Kyung Hee and Mokpo National Universities Develop Orally Administered Anticancer Nanoplatform

Next-generation therapeutic technology with enhanced drug delivery efficiency

Kyung Hee University announced on the 10th that a research team led by Professor Choi Jeonguk at the College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with a research team led by Professor Park Jinwoo at the Department of Pharmacy of Mokpo National University, has developed an anticancer nanoplatform that simultaneously induces tumor eradication and immune activation through oral administration alone.

A joint research team from Kyung Hee University and Mokpo National University developed an orally administrable nanoplatform for sustained tumor eradication and immune activation. From left: Professor Choi Jungwook, Researcher Lim Inho, Professor Park Jinwoo, Dr. Laxman Subedi. Kyung Hee University

The core of this study is the design of a "ligand-oriented oral lipid nanoplatform (MCT-NE#9)" that simultaneously targets bile acid transporters and vitamin transporters.

The research was conducted with the participation of Im Inho, a combined master's and PhD program researcher at the College of Pharmacy of Kyung Hee University, and Dr. Laxman Subedi at the Department of Pharmacy of Mokpo National University. The results were published online in "Theranostics" (IF 13.3), an international journal in the field of diagnostics and therapeutics. Immediately after publication, on the 6th of last month, the research team was also selected for "People Who Light Up Korea" by the Biological Research Information Center (BRIC).

The research team conducted experiments focusing on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which is highly resistant to treatment. Conventional anticancer drugs have faced limitations in clinical application due to issues such as restricted oral absorption, transient immune activation, and systemic toxicity.

The team designed an orally administrable nanoplatform that simultaneously loads the anticancer drug Docetaxel and the hyperlipidemia treatment Atorvastatin. They applied an intestinal absorption enhancement strategy that utilizes bile acid transporters and vitamin transporters.

This platform was designed with a multi-targeted structure that combines drugs with different mechanisms of action while simultaneously targeting intestinal absorption transporters. It is characterized by its ability to maintain sustained drug exposure within tumors through oral administration alone.

The research team explained that, through this approach, they were able to induce ferroptosis, a tumor cell death mechanism, over the long term and to reprogram the tumor microenvironment, thereby enhancing antitumor immune responses.

Existing Docetaxel-based treatments have often shown limited therapeutic efficacy due to the inconvenience of the administration route, systemic toxicity, and the immunosuppressive barriers of the tumor microenvironment. Although Atorvastatin is known to have various biological regulatory potentials, it has been difficult to achieve sufficient therapeutic effects in the tumor environment with conventional administration methods alone.

By combining the two drugs and applying an oral, low-dose, sustained administration strategy, the research team designed the platform to exert continuous therapeutic pressure on tumors. Through this, they demonstrated the potential to enhance both tumor suppression and immune responses at the same time.

Professor Choi Jeonguk said, "It is highly meaningful that we have confirmed the ability to maintain long-term intratumoral drug exposure through oral administration alone while simultaneously inducing ferroptosis and immune reprogramming," adding, "We expect to expand the application of this approach to various intractable solid tumors in the future and to develop it into an oral anticancer treatment platform."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.