Therapeutic targeting of aberrant sialylation for prevention of chemoresistance and metastasis in triple negative breast cancer

Abstract

Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is a challenging and aggressive form of breast cancer that is difficult to treat due to its high rates of tumor relapse, metastasis, chemoresistance and lack of targeted therapies. Nanocarrier-based therapies hold promise in TNBC treatment as they can deliver therapeutic agents specifically to cancer cells with increased bioavailability and efficacy. One promising approach is targeting sialylation, a process that adds sialic acid residues to growing glycan chains of glycoproteins and glycolipids. Aberrant sialylation has been linked to the survival of Breast Cancer Stem Cells (BCSCs) and the occurrence of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in TNBC. Inhibiting sialylation may therefore offer a way to eliminate BCSCs and prevent EMT, leading to a more effective TNBC treatment. However, current therapeutic strategies for inhibiting sialylation have limitations, such as off-target effects, low bioavailability and stability. Nanocarrier-based approaches can overcome these limitations by precisely delivering therapeutic agents to their target sites. In this review, we discuss various nanotechnology-based approaches for targeting abnormal sialylation to eliminate BCSCs and inhibit EMT in TNBC.