Near‐Infrared Activatable Copper Nanoplatforms Synergize with the 5‐Azacytidine Prodrug to Potentiate Cuproptosis

Abstract

Cuproptosis, a newly discovered cell death modality, is gaining recognition for its crucial role in antitumor therapy. Here, we demonstrated that Ferredoxin 1 (FDX1), a key gene involved in cuproptosis, is negatively correlated with malignancy and T-cell exhaustion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Based on these findings, we developed near-infrared (NIR) light-controlled nanoparticles (NPs), CuD@PM, which can selectively deliver copper to HNSCC cells and induce cuproptosis in the presence of microneedles loaded with triacetylated azacitidine (TAc-AzaC) and 808 nm laser irradiation. Intravenous administration of these NPs significantly suppressed tumor growth in HNSCC animal models and enhanced the antitumor immune response. The NIR-controlled activation of cuproptosis offers great potential as a safe, targeted, and image-guided antitumor therapy for HNSCC.