journal article·2026-07-16Open access

Cell‐Selective Delivery of RIBOTACs via an Anti‐EGFR Nanobody for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

Tianli Luo, Yijuan Wang, Dengwang Chen, Yinghan Zhang, Yi Shuai, Hualiang Yao, Tao Jiang, Hang Jiang, Ming Zhong, Xiangeng Wang, Ziwei Wang, Chenchen Xu, Ajay Goel, Hoi Tang MA, Feng Gao, Xin Wang

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a therapeutic challenge due to its dense stroma and lack of druggable targets. Through integrated bioinformatics analysis of in‐house and public datasets, we systematically identified miR‐21 as the most significantly upregulated oncomiR in PDAC, showing strong correlation with poor patient prognosis. RNA‐targeted degradation has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer treatment, enabling precise disruption of oncogenic signaling by degrading disease‐driving non‐coding RNAs. Nevertheless, poor tissue penetration and insufficient tumor specificity limit its therapeutic potential in pancreatic cancer, owing to the dense fibrotic stroma and heterogeneous target expression. Herein, we developed a dual‐targeting, bioresponsive Nb‐RIBOTAC (Nb‐Fc‐Val‐Cit‐RIBOTAC), engineered by conjugating a cathepsin B–responsive linker to bridge an EGFR‐targeting nanobody (Nb‐Fc fusion) with a miR‐21–specific RIBOTAC module. This rationally designed therapeutic achieved potent and selective miR‐21 degradation in orthotopic PDAC models, with 60% target knockdown while completely sparing normal tissues, leading to significant tumor growth inhibition. Our study establishes a transformative paradigm bridging bioinformatic identification with precision RNA degradation technology, offering new therapeutic possibilities for PDAC treatment. The target selection strategy and modular design principles described herein may be broadly applicable to other challenging malignancies.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Protein Degradation and Inhibitors · Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer · Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics

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

Affiliations

Department of Surgery The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin Hong Kong SAR China

Department of Pathology School of Clinical Medicine Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR China

Department of Histology and Embryology Zunyi Medical University Zunyi China

Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope Biomedical Research Center Monrovia California USA

State Key Laboratory of Liver Research The University of Hong Kong Pokfulam Hong Kong SAR China

Department of General Surgery (Colorectal Surgery) The Sixth Affiliated Hospital Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China

Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin Hong Kong SAR China

Shenzhen Research Institute The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen China

Funding

Health and Medical Research Fund

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