journal article·2026-03Open access

Beyond Catalytic Therapy: Copper‐Paeonol Nanozymes Disrupt Fascin‐Mediated Actin Bundling to Suppress Tumor Growth and Metastasis

Peiying Zhang, Huajun Li, Yisen Wang, Jie Xiang, Lei Fan, Shengzhe Zhang, Lizeng Gao, Hua Dai, Juqun Xi

Advanced Science· Volume 13· Issue 18

Abstract

Abstract Fascin, an actin‐bundling protein universally upregulated in metastatic tumors, drives tumor migration and invasion by promoting filopodia and invadopodia formation, establishing it as a pivotal therapeutic target. Herein, copper‐paeonol nanozymes (CuPaeNs) is engineered through metal‐phenolic complexation, mimicking natural enzyme metal‐coordination microenvironments to confer peroxidase‐like activity. This enzymatic capability drives the conversion of tumor‐associated H 2 O 2 into cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals, inducing oxidative damage in malignant cells. Notably, beyond inducing tumor catalytic therapy via targeted ROS generation, CuPaeNs directly disrupted the actin‐bundling activity of fascin, as evidenced by molecular docking, isothermal titration calorimetry, co‐immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence assays. Transcriptomic and biochemical analyses further revealed that CuPaeNs suppressed melanoma glycolysis by blocking the fascin‐YAP1‐PFKFB3 signaling axis. This study establishes metal‐phenolic nanozymes as a dual‐functional strategy that simultaneously triggers ROS overproduction to amplify tumor oxidative stress and disrupts fascin‐mediated metastasis, thereby modulating tumor metabolic reprogramming. This coordinated intervention establishes a novel treatment framework for malignancies characterized by fascin overexpression.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics · Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis · Protein Degradation and Inhibitors

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Traditional Chinese Medicine Faculty of Medicine Yangzhou University Yangzhou Jiangsu 225009 China

Key Laboratory of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions for Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Senile Diseases Control (Yangzhou University) Yangzhou Jiangsu 225009 China

School of Chemistry and Materials Yangzhou University Yangzhou Jiangsu 225002 China

CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecules Institute of Biophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100101 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province

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