High-Entropy-Engineered Nanoinducer for Spatiotemporally Programmed PANoptosis and NIR-Amplified Cancer Immunotherapy
Yue Zhao1, Muchao Chen1, Gaoxin Zhou2
1School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Abstract:
PANoptosis has emerged as a compelling strategy to potentiate antitumor immune responses. However, achieving specific PANoptotic cancer-cell death while sparing normal tissues remains a central challenge, as current strategies are constrained by inadequate spatiotemporal controllability and insufficient generation of key effector species, particularly reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we report a class of PANoptosis nanoinducer constructed from atomically dispersed high-entropy metal sites, enabling spatiotemporally controlled near-infrared (NIR)-amplified cancer immunotherapy. The unique high-entropy metal-site configuration of the resulting nanozymes (HENA@PEG) boosts catalytic efficiency through atomic-level synergism, while enabling precise, pH-gated control over ROS generation via catalytic activation. In addition, nanozyme-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) not only induces direct tumor ablation but also supplies exogenous thermal energy to accelerate the catalytic reactions. The co-programmed integration of endogenous and exogenous activations confers tumor-site-adaptive biocatalysis, thereby enabling precise spatiotemporal induction of PANoptosis. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations reveal that the resulting nanoinducer effectively promotes dendritic cell maturation and cytotoxic T-cell activation, ultimately amplifying antitumor immune responses and markedly suppressing 4T1 tumor progression. Overall, this work establishes a high-entropy-engineered nanoinducer that overcomes the limitations of nonspecific PANoptosis and immune evasion, representing a promising avenue toward more efficient and precisely targeted cancer immunotherapy.
Insights
This study introduces a novel nanoinducer for targeted cancer cell death via PANoptosis. This approach enhances antitumor immunity with precise control, overcoming current limitations in cancer immunotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Immunology
- Materials Science
Background:
- PANoptosis (programmed all-cause cell death) is a promising strategy for enhancing antitumor immunity.
- Current methods for inducing PANoptosis in cancer therapy face challenges in spatiotemporal control and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, leading to off-target effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel nanoinducer for spatiotemporally controlled PANoptosis-specific cancer cell death.
- To enhance antitumor immune responses and overcome limitations of existing cancer immunotherapies.
Main Methods:
- Construction of a PANoptosis nanoinducer using atomically dispersed high-entropy metal sites (HENA@PEG).
- Utilizing near-infrared (NIR) light for amplified, spatiotemporally controlled activation.
- Integrating nanozyme-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) for enhanced catalytic activity and tumor ablation.
- Employing pH-gated control for precise ROS generation.
Main Results:
- The HENA@PEG nanoinducer demonstrated boosted catalytic efficiency and precise ROS generation.
- NIR-amplified PTT and catalytic activation synergistically induced tumor-site-adaptive biocatalysis and PANoptosis.
- Effective promotion of dendritic cell maturation and cytotoxic T-cell activation observed.
- Significant suppression of 4T1 tumor progression in vivo.
Conclusions:
- A high-entropy-engineered nanoinducer enables precise, spatiotemporal induction of PANoptosis for cancer immunotherapy.
- This approach overcomes limitations of nonspecific cell death and immune evasion.
- Represents a promising strategy for developing more effective and targeted cancer treatments.


