Chemotherapy remains the primary treatment for cancer;
however,
conventional chemotherapeutic drugs have several shortcomings, including
poor solubility, lack of targeting, low bioavailability, and high
toxicity to healthy tissues. In order to overcome these limitations,
drug delivery systems (DDS) have emerged as a promising alternative.
In this study, we synthesized TPGS3350-PVGLIG-SS-DOX polymeric micelles
that incorporate both extracellular MMP2/9 enzyme response and intracellular
reduction response at a nanoscale level. The micelles remained stable
throughout the blood circulation and only aggregated at the tumor
sites, thanks to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect.
Moreover, the tumor tissue showed a high expression of MMP2/9 enzymes,
which resulted in the cleavage of the PVGLIG peptide sequence, ultimately
leading to an improved phagocytosis efficiency. Under the action of
high intracellular GSH concentration, the disulfide bond was broken
and DOX was released to induce tumor cell death. The TPSD&D micelles
exhibited good tumor inhibitory activity in vivo and
significantly reduced toxic side effects on normal tissues. Our work
provides a simple method to assemble tumor-targeted prodrug micelles
to improve cancer therapy, which holds potential for clinical applications
in antitumor therapy.