mLumiOpto Is a Mitochondrial-Targeted Gene Therapy for Treating Cancer

Mitochondria are important in various aspects of cancer development and progression. Targeting mitochondria in cancer cells holds great therapeutic promise, yet current strategies to specifically and effectively destroy cancer mitochondria in vivo are limited. Here, we developed mitochondrial luminoptogenetics (mLumiOpto), an innovative mitochondrial-targeted luminoptogenetics gene therapy designed to directly disrupt the inner mitochondrial membrane potential and induce cancer cell death. The therapeutic approach included synthesis of a blue light-gated cationic channelrhodopsin in the inner mitochondrial membrane and coexpression of a blue bioluminescence-emitting nanoluciferase in the cytosol of the same cells. The mLumiOpto genes were selectively delivered to cancer cells in vivo by an adeno-associated virus carrying a cancer-specific promoter or cancer-targeted mAB-tagged exosome-associated adeno-associated virus. Induction with nanoluciferase luciferin elicited robust endogenous bioluminescence, which activated cationic channelrhodopsin, triggering cancer cell mitochondrial depolarization and subsequent cell death. Importantly, mLumiOpto demonstrated remarkable efficacy in reducing tumor burden and killing tumor cells in glioblastoma and triple-negative breast cancer xenograft mouse models. Furthermore, the approach induced an antitumor immune response, increasing infiltration of dendritic cells and CD8+ T cells in the tumor microenvironment. These findings establish mLumiOpto as a promising therapeutic strategy by targeting cancer cell mitochondria in vivo. Significance: mLumiOpto is a next generation optogenetic approach that employs selective delivery of genes to cancer cells to trigger mitochondrial depolarization, effectively inducing cell death and reducing tumor burden.