Enzyme and MicroRNA Dual-Regulated Photodynamic Molecular Beacons for Cell-Selective Amplification of Antitumor Efficacy

Photodynamic molecular beacons (PMBs) are highly appealing for activatable photodynamic therapy (PDT), but their applications are hindered by limited therapeutic efficacy. Here, by molecular engineering of enzyme-responsive units in the loop region of DNA-based PMBs, we present for the first time the modular design of an enzyme/microRNA dual-regulated PMB (D-PMB) to achieve cancer-cell-selective amplification of PDT efficacy. In the design, the “inert” photosensitizers in D-PMB could be repeatedly activated in the presence of both tumor-specific enzyme and miRNA, leading to amplified generation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen species and therefore enhanced PDT efficacy in vitro and in vivo. By contrast, low photodynamic activity could be observed in healthy cells, as D-PMB activation has been largely avoided by the dual-regulatable design. This work presents a cooperatively activated PDT strategy, which enables enhanced therapeutic efficacy with improved tumor-specificity and thus conceptualizes an approach to expand the repertoire of designing smart tumor treatment modality.