Abstract
Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based gene therapy has been widely studied as a promising treatment for malignant triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but efficient delivery of siRNA still remains a challenge. In this study, a smart manganese dioxide (MnO2)-based lanthanide nanoprobe therapeutic nanoplatform (ErNPs@MnO2-siS100A4-RGD) was developed for tumor imaging and precise stimuli-responsive S100A4 siRNA (siS100A4)-mediated gene therapy in synergism with chemodynamic therapy (CDT) of TNBC. ErNPs@MnO2-siS100A4-RGD has a tumor microenvironment-responsive capability attributed to the presence of MnO2, which can be degraded by glutathione (GSH) in the tumor region while releasing siRNA and generating Mn2+ to achieve precise gene therapy and a Fenton-like reaction-mediated CDT effect on TNBC. Subsequently, the lanthanide nanoprobes (ErNPs) are exposed to the second near-infrared region (NIR-II) fluorescence emission to realize the precise tumor location. Both the in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that the smart nanoplatform possessed high siRNA delivery efficiency and GSH-responsive precise siRNA releasing ability, and compared with individual gene therapy, the GSH-depletion-enhanced CDT effect further reinforced TNBC inhibition, demonstrating excellent GSH-responsive-enhanced NIR-II precise tumor imaging therapy. These results indicate that the nanoplatform provides a crucial foundation for further research on theranostic systems of TNBC.