Hongyan Zhang , Jingyi Huang , Yujie Li , Wanyu Jin , Jiale Wei , Ninghui Ma , Limei Shen , Mancang Gu , Chaofeng Mu , Donghang Xu , Yang Xiong
{"title":"Celastrol-loaded ginsenoside Rg3 liposomes boost immunotherapy by remodeling obesity-related immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in melanoma","authors":"Hongyan Zhang , Jingyi Huang , Yujie Li , Wanyu Jin , Jiale Wei , Ninghui Ma , Limei Shen , Mancang Gu , Chaofeng Mu , Donghang Xu , Yang Xiong","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Obesity usually exacerbates the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITME), hindering CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell infiltration and function, which further represents a significant barrier to the efficacy of immunotherapy. Herein, a multifunctional liposomal system (CR-Lip) for encapsulating celastrol (CEL) was utilized to remodel obesity-related ITME and improve cancer immunotherapy, wherein Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) was detected interspersed in the phospholipid bilayer and its glycosyl exposed on the surface of the liposome. CR-Lip had a relatively uniform size (116.5 nm), facilitating favorable tumor tissue accumulation through the interaction between Rg3 and glucose transporter 1 overexpressed in obese tumor cells. Upon reaching the tumor region, CR-Lip was found to induce the immunogenic cell death (ICD) of HFD tumor cells. Notably, the level of PHD3 in HFD tumor cells was effectively boosted by CR-Lip to effectively block metabolic reprogramming and increase the availability of major free fatty acids fuel sources. <em>In vivo</em>, experiments studies revealed that the easy-obtained nano platform stimulated enhanced the production of various cytokines in tumor tissues, DC maturation, CD8<sup>+</sup> T-cell infiltration, and synergistic anticancer therapeutic potency with aPD-1 (tumor inhibition rate = 82.1%) towards obesity-related melanoma. Consequently, this study presented an efficacious approach to tumor immunotherapy in obese mice by encompassing tumor eradication, inducing ICD, and reprogramming metabolism. Furthermore, it offered a unique insight into a valuable attempt at the immunotherapy of obesity-associated related tumors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2687-2702"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solène Marie , Anne-Lise Lecoq , Louise Breuil , Fabien Caillé , Vincent Lebon , Claude Comtat , Sébastien Goutal , Laurent Becquemont , Michel Bottlaender , Céline Verstuyft , Nicolas Tournier
{"title":"Imaging the impact of sex and age on OATP function in humans: Consequences for whole-body pharmacokinetics and liver exposure","authors":"Solène Marie , Anne-Lise Lecoq , Louise Breuil , Fabien Caillé , Vincent Lebon , Claude Comtat , Sébastien Goutal , Laurent Becquemont , Michel Bottlaender , Céline Verstuyft , Nicolas Tournier","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATP) transporter function, which mediates many drugs' liver uptake, was investigated as a molecular determinant of pharmacokinetic variability. Whole-body PET imaging using <sup>11</sup>C-glyburide, a metabolically stable OATP probe, was performed in 16 healthy humans. Ten subjects underwent another <sup>11</sup>C-glyburide PET acquisition after OATP inhibition using rifampicin. Subjects were sorted according to age and sex: males<30y (24.0 ± 3.2 y, <em>n</em> = 7), males>50y (57.5 ± 5.6 y, <em>n</em> = 4), and females>50y (60.6 ± 2.4 y, <em>n</em> = 5). The blood-to-liver transfer rate (<em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub>) was estimated to describe OATP function. Rifampicin decreased <em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub> (−73 ± 13%, <em>P</em> < 0.001) and liver exposure (−50 ± 10%, <em>P</em> < 0.001) while increasing exposure in blood (+24 ± 24%, <em>P</em> < 0.01), myocardium, spleen, and brain (<em>P</em> < 0.05). No evidence of extra-hepatic rifampicin-inhibitable transport of <sup>11</sup>C-glyburide was found. Baseline liver exposure was 42.6 ± 18.4% higher (<em>P</em> < 0.05) in females>50y compared with males>50 y, consistent with higher <em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub> values (<em>P</em> < 0.05), with negligible impact on blood exposure (<em>P</em> < 0.05). In males, neither liver exposure, blood exposure, nor <em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub> were affected by aging (<em>P</em> < 0.05). <em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub> was positively and negatively correlated with liver (<em>P</em> < 0.01, <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 0.78) and blood (<em>P</em> < 0.01, <em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 0.40) exposures respectively. The impact of OATP function (<em>k</em><sub>uptake</sub>) on liver exposure was 4-fold more pronounced than on blood exposure. OATP function may thus drive important sex-related differences in liver exposure, which were not discernible through conventional blood-based pharmacokinetics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2736-2745"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yujie Zhang , Weiyi Zhao , Ling Wu , Tianjing Ai , Jie He , Zetao Chen , Chuangyuan Wang , Hui Wang , Rui Zhou , Chaoqun Liu , Liang Zhao
{"title":"Inhibition of CCT5-mediated asparagine biosynthesis and anti-PD-L1 produce synergistic antitumor effects in colorectal cancer","authors":"Yujie Zhang , Weiyi Zhao , Ling Wu , Tianjing Ai , Jie He , Zetao Chen , Chuangyuan Wang , Hui Wang , Rui Zhou , Chaoqun Liu , Liang Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.026","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Abnormal amino acid metabolism promotes tumor progression by inducing malignant behaviors in tumor cells and altering the immune landscape within the tumor microenvironment. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we constructed colorectal cancer (CRC) organoids and patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models, performing multifaceted validation to confirm that T-complex protein 1 subunit epsilon (CCT5), mediates the biosynthesis of aspartate and enhances sensitivity to anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. Mechanistically, CCT5 directly binds to asparagine synthetase (ASNS) and promotes the synthesis of aspartate (Asn). The Asn–mTORC1 axis facilitates tumor cell proliferation while upregulating PD-L1 expression, which leads to a reduction in the number of effector CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells. Treatment with <span>l</span>-asparaginase (ASNase) combined with anti-PD-L1 therapy effectively reverses the growth of CRC characterized by high CCT5 expression. In summary, we identify CCT5 as a potential biomarker to guide the combined use of ASNase and anti-PD-L1 antibodies in CRC treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2480-2497"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modulating inflammatory prostaglandin E2 signaling to mitigate neurobehavioral comorbidities associated with seizure disorders","authors":"Chenyao Jiang , Ying Yu , Jiawang Liu, Jianxiong Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although epilepsy is first known as a disease of seizures and convulsions, most patients with epilepsy also suffer from seizure-associated behavioral abnormalities in motor functions, psychiatric status, and cognition. These neurobehavioral comorbidities may have greater impacts on the quality of life of people with epilepsy than the seizures themselves and can profoundly interfere with the treatment compliance. While repeated seizures often lead to behavioral comorbidities, certain types of comorbid conditions may potentially increase the risk for epileptic seizures, indicative of some common mechanisms that might underlie these two conditions. As such, emerging evidence supports that inflammation within the brain might represent a key component of such a shared mechanism, given that neuroinflammation can be induced by seizures and various behavioral stressors, and in turn may exacerbate both conditions. Among inflammatory pathways that arise after prolonged seizures, PGE<sub>2</sub> signaling <em>via</em> the EP2 receptor promotes cytokine induction, blood–brain barrier disruption, reactive gliosis, neuronal death, and eventually, contributes to behavioral dysfunctions. Pharmacological inhibition of EP2 by small-molecule drug-like antagonists affords broad therapeutic benefits including anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in several rodent seizure models, leading to long-lasting alleviation of neurobehavioral comorbidities, particularly cognitive impairments. Targeting this key inflammatory prostaglandin receptor might provide an adjunctive strategy, along with the current anti-seizure medications, to mitigate cognitive dysfunctions associated with seizure disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2351-2362"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143942933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ling Lin , Zaixiang Fang , Guohao Liu , Yiwei Liu , Zhiqian Li , Dayi Pan , Yunkun Li , Hemi Kang , Xiaoding Shen , Jingyao Zhang , Qiyong Gong , Kui Luo , Jing Jing
