Inducing mitochondriopathy-like damages by transformable nucleopeptide nanoparticles for targeted therapy of bladder cancer

Mitochondriopathy inspired adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletions have been recognized as a powerful way for controlling tumor growth. Nevertheless, selective sequestration or exhaustion of ATP under complex biological environments remains a prodigious challenge. Harnessing the advantages of in vivo self-assembled nanomaterials, we designed an Intracellular ATP Sequestration (IAS) system to specifically construct nanofibrous nanostructures on the surface of tumor nuclei with exposed ATP binding sites, leading to highly efficient suppression of bladder cancer by induction of mitochondriopathy-like damages. Briefly, the reported transformable nucleopeptide (NLS-FF-T) self-assembled into nuclear-targeted nanoparticles with ATP binding sites encapsulated inside under aqueous conditions. By interaction with KPNA2, the NLS-FF-T transformed into a nanofibrous-based ATP trapper on the surface of tumor nuclei, which prevented the production of intracellular energy. As a result, multiple bladder tumor cell lines (T24, EJ and RT-112) revealed that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of NLS-FF-T was reduced by approximately 4-fold when compared to NLS-T. Following intravenous administration, NLS-FF-T was found to be dose-dependently accumulated at the tumor site of T24 xenograft mice. More significantly, this IAS system exhibited an extremely antitumor efficacy according to the deterioration of T24 tumors and simultaneously prolonged the overall survival of T24 orthotopic xenograft mice. Together, our findings clearly demonstrated the therapeutic advantages of intracellular ATP sequestration-induced mitochondriopathy-like damages, which provides a potential treatment strategy for malignancies. An Intracellular ATP Sequestration (IAS) system was designed for targeted therapy of bladder cancer by induction of mitochondriopathy-like damages.