Legumain In Situ Engineering Promotes Efferocytosis of CAR Macrophage to Treat Cardiac Fibrosis

Z Zejuan Liu (State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Department of Neurosurgery Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory NMPA Key Laboratory For Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education) Qilu Hospital Cheeloo College of Medicine Shandong University ...) C Chen Chen Y Yulin Zhang F Fengping Ji (Department of Emergency Medicine Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine NMPA Key Laboratory for Clinical Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Center of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine China's Ministry of Education Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Key Laboratory of Cardiopulmonary‐Cerebral Resuscitation Research of Shandong Province Qilu...) H Hehui Liu (Department of Emergency Medicine Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine NMPA Key Laboratory for Clinical Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Center of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine China's Ministry of Education Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Key Laboratory of Cardiopulmonary‐Cerebral Resuscitation Research of Shandong Province Qilu...) H Han Du Y Yunyun Guo X Xianghui Dong Z Zhenmei Yang (State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University) M Maosen Han (State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University) C Chunwei Tang (State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University) K Kehui Yang (Departments of Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China (S.S., X. Zhang, H.Y., C.F., Y.G., X.L., S.C., K.Y., X. Zhao, C.P., F.X., Y.C.).) J Jian Zhang K Kun Zhao Y Yuguo Chen X Xinyi Jiang (State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University) F Feng Xu (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences)

Abstract

Abstract Uncontrolled and excessive cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI) is a primary contributor to mortality by heart failure. Chimeric antigen receptor macrophage (CAR‐MΦ) therapy shows great promise in cardiac fibrosis, however, the overwhelming apoptotic cells after MI results in an overburdened efferocytosis in CAR‐MΦ, which compromises their antifibrotic potency. This work here reports an in situ engineered legumain (Lgmn) to elevate the cargo degradation of phagolysosome for promoting the efferocytosis of CAR‐MΦs, restoring their antifibrotic capability. Specifically, with the in‐house customized macrophages‐targeting lipid nanoparticles, this work first creates an efferocytosis‐boosted fibrosis‐specific CAR‐MΦs by introducing dual mRNAs that encode Lgmn, an endolysosomal cysteine protease, along with an anti‐fibroblast activation protein (FAP) CAR, respectively. This data demonstrate these CAR‐MΦs displayed a significantly increased phagocytic capacity as well as improved efferocytosis and enhanced antifibrotic capability. Treatment with the in situ reprogrammed CAR‐MΦs in MI mice obviously reduced the infarct size and mitigated cardiac fibrosis, leading to significant restoration of cardiac function. In sum, these findings establish that promoting efferocytosis through Lgmn engineering effectively relieved the overburdened efferocytosis of CAR‐MΦs, and enhanced their treatment efficacy of cardiac fibrosis with broad application in other fibrotic diseases.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 37, Issue 27
Published July 01, 2025
ISSN 0935-9648
Publisher Unknown Publisher

Journal Info

Advanced Materials

Unknown Publisher

ISSN: 0935-9648 Physical Sciences

Authors (17)

Z

Zejuan Liu

State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Department of Neurosurgery Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory NMPA Key Laboratory For Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education) Qilu Hospital Cheeloo College of Medicine Shandong University ...

C

Chen Chen

Y

Yulin Zhang

F

Fengping Ji

Department of Emergency Medicine Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine NMPA Key Laboratory for Clinical Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Center of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine China's Ministry of Education Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Key Laboratory of Cardiopulmonary‐Cerebral Resuscitation Research of Shandong Province Qilu...

H

Hehui Liu

Department of Emergency Medicine Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine NMPA Key Laboratory for Clinical Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Center of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine China's Ministry of Education Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Emergency and Critical Care Medicine Key Laboratory of Cardiopulmonary‐Cerebral Resuscitation Research of Shandong Province Qilu...

H

Han Du

Y

Yunyun Guo

X

Xianghui Dong

Z

Zhenmei Yang

State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University

M

Maosen Han

State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University

C

Chunwei Tang

State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University

K

Kehui Yang

Departments of Emergency Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China (S.S., X. Zhang, H.Y., C.F., Y.G., X.L., S.C., K.Y., X. Zhao, C.P., F.X., Y.C.).

J

Jian Zhang

K

Kun Zhao

Y

Yuguo Chen

X

Xinyi Jiang

State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Key Laboratory of Targeted Drug Delivery and Advanced Pharmaceutics, National Medical Products Administration Key Laboratory for Technology Research and Evaluation of Drug Products and Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University

F

Feng Xu

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences