Targeted inflammatory microenvironment remodeling and NIR-II photothermal therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm

  • Mater Today Bio. 2026 Jan 6:36:102770. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102770.
Yijun Liu  1 ,  Peng Qiu  1 ,  Huifang Hao  2 ,  Ang'ang Ding  3 ,  Zhaoyu Wu  1 ,  Jiahao Lei  1 ,  Zhaoxi Peng  1 ,  Hongji Pu  1 ,  Chenlin Zeng  1 ,  Hongbin Guo  1 ,  Xiaodong Wu  1 ,  Huaxiang Lu  1 ,  Jinbao Qin  1 ,  Ruihua Wang  1 ,  Haoqi Liu  4 ,  Kaichuang Ye  1 ,  Xinwu Lu  1  5
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
  • 2. Institute of Intelligent Health Diagnosis and Treatment, School of Automation and Intelligent Sensing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
  • 3. Department of Ultrasound, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
  • 4. Department of Cardiology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200437, China.
  • 5. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Vascular Disease Center, Shanghai, China.
PMID: 41567736 DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102770
Abstract

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a degenerative aortic disease with high rupture-associated mortality. There is no effective medical therapy for early intervention, inflammatory microenvironment remodeling is a crucial therapeutic strategy. Herein, we designed a multifunctional nanoplatform, Cu9S8@MCC950-Belnacasan-cRGDfK (CS@MBR) for AAA treatment. This platform employed a Cu9S8 core for near-infrared-II (NIR-II) photothermal therapy (PTT), encapsulated NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors (MCC950 and Belnacasan), and coated with a cRGDfK peptide for active targeting of the aneurysm. In vitro, CS@MBR with mild PTT inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation, decreased pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization, and prevented the phenotype switching of vascular smooth muscle cells. In vivo, CS@MBR demonstrated excellent accumulation at the aneurysm site in an angiotensin-II-induced murine AAA model. Upon NIR-II irradiation, the treatment effectively inhibited AAA development, damage of elastic fibers, and imbalance of the inflammatory microenvironment. This study presents a promising, targeted nanotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of AAA and Other inflammatory vascular diseases.

Keywords
Abdominal aortic aneurysm; Active targeting; Cu9S8; Inflammatory microenvironment remodeling; NLRP3 inflammasome; Photothermal therapy.
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