posted on 2020-03-11, 14:04authored byBenkai Bao, Dong Gao, Ning Li, Manman Wu, Chengfen Xing
Calmodulin (CaM),
as a calcium binding protein involved in the
signal pathways of many life activities such as cell proliferation
and apoptosis, can be regulated with the near-infrared (NIR) light-based
photothermal conversion. Here, we build a conjugated polymer nanoparticle
(CPNs-C) by assembling polypyrrole dione and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine-polyethylene
glycol-maleimide with a calmodulin antibody modified on the surface,
which is NIR light-responsive for photothermally inducing apoptosis
of cancer cells. Under near-infrared light irradiation, protein kinase
B (Akt) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, which bind to CaM, reduce
the degree of phosphorylation due to the photothermal effect of CPNs-C,
thus inhibiting the recruitment of Akt on the cell membrane. Therefore,
the phosphorylation of GSK-3β downstream of the signaling pathway
is reduced, and the phosphorylation of FoxO3a is enhanced, which can
promote apoptosis of cancer cells. Compared with the photothermal
effect of traditional CPNs, CPNs-C exhibits higher efficiency to regulate
signaling pathways to promote cancer cells toward apoptosis. This
strategy of utilizing NIR light to regulate the tumor apoptotic signaling
pathway provides an effective way to enhance cancer cell apoptosis
with high efficiency.