Abstract

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer with an unfavorable prognosis in women, which seriously threatened women’s health worldwide. In our previous study, a phytoconstituent, panaxytriol (PA), isolated from a Tujia ethnomedicine Panax japonicus , showed excellent inhibitory effects on APE1 activity, an enzyme tightly related with the development of breast cancer. Considering the tumor cell-killing ability and poor bioavailability of PA in vivo , Prussian blue nanoparticles with dopamine surface modification were applied to enhance its therapeutic efficacy against breast cancer by combining with photodynamic agent of indocyanine green. The hybrid-cell membrane (microphage and erythrocyte membranes) camouflage of the nano-delivery system significantly improved the solubility and targeting ability to tumor regions with increased immune evasion. This Prussian blue nanoparticle-based biomimetic formulation, introduced via tail vein administration, was validated as an efficient PA delivery vehicle for inhibiting the growth of breast cancer xenografts in nude mice. Molecular experiments revealed that the antitumor activity was mediated through cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction. Our results prove that comprehensive therapy combining PA with nanomaterials may provide an effective strategy for treating breast cancer in vivo .