Microwave-Activated Bacterial Biorobot for Multimodal Cancer Therapy

Area of Science:

• Synthetic biology
• Biotechnology
• Cancer therapy

Background:

• Synthetic biology offers innovative cancer treatment strategies.
• Precise control of therapeutic expression and biosafety are key challenges in cancer therapy.
• Engineered bacteria present a promising platform for localized cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a bacterial hybrid biorobot for localized cancer therapy.
• To engineer Escherichia coli for microwave-activated therapeutic expression.
• To investigate the multimodal cancer cell death mechanisms induced by the biorobot.

Main Methods:

• Engineered Escherichia coli (MG1655) for microwave-activated glucose oxidase (GOx) expression.
• Utilized Cu2O nanoparticles for Fenton-like catalysis of hydrogen peroxide.
• Conducted in vitro and in vivo studies, including transcriptomic analysis.

Main Results:

• Microwave activation led to localized GOx expression, glucose depletion, and hydrogen peroxide generation at tumor sites.
• Cu2O nanoparticles catalyzed hydrogen peroxide to produce reactive oxygen species, inducing apoptosis, ferroptosis, and cuproptosis.
• Transcriptomic analysis revealed disrupted glucose metabolism and activated antitumor immune responses.
• Demonstrated efficacy in both in vitro and in vivo cancer models.

Conclusions:

• The engineered bacterial platform provides a safe and versatile tool for precise cancer treatment.
• Microwave-activated bacterial biorobots offer a novel strategy for multimodal cancer therapy.
• This approach enhances biosafety through localized activation and targeted therapeutic effects.