Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most widely diagnosed cancers worldwide. Despite notable improvements in therapeutic strategies available to CRC patients, late stages of CRC have a higher incidence rate of drug resistance, which is associated with a higher mortality rate. The development of therapeutic strategies that use nanoparticles as a drug delivery system has become one of the most promising potential approaches for cancer therapy. Previous studies have shown that a natural plant alkaloid, veratridine (VTD), suppresses colon cancer cell migration and invasion, two essential factors in tumor metastasis, through activation of the gene that encodes the tumor-suppressor protein UBXN2A. The goal of this study is to develop a nanoassembly to selectively deliver VTD to cancer cells and release it on demand while leaving normal cells intact. We packaged the targeted therapy anticancer molecule VTD inside mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) impermeable to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and with selective affinity to CRC cells and sealed the VTD-loaded nanoparticles with an enzymatically cleavable protein. The particles will deliver and release VTD only at the targeted colorectal tumor sites. Since the enzyme MMP-7 protease is dominantly secreted by CRC cells, the release triggered by the enzymes will increase VTD concentration at tumor cells, enhancing the efficiency of the new therapy. We have proven the selective affinity of two types of VTD-carrying particles to CRC cells and enzyme-or acid-triggered VTD release. Negatively surface-charged MSNs showed significant affinity toward positively charged cancer cells but not negatively charged normal fibroblast colon cells, making VTD-MSNs a promising anticancer drug with minimal side effects.

This study is focused on the selective delivery and release of the plant-based anticancer compound eugenol (EUG) in colorectal cancer cells (CRC). EUG is an apoptotic and anti-growth compound in diverse malignant tumors, including CRC. However, EUG’s rapid metabolization, excretion, and side effects on normal cells at higher dosages are major limitations of its therapeutic potential. To address this problem, we developed a “smart” enzyme-responsive nanoparticle (eNP) loaded with EUG that exposes tumors to a high level of the drug while keeping its concentration low among healthy cells. We demonstrated that EUG induces apoptosis in CRC cells irrespective of their grades in a dose- and time-dependent manner. EUG significantly decreases cancer cell migration, invasion, and the population of colon cancer stem cells, which are key players in tumor metastasis and drug resistance. The “smart” eNPs–EUG show a high affinity to cancer cells with rapid internalization with no affinity toward normal colon epithelial cells. NPs–EUG enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of EUG measured by a cell viability assay and showed no toxicity effect on normal cells. The development of eNPs–EUG is a promising strategy for innovative anti-metastatic therapeutics.

The mTORC2 pathway plays a critical role in promoting tumor progression in human colorectal cancer (CRC). The regulatory mechanisms for this signaling pathway are only partially understood. We previously identi ed UBXN2A as a novel tumor suppressor protein in CRCs and hypothesized that UBXN2A suppresses the mTORC2 pathway, thereby inhibiting CRC growth and metastasis. We rst used murine models to show that haploinsu ciency of UBXN2A signi cantly increases colon tumorigenesis.Induction of UBXN2A reduces AKT phosphorylation downstream of the mTORC2 pathway, which is essential for a plethora of cellular processes, including cell migration. Meanwhile, mTORC1 activities remain unchanged in the presence of UBXN2A. Mechanistic studies revealed that UBXN2A targets Rictor protein, a key component of the mTORC2 complex, for 26S proteasomal degradation. A set of genetic and pharmacological studies showed that UBXN2A regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and colon cancer stem cells (CSCs) in CRC. CRC patients with a high level of UBXN2A have signi cantly better survival, and high-grade CRC tissues exhibit decreased UBXN2A protein expression. UBXN2A induction in tumor organoids suppresses the mTORC2 pathway. These ndings provide new insights into the functions of an ubiquitin-like protein by inhibiting a dominant oncogenic pathway in CRC.

A high-throughput drug screen revealed that veratridine (VTD), a natural plant alkaloid, induces expression of the anti-cancer protein UBXN2A in colon cancer cells. UBXN2A suppresses mortalin, a heat shock protein, with dominant roles in cancer development including epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer cell stemness, drug resistance, and apoptosis. VTD-dependent expression of UBXN2A leads to the deactivation of mortalin in colon cancer cells, making VTD a potential targeted therapy in malignant tumors with high levels of mortalin. VTD was used clinically for the treatment of hypertension in decades past. However, the discovery of newer antihypertensive drugs and concerns over potential neuro- and cardiotoxicity ended the use of VTD for this purpose. The current study aims to determine the safety and efficacy of VTD at doses sufficient to induce UBXN2A expression in a mouse model. A set of flow-cytometry experiments confirmed that VTD induces both early and late apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo intraperitoneal (IP) administration of VTD at 0.1 mg/kg every other day (QOD) for 4 weeks effectively induced expression of UBXN2A in the small and large intestines of mice. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) assays on tissues collected from VTD-treated animals demonstrated VTD concentrations in the low pg/mg range. To address concerns regarding neuro- and cardiotoxicity, a comprehensive set of behavioral and cardiovascular assessments performed on C57BL/6NHsd mice revealed that VTD generates no detectable neurotoxicity or cardiotoxicity in animals receiving 0.1 mg/kg VTD QOD for 30 days. Finally, mouse xenograft experiments in athymic nude mice showed that VTD can suppress tumor growth. The main causes for the failure of experimental oncologic drug candidates are lack of sufficient safety and efficacy. The results achieved in this study support the potential utility of VTD as a safe and efficacious anti-cancer molecule.

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