Supplies
Zn (NO3)2-6H2O was bought from Innochem (Peking, China), 2-Methylimidazole, MnCO have been bought from Aladdin’s Reagent (Shanghai, China). DOX was supplied by Yuan Ye (Shanghai, China). Calcein AM, DNA injury detection equipment, ROS assay equipment, and crystal violet reagent have been bought from Beyotime Biotechnology (Shanghai, China). CCK-8 cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assay equipment was supplied by Solarbio (Peking, China). Apoptosis detection equipment was bought from Vazyme (Nanjing, China). Matrigel and transwell plates have been provided by Corning, USA. 4% paraformaldehyde was supplied by Biosharp (Peking, China). FITC fluorescent dye was bought from MedChemExpress (Shanghai, China). Dulbecco’s modified eagle medium (DMEM) and fetal bovine serum (FBS) have been bought from Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA). Rabbit polyclonal antibody to STING (DF12090), rabbit polyclonal antibody to phospho-STING (AF7416), rabbit polyclonal antibody to phospho-IRF3 (AF2436) and rabbit polyclonal antibody to phospho-TBK1 (AF8190) have been bought from Affinit (Jiangsu, China). β-Actin mouse antibody, anti-rabbit or anti-mouse horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled secondary antibodies have been bought from Abmart (Shanghai, China). Anti-CD11c antibody (E-AB-F0991C), anti-CD86 antibody (E-AB-F0994D), anti-CD80 antibody (E-CK-A107), anti-CD8 antibody (E-AB-F1104D), anti-CD4 antibody (E-AB-F1097C) have been bought from Elabscience (Shanghai, China). Anti-CD45 antibody (557659), anti-F4/80 antibody (565411), anti-CD11b antibody (552850), and anti-CD206 (568808) antibody have been bought from BD Biosciences (USA). Primers for qPCR have been bought from Tsingke (Peking, China). Primer sequences are proven in Supplementary Desk S1.
Preparation of ZMD NPs
Synthesis of ZIF-8
92 mg of dimethylimidazole (2-MIM) was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol, and subjected to sonication for two min to attain full dissolution. 43.2 mg of Zn (NO3)2-6H2O was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol, and sonicated for two min till totally dissolved. The 2 options have been blended and stirred at room temperature at a pace of 1,000 rpm for 1 h. A white suspension was obtained after the response. The synthesized NPs have been collected by centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for 10 min, washed thrice with methanol, and freeze-dried to acquire ZIF-8 NPs (Scheme 1).
Synthesis of ZIF-8@MnCO
ZIF-8@MnCO was ready by dissolving 10 mg of MnCO in 10 ml of methanol, 92 mg of 2-MIM in 10 ml of methanol, 43.2 mg of Zn (NO3)2-6H2O in 10 ml of methanol, and every answer is sonicated for two min to make sure full dissolution. The MnCO answer was then added to the Zn (NO3)2-6H2O answer and gently blended. Following this, the mixed answer was added dropwise to the 2-MIM answer at a price of 1 drop each 5 s, whereas repeatedly stirring at a pace of 1000 rpm. The response was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 1 h. The ensuing merchandise have been collected by centrifugation (12,000 rpm,10 min), washed thrice with methanol, and saved after freeze-drying.
Synthesis of ZIF-8@MnCO@DOX
The synthesis of ZIF-8@MnCO@DOX was executed utilizing an in situ ‘one-pot’ method. Initially, 10 mg of MnCO was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol, 92 mg of 2-MIM was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol, and 10 mg of DOX was dissolved in 10 ml of distilled water, with every answer sonicated for two min to make sure full dissolution. Subsequent, 43.2 mg of Zn (NO3)2-6H2O was dissolved within the DOX answer. The MnCO answer was then integrated into the combination of DOX and Zn (NO3)2-6H2O, adopted by light shaking to make sure uniform mixing. The blended answer was added dropwise into the 2-MIM answer using a dropping funnel, at a price of 1 drop each 5 s, whereas repeatedly stirring with a pace of 1,000 rpm. As soon as the dripping was accomplished, the response was lined with plastic wrap and stirred at room temperature for an extra hour. The product was collected through centrifugation (12,000 rpm,10 min), washed thrice with distilled water and freeze-dried to arrange ZMD.
Characterization of ZIF-8@MnCO@DOX
The scale and zeta potential of the NPs have been measured by dynamic gentle scattering (DLS). The morphology of the NPs was noticed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Elemental mapping was used to substantiate the fundamental composition of the NPs.
The DOX absorption peak was detected by UV spectrophotometry and the usual curve of DOX was plotted as a foundation for the calculation of DOX focus. The discharge of DOX from ZMD was studied by dialysis assay. A certain quantity of ZMD was stuffed right into a dialysis bag and incubated in solvents of various pH at room temperature with stirring. 1 ml of solvent was eliminated and replenished with recent solvent at completely different time factors, adopted by measurement of DOX within the solvent utilizing a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The components for calculating the quantity of DOX launched is as follows:
$$:Cumulative:launch:quantity=frac{{M}_{t}}{{M}_{complete}}occasions:100%$$
Mt is the quantity of DOX launched into the solvent on the time level, Mcomplete is the entire quantity of DOX within the dialysis bag.
To guage the discharge of manganese ions from ZMD, a amount of ZMD was positioned in phosphate buffer answer (PBS). The filtrate after ultrafiltration was collected at predetermined time factors, the discharge of manganese ions was detected by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), and the cumulative launch was calculated.
Stability testing of ZMD
An quantity of ZMD was dissolved in DMEM medium containing 10% FBS and PBS buffer with pH 7.4 (n = 3), respectively. The particle dimension change of ZMD within the pattern answer was measured at intervals.
Cell tradition
Human HCC cell huh7 and mouse HCC cell hepa1-6 have been bought from Procell Life Science & Expertise Co., Ltd. (Wuhan, China). The cell strains have been cultured in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin-streptomycin liquid. All cells have been cultured in a humidified incubator at 37 °C within the presence of 5% CO2.
Cytotoxicity assay in vitro
HCC cells have been seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 3000 cells per effectively. Every effectively was handled by including completely different concentrations of various brokers for twenty-four h. After the cells have been hooked up to the wall, the outdated medium was aspirated and 100 µl of medium containing 10 µL of CCK-8 was added, and the plates have been incubated at 37 °C for two h in a light- protected surroundings. After that, the absorbance of every effectively was measured at 450 nm wavelength and the half maximal inhibitory focus (IC50) worth was calculated.
Mobile uptake assay
FITC dye was incubated with ZMD to synthesize fluorescently labelled ZMD. FITC-ZMD was incubated with HCC cells for 4 h. After that, the medium was aspirated and the cells have been washed thrice with PBS to take away the drug that didn’t enter the cells. The cells have been stained with 2-(4-amidinophenyl)-6-indolylamidine dihydrochloride (DAPI) and imaged utilizing a laser confocal microscope. The experiment was repeated and cells have been collected to detect FITC fluorescence depth within the cells utilizing a move cytometer (CytoFlex, Beckman Coulter).
Stay-dead staining assay
HCC cells in logarithmic development part have been inoculated into six-well plates at a density of two × 105 cells per effectively and cultured for 8 h in recent medium containing 30 ug/ml of various NPs earlier than being subjected to six Gy radiation therapy. After 24 h of incubation, 1 mL of live-dead staining answer was added, and the cells have been incubated in an incubator shielded from gentle for 15 min. The cells have been noticed and photographed utilizing a fluorescence inverted microscope at 490 nm and 533 nm excitation wavelengths.
Wound therapeutic assay
Cells have been seeded in 6-well plates and scraped vertically with a 200 µl pipette when the cells reached roughly 90% confluency. After washing thrice with PBS, photos of 0 h HCC cells have been taken. Subsequent, the cells have been handled with completely different NPs and underwent radiotherapy, and continued to be cultured with medium containing 2% FBS for twenty-four h. The pictures have been captured with the microscope.
Transwell invasion assay
Cells from completely different therapy teams have been pre-incubated with serum-free DMEM medium for 12 h, after which inoculated into the higher chamber of transwell plates (pre-coated with 70 µL of Matrigel within the higher chamber of the transwell plates and incubated at 37℃ for 4 h), and the decrease chamber was added with DMEM containing 20% of FBS. After 24 h of incubation, the infiltrating cells have been fastened with formalin, and stained with crystal violet for 15 min. after which noticed and counted by inverted microscope (Olympus Company).
