Tumor-targeted biomimetic nanoplatform precisely integrates photodynamic therapy and autophagy inhibition for collaborative treatment of oral cancer

Abstract

Oral cancer is a common malignant tumor in the maxillofacial region. Surgical resection is the preferred treatment, but the severe functional impairment after surgery forces us to look for noninvasive treatments. As a promising noninvasive treatment method, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has received widespread attention in the field of cancer therapy, but the inefficient uptake capacity of tumor cells and the damage repair mechanisms limit the actual therapeutic effect. The establishment of a targeted therapy function and autophagy inhibition strategy is considered to be an important way to further enhance the effect of PDT. Based on this, we developed the biomimetic nanomaterial PCN-CQ@CCM. The metal–organic framework material PCN-224 was used as a carrier to load the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) and it was coated onto the surface with isolated oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell membranes. Owing to the immune evasion and homologous targeting ability of the biomimetic functionalized surface, PCN-CQ@CCM can escape macrophage phagocytosis and homologously adhere to tumor cells, enhancing the retention and uptake of nanomaterials in the tumor microenvironment. After being activated with a 660 nm laser, the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered the apoptosis pathway, as assessed by mitochondrial damage, and the released CQ further aggravated the ROS lethal pathway by effectively inhibiting the protective autophagic flux. Therefore, PCN-CQ@CCM achieves the precise synergy of PDT and autophagy inhibition through the biomimetic homologous targeting method, and the highly effective tumor suppression effect expands the field of vision for the noninvasive diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer.