Disulfide-Bridged Ru Complex-Mediated Photo-Disulfidptosis for Colorectal Cancer Therapy

Simeng He1, Wendong Jin2, Jiaojiao Pang1

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.

Insights

A novel ruthenium complex, RuSSRu, effectively triggers disulfidptosis, a unique cell death pathway, in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. This approach combats CRC by inducing metabolic disruptions and synergistic cell death, offering a new therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Oncology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains difficult to treat despite various therapeutic strategies.
  • Disulfidptosis, a novel cell death pathway, involves NADPH depletion and disulfide bond formation, particularly in high SLC7A11-expressing cells under glucose starvation.
  • CRC cells exhibit high SLC7A11 expression and a hypermetabolic phenotype, making disulfidptosis a potential therapeutic target.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel therapeutic strategy targeting disulfidptosis for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment.
  • To investigate the efficacy of a binuclear ruthenium complex (RuSSRu) in inducing disulfidptosis in CRC cells.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a binuclear ruthenium complex, RuSSRu, bridged by a disulfide bond.
  • Utilizing two-photon excitation to activate RuSSRu, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inducing lysosomal damage.
  • Analyzing metabolic disruptions, including disulfide bond accumulation and NADPH depletion, leading to cytoskeletal collapse and disulfidptosis.

Main Results:

  • RuSSRu effectively induced disulfidptosis in CRC cells via ROS generation and lysosomal damage.
  • The treatment triggered metabolic cascade: disulfide bond accumulation and NADPH depletion.
  • Synergistic cell death was observed through the combined effects of disulfidptosis and lysosomal damage-induced apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • RuSSRu represents a novel therapeutic platform for CRC by effectively inducing disulfidptosis.
  • The study unveils a new mechanism for CRC treatment involving synergistic cell death pathways.
  • Targeting disulfidptosis offers a promising strategy for managing colorectal cancer.