Softness-Aided Mild Hyperthermia Boosts Stiff Nanomedicine by Regulating Tumor Mechanics.

ABSTRACT: Aberrant tumor mechanical microenvironment (TMME), featured with overactivated cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM), severely restricts penetration and accumulation of cancer nanomedicines, while mild-hyperthermia photothermal therapy (mild-PTT) has been developed to modulate TMME. However, photothermal agents also encounter the barriers established by TMME, manifesting in limited penetration and heterogeneous distribution across tumor tissues and ending with attenuated efficiency in TMME regulation. Herein, it is leveraged indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded soft nanogels with outstanding deformability, for efficient tumor penetration and uniform distribution, in combination with mild-PTT to achieve potent TMME regulation by inhibiting CAFs and degradin

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11234402 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature