丝胶蛋白的抗氧化和免疫调节活性及其在肿瘤预防和治疗中的应用

Sericin, a by-product of silk processing, shows great potential in tumor prevention and treatment owing to its excellent antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Its structure, which is rich in polar amino acids, endows sericin with high hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, allowing it to suppress cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis by scavenging reactive oxygen species and modulating the PI3K/Akt pathway and autophagy-related pathways. In the complex tumor microenvironment, sericin acts as an effective immune modulator. Instead of inducing widespread immunosuppression, it modulates the immune microenvironment by attenuating pro-tumorigenic chronic inflammation and potentially preserving or indirectly enhancing the cytolytic activity of natural killer cells.

By balancing macrophage responses and alleviating oxidative stress-induced immune exhaustion, sericin helps restore immune surveillance. The antitumor effect of sericin is not achieved through nonspecific immune activation, but rather by restoring redox homeostasis and reshaping the inflammatory environment, thereby transforming the tumor microenvironment from a pro-cancer state to one conducive to immune surveillance.

As a natural antioxidant and drug delivery carrier, sericin shows potential for targeted delivery and low toxicity in combined chemoradiotherapy and nanotechnology-enabled diagnostic and therapeutic systems.

However, issues related to stability and production scalability still need to be addressed before its widespread clinical application.