TfR1 binding with H-ferritin nanocarrier achieves prognostic diagnosis and enhances the therapeutic efficacy in clinical gastric cancer
Xiaojing Cheng, Kelong Fan, Lin Wang, Xiangji Ying, Andrew J. Sanders, Ting Guo, Xiaofang Xing, Meng Zhou, Hong Du, Ying Hu, Huirong Ding, Ziyu Li, Xianzi Wen, Wen G. Jiang, Xiyun Yan, Jiafu Ji
Abstract
H-ferritin (HFn) nanocarrier is emerging as a promising theranostic platform for tumor diagnosis and therapy, which can specifically target tumor cells via binding transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). This led us to investigate the therapeutic function of TfR1 in GC. The clinical significance of TfR1 was assessed in 178 GC tissues by using a magneto-HFn nanoparticle-based immunohistochemistry method. The therapeutic effects of doxorubicin-loaded HFn nanocarriers (HFn-Dox) were evaluated on TfR1-positive GC patient-derived xenograft (GC-PDX) models. The biological function of TfR1 was investigated through in vitro and in vivo assays. TfR1 was upregulated (73.03%) in GC tissues, and reversely correlated with patient outcome. TfR1-negative sorted cells exhibited tumor-initiating features, which enhanced tumor formation and migration/invasion, whereas TfR1-positive sorted cells showed significant proliferation ability. Knockout of TfR1 in GC cells also enhanced cell invasion. TfR1-deficient cells displayed immune escape by upregulating PD-L1, CXCL9, and CXCL10, when disposed with IFN-γ. Western blot results demonstrated that TfR1-knockout GC cells upregulated Akt and STAT3 signaling. Moreover, in TfR1-positive GC-PDX models, the HFn-Dox group significantly inhibited tumor growth, and increased mouse survival, compared with that of free-Dox group. TfR1 could be a potential prognostic and therapeutic biomarker for GC: (i) TfR1 reversely correlated with patient outcome, and its negative cells possessed tumor-aggressive features; (ii) TfR1-positive cells can be killed by HFn drug nanocarrier. Given the heterogeneity of GC, HFn drug nanocarrier combined with other therapies toward TfR1-negative cells (such as small molecules or immunotherapy) will be a new option for GC treatment.