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Cancer research

Breakthrough in Lung Cancer Treatment: Novel Micro-Nano Liposome System Shows Promise

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Researchers from Fudan University have developed a novel micro-nano liposome system, PCAL@TM, which has shown significant improvements in the treatment of lung cancer. The system targets the delivery of a chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel (PTX), directly to the tumor site, while also releasing oxygen to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. This innovative approach has led to a significant increase in the distribution of the treatment in the lungs, reducing the liver and spleen distribution.

Key Takeaways:

  • The novel micro-nano liposome system, PCAL@TM, is designed to target the delivery of PTX to lung tumors, while also releasing oxygen to enhance the treatment's effectiveness.
  • The system consists of PTX-loaded corosolic acid (CA) nano-liposomes anchored to the surface of oxygenated perfluorotributylamine (TBA)-loaded multivesicular liposomes (TM) via biotin-avidin interactions with matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) cleavable linker.
  • The MMP-9-sensitive PCAL@TM can decouple into nano-PCAL and micro-TM in the tumor environment, releasing oxygen and PTX, which leads to a significant downregulation of HIF-1 alpha and platelet-activated TGF-beta.
  • The PCAL@TM system presents a novel strategy to enhance the efficiency of nano-drug delivery and the outcome of combined therapy for lung cancer.
  • The system has been shown to effectively reduce inflammation levels and enhance PTX-induced immunogenic cell death (ICD).
  • The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Science & Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), and National Key R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China.

Statistics:

  • The distribution amount of PCAL@TM in the lungs is extremely higher than that in the liver and spleen (as determined by intravenous administration to lung tumor-bearing mice).
  • The study concluded that the PCAL@TM system achieved significant improvements in PTX chemotherapy and alpha-PD-1 immunotherapy.
  • The PCAL@TM system has shown potential as a novel strategy to enhance the efficiency of nano-drug delivery and the outcome of combined therapy for lung cancer.

Sources:

  • (Research paper) Size-tunable Micro-nano Liposomes: Enhanced Lung Targeting and Tumor Penetration for Combination Treatment of Lung Cancer. Small, 2025.
  • Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, Dept. of Pharmaceutical, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China.
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
  • Science & Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM).
  • National Key R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China.
  • Cancer Weekly. May 13, 2025; p 52.

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