Enhancing the Effectiveness of Existing Anticancer Nano-Drugs by Exploiting the Dynamic Bursts of Nanoparticles in Tumor Vessels

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20499
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0403:Biomedical engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Igarashi Kazunori 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 届出研究員 (80962787)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ドラッグデリバリー / 悪性腫瘍 / 腫瘍微小環境 / ナノ薬剤

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Nano-eruption, the dynamic effusion of nanoparticles in tumor vessels, is expected to improve the delivery efficiency of anticancer nano-drugs to tumors as a new transport pathway different from the previously assumed leakage from static pores. In this study, we examined whether premedication with TGF-β inhibitors or chloroquine, which has been reported to promote nano-eruption, increases the accumulation of anticancer nano-drugs in tumors. However, with dahaplatin nano-micelles and BxPC3 pancreatic cancer models, nor with doxorubicin liposomes and 4T1 breast cancer models, no significant differences in tumor accumulation were observed. These results indicate the need to promote this phenomenon on a scale beyond the previously reported increase in nano-eruption frequency (2-fold) and range (8-fold).

Free Research Field

ドラッグデリバリー

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、これまで報告されてきた腫瘍血管におけるナノ粒子の動的な噴出現象（nano-eruption）が、ナノ薬剤の腫瘍集積にどの程度寄与しているのかについて新たな知見が得られた。今後、本噴出現象の研究を更に進める上で、nano-eruptionの頻度増加（2倍）や、範囲増加（8倍）を超える規模での促進が、本現象を活用した抗がんナノ薬剤の腫瘍集積量増加に必要であることが明らかとなった。この成果は今後の本噴出現象の研究、ひいてはがんで苦しむ多くの方々により効果的な治療法をもたらす一助となるものであると考える。