ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1521529
Development of a Biomimetic Nanoparticle Platform for Apigenin Therapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- 2Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Biological Targeted Therapy of the Ministry of Education, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Beijing, Hebei Province, China
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Background: This study investigates the therapeutic potential and mechanisms of Apigenin (AGN) in treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Although AGN is recognized for its anti-tumor properties, its specific mechanisms in TNBC remain unclear. Methods: To identify key genes associated with AGN's effects on breast cancer, we utilized network pharmacology, conducting Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. We developed a macrophage membrane-coated nanomicelle system (m@peg-AGN) to enhance drug delivery and facilitate immune evasion. Results:Our analyses identified 21 overlapping genes between AGN and breast cancer, including CDH1, TP53, and CCND1, critical in cancer progression. The m@peg-AGN system demonstrated superior immune evasion and effective tumor targeting, resulting in good tumor suppression without detected toxicity in major organs. Conclusions:This study demonstrated the targeted tumor genes to TNBC for AGN, then innovatively integrates network pharmacology with biomimetic nanotechnology, developing a novel m@peg-AGN delivery system for TNBC treatment. This system enhanced the AGN’s water solubility and increased the accumulation to the tumor site. This compound has exhibited good anti-tumor effects in vivo, thereby could advance the treatment for TNBC.
Keywords: breast cancer, Network Pharmacology, Apigenin, Biomimetic nanomaterials, Immune Evasion and Tumor Targeting
Received: 01 Nov 2024; Accepted: 28 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Ren, Han, Nan, Zhang and Gao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yajing Zhang, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Zairong Gao, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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