title: A Drug-Free Tumor Therapy Strategy: Cancer-Cell-Targeting Calcification.
abstract: Herein, we propose a drug-free approach to cancer therapy that involves cancer cell targeting calcification (CCTC). Several types of cancer cells, such as HeLa cells, characterized by folate receptor (FR) overexpression, can selectively adsorb folate (FA) molecules and then concentrate Ca(2+) locally to induce specific cell calcification. The resultant calcium mineral encapsulates the cancer cells, inducing their death, and in vivo assessments confirm that CCTC treatment can efficiently inhibit tumor growth and metastasis without damaging normal cells compared with conventional chemotherapy. Accordingly, CCTC remarkably improve the survival rate of tumor mice. Notably, both FA and calcium ions are essential ingredients in human metabolism, which means that CCTC is a successful drug-free method for tumor therapy. This achievement may further represent an alternative cancer therapy characterized by selective calcification-based substitution of sclerosis for tumor disease.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomaterials and Biopathways, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China.
authors.forename: Ruibo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China.|Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310029, China.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Engineering, Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310013, China.
authors.forename: Xinyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China.|Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310029, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomaterials and Biopathways, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China.
authors.forename: Changyu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomaterials and Biopathways, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China. rtang@zju.edu.cn.|Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310027, China. rtang@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ruikang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016923:Cell Death; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored / Q000378:metabolism*; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D058973:Folate Receptors, GPI-Anchored; D005492:Folic Acid; D002118:Calcium
keywords: bioinorganic chemistry; calcification; cell encapsulation; folate; tumor inhibition