Self-Reliant Nanomedicine with Long-Lasting Glutathione Depletion Ability Disrupts Adaptive Redox Homeostasis and Suppresses Cancer Stem Cells

Bulk cancer cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) harbor efficient and adaptive redox systems to help them resist oxidative insults arising from diverse therapeutic modalities. Herein, a tumor microenvironment (TME)-activatable nano-modulator capable of disrupting adaptive redox homeostasis, prepared by integrating FDA-approved xCT inhibitor sulfasalazine (SSZ) into pH-responsive hydroxyethyl starch-doxorubicin conjugate stabilized copper peroxide nanoparticles (HSCPs) is reported. Compared to poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-stabilized copper peroxide nanoparticles, HSCPs exhibit superior physiological stability, longer circulation half-life, and higher tumor enrichment. Under an acidic TME, the active components inside HSCPs are productively released along with the disintegration of HSCPs. The specifically generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from copper peroxide nanoparticles furnishes a constant power source for copper-mediated hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) production, serving as a wealthy supplier for oxidative stress. Meanwhile, the tumor-specific release of Cu2+ and SSZ can induce long-lasting glutathione (GSH) depletion via copper-mediated self-cycling valence transitions and SSZ-blocked GSH biosynthesis, thereby reducing the offsetting action of the antioxidant GSH against oxidative stress. As a result, this sustained oxidative stress potently restrains the growth of aggressive orthotopic breast tumors while suppressing pulmonary metastasis by eradicating CSC populations. The reported smart nanomedicine provides a new paradigm for redox imbalance-triggered cancer therapy. A tumor microenvironment-responsive redox modulator is developed for concomitantly achieving sustained reactive oxygen species bursts and long-lasting glutathione depletion in tumor sites, which potently restrains the growth of aggressive orthotopic breast cancer while suppressing pulmonary metastasis by eradicating cancer stem cell populations.image

Automated summary

This study reports a tumor microenvironment-activatable nano-modulator capable of disrupting adaptive redox homeostasis in cancer cells. The nano-modulator releases active components under acidic tumor conditions, leading to sustained oxidative stress, growth inhibition, and eradication of cancer stem cells.