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Targeted co-delivery of curcumin and TRAIL via engineered extracellular vesicles: a synergistic therapy against resistant cancers

delete2026-07-13
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PRE
AI
L
Lang Liu
J
Jiahong Jiang
Z
Zelin Wu
X
Xiaoli Wu
J
Jun Peng
N
Nuo Xu
X
Xudong Lin
R
Ronghui Sun
Y
Yuyi Kang
C
Changhong Ke
C
Caijun Zhao
Q
Qilin Huang
F
Fangfang Gao
Y
Youjun Zeng *
DOI:10.1007/s13346-026-02180-zdelete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a resistant malignancy with a rising global incidence, thereby highlighting an urgent need for innovative treatment strategies. Curcumin (CUR), a natural polyphenolic compound, is promising for cancer treatment. However, its clinical translation has been hindered by poor bioavailability, low solubility, and rapid elimination. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-expressing extracellular vesicle (EV-T) has been proven to be an ideal platform for integrating TRAIL-sensitizing agents with TRAIL for synergistic cancer therapies. Yet, no studies have explored whether CUR could be encapsulated in EV-Ts to achieve synergistic anticancer effects. Herein we hypothesize that EV-T modified by the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) tripeptide (denoted RGD@EV-T) exhibits enhanced tumor tropism. By loading CUR into RGD@EV-T, we could construct a novel nano-CUR formulation, namely RGD@EV-T-CUR, for co-delivery of CUR and TRAIL to achieve synergistic therapy for RCC. The RGD@EV-T was first prepared via anchoring CP05-RGD mediated integration, then CUR was efficiently encapsulated with an encapsulation rate of 53.4% to make RGD@EV-T-CUR. The RGD modification significantly enhanced the tumor tropism of EV-T by approximately 4-fold. Importantly, RGD@EV-T-CUR achieved synergistically enhanced apoptosis-inducing rate (74.9 ± 5.3%) in TRAIL-resistant RCC cells. Notably, RGD@EV-T-CUR demonstrated synergistically improved tumor growth inhibition efficacy (93.3%) compared to either CUR (28.7%) or RGD@EV-T (41.7%) monotherapy in a subcutaneous RCC xenograft tumor model in mice. The synergistic therapeutic efficacy is associated with the concurrent upregulation of death receptor 5 (DR5), downregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins, and suppression of the nuclear factor-kappaB signaling pathway. Collectively, RGD@EV-T-CUR potentially constitutes a novel cancer therapy, which is highly effective and safe for RCC treatment.
Keywords:
Curcumin
EV-T
Composite nanodrug
Targeted therapy
Synergistic efficacy

Journal

Drug Delivery and Translational Research cover
Drug Delivery and Translational Research
IF:
5.5
Papers:
2.2K
Citations:
7.4K

Organization

S
School of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Scholars:
62
Papers: 16
Citations: 0
H
Hebei Medical University
Scholars:
2.5K
Papers: 619
Citations: 4.2K
C
Chongqing General Hospital
Scholars:
99
Papers: 35
Citations: 0
S
school of physics & optoelectronic engineering
Scholars:
2
Papers: 1
Citations: 0
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