Recently, the team led by Prof. Li Quan, Dean and Chief Scientist of the Institute of Intelligent Materials and Professor serving the School of Intelligent Science and Engineering, SEU, was invited to publish a comprehensive review paper on lysosome-specific chemical platforms for precision cancer diagnosis and therapy. The paper, titled “Lysosome-specific chemical platforms for precision oncology: from structural design to biological applications,” was published in the internationally renowned top review journal Chemical Society Reviews and was selected as the journal’s front cover. The corresponding authors include Li Quan and Tang Yuqi from Southeast University.
Fig. 1. Front cover image for lysosome-specific precision cancer diagnosis and therapy (Image credit:Chem. Soc. Rev.)
The complexity of tumor pathogenesis and the limitations of traditional therapies severely constrain the clinical treatment outcomes of tumors. However, lysosomes, as key regulatory hubs for macromolecular degradation, energy metabolism, autophagy, and signal transduction, are increasingly becoming important targets for precision cancer diagnosis and therapy. Prof. Li Quan’s team systematically reviews the major breakthroughs in lysosome-specific chemical platforms for cancer diagnosis and therapy achieved in the past five years, covering three key directions: molecular platforms, material platforms, and biomimetic platforms. By comprehensively evaluating their structural design principles, mechanisms of action, and representative applications, this review deeply analyzes the significant advantages and existing challenges of these platforms in drug delivery, photodynamic/photothermal therapy, immunotherapy, biomimetic therapy, bioorthogonal chemistry, fluorescence sensing, and targeted imaging. Among these, the unique acidic microenvironment and membrane permeability of lysosomes provide exceptional conditions for escape strategies, holding promise as a novel key mechanism for cancer diagnosis and therapy research. In addition to lysosomal escape, lysosome-specific platforms can further enhance therapeutic efficacy and overcome drug resistance by modulating membrane permeability and remodeling the immune microenvironment.
The team also discusses future development directions and clinical translation prospects of cutting-edge technologies such as lysosome-specific self-assembling peptide platforms, condensates, chimeras, and near-infrared small-molecule probes, emphasizing the critical role of multidisciplinary integration in advancing theranostics. Currently, systematic progress in this field indicates that lysosome-targeting strategies are moving from fundamental research toward substantial breakthroughs in clinical applications.
This work was supported by grants from the Jiangsu Provincial “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team” Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation, and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.
Article link: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5CS01352F
Source: Wuxi Campus, SEU
Translated by: Melody Zhang
Edited by: Leah Li