{"title":"Prodrug-based combinational nanomedicine remodels lipid metabolism for reinforced ferroptosis and immune activation","authors":"Ling Lin , Zaixiang Fang , Guohao Liu , Yiwei Liu , Zhiqian Li , Dayi Pan , Yunkun Li , Hemi Kang , Xiaoding Shen , Jingyao Zhang , Qiyong Gong , Kui Luo , Jing Jing","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death characterized by overwhelmed lipid oxidation, and it has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapy. Enhanced ferroptosis could overcome the limitations of conventional therapeutic modalities, particularly in difficult-to-treat tumors. In this study, we developed a dual-modality therapy in nanomedicine by combining paclitaxel (PTX) chemotherapy and pyropheophorbide-a (Ppa) phototherapy. Heparin (HP) was grafted with poly(<em>N</em>-(2′-hydroxy) propyl methacrylamide) (pHPMA) using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization to form HP-pHPMA (HH), which was utilized to deliver Ppa and PTX, yielding HP-pHPMA-Ppa (HH-Ppa) and HP-pHPMA-PTX (HH-PTX), respectively. The prodrug-based combinational nanomedicine (HH-PP) was formed by co-assembly of HH-PTX and HH-Ppa. It was found that HH-PP treatment significantly disrupted lipid metabolism in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, induced extensive lipid oxidation, and promoted ferroptosis. <em>In vivo</em>, HH-PP intervention achieved a tumor growth inhibition rate of 86.63% and activated adaptive immunity with an elevated CD8<sup>+</sup> cytotoxic T cell infiltration level. This combinational nanomedicine offers a promising platform for co-delivery of multiple therapeutic agents. It exerts a promising anti-tumor effect <em>via</em> enhanced ferroptosis and ferroptosis-induced immune activation by disrupting lipid metabolism in TNBC cancer cells.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2746-2763"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shang Chen , Dong Liu , Liyang Wang , Aili Fan , Mengyue Wu , Ning Xu , Kui Zhu , Wenhan Lin
{"title":"Marine-derived new peptaibols with antibacterial activities by targeting bacterial membrane phospholipids","authors":"Shang Chen , Dong Liu , Liyang Wang , Aili Fan , Mengyue Wu , Ning Xu , Kui Zhu , Wenhan Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.02.036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.02.036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Antibiotic resistance is spreading at a faster rate than new antibiotic agents applied for clinical remedies. It is an urgent need to discover potential compounds to combat multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Marine fungi offer a promising avenue for mining antibiotic-like molecules with chemical diversity. To discover structurally novel and antibiotic metabolites, we screened the in-house marine fungus genome library and found a fungus <em>Stephanonectria keithii</em> LZD-10-1 containing a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) cluster with 18 modules to synthesize a new subfamily of peptaibols with effective eradication against MDR pathogens. Targeting isolation of the cultured fungus afforded six new peptaibols, which exhibit the ability to kill MDR bacteria by targeting bacterial membrane phospholipids, especially phosphatidylglycerol (PG), leading to the dysfunction of bacterial membranes. Furthermore, their efficacies against methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (MRSA) in both <em>Galleria mellonella</em> and mouse wound infection models were observed. This study underscores the significance of employing genome-guided approaches to identify untapped marine fungi as potential sources for novel antibiotic candidates with unique scaffolds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2764-2777"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manyun Chen , Yilei Peng , Yuhui Hu , Zhiqiang Kang , Ting Chen , Yulong Zhang , Xiaoping Chen , Qing Li , Zuyi Yuan , Yue Wu , Heng Xu , Gan Zhou , Tao Liu , Honghao Zhou , Chunsu Yuan , Weihua Huang , Wei Zhang
