Triple negative breast cancer is characterized by strong invasion, high recurrence rate and poor prognosis due to the lack of expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2. At present, there is still a lack of effective targeted treatment.

On March 20, 2026, the journal Bioactive Materials reported that researchers used polysaccharide protein complexes (PSP) derived from edible mushrooms to modify nano selenium, constructing highly stable and biocompatible PTR SeNPs. Furthermore, by targeting and modifying MUC1 antibodies, a selenium nano delivery system with precise targeting ability was constructed（ MUC1@PTR-SeNPs ）, significantly inhibit the progress of TNBC in vivo and in vitro, providing a new strategy for precise treatment in the field of breast cancer tumor rehabilitation.

Researchers systematically evaluated the anti-tumor activity of PTR SeNPs in 17 human TNBC cell lines and found that they exhibited potent proliferation inhibition on various TNBC cells, while exhibiting extremely low toxicity to normal cells. Mechanism studies have shown that PTR SeNPs activate the MAPK signaling pathway, regulate the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins, induce mitochondrial membrane potential loss, release apoptotic factors such as cytochrome c and Smac/Diablo, and ultimately activate the Caspase-9/Caspase-3 cascade reaction, inducing mitochondrial dependent apoptosis in TNBC cells.

To further enhance targeting, researchers coupled PTR SeNPs with anti-MUC1 antibody Fab fragments and constructed MUC1@PTR-SeNPs In TNBC cells with high expression of MUC1, this nanosystem significantly enhances anti-tumor activity. In the MDA-MB-468 tumor bearing mouse model, after oral administration for 30 days, MUC1@PTR-SeNPs Significantly inhibit tumor growth, induce activation of Caspase-9 and PARP in tumor tissue, and promote cell apoptosis. Blood biochemistry and histopathological analysis showed that the nanomedicine has good in vivo safety and did not cause significant liver or kidney toxicity.

The innovation of this study lies not only in revealing the molecular mechanism of nano selenium induced apoptosis in TNBC, but also in the organic fusion of "targeted delivery" and "biological functions of selenium".

Unlike conventional chemotherapy, MUC1@PTR-SeNPs On the one hand, by targeting and recognizing the highly expressed MUC1 antigen on the surface of tumor cells, precise delivery can be achieved, reducing damage to normal tissues; On the other hand, the metabolic products of nano selenium in the body can participate in the synthesis of selenoproteins (such as glutathione peroxidase and selenoprotein P), exerting systemic antioxidant and immune regulatory effects, helping to improve the common systemic inflammatory state and immune suppression in cancer patients, which is in line with the concept of "local treatment+systemic regulation" in tumor rehabilitation.

Literature name: Translational selenium nanoparticles trigger apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells through the MAPKs/Bcl2 pathway