Anaerobic bacteria mediated ‘smart missile’ targeting tumor hypoxic area enhances the therapeutic outcome of lung cancer

Abstract

Tumor hypoxia is associated with a negative impact on the clinical treatment of lung cancer. Traditional therapeutic agents cannot be efficiently transported to tumor tissues, resulting in a reduced efficacy and serious toxic side effects. Therefore, the aim of this study is to propose a novel drug delivery strategy to solve this problem. The anaerobic Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis, Bi) is implanted in the hypoxic area of the tumor as the pre-implanted target. The bacterial antibody decorated nano-drug missile (Ab-DOX-s-s-NPS) actively targets the interior of tumor tissue, and enriches therapeutic drug doxorubicin into tumor hypoxic area through bacterial recruitment. The study confirms that the increased concentration of Ab-DOX-s-s-NPS in tumor tissues through the recruitment of B. infantis plays an excellent anti-tumor effect, while the systemic side effects are significantly reduced, suggesting the good therapeutic effect of the B. infantis-mediated drug delivery strategy against lung cancer. Therefore, this work provides an elegant platform for the in vivo delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the hypoxic area of the tumor, representing a novel strategy potentially effective in the treatment of solid tumors.