Microcystis sonosensitizer

Ultrasound-activated immunotherapy

A natural sonosensitizer based on non-toxic Microcystis elabens that generates singlet oxygen under ultrasound and releases algal debris to trigger immune cascades, synergizing sonodynamic therapy and immunotherapy.

Yang, Yuqi · Ge, Jun · Zhong, Xiaoyan · Chen, Linfu · Youdong, Chen · Shumin, Sun · Cheng, Liang

Advanced Materials 2024

Specifications

有效抑制

{'zh': '4', 'en': ''} T1

Advantages

Dual sono-immune action

Microcystis contains gas vesicles and phycocyanin; under ultrasound it generates reactive oxygen species to kill tumor cells and releases algal debris that primes Toll-like receptor pathways to trigger immune cascades.

Effective in cold tumors

In the immunologically 'cold' 4T1 triple-negative breast tumor model, the strategy showed comparable potency, indicating independent of pre-existing antitumor immunity.

Good biosafety

The strain is non-toxic, and in vivo studies showed no significant acute or chronic toxicity, supporting potential clinical translation.

Applications

• Tumor sonodynamic therapy：Directly use microalgae as sonosensitizer replacing synthetic agents to kill tumor via ultrasound-generated ROS.
• Cancer immunotherapy：Released algal debris after ultrasound primes Toll-like receptor pathway to initiate antitumor immunity.
• Triple-negative breast cancer therapy：Proven effective in 4T1 cold tumor model, offering potential for difficult-to-treat TNBC.
• Colon cancer therapy：Significantly inhibits CT26 colon tumor growth with immune memory preventing recurrence.