Ferritin naturally exists in most organisms and can specifically recognize the transferrin 1 receptor (TfR1), which is generally highly expressed on various types of tumor cells. The pH dependent reversible assembling and disassembling property of ferritin renders it as a suitable candidate for encapsulating a variety of anticancer drugs and imaging probes. Ferritins external surface is chemically and genetically modifiable which can serve as attachment site for tumor specific targeting peptides or moieties. Moreover, the biological origin of these protein cages makes it a biocompatible nanocarrier that stabilizes and protects the enclosed particles from the external environment without provoking any toxic or immunogenic responses. Recent studies, further establish ferritin as a multifunctional nanocarrier for targeted cancer chemotherapy and phototherapy. In this review, we introduce the favorable characteristics of ferritin drug carriers, the specific targeted surface modification and a multifunctional nanocarriers combined chemotherapy with phototherapy for tumor treatment. Taken together, ferritin is a potential ideal base of engineered nanoparticles for tumor therapy and still needs to explore more on its way.

After molecule targeted drug, monoclonal antibody and antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), peptide–drug conjugates (PDCs) have become the next generation targeted anti-tumor drugs due to its properties of low molecule weight, efficient cell penetration, low immunogenicity, good pharmacokinetic and large-scale synthesis by solid phase synthesis. Herein, we present a lytic peptide PTP7-drug paclitaxel conjugate assembling nanoparticles (named PPP) that can sequentially respond to dual stimuli in the tumor microenvironment, which was designed for passive tumor-targeted delivery and on-demand release of a tumor lytic peptide (PTP-7) as well as a chemotherapeutic agent of paclitaxel (PTX). To achieve this, tumor lytic peptide PTP-7 was connected with polyethylene glycol by a peptide substrate of legumain to serve as hydrophobic segments of nanoparticles to protect the peptide from enzymatic degradation. After that, PTX was connected to the amino group of the polypeptide side chain through an acid-responsive chemical bond (2-propionic-3-methylmaleic anhydride, CDM). Therefore, the nanoparticle (PPP) collapsed when it encountered the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment where PTX molecules fell off, and further triggered the cleavage of the peptide substrate by legumain that is highly expressed in tumor stroma and tumor cell surface. Moreover, PPP presents improved stability, improved drug solubility, prolonged blood circulation and significant inhibition ability on tumor growth, which gives a reasonable strategy to accurately deliver small molecule drugs and active peptides simultaneously to tumor sites.

Smoke-induced acute lung injury (ALI) is a grievous disease with high mortality. Despite advances in medical intervention, no drug has yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ALI. In this study, we reported that pretreatment with high-molecular-weight hyaluronan (1600 kDa, HA1600) alleviated pulmonary inflammation and injury in mice exposed to smoke and also upregulated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), as well as suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1), in the lung tissues. Next, we overexpressed MALAT1 in the lungs by intratracheal administration of adenovirus cloned with MALAT1 cDNA and found that the survival of mice after smoke exposure was improved. Moreover, pulmonary overexpression of MALAT1 ameliorated smoke-induced ALI in mice and elevated the level of SOCS-1 in the lungs. In conclusion, the results pointed out that HA1600 exerted a protective effect against smoke-induced ALI through increasing the MALAT1 level and the subsequent SOCS-1 expression. Our study provides a potential therapeutic approach to smoke-induced ALI and a novel insight into the mechanism of action of HA1600.

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Superficial skin diseases, including skin infections and tumors, are common healthcare burdens. In this study, the in vivo activity of chrysomycin A (CA) is explored, and a transdermal liposomal CA formulation is further constructed for the simultaneous treatment of cutaneous melanoma and cutaneous methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The prepared liposomes (TD‐LP‐CA) display a strong antitumor effect with an IC50 value of less than 0.1 µm in B16‐F10 cells, suppress the proliferation of MRSA with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1 µm, and eradicate established MRSA biofilms at 10× MIC in vitro. More importantly, TD‐LP‐CA shows enhanced stratum corneum (SC) penetration, reaching more than 500 µm beneath the skin's surface due to modification with the TD peptide, and demonstrates excellent subcutaneous tumor penetration after skin application in vivo. TD‐LP‐CA displays an excellent therapeutic effect against intradermal MRSA infection in mice after topical dermal administration, as well as a moderate inhibitory effect on subcutaneous melanoma with a 75% tumor inhibition rate. The liposomes prepared herein can be a promising carrier for transcutaneous CA transfer for the treatment of superficial diseases such as skin tumors and infections due to their ability to overcome the skin barrier.