{"title":"A critical role for Phocaeicola vulgatus in negatively impacting metformin response in diabetes","authors":"Manyun Chen , Yilei Peng , Yuhui Hu , Zhiqiang Kang , Ting Chen , Yulong Zhang , Xiaoping Chen , Qing Li , Zuyi Yuan , Yue Wu , Heng Xu , Gan Zhou , Tao Liu , Honghao Zhou , Chunsu Yuan , Weihua Huang , Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.02.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metformin has been demonstrated to attenuate hyperglycaemia by modulating the gut microbiota. However, the mechanisms through which the microbiome mediates metformin monotherapy failure (MMF) are unclear. Herein, in a prospective clinical cohort study of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients treated with metformin monotherapy, metagenomic sequencing of faecal samples revealed that <em>Phocaeicola vulgatus</em> abundance was approximately 12 times higher in nonresponders than in responders. <em>P. vulgatus</em> rapidly hydrolysed taurine-conjugated bile acids, leading to ceramide accumulation and reversing the improvements in glucose intolerance conferred by metformin in high-fat diet-fed mice. Interestingly, C22:0 ceramide bound to mitochondrial fission factor to induce mitochondrial fragmentation and impair hepatic oxidative phosphorylation in <em>P. vulgatus</em>-colonized hyperglycaemic mice, which could be exacerbated by metformin. This work suggests that metformin may be unsuitable for <em>P. vulgatus</em>-rich T2DM patients and that clinicians should be aware of metformin toxicity to mitochondria. Suppressing <em>P. vulgatus</em> growth with cefaclor or improving mitochondrial function using adenosylcobalamin may represent simple, safe, effective therapeutic strategies for addressing MMF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2511-2528"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tianyue Xu , Dan Zheng , Meixu Chen , Linlin Song , Zhihui Liu , Yan Cheng , Yujie Zhao , Liwen Huang , Yixuan Li , Zhankun Yang , Cong Li , Biao Dong , Jing Jing , Hubing Shi
{"title":"A cisplatin prodrug-based self-assembling ozone delivery nanosystem sensitizes radiotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer","authors":"Tianyue Xu , Dan Zheng , Meixu Chen , Linlin Song , Zhihui Liu , Yan Cheng , Yujie Zhao , Liwen Huang , Yixuan Li , Zhankun Yang , Cong Li , Biao Dong , Jing Jing , Hubing Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2025.03.020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lacking therapeutic targets highlights the crucial roles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in the clinical management of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). To relieve the side effects of the chemoradiotherapy combination regimen, we design and develop a self-assembled micelle nanosystem consisting of perfluorocarbon chain-modified cisplatin prodrug. By incorporating perfluorodecalin, this nanosystem can effectively carry ozone and promote irradiation-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. By leveraging the perfluorocarbon sidechain, the nanosystem exhibits efficient internalization by TNBC cells and effectively escapes from lysosomal entrapment. Under X-ray irradiation, ozone-generated ROS disrupts the intracellular redox balance, thereby facilitating the release of cisplatin in a reduction-responsive manner mediated by reduced glutathione. Moreover, oxygen derived from ozone decomposition enhances the efficacy of radiotherapy by alleviating tumor hypoxia. Notably, the combination of irradiation with ozone-loaded cisplatin prodrug nano system synergistically prompts antitumor efficacy and reduces cellular/systemic toxicity <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em>. Furthermore, the combo regimen remodels the tumor microenvironment into an immune-favored state by triggering immunogenic cell death and relieving hypoxia, which provides a promising foundation for a combination regimen of immunotherapy. In conclusion, our nanosystem presents a novel strategy for integrating chemotherapy and radiotherapy to optimize the efficacy and safety of TNBC clinical treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"15 5","pages":"Pages 2703-2722"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}