Targeting lipid metabolism to overcome EMT-associated drug resistance via integrin β3/FAK pathway and tumor-associated macrophage repolarization using legumain-activatable delivery

Abstract

This study provides a promising simvastatin-based nanomedicine strategy targeting cholesterol metabolism to reverse EMT and repolarize TAM to treat drug-resistant cancer. The elucidation of the molecular pathways (cholesterol/lipid raft/integrin β3/FAK and cholesterol-associated LXR/ABCA1 regulation) for anti-EMT and the new application of simvastatin should be of clinical significance.