International Journal of Nanomedicine (Jun 2022)
Glucose Metabolism Intervention-Facilitated Nanomedicine Therapy
Abstract
Zhiyan Li,* Xianghui Li,* Shichao Ai,* Song Liu, Wenxian Guan Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Song Liu; Wenxian Guan, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-25-68182222 ext. 60930 ; +86-25-68182222 ext. 60931, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Ordinarily, cancer cells possess features of abnormally increased nutrient intake and metabolic pathways. The disorder of glucose metabolism is the most important among them. Therefore, starvation therapy targeting glucose metabolism specifically, which results in metabolic disorders, restricted synthesis, and inhibition of tumor growth, has been developed for cancer therapy. However, issues such as inadequate targeting effectiveness and drug tolerance impede their clinical transformation. In recent years, nanomaterial-assisted starvation treatment has made significant progress in addressing these challenges, whether as a monotherapy or in combination with other medications. Herein, representative researches on the construction of nanosystems conducting starvation therapy are introduced. Elaborate designs and interactions between different treatment mechanisms are meticulously mentioned. Not only are traditional treatments based on glucose oxidase involved, but also newly sprung small molecule agents targeting glucose metabolism. The obstacles and potential for advancing these anticancer therapies were also highlighted in this review.Keywords: nanomedicine, starvation therapy, combined therapy, cancer metabolism
