Oxygen Self-Generating Nanoreactor Mediated Ferroptosis Activation and Immunotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

The hypoxia microenvironment of solid tumors poses a technological bottleneck for ferroptosis and immunotherapy in clinical oncology. Nanoreactors based on special physiological signals in tumor cells are able to avoid various tumor tolerance mechanisms by alleviating the intracellular hypoxia environment. Herein we reported a nanoreactor Cu2-xSe that enabled the conversion of Cu elements between Cu+ and Cu2+ for the generation of O2 and the consumption of intracellular GSH content. Furthermore, to enhance the catalytic and ferroptosis-inducing activities of the nanoreactors, the ferroptosis agonist Erastin was loaded on the ZIF-8 coating on the surface of Cu2-xSe to up-regulate the expression of NOX4 protein, increase the intracellular H2O2 content, catalyze the Cu+ to produce O2 and activate ferroptosis. In addition, the nanoreactors were simultaneously surface functionalized with PEG polymer and folic acid molecules, which ensured the in vivo blood circulation and tumor-specific uptake. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the functionalized self-supplying nanoreactors can amplify the ability to generate O2 and consume intracellular GSH via the interconversion of Cu elements Cu+ and Cu2+, and impair the GPX4/GSH pathway and HIF-1 alpha protein expression. At the same time, by alleviating the intracellular hypoxia environment, the expression of miR301, a gene in the secreted exosomes was decreased, which ultimately affected the phenotype polarization of TAMs and increased the content of IFN gamma secreted by CD8+ T cells, which further promoted the ferroptosis induced by Erastin-loaded nanoreactors. This combined therapeutic strategy of activating the tumor immune response and ferroptosis via self-supplying nanoreactors provides a potential strategy for clinical application.

Automated summary

In this study, a nanoreactor Cu2-xSe was developed to alleviate the intracellular hypoxia environment and enhance the catalytic and cell death-inducing activities. The nanoreactors were surface functionalized with PEG polymer and folic acid molecules to ensure in vivo blood circulation and tumor-specific uptake. The functionalized self-supplying nanoreactors demonstrated the ability to generate O2 and consume intracellular GSH through the interconversion of Cu elements, impairing the GPX4/GSH pathway and HIF-1α protein expression. Furthermore, by alleviating the intracellular hypoxia environment, the nanoreactors affected the phenotype polarization of TAMs and increased the content of IFNγ secreted by CD8+ T cells, promoting cell death induced by Erastin-loaded nanoreactors. This combined therapeutic strategy provides a potential approach for clinical application.