Professor In-Kyu Park’s research team at Chonnam National University College of Medicine, in collaboration with GIST and the CNU Osteoporosis Total Solution Leading Research Center, has developed a novel prodrug-based nanomodulator (Pro@FLNC) for the treatment of refractory breast cancer.

This platform targets the tumor microenvironment by disrupting redox balance, leading to two types of cell death: disulfidptosis and immunogenic pyroptosis. These processes both suppress tumor growth and stimulate a powerful immune response.

Pro@FLNC selectively activates within tumors, depleting glutathione (GSH), increasing oxidative stress, and triggering the release of tumor antigens. The result is enhanced CD8+ T-cell activity and reduced immunosuppressive cells, ultimately suppressing both primary and metastatic tumors. This approach has potential applications in other solid cancers, such as colon and lung cancer.

This study builds on Prof. Park’s previous three nanomedicine-based therapies:
  · Liver cancer: Near-infrared light-responsive nanoparticles (Pulu) for photodynamic immunotherapy.
  · Colon cancer: Triple therapy (photothermal, gas, and immune treatment) using gold nanoparticles (TAGNO).
  · mRNA vaccine delivery: Development of a nanocarrier (PFS) achieving high delivery efficiency and immune activation.

Prof. Park commented, “This study introduces a next-generation strategy that overcomes key limitations in cancer treatment.” The findings were published in Advanced Healthcare Materials (IF 10.0, JCR top 4.7%) under the title: "Programmable Prodrug Nanomodulator Targets Tumor Redox Homeostasis Imbalance to Amplify Disulfidptosis-Triggered Immunogenic Pyroptosis for Breast Tumor Immunotherapy."