(Press-News.org) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.006
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses targeting stem-property and vasculogenic mimicry for sensitizing paclitaxel therapy of triple-negative breast cancer by biomimetic codelivery.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is aggressive, with high recurrence rates and poor prognosis. Paclitaxel (PTX) remains a key chemotherapeutic agent for TNBC, but its efficacy diminishes due to the emergence of drug resistance, largely driven by cancer stem-like cells (CSCs), vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation and tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment (TIME). Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is highly expressed in TNBC, and is a potential target for TNBC treatment.
The authors of this article developed a biomimetic codelivery system using albumin nanoparticles (termed S/P NP) to co-encapsulate PTX and shikonin (SHK), a natural inhibitor of PKM2. By inhibiting PKM2, SHK suppressed β-Catenin signaling, thereby reversing CSC stemness and preventing VM formation. The S/P NP system exhibited tumor-targeting delivery effect and significantly inhibited TNBC growth and lung metastasis. Mechanistically, the treatment reversed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stem-like properties of TNBC cells, suppressed VM formation, and remodeled the TIME. It reduced immunosuppressive cells (M2 macrophages, MDSCs) while promoting anti-tumor immunity (M1 macrophages, dendritic cells, cytotoxic T cells, and memory T cells).
This dual-action strategy holds promise for improving TNBC therapy by targeting CSCs, VM, and the immune microenvironment, and for overcoming PTX resistance and reducing metastasis.
Keywords: Shikonin, Paclitaxel, Triple-negative breast cancer, Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), Cancer stem-like cells, Vasculogenic mimicry, Tumor microenvironment, Albumin
Graphical Abstract: available at https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2211383525002382-ga1_lrg.jpg
A combination therapeutic strategy using the albumin co-loading shikonin (SHK) and paclitaxel (PTX) was developed for TNBC treatment, which can inhibit PKM2 and β-Catenin, leading to suppression stem-property and vasculogenic mimicry.
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The Journal of the Institute of Materia Medica, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.
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CiteScore: 24.3
Impact Factor: 14.6 (Top 6 journal in the category of Pharmacology and pharmacy)
JIF without self-citation: 13.8
ISSN 2211-3835
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Siqi Wu, Qing Tang, Weifeng Fang, Zhe Sun, Meng Zhang, Ergang Liu, Yang Cao, Yongzhuo Huang, Targeting stem-property and vasculogenic mimicry for sensitizing paclitaxel therapy of triple-negative breast cancer by biomimetic codelivery, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Volume 15, Issue 6, 2025,
Pages 3226-3242, ISSN 2211-3835, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.006
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.017
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how SRSF7 promotes pulmonary fibrosis through regulating PKM alternative splicing in lung fibroblasts.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic interstitial lung disease, is characterized by aberrant wound healing, excessive scarring and the formation of myofibroblastic foci. Although the role of alternative splicing (AS) in the pathogenesis of organ fibrosis has garnered increasing attention, ...
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.001
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how a psychological stress-activated NR3C1/NUPR1 axis promotes ovarian tumor metastasis.
Ovarian tumor (OT) is the most lethal form of gynecologic malignancy, with minimal improvements in patient outcomes over the past several decades. Metastasis is the leading cause of ovarian cancer-related deaths, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
Psychological stress is known to activate ...
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.008
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how an anti-complement homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata ameliorates acute pneumonia with H1N1 and MRSA coinfection through rectifying Treg/Th17 imbalance in the gut–lung axis and NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
The coinfection of respiratory viruses and bacteria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite the development of vaccines and powerful antibiotics. As a macromolecule that is difficult to absorb in the gastrointestinal tract, a homogeneous polysaccharide from Houttuynia cordata (HCPM) has been reported ...
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.018
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how ALKBH3-regulated m1A of ALDOA potentiates glycolysis and doxorubicin resistance of triple negative breast cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is currently the mainstay of systemic management for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but chemoresistance significantly impacts patient outcomes.
This research indicates that Doxorubicin (Dox)-resistant TNBC cells exhibit increased glycolysis and ATP generation compared to their parental cells, with this metabolic shift contributing to chemoresistance. It was discovered ...
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2025.04.007
This new article publication from Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, discusses how a photodynamic nanohybrid system reverses hypoxia and augments anti-primary and metastatic tumor efficacy of immunotherapy.
Photodynamic immunotherapy is a promising strategy for cancer treatment. However, the dysfunctional tumor vasculature results in tumor hypoxia and the low efficiency of drug delivery, which in turn restricts the anticancer effect of photodynamic immunotherapy.
The ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/acta-pharmaceutica-sinica-b/vol/15/issue/6
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B (APSB) was founded with the goal of creating a global high-level forum centred around drug discovery and pharmaceutical research/application. APSB was included by Chemical Abstracts in 2011, accepted by PubMed Central in 2015, indexed by Science Citation Index in 2017 and has evolved to become one of the most important international journals in the field of pharmaceutical sciences.
APSB is a monthly journal, in English, which publishes ...
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ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is pleased to announce a new journal, ACM AI Letters (AILET), a unique venue for rapid publication of impactful, concise, and timely communications in artificial intelligence. In keeping with ACM’s broader goals, all AILET papers will be open access, with no publication charges for the first three years. ACM AI Letters will open for submissions in summer 2025.
Bridging a crucial gap between traditional conferences and journals, AILET will feature short peer-reviewed contributions that accelerate knowledge dissemination across academia and industry. This unique publication prioritizes theoretical breakthroughs, algorithmic ...
