Title:Micro-/Nano-Scale Biointerfaces, Mechanical Coupling and Cancer Therapy
Volume: 17
Issue: 16
Author(s): Xiang Li, Cuiying Liu, Peipei Chen*Dong Han
Affiliation:
- CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190,China
Keywords:
Cancer cell/microenvironment interface, Mechanical coupling, Cancer drug therapy, Drug screening, Biomechanopharmacology.
Abstract: The interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment is an indispensable link
in cancer progression that occurs on the interfaces between them and presents typical biointerfacial
behavior. Recently, the cancer cell/microenvironment interface has begun to attract more attention
because of its fundamental roles in cancer growth and metastasis, which is promising for the efficacy
of anti-cancer drugs and other important effects. In this review, we focused on mechanical coupling
of the biointerfaces and their application in cancer early diagnosis, the pharmacology of anticancer
agents and the design of the anticancer drug carriers. Newly developed strategies for cancer therapy
based on mechanical coupling, such as correcting cell mechanics defects, tunable rigidity for drug delivery
and topography-coupled-mechanical drug design, and drug screening, provide a proof of concept
that cell mechanics offer a rich drug target space, allowing for the possible corrective modulation
of tumor cell behavior. Biomechanopharmacology is therefore important to recognize the biomechanical
factors and to control them not only for improvement in our knowledge of cancer but also
for the development of new drugs and new uses of old drugs.
