Mitochondria-anchoring and AIE-active photosensitizer for self-monitored cholangiocarcinoma therapy

Abstract

The morbidity of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) has increased markedly in the past few decades. However, most patients with extrahepatic CCA are diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus cannot receive curative resection in time. To increase the long-term survival probability of nonresectable extrahepatic CCA patients, it is highly desirable to develop alternative treatment strategies. Photodynamic therapy is a highly efficient method for the ablation of cancer cells, but the conventional photosensitizers (PSs) suffer from self-quenching after local accumulation in organelles. To tackle this challenge, we herein develop a mitochondria-anchoring photosensitizer, TTVPHE, with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics for efficient ablation of extrahepatic CCA cells through the mitochondrial injury pathway. The TTVPHE probe shows significant advantages in terms of fast cell penetration ability, selective mitochondria-targeting ability, and excellent ROS generation ability under white light irradiation. Moreover, the probe can in situ monitor the mitochondrial injury process by translocation from mitochondria to the nuclear membrane. The ultrastructural changes in the morphology of mitochondria under PDT were also characterized using high resolution TEM. This AIE-active probe is promising for the treatment of advanced stage CCA.