Photodynamic therapy (
PDT) has been increasingly studied in
cancer treatment, and several factors have been identified to limit the
PDT therapeutic efficiency. Taking Bcl-2
protein as an example, its overexpressing in
cancer cells could strengthen the
antioxidant and antiapoptotic capability of the cells, making
PDT less effective in
cancer cell treatment. To address this issue, we developed an engineered living system by integrating an aggregation-induced emission
photosensitizer (AIE PS) with bioactive mitochondria (Mito-AIEgen-
lipid) for enhanced
PDT. The AIE PS engineered mitochondria could not only change the energetic metabolism of
cancer cells from aerobic glycolysis to normal
oxide phosphorylation for
cancer cell growth inhibition but also activate the apoptotic pathway and reduce the expression of antiapoptotic
protein Bcl-2. This specific organelle-based living system holds great promise to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of
PDT by integrating the advantages of synthetic organic small molecules with
biological components.