2D vanadium carbide MXenzyme to alleviate ROS-mediated inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated and consumed in living organism for normal metabolism. Paradoxically, the overproduction and/or mismanagement of ROS have been involved in pathogenesis and progression of various human diseases. Here, we reported a two-dimensional (2D) vanadium carbide (V₂C) MXene nanoenzyme (MXenzyme) that can mimic up to six naturally-occurring enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thiol peroxidase (TPx) and haloperoxidase (HPO). Based on these enzyme-mimicking properties, the constructed 2D V₂C MXenzyme not only possesses high biocompatibility but also exhibits robust in vitro cytoprotection against oxidative stress. Importantly, 2D V₂C MXenzyme rebuilds the redox homeostasis without perturbing the endogenous antioxidant status and relieves ROS-induced damage with benign in vivo therapeutic effects, as demonstrated in both inflammation and neurodegeneration animal models. These findings open an avenue to enable the use of MXenzyme as a remedial nanoplatform to treat ROS-mediated inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.