On May.25, Professor Jianqing Gao, Associate Professor Min Han published the newest research entitledPeptide nano-blanket impedes fibroblasts activation and subsequent formation of pre-metastatic niche in Nature Communications.

There is evidence to suggest that the primary tumor induces the formation of a pre-metastatic niche in distal organs by stimulating the production of pro-metastatic factors. Given the fundamental role of the pre-metastatic niche in the development of metastases, interruption of its formation would be a promising strategy to take early action against tumor metastasis. Here we report an enzyme-activated assembled peptide FR17 that can serve as a flame-retarding blanket in the pre-metastatic niche specifically to extinguish the fire of tumor-supportive microenvironment adaption. We show that the in-situ assembled peptide nano-blanket inhibits fibroblasts activation, suppressing the remodeling of the metastasis-supportive host stromal tissue, and reversing vascular destabilization and angiogenesis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the nano-blanket prevents the recruitment of myeloid cells to the pre-metastatic niche, regulating the immune-suppressive microenvironment. We show that FR17 administration effectively inhibits the formation of the pulmonary pre-metastatic niche and postoperative metastasis, offering a therapeutic strategy against pre-metastatic niche formation.

This work was carried out by PhD. student Yi Zhou under the supervision of Professor Jianqing Gao and Associate Professor Min Han, CPS-ZJU.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30634-8