Self-Assembled Copper-Based Nanoparticles for Glutathione Activated and Enzymatic Cascade-Enhanced Ferroptosis and Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

As an emerging cancer treatment strategy, ferroptosis is greatly restricted by excessive glutathione (GSH) in tumor microenvironment (TME) and low reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation efficiency. Here, this work designs self-assembled copper-alanine nanoparticles (CACG) loaded with glucose oxidase (GOx) and cinnamaldehyde (Cin) for in situ glutathione activated and enzymatic cascade-enhanced ferroptosis and immunotherapy. In response to GSH-rich and acidic TME, CACG allows to effectively co-deliver Cu²⁺ , Cin, and GOx into tumors. Released Cin consumes GSH through Michael addition, accompanying with the reduction of Cu²⁺ into Cu⁺ for further GSH depletion. With the cascade of Cu⁺ -catalyzed Fenton reactions and enzyme-catalyzed reactions by GOx, CACG could get rid of the restriction of insufficient hydrogen peroxide in TME, leading to a robust and constant generation of ROS. With the high efficiency of GSH depletion and ROS production, ferroptosis is significantly enhanced by CACG in vivo. Moreover, elevated oxidative stress triggers robust immune responses by promoting dendritic cells maturation and T cell infiltration. The in vivo results prove that CACG could efficiently inhibit tumor growth in 4T1 tumor-bearing mouse model without causing obvious systemic toxicity, suggesting the great potential of CACG in enhancing ferroptosis and immunotherapy for effective cancer treatment.

Keywords: enzymatic cascade reaction; ferroptosis; glutathione; immunotherapy; reactive oxygen species.