Curcumin mediates glutathione depletion via metal–organic framework nanocarriers to enhance cisplatin chemosensitivity on esophageal cancer

Cisplatin (CDDP) is the primary drug used in the initial treatment of esophageal cancer (EC). However, its side effects and resistance can limit its effectiveness in clinical therapy. Curcumin (Cur)-mediated glutathione (GSH) depletion can reverse resistance, enhance the chemosensitivity of CDDP, and further improve the efficacy of platinum-containing chemotherapy in the treatment of esophageal cancer. However, it is also faced with problems of poor water solubility and low bioavailability in vivo, which severely hinders cancer treatments. In order to address these issues, we developed a novel nanotherapeutic system called CDCZA, combining Cur/CDDP/Cu/ZIF8@Au to enhance chemotherapy through GSH depletion and chemodynamic therapy through self-produced H₂O₂. Cu and CDDP were precisely co-loaded into Cu/ZIF8 nanoparticles using a one-pot method, then ultra-small gold nanoparticles mimicking glucose oxidase (Au nanoparticles) were embedded in the outer shell to create the CDCZA nano system. The released Cur could notably decrease intracellular GSH content and thus improve the chemosensitivity of CDDP, resulting in severe cellular apoptosis. And the Au nanoparticles effectively enabled chemodynamic therapy enhancement by accelerating the depletion of β-D-glucose into H₂O₂. As a result, the CDCZA nanoparticles showed increased tumor accumulation and improved antitumor effectiveness in a model of EC. Taken together, this work provides a new idea for the clinical design of efficient treatment reagents for EC.