An acid-activatable nanosensitizer library realizes tunable pyroptosis activation in tumors

Pyroptosis has been viewed as a potential novel pathway toward tumor immunity, yet activating specific pyroptosis in tumor cells remains challenging. Recently in Nature Nanotechnology, Wang, Zhang, You, and colleagues reported a library of acid-activatable nanophotosensitizers that target distinct stages of endosome maturation, attaining tunable pyroptosis. This outstanding work may provide new insights into the creation of future nanomedicine with pyroptosis-modulating capacity for clinical applications. Pyroptosis has been viewed as a potential novel pathway toward tumor immunity, yet activating specific pyroptosis in tumor cells remains challenging. Recently in Nature Nanotechnology, Wang, Zhang, You, and colleagues reported a library of acid-activatable nanophotosensitizers that target distinct stages of endosome maturation, attaining tunable pyroptosis. This outstanding work may provide new insights into the creation of future nanomedicine with pyroptosis-modulating capacity for clinical applications.