Cell colony formation assay
HCC cells have been inoculated in 6-well plates at a density of 5 × 103 cells/effectively and cultured for 12 h. Then the cells have been handled with medium containing completely different brokers (at a focus of 30 µg/ml) for 8 h and the radiotherapy group was irradiated with 6 Gy. The cells have been continued to be cultured for 1 week. Cells have been fastened with paraformaldehyde and stained with crystal violet reagent. The variety of infiltrating cells was noticed and counted utilizing an inverted microscope (Olympus).
Detection of intracellular ROS
HCC cells have been inoculated into six-well plates at a focus of two × 105 cells/effectively. After the cells have been wall-adhered, they have been handled with completely different NPs for 8 h. After fluid change, the radiotherapy group was irradiated with 6 Gy, and the tradition medium was eliminated after 24 h of additional incubation. The cells have been washed thrice with PBS, then handled with 5 µM DCFH-DA answer, and incubated at 37 °C for 30 min in light-avoidance incubation. The quantity of ROS manufacturing was detected by move cytometry.
γH2Ax fluorescence detection
2.0 × 105 cells per effectively have been inoculated into six-well plates and cultured for twenty-four h. Then the medium was changed with new medium containing completely different NPs (focus of 30 µg/mL) for 8 h. Subsequently, the cells within the radiotherapy group have been irradiated with 6 Gy and continued to be cultured for twenty-four h. After cell fixation, cells have been incubated with γH2Ax main antibody for 1 h at room temperature, adopted by goat anti-rabbit IgG labeled main antibody. Imaging evaluation was carried out underneath a microscope.
Western blot
Cell samples have been lysed on ice in radio immunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) lysis buffer containing protease inhibitors and phosphatase inhibitors. After centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for 20 min, the supernatant of every pattern was collected and the protein focus within the samples was decided by the bicinchoninic acid assay (BCA). All protein samples have been saved at -80 or -20 °C. Proteins in every pattern have been separated utilizing a ten% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel at 80 V after which transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes (Millipore, NJ, USA) at 200 mA. The membranes have been blocked with 5% skimmed milk for 1 h at room temperature after which incubated in a single day at 4 °C with the corresponding main antibody. Anti-rabbit or anti-mouse HRP-labeled secondary antibodies have been incubated for 1 h at room temperature, and the bands have been visualized with a chemiluminescent equipment.
Apoptosis detection
Cells have been collected by trypsinization (with out ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid) and washed twice with PBS, then stained with Annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) at a focus of fifty µg/mL for 15 min at room temperature in a darkish room. The apoptosis degree was detected by move cytometry and analyzed by FlowJo.
Maturation and activation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs)
Mouse femoral and tibial bone marrow cells have been cultured with RIPM 1640 medium containing GM-CSF (1000 U/ml) and IL-4 (1000 U/ml). The medium was modified each different day and the cells have been collected on day 7 for subsequent research. Dendritic cell (DC) cells handled with completely different medication have been collected, washed with PBS and stained with anti-CD80, anti-CD86 and anti-CD11c antibodies. The maturation of BMDC cells was then detected by move cytometry.
Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain response (RT-qPCR)
RNA was extracted from cells utilizing Trizol reagent and RNA purification equipment, and the amount and high quality of RNA was confirmed utilizing a NanoDrop spectrophotometer. Subsequent, we synthesized cDNA utilizing a reverse transcription equipment with gDNA remover (Vazyme). 2 × Shade SYBR Inexperienced qPCR Grasp Combine (Vazyme) was used for RT-qPCR experiments on the sunshine cycler 480 instrument (Roche).
RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)
Absolute quantitative transcriptome sequencing was entrusted to the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese language Academy of Sciences. 2.0 × 105 cells per effectively have been seeded and cultured in six-well plates for twenty-four h, then changed with a brand new medium containing PBS or ZMD (focus of 30 µg/mL) for twenty-four h. Cells have been collected, mRNA was enriched from complete RNA utilizing oligo (dT) magnetic beads, and mRNA fragments have been sheared into brief fragments of roughly 300 bp utilizing lysis buffer. The mRNA was used as a template to synthesize cDNA, and PCR amplification was carried out after purification and modification to make sure that the efficient focus of the library was better than 2 nM. The sequencing was carried out on the Illumina platform. RNA sequencing outcomes have been analyzed utilizing R model 4.2.0 (https://www.r-project.org/). Differential gene expression evaluation was carried out utilizing the R bundle “DESeq2” with the thresholds of Fold Change ≥ 2 and FDR < 0.05. Heatmap was realized by “Pheatmap” R bundle. KEGG and GO pathway enrichment evaluation was carried out utilizing the R bundle “ClusterProfler”, and GSEA evaluation was carried out with GSEA software program.
