CRCs-CAFs crosstalk-targeted nano-delivery system reprograms tumor microenvironment for oxaliplatin resistance reversing and liver metastasis inhibition in colorectal cancer
Heshi Liu, Caina Xu, Pai Wang, Lei Guo, Xiuzhang Yan, Rui Zhou, Yixin Tang, Siyuan Wang, Jie Chen, Quan Wang, Huayu Tian
Abstract
The five-year survival rate of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastasis is less than 30 %, and chemotherapy resistance and metastatic microenvironment remodeling are the current treatment bottlenecks. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) form a "CRCs-CAFs crosstalk" with colorectal cancer cells (CRCs) by secreting dense extracellular matrix (ECM), free fatty acids (FFA), and pro-metastatic factors, driving a vicious cycle of drug resistance and metastasis. During liver metastasis, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs)-derived CAFs (HSC-CAFs) promote tumor metastasis by remodeling the pre-metastatic microenvironment. Based on clinical sample RNA sequencing and mouse single-cell sequencing to reveal ECM signal enrichment and CAFs activation characteristics, we innovatively constructed a nano-delivery system using hyaluronic acid-modified MIL-100 nanoparticles (OEMH NPs) co-loaded with oxaliplatin (OXA) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This system can target the CRCs-CAFs crosstalk through CD44 receptor: on the one hand, OEMH NPs can inhibit CAFs activation and reduce ECM deposition, improve drug penetration and down-regulate FFA metabolic reprogramming, reverse OXA resistance; on the other hand, OEMH NPs can block the transformation of HSCs to CAFs, down-regulate pro-metastatic factors such as VEGF/IL-11/ANG, induce vascular normalization, and reprogram the pre-metastatic microenvironment. This strategy can simultaneously achieve primary lesion drug sensitization and liver metastasis inhibition, providing a new paradigm for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer to break through the traditional treatment dilemma through dual reprogramming of metabolism and microenvironment, and has significant clinical translation potential.