Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Near-infrared optogenetic engineering of bacteria for cancer therapy

A near-infrared optogenetic system was developed for the controlled expression of therapeutics in engineered oncolytic bacteria, demonstrating significant anti-tumor efficacy in multiple tumor mouse models. This approach offers a non-invasive, customizable method for targeted solid tumor therapy and has broader applications in engineered living therapeutics.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: NETMAP-engineered bacteria for cancer therapy.

References

  1. Liu, B., Zhou, H., Tan, L., Siu, K. T. H. & Guan, X.-Y. Exploring treatment options in cancer: tumor treatment strategies. Sig. Transduct. Target. Ther. 9, 175 (2024). A review article that presents a comprehensive overview of emerging cancer therapies.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhou, S., Gravekamp, C., Bermudes, D. & Liu, K. Tumour-targeting bacteria engineered to fight cancer. Nat. Rev. Cancer 18, 727–743 (2018). A review article that presents the potential of engineered bacteria as a targeted delivery platform for cancer therapies.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Gurbatri, C. R., Arpaia, N. & Danino, T. Engineering bacteria as interactive cancer therapies. Science 378, 858–864 (2022). A review article that discusses the use of synthetic biology in optimizing bacterial therapies for cancer, focusing on enhancing therapeutic safety and effectiveness through engineered bacterial systems.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Gourinchas, G., Vide, U. & Winkler, A. Influence of the N-terminal segment and the PHY-tongue element on light-regulation in bacteriophytochromes. J. Biol. Chem. 294, 4498–4510 (2019). This paper reports the light-regulation mechanisms of chimeric photosensitive protein PadC4, which is an essential aspect of the NETMAP system.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Wilksch, J. J. et al. MrkH, a novel c-di-GMP-dependent transcriptional activator, controls Klebsiella pneumoniae biofilm formation by regulating type 3 fimbriae expression. PLoS Pathog. 7, e1002204 (2011). This paper reports that MrkH is a c-di-GMP-dependent transcriptional activator in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Qiao, L. et al. Engineered bacteria for near-infrared light-inducible expression of cancer therapeutics. Nat. Cancer https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-00932-3 (2025).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Near-infrared optogenetic engineering of bacteria for cancer therapy. Nat Cancer 6, 569–570 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-00931-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-025-00931-4

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing
Morty Proxy This is a proxified and sanitized view of the page, visit original site.