficacy against cucumber downy mildew (CDM), significantly surpassing the direct mixture of SA and CYM, which attributed to the enhanced photostability of CYM and prolonged effectiveness of SA. Furthermore, CYM@MON-SA also activated the plant immune response through the upregulation of four disease-resistance-related genes (CsNPR1, CsPR1, CsERF004, and CsWRKY50), reduction of catalase (CAT) activity, and decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Additionally, this nanoplatform also showed a favorable biosafety in plants. Overall, this stimuli-responsive nanoplatform provides a sustainable and synergistic strategy for plant disease management, demonstrating significant potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"550"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12312272/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144760273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanoliposomal PD-1 antagonist target tumor-draining lymph nodes to revitalize T cells and improve anti-tumor effect in hepatocellular carcinoma.","authors":"Wanyue Cao, Kai Yang, Gaowei Jin, Qitai Chen, Zhenduo Shao, Xinjiang Lu, Guocan Yu, Tingbo Liang, Qi Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03537-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03537-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TdLNs) are pivotal in tumor immunotherapy, including the action of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1/PD-L1 blockade. However, fully harnessing the therapeutic potential of TdLNs to improve clinical outcomes remains a significant challenge.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A PD-1 antagonist peptide-conjugated nanoliposome (LPs) was developed to improve lymph node targeting and therapeutic efficacy. The biodistribution, lymph node accumulation, and safety of LPs were assessed using imaging, histological, and systemic analyses. Immunodeficient mouse models and lymphadenectomy were employed to confirm the mechanistic reliance on adaptive immunity and TdLNs. Bulk RNA sequencing and multicolor flow cytometry were used to investigate TdLNs function and assess CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell immune responses in TdLNs and the tumor microenvironment (TME).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>LPs demonstrated optimal physicochemical properties, including ideal size, serum stability, and precise TdLNs accumulation, peaking at 3 h post-administration. In two immunocompetent HCC models, LPs treatment significantly suppressed tumor growth while remodeling the TME-enhancing CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell infiltration and reducing myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Transcriptomic analysis of TdLNs revealed significant upregulation of lipid storage/metabolism pathways and immune activation signatures. Immune profiling validated LPs-mediated expansion of precursor-exhausted and tissue-resident memory-like CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell subsets in both TdLNs and tumors, accompanied by reduced exhaustion markers. Crucially, the therapeutic efficacy was completely abrogated in immunodeficient mice and following surgical lymphadenectomy, confirming the essential role of adaptive immunity and functional TdLNs in LPs' mechanism of action.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Targeting PD-1 on T cells within TdLNs effectively boosts anti-tumor immunity. The modified LPs offer a potent strategy to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"549"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12312484/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144753601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenyi Chen, Xinyi Chen, Feiqiong Gao, Qigu Yao, Sheng Cheng, Qiaoling Pan, Jiong Yu, Jinfeng Yang, Guanghua Ma, Jintao Gong, Qian Li, Yunhua Chen, Lee Wei Lim, Ilia Stambler, Georgina M Ellison-Hughes, Brun Ulfhake, Robert Chunhua Zhao, Hongcui Cao
{"title":"Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles attenuate periductal fibrosis by inhibiting Th17 differentiation in human liver multilineage organoids and Mdr2<sup>-/-</sup> mice.","authors":"Wenyi Chen, Xinyi Chen, Feiqiong Gao, Qigu Yao, Sheng Cheng, Qiaoling Pan, Jiong Yu, Jinfeng Yang, Guanghua Ma, Jintao Gong, Qian Li, Yunhua Chen, Lee Wei Lim, Ilia Stambler, Georgina M Ellison-Hughes, Brun Ulfhake, Robert Chunhua Zhao, Hongcui Cao","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03617-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03617-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) pathogenesis involves immune dysregulation, genetic factors, and bile duct pathology; however, a comprehensive pathogenesis model and effective therapeutic strategies remain limited. Here, we develop a novel human liver multilineage organoid (Mulorg) model combined with Mdr2<sup>-/-</sup> mice to investigate the pro-fibrotic role of T helper 17 cells (Th17) and the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EV<sup>MSC</sup>) for PSC, particularly periductal fibrosis. EV<sup>MSC</sup> alleviates interleukin-17A (IL-17A)-induced fibrotic Mulorgs (FibHOs) and mitigates periductal fibrosis in Mdr2<sup>-/-</sup> mice by inhibiting Th17 differentiation, decreasing Th17 numbers, and lowering intrahepatic IL-17A levels. Functional assays, miRNA array, and CUT & Tag analyses reveal that EVs-derived hsa-miR-7977 targets NFKBIZ, repressing IκBζ translation to reduce IL-17A and its downstream targets involved in Th17 differentiation, IL-17 signaling, and bile secretion pathways. Moreover, miR-7977-enriched EV<sup>MSC</sup> efficiently reduces IL-17A<sup>+</sup> cell percentages in fibrotic areas and improves periductal fibrosis in Mdr2<sup>-/-</sup> mice. Co-culture of FibHOs with Th17 found miR-7977 inhibits Th17 migration to the periductal fibrosis area, with distinct morphological differences observed between patient- and healthy-derived FibHOs. These findings demonstrate that EV-derived miR-7977 mitigates the periductal fibrosis microenvironment by inhibiting Th17 differentiation and migration, the former by targeting NFKBIZ, regulating IL-17A and IκBζ-targeted gene expression. This study clarifies Th17's role in the PSC fibrotic microenvironment, underscores the modeling contributions of Mulorgs, and highlights EV-derived miR-7977's potential to ameliorate Th17-related periductal fibrosis, offering insights and novel therapeutic avenues for PSC.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"546"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12302671/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144731842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Na Dong, Chen Zhang, Qiao Zhang, Sa Bao, Yunfan Hu, Haichao Xu, Peng Dai, Caiyan Li, Shengcun Li, Ping Wu, Junpeng Xu, Xiaojun Cai, Zhouguang Wang, Lihua Luo
