Specific endothelial cells govern nanoparticle entry into solid tumors

BR Kingston, ZP Lin, B Ouyang, P MacMillan, J Ngai… - ACS …, 2021 - ACS Publications
ACS nano, 2021ACS Publications
The successful delivery of nanoparticles to solid tumors depends on their ability to pass
through blood vessels and into the tumor microenvironment. Here, we discovered a subset
of tumor endothelial cells that facilitate nanoparticle transport into solid tumors. We named
these cells nanoparticle transport endothelial cells (N-TECs). We show that only 21% of
tumor endothelial cells located on a small number of vessels are involved in transporting
nanoparticles into the tumor microenvironment. N-TECs have an increased expression of …
The successful delivery of nanoparticles to solid tumors depends on their ability to pass through blood vessels and into the tumor microenvironment. Here, we discovered a subset of tumor endothelial cells that facilitate nanoparticle transport into solid tumors. We named these cells nanoparticle transport endothelial cells (N-TECs). We show that only 21% of tumor endothelial cells located on a small number of vessels are involved in transporting nanoparticles into the tumor microenvironment. N-TECs have an increased expression of genes related to nanoparticle transport and vessel permeability compared to other tumor endothelial cells. The N-TECs act as gatekeepers that determine the entry point, distribution, cell accessibility, and number of nanoparticles that enter the tumor microenvironment.
ACS Publications