State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals , Dalian University of Technology , Dalian 116024 , China.
Department School of Life Science and Biotechnology , Dalian University of Technology , Dalian 116024 , China.
J Am Chem Soc. 2018 Nov 7;140(44):14851-14859. doi: 10.1021/jacs.8b08658. Epub 2018 Oct 26.
Hypoxia, a quite universal feature in most solid tumors, has been considered as the "Achilles' heel" of traditional photodynamic therapy (PDT) and substantially impairs the overall therapeutic efficacy. Herein, we develop a near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered molecular superoxide radical (O) generator (ENBS-B) to surmount this intractable issue, also reveal its detailed O action mechanism underlying the antihypoxia effects, and confirm its application for in vivo targeted hypoxic solid tumor ablation. Photomediated radical generation mechanism study shows that, even under severe hypoxic environment (2% O), ENBS-B can generate considerable O through type I photoreactions, and partial O is transformed to high toxic OH· through SOD-mediated cascade reactions. These radicals synergistically damage the intracellular lysosomes, which subsequently trigger cancer cell apoptosis, presenting a robust hypoxic PDT potency. In vitro coculture model shows that, benefiting from biotin ligand, ENBS-B achieves 87-fold higher cellular uptake in cancer cells than normal cells, offering opportunities for personalized medicine. Following intravenous administration, ENBS-B is able to specifically target to neoplastic tissues and completely suppresses the tumor growth at a low light-dose irradiation. As such, we postulated this work will extend the options of excellent agents for clinical cancer therapy.
缺氧是大多数实体瘤中普遍存在的特征,被认为是传统光动力疗法(PDT)的“阿喀琉斯之踵”,极大地降低了整体治疗效果。在此,我们开发了一种近红外(NIR)光触发的分子超氧自由基(O)发生器(ENBS-B)来克服这一难题,还揭示了其在抗缺氧作用下的详细 O 作用机制,并确认了其在体内靶向缺氧实体瘤消融中的应用。光介导的自由基生成机制研究表明,即使在严重缺氧环境(2% O)下,ENBS-B 也可以通过 I 型光反应产生相当数量的 O,部分 O 通过 SOD 介导的级联反应转化为高毒性的 OH·。这些自由基协同破坏细胞内溶酶体,随后引发癌细胞凋亡,表现出强大的缺氧 PDT 效力。体外共培养模型表明,得益于生物素配体,ENBS-B 在癌细胞中的细胞摄取量比正常细胞高 87 倍,为个性化医疗提供了机会。静脉给药后,ENBS-B 能够特异性靶向肿瘤组织,并在低光剂量照射下完全抑制肿瘤生长。因此,我们推测这项工作将为临床癌症治疗提供更多优秀药物的选择。