2. Academic Validation
  3. Living therapeutics of nonpathogenic bacteria as biosynthesis factory and active carriers for enhancing tumor-targeted therapy

Living therapeutics of nonpathogenic bacteria as biosynthesis factory and active carriers for enhancing tumor-targeted therapy

  • Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 15;16(1):6532. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61675-4.
Mengna Dong 1,  Xinhui Yang 1,  Wenqian Zhang 1,  Yuzhi Qiu 1,  Peng Song 1,  Hongfang Liu 1,  Yajiang Yang 1,  Xiangliang Yang 2 3,  Qin Wang 4 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medica, Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • 2 National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, Wuhan, China. yangxl@hust.edu.cn.
  • 3 College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. yangxl@hust.edu.cn.
  • 4 Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Materia Medica, Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. qwang@hust.edu.cn.
  • 5 National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, Wuhan, China. qwang@hust.edu.cn.
PMID: 40664636 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61675-4
Abstract

Anaerobic bacteria-mediated tumor therapy faces multiple challenges, including potential toxic side effects, complex manufacturing processes, and impaired hypoxic targeting. Here, based on the excellent biocompatibility and distinctive metabolic ability of natural anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) to dissimilate sulfate into sulfide, we construct in situ-biosynthesized ferrous sulfide nanoparticle-SRB (FeS@SRB) biohybrid to enhance tumor-targeted therapy. Interestingly, SRB acts as both a biosynthesis factory and active tumor-targeted delivery vehicles. Our systematic studies reveal that FeS@SRB has excellent biosafety and tumor targeting capabilities, achieving over 50% tumor delivery efficiency in female mice post-intravenous injection, which is 17 times higher than that of conventional chemically-synthesized FeS@BSA nanoparticles. Upon near-infrared laser irradiation, FeS@SRB hybrids exhibit synergistic photothermal-chemodynamic effect, amplifying oxidative stress to trigger tumor cells Ferroptosis and Apoptosis, thereby effectively suppressing both subcutaneous and orthotopic tumor growth. This SRB-based therapeutic strategy expands research into tumor-targeting platforms and the biosynthesis of metal sulfide nanoparticles for enhanced tumor therapy.

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