title: Anaerobe-Inspired Anticancer Nanovesicles.
abstract: Anaerobic bacteria, such as Clostridium and Salmonella, can selectively invade and colonize in tumor hypoxic regions (THRs) and deliver therapeutic products to destroy cancer cells. Herein, we present an anaerobe nanovesicle mimic that can not only be activated in THRs but also induce hypoxia in tumors by themselves. Moreover, inspired by the oxygen metabolism of anaerobes, we construct a light-induced hypoxia-responsive modality to promote dissociation of vehicles and activation of bioreductive prodrugs simultaneously. In vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that this anaerobe-inspired nanovesicle can efficiently induce apoptotic cell death and significantly inhibit tumor growth. Our work provides a new strategy for engineering stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems in a bioinspired and synergistic fashion.
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.|Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chenggen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Peijian
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Jicheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yulei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Quanyin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Wujin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuanzhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qun-Dong
authors.initials: QD
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Pharmacoengineering Molecular Pharmaceutics, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.|Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003013:Clostridium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012475:Salmonella / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D000077704:Tirapazamine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D007093:Imidazoles; D011355:Prodrugs; D000077704:Tirapazamine
keywords: drug delivery; nanomedicines; photodynamic therapy