Tumor-discriminating Nanoceria Antioxidant Enables Protection Against Acute Kidney Injury Without Compromising Chemotherapeutic Effects

Acute kidney injury is one of the most troublesome and lethal adverse effects in patients receiving chemotherapy. Conventional approaches that mitigate the toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, however, also consequently compromise their tumorkilling efficacy. In order to overcome this dilemma, Ling and colleagues developed a ceria nanoparticle-based antioxidant agent that selectively relieved chemotherapy-induced oxidative damage in healthy tissues but not in the tumor microenvironment, where the slightly acidic pH acted to inhibit its enzyme-like and antioxidant activity. These ceria nanoparticles with context-dependent catalytic activity thus implied a possible reconciliation between effective protection from kidney injury and high potency of chemotherapy. The corresponding research has been published in Nature Communications and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21714-2.