Immunofluorescence
After the cells or tumor tissues have been fastened and punched, they have been incubated with the corresponding main antibody for 1 h at room temperature, then incubated with the corresponding anti-rabbit or anti-mouse fluorescently labelled secondary antibody for 50 min at room temperature earlier than being imaged and analyzed underneath the microscope.
Tumor mannequin institution, in vivo fluorescence imaging and anti-cancer remedy
C57BL/6 mice (male, 4–6 weeks) have been bought from Wuhan sblbio Co. Ltd. and housed in a selected pathogen-free (SPF) facility. All animal experiments have been carried out underneath the rules authorized by the Experimental Ethics Committee of the First Medical Faculty of Wuhan College (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee subject quantity: WDRM 20240906 C). 1 ml of PBS answer containing 7 × 106 hepa1-6 cells was injected subcutaneously into the correct lumbar rib aspect of C57 mice. When the tumor quantity elevated to 500 mm3, 100 µL of saline containing FITC-labelled NPs (1 mg/ml) was injected into the tail vein of the mice. The fluorescence alerts on the tumors at completely different time factors have been measured utilizing the IVIS imaging system whereas sustaining inhalation anesthesia. Twenty-four hours after drug injection, mice have been euthanized, and tumor tissues and main organs have been collected for fluorescence imaging to look at the distribution of the drug within the physique.
After modelling as described above, tumor quantity and mouse physique weight have been measured each different day. After thrice of injections of NPs into the tail vein and thrice of radiotherapy therapies (n = 5), the mice have been euthanized, and orbital blood, tumor tissue, and main organs have been collected for subsequent evaluation.
Within the lung metastasis mannequin, mice have been injected with 100 µl of saline containing 1 × 106 hepa1-6 cells through tail vein to generate lung metastases. Subsequently, the mice have been randomly divided into 8 teams (n = 3) to obtain drug and radiation therapy. 30 days later, the mice have been euthanized to acquire lung tissue sections for immunohistochemical experiments.
Circulation cytometry evaluation on tumor tissues
Tumor tissues have been break up into small items and incubated with medium containing 0.8 mg/mL collagenase D, 0.2 mg/mL DNA zyme, and 0.1 mg/mL hyaluronic acid (Meilunbio, China) at 37 °C for 30 min, after which single-cell suspensions have been obtained by passing by way of 70 μm nylon mesh. After Percoll (Meilunbio, China) was added to the cell suspension, the cells within the decrease layer have been collected by gradient centrifugation and closed, labeled with immunocyte markers utilizing applicable antibodies, and incubated for 30 min at room temperature earlier than being analyzed on a move cytometer. Determine S9 reveals the precise course of.
Blood biochemical index
Blood collected from the orbits of every therapy group (n = 3) was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min at 4 °C to gather serum, which was analyzed on an Affect 400 medical biochemical automated analyzer (USA, Gilford) for ALT, AST, UA, CREA, and different biochemical parameters.
H&E staining
In spite of everything mice have been sacrificed, lungs, hearts, spleens, livers and kidneys have been collected and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, and the pathology of every tissue was noticed underneath a microscope.
Statistical analyses
The measurement knowledge have been expressed because the imply ± normal deviation (SD). All statistical analyses have been carried out utilizing Prism software program (GraphPad Prism model 10.1.2; www.graphpad.com). Statistical evaluation was carried out by two-tailed Pupil’s t-test for comparability between two teams and one-way evaluation of variance (ANOVA) adopted by Turkey’s post-test for comparability of three or extra teams. Survival charges of mice have been in contrast utilizing the Kaplan-Meier methodology. p values < 0.05 was thought-about statistically important; “ns” represented non-significance; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001.