{"title":"A cell-free SHED lysate-hydrogel system for oral ulcer healing with anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic effects.","authors":"Na Dong, Chen Zhang, Qiao Zhang, Sa Bao, Yunfan Hu, Haichao Xu, Peng Dai, Caiyan Li, Shengcun Li, Ping Wu, Junpeng Xu, Xiaojun Cai, Zhouguang Wang, Lihua Luo","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03597-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03597-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Oral ulcer (OU) is one of the most common mucosal diseases, yet current drug treatments yield unsatisfactory outcomes. Persistent inflammatory responses and insufficient angiogenesis are the two major obstacles to OU healing. Recently, stem cell-based therapies, particularly mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have shown great regenerative potential through their anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic properties in OU treatment. However, they still face challenges, such as low cell survival rates, uncontrolled differentiation, and immune rejection. Meanwhile, a humid and highly dynamic oral environment degrades and dilutes biological drugs via saliva, thereby reducing their bioavailability during OU repair. To address these limitations, we developed an injectable fibrinogen/thrombin (FT) hydrogel encapsulating cell lysate (CL) derived from the stem cells of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs). The SHED-derived CL retained the therapeutic properties of SHEDs while eliminating risks associated with cell transplantation. The FT hydrogel exhibited excellent biocompatibility, controlled CL release, and strong adhesion to oral wounds (> 24 h). In vitro, the FT/CL hydrogel polarized macrophages toward the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype (upregulating CD206 and Arg1 expression) and suppressed pro-inflammatory M1 markers (iNOS and TNF-α) secretion. It also significantly enhanced tube formation, with a 2.5-fold increase in luminal length and 3.7-fold increase in the number of tubes compared with that in the control group. In a rat OU model, the FT/CL group showed accelerated ulcer healing, clearly reducing the inflammatory response on day 3 and nearly restoring epithelial integrity by day 5. Additionally, the FT/CL hydrogel effectively inhibited inflammatory infiltration and alleviated pain at the wound site, with effects similar to those of the positive control (the watermelon frost group). Furthermore, the FT/CL hydrogel promoted cell proliferation in the epithelial tissue and enhanced vascular remodeling near the basement membrane, thereby accelerating ulcer healing. Therefore, the FT/CL hydrogel promotes ulcer healing by regulating inflammation, promoting cell proliferation, and enhancing angiogenesis. This study provides a safe and efficient method for enhancing the therapeutic application of SHED-derived CL. The findings suggest that CL-based cell-free therapy may be a promising strategy for future clinical use in ulcer and chronic wound healing.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"547"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12302762/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144731840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hydrogels as advanced drug delivery platforms for cancer immunotherapy: promising innovations and future outlook.","authors":"Vahideh Mohammadzadeh, Hoda Atapour-Mashhad, Sedigheh Shahvali, Bahardokht Salehi, Mina Shaban, Maryam Shirzad, Afsaneh Salahvarzi, Marzieh Mohammadi","doi":"10.1186/s12951-025-03613-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12951-025-03613-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tumor immunotherapy has appeared as a groundbreaking method in cancer therapy, which destroys cancer cells through identification and attack by stimulating the body's immune system. Despite its rapid development, there are serious challenges to overcome. Efficient delivery of the immunotherapeutic cargos to the tumor microenvironment (TME), activation, and systemic adverse reactions have hindered their therapeutic application. Due to their biocompatibility, self-healing ability, and stable localized drug delivery to the tumor niche, hydrogels are regarded as potent delivery platforms. Tailor-made 3D hydrogels from various polymers have shown high drug-loading capacity, which could deliver different immunomodulators to activate effector T cells and enhance immunotherapy efficiency. Injectable hydrogels have also gained significant attention as carriers for tumor vaccines and cell delivery due to their minimal invasiveness encapsulation of various immunotherapeutics, protecting them from degradation and triggering a local immune response. This article reviews recent advances in using hydrogels as immunotherapeutic and cell delivery platforms in cancer immunotherapy, highlighting their ability to overcome the limitations of current delivery systems. In addition, their structure and functional modifications in the development of stimuli-responsive hydrogels, injectable and multifunctional hydrogels are further discussed. Prospects and obstacles in the development of hydrogel-based cancer immunotherapy are also examined.</p>","PeriodicalId":16383,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nanobiotechnology","volume":"23 1","pages":"545"},"PeriodicalIF":12.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12302882/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144731841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}