Jinhua Zhao

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor SOS1 has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for various KRAS-driven tumors. Herein, we employed a structure-based drug design strategy to develop a series of novel quinazoline-derived molecules. This effort yielded highly potent and selective SOS1 inhibitors, 78b and 78d, which displayed high SOS1 binding affinity, potently disrupted the SOS1-KRAS^G12C interaction, and inhibited nucleotide exchange in WT and multiple KRAS variants. Moreover, both compounds showed submicromolar 3D-antiproliferative activity across a panel of CRC cells, induced G₁ phase arrest, and suppressed MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways. Furthermore, 78b and 78d demonstrated favorable safety profiles with no observed adverse effects at levels of 500 and 700 mg/kg, respectively. At doses of 60 mg/kg, they achieved significant tumor growth inhibition (75.1% and 86.2%, respectively) in HCT116 xenograft models without significant toxicity. Collectively, this study identifies potent drug candidates with strong pan-KRAS therapeutic efficacy against colorectal cancer.

Camptothecin (CPT) and its derivatives are potent anticancer agents, but their clinical application is limited by poor aqueous solubility, lack of targeting specificity, and severe systemic toxicity. In this study, we synthesized a glycoconjugate prodrug, (GalNAc)₃-CPT, by conjugating CPT to a triantennary N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) ligand that targeted the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGR) overexpressed on hepatocytes. This prodrug exhibited a solubility 2289 times higher than that of CPT in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4). In vitro studies indicated that (GalNAc)₃-CPT was effectively taken up by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, significantly reducing cell viability and inducing apoptosis. In vivo, (GalNAc)₃-CPT showed enhanced tumor targeting and superior antitumor activity compared to CPT and exhibited no detectable systemic toxicity. Moreover, it activated the cGAS-STING pathway and promoted the infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells into the tumor. In summary, GalNAc-mediated CPT delivery represents a promising strategy for targeted HCC therapy.

The low immunogenicity and immune escape are bottlenecks for effective tumor immunotherapy. Here, we synthesized multifunctional polymers comprising a photosensitizer and cationic and thiol derivates and engineered a galactose-installed stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) small interfering RNA (siPDL1)–encapsulated nanocarriers (cGAMP-siPDL1@GalNPs) for synergistic immunotherapy of low immunogenic tumors through stimulating robust immune responses. cGAMP-siPDL1@GalNPs efficiently delivered the drugs into cancer cells by targeting the galactose receptors to trigger photo-/redox-/pH-activated drug release. cGAMP-siPDL1@GalNPs stimulated robust antitumor immunity via STING activation and immunogenic cell death (ICD) and inhibited immune escape via knockdown of PD-L1 expression in tumors, which synergistically regulated the immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. Upon laser irradiation, the nanocarriers efficiently eradicated primary melanoma and orthotopic triple-negative breast tumors and induced ICD effects, which synergically inhibited the distant tumor and spontaneous lung metastasis with improved survival rates. This study presents a strategy for developing nanocarriers to activate antitumor immunity and regulate immune invasion for effective immunotherapy.

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and a meta-analysis of GWAS for atopic dermatitis (AD) have identified some AD genetic loci in European and Japanese populations. To investigate whether some novel susceptibility loci are associated with AD in the Chinese Han population. We first selected eight novel susceptibility loci to replicate in 2,205 AD patients and 2,116 healthy controls using the Sequenom platform. Data were analyzed with PLINK 1.07 software. We found that rs12634229 (3q13.2), rs7927894 (11p13.5) and rs878860 (11p15.4) showed a slight association with AD (P = 0.012, P = 0.033, P = 0.020, respectively); rs6780220 (3p21.33) was preferentially related to AD with keratosis pilaris, but did not reach the threshold of significance after correction. The frequency of rs7927894 allele T was significantly different between AD patients with a positive and negative family history of atopy. The loci rs7927894 (11p13.5) are related to AD with a positive family history of atopy in Chinese Han population, providing novel insight into the genetic pathogenesis of AD.