Nanomedicine based on ferritin for targeted leukemia treatment

Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University and Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University have developed a ferritin (Fn)-based nanomedicine for targeted delivery of arsenic (As) and effective treatment of multiple types of leukemia

The research was published in the October 25th issue of "Nature Nanotechnology"

Leukemia is a serious threat to human health, and the survival rate of both adults and children is very low

Targeting chemotherapeutics to leukemia cells can reduce toxic side effects and improve therapeutic effects

Through the screening of a large number of clinical samples, the researchers confirmed that patients with different forms of leukemia have the characteristics of stable and strong expression of CD71

As a ligand of CD71, Fn has a unique quaternary structure and internal cavity, which is conducive to the regulation of drugs

Professor Martin of Peking University said: "Each Fn has a loading capacity of ~200 As, and As matches the clinically effective valence of the approved ATO

The As@Fn formula retains the powerful ability to bind to different types of leukemia cells

"We are very pleased to observe that As@Fn nanomedicine significantly improves the As accumulation of leukemia cells in vivo and in vitro," said IPE professor WEI WEI

In terms of therapeutic effects, As@Fn is superior to the gold standard in xenograft models derived from multiple cell lines and xenograft models derived from patients

Professor Guanghui Ma of IPE said: “This nanomedicine not only expands the therapeutic window of As, but also applies it to more types of leukemia

The peer reviewer of "Nature Nanotechnology" said: "On the whole, this research has been carried out very well, and a large amount of in vivo and in vitro data has been obtained, which proves that the newly developed As@Fn is based on a new type of ferritin.