Engineered photothermal-responsive bacterial platform for in vivo fluorescence imaging-guided photothermal/gene combined breast cancer therapy

  • Trends Biotechnol. 2026 Jun 15:S0167-7799(26)00235-0. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2026.05.022.
Jingyu Zhang  1 ,  Bin Guo  2 ,  Zhenlong Wang  3 ,  Fan Zhang  4 ,  Xiaorui Shi  4 ,  Chong Hu  4 ,  Zeping Yang  4 ,  Yingli Shen  4 ,  Fu Wang  5
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710004, China; School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
  • 2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China; Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China.
  • 3. Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710004, China.
  • 4. School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, China.
  • 5. Department of Urology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710004, China; Institute of Medical Engineering, Department of Biophysics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 42297691 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2026.05.022
Abstract

By leveraging the capacity of near-infrared light to penetrate deep tissue, we devised an engineered Bacterial system for fluorescence imaging-guided photothermal/gene combined Cancer therapy. By incorporating a thermosensitive plasmid carrying a payload of cytolysin A (ClyA) into the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) and incubating it with the photothermal agent indocyanine green (ICG)/Cremophor EL, we generated engineered bacteria capable of photothermal conversion. Upon irradiation with a near-infrared laser, ICG within the engineered Bacterial cells converted them into localized heat above 42°C. This simultaneous photothermal therapy cleverly activated the expression of the therapeutic protein ClyA, resulting in the synergistic killing of tumor cells. Importantly, as a natural immune Adjuvant, EcN enhanced the body's immune response. In addition, the engineered bacteria exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on tumor cells and suppressed tumor growth. Our study demonstrates a near-infrared laser-controlled Bacterial platform that can be applied to precision Cancer therapeutics.

Keywords
bacterial therapy; engineering bacteria; fluorescence imaging; immunotherapy; photothermal therapy.
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