Jian He

Background: Plant-derived nanovesicles (PDNVs), a class of naturally occurring nanoparticles with a phospholipid bilayer structure, have attracted significant attention in biomedicine, particularly in anti-tumor research, due to their broad source availability, low production cost, high biocompatibility, and low immunogenicity. Methods: This review systematically summarizes and analyzes the isolation methods, composition, anti-tumor mechanisms, and clinical translation potential of PDNVs based on literature retrieved from PubMed and Web of Science, with clinical trials identified and categorized using ClinicalTrials.gov. Results: Current research has made impressive progress in the application of PDNVs, both as direct therapeutic agents and as drug delivery systems. Their remarkable stability, ability to cross physiological barriers (e.g., the gastrointestinal tract and blood–brain barrier), and engineerability underpin their versatile potential. Conclusions: This review comprehensively outlines the compositional characteristics of PDNVs and explores their multi-dimensional mechanisms and application prospects as natural therapeutics and drug delivery platforms in cancer therapy. Despite challenges such as standardization in preparation, PDNVs represent a highly promising class of novel nanobiomaterials.

Background: The high incidence and mortality rates of cancer have kept it at the top of the research agenda for the global healthcare industry, as well as put serious economic pressure on families and society. It has gradually been recognised that reducing the incidence of cancer through various interventions and that combining prevention and treatment are the key to alleviating the burden of cancer. Methods: Retrieve and summarize the literature related to the delivery methods of tumor vaccines, and investigate whether these delivery methods have been applied clinically or have been used in clinical trials. Results: there are a variety of methods for cancer vaccine development, but only a very small number of studies have been able to make strides towards implementing these methods in the clinic, which is closely linked to drawbacks with the means of vaccine delivery. Conclusions: This review analyses the reasons why it is difficult to apply these methods in the clinic from the point of view of the delivery method rather than the design of the cancer vaccine. It also describes some of the delivery methods that have not yet been applied for cancer vaccines and, considering this in conjunction with those that are currently used for this purpose, predicts their prospects for future application.

Tumor growth and metastasis require neovascularization, which is dependent on a complex array of factors, such as the production of various pro-angiogenic factors by tumor cells, intercellular signaling, and stromal remodeling. The hypoxic, acidic tumor microenvironment is not only conducive to tumor cell proliferation, but also disrupts the equilibrium of angiogenic factors, leading to vascular heterogeneity, which further promotes tumor development and metastasis. Anti-angiogenic strategies to inhibit tumor angiogenesis has, therefore, become an important focus for anti-tumor therapy. The traditional approach involves the use of anti-angiogenic drugs to inhibit tumor neovascularization by targeting upstream and downstream angiogenesis-related pathways or pro-angiogenic factors, thereby inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis. This review explores the mechanisms involved in tumor angiogenesis and summarizes currently used anti-angiogenic drugs, including monoclonal antibody, and small-molecule inhibitors, as well as the progress and challenges associated with their use in anti-tumor therapy. It also outlines the opportunities and challenges of treating tumors using more advanced anti-angiogenic strategies, such as immunotherapy and nanomaterials.

Microneedles that can be inserted and attached to multiple organ sites are considered an innovative platform for delivering anti-tumor drugs, which can be used in various tumor treatment protocols.

Oncolytic Newcastle disease virus is a new type of cancer immunotherapy drug. This paper proposes a scheme for delivering oncolytic viruses using hydrogel microneedles. Gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) was synthesized by chemical grafting, and GelMA microneedles encapsulating oncolytic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) were prepared by micro-molding and photocrosslinking. The release and expression of NDV were tested by immunofluorescence and hemagglutination experiments. The experiments proved that GelMA was successfully synthesized and had hydrogel characteristics. NDV was evenly dispersed in the allantoic fluid without agglomeration, showing a characteristic virus morphology. NDV particle size was 257.4 ± 1.4 nm, zeta potential was −13.8 ± 0.5 mV, virus titer TCID50 was 10^7.5/mL, and PFU was 2 × 10⁷/mL, which had a selective killing effect on human liver cancer cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. The NDV@GelMA microneedles were arranged in an orderly cone array, with uniform height and complete needle shape. The distribution of virus-like particles was observed on the surface. GelMA microneedles could successfully penetrate 5% agarose gel and nude mouse skin. Optimal preparation conditions were freeze-drying. We successfully prepared GelMA hydrogel microneedles containing NDV, which could effectively encapsulate NDV but did not detect the release of NDV.

Tumor cells must resist the host's immune system while maintaining growth under harsh conditions of acidity and hypoxia, which indicates that tumors are more robust than normal tissue. Immunotherapeutic agents have little effect on solid tumors, mostly because of the tumor density and the difficulty of penetrating deeply into the tissue to achieve the theoretical therapeutic effect. Various therapeutic strategies targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been developed. Immunometabolic disorders play a dominant role in treatment resistance at both the TME and host levels. Understanding immunometabolic factors and their treatment potential may be a way forward for tumor immunotherapy. Here, we summarize the metabolism of substances that affect tumor progression, the crosstalk between the TME and immunosuppression, and some potential tumor-site targets. We also summarize the progress and challenges of tumor immunotherapy.

Background and Objective: Transition metals are commonly used catalysts in bioorthogonal chemistry and have attracted extensive attention in biochemistry because of their efficient catalytic performance. In recent years, transition metal-mediated cycloaddition reactions, bond cleavage, and formation reactions are being actively explored for tumor treatment. However, the direct application of transition metals in complex biological environments has several problems, including poor solubility, toxicity, and easy inactivation. The combination of transition metals and nanomaterials can solve those problems by playing a bioorthogonal catalytic role in tumor treatment. In this review, we summarize some research on the application of transition metals modified by nanomaterials in tumor therapy and discuss the potential and challenges of transition metal-mediated bioorthogonal therapy in comprehensive tumor therapy. Methods: English literature on transition metal in cancer treatment was searched in PubMed and Web of Science. The main search terms were “cancer treatment”, “bioorthogonal reaction”, “transition metal”, “bioorthogonal catalysis”, etc. Key Content and Findings: This review summarizes research on several major transition metals that can be used for bioorthogonal catalysis with the assistance of nanomaterials in anti-tumor therapy. In addition, bioorthogonal catalysis is a new supplement to antitumor therapy. We have compiled the potential challenges of the clinical application of transition metal-based nanocatalysts, which lays the foundation for future research related to medicinal chemistry and targeted cancer therapy. Conclusions: Most of the transition metals still have a lot of room for exploration in cancer treatment research. We still need more research to confirm the feasibility of in vivo and clinical trials.