Hit the mark!

Hit the mark! Scientists build light-responsive particles to destroy tumor mitochondria

Hit the mark! Scientists construct light-responsive particles to destroy tumor mitochondria and hit the key! Scientists build light-responsive particles to destroy tumor mitochondria

Mitochondria are the energy factories of cells, and destroying mitochondria in tumor cells is a new strategy for anti-tumor therapy
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The State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering of the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute of Process Engineering) cooperated with the School of Chemical Science of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences to construct a light-responsive granular formulation to deliver light-induced acid-generating molecules and promote a lot of freedom in tumor cells.
Radical production and a large amount of calcium ion influx, thereby causing mitochondrial oxidative stress and calcium ion overload
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Through the above-mentioned synergistic mechanism of destroying mitochondria, the efficient killing of tumor cells is achieved, and tumor progression is significantly inhibited in a variety of mouse models, which brings new ideas for efficient treatment of tumors

Chinese Academy of Sciences

On November 4, 2021, related work will be published in Nature Communications
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Nature Communications

Mitochondria are the main source of cell energy metabolism and play an important role in tumorigenesis and development
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Therefore, new anti-tumor treatment strategies based on mitochondrial destruction have received more and more attention

Photo-activated tumor therapy has been more and more researched in recent years due to its precise controllability of the treatment site and small side effects.
Especially under light conditions, it can also activate photo-induced acid-generating molecules to release hydrogen ions and acidify the intracellular microenvironment.

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Inspired by this and combined with more than 10 years of research experience in anti-tumor formulation engineering, researcher Ma Guanghui and researcher Wei Wei of the State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering of the Institute of Process Engineering cooperated with Professor Tian Zhiyuan from the School of Chemical Science of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences to create a load photoelectric product.

Schematic diagram of synergistic destruction of tumor mitochondria based on light-responsive granular formulations (photo courtesy of the research team)

Schematic diagram of synergistic destruction of tumor mitochondria based on light-responsive granular formulations (photo courtesy of the research team)

The researchers loaded folic acid, up-conversion particles, and photoacid-generating molecules in a metal-organic framework through the "one-pot method" to form a FMUP granular dosage form
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Experiments have proved that after intravenous injection, FMUP selectively targets the tumor site with the help of folic acid molecules

The above-mentioned studies have proven significant curative effects on xenograft tumor models derived from liver cancer patients, but they are still preclinical studies at the animal level, and the actual clinical curative effect needs to be further confirmed
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Evaluation of the efficacy of FMUP formulations on patient-derived xenograft tumor models: (a) model construction and treatment strategies; (b) small animal imaging to characterize the enrichment of FMUP at the tumor site; (c) light-induced acidification of the tumor site (D) Light-induced ROS production at the tumor site; (e) Light-induced calcium overload at the tumor site; (f) Paraffin section of tumor tissue showing mitochondrial damage-related proteins; (g, h) tumor growth curve and survival time in mice Curve (photo courtesy of the research team)

Evaluation of the efficacy of FMUP formulations on patient-derived xenograft tumor models: (a) model construction and treatment strategies; (b) small animal imaging to characterize the enrichment of FMUP at the tumor site; (c) light-induced acidification of the tumor site (D) Light-induced ROS production at the tumor site; (e) Light-induced calcium overload at the tumor site; (f) Paraffin section of tumor tissue showing mitochondrial damage-related proteins; (g, h) tumor growth curve and survival time in mice Curve (photo courtesy of the research team)

For more than 10 years, researchers Ma Guanghui and Wei Wei have discovered and created a series of new drug and vaccine delivery formulations, which have been successfully used in animal models for the prevention and treatment of tumors, infectious diseases, and inflammatory diseases, and some of the formulations have been approved by hospital ethics.
Enter individualized preclinical and clinical research
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Doctoral student Powell is the first author of the paper, and Prof.
Guanghui Ma, Prof.
Wei Wei and Prof.
Zhiyuan Tian are the co-corresponding authors
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program, Innovation Group Program, National Key R&D Program Program and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Leading Science and Technology Program

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Related paper information:

doi: 10.