Ultrasound-responsive BiMoO-MXene Heterojunction As Ferroptosis Inducers for Stimulating Immunogenic Cell Death Against Ovarian Cancer

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) has the highest fatality rate among all gynecological malignancies, necessitating the exploration of novel, efficient, and low-toxicity therapeutic strategies. Ferroptosis is a type of programmed cell death induced by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and can potentially activate antitumor immunity. Developing highly effective ferroptosis inducers may improve OC prognosis.

Results: In this study, we developed an ultrasonically controllable two-dimensional (2D) piezoelectric nanoagonist (BiMoO-MXene) to induce ferroptosis. A Schottky heterojunction between BiMoO (BMO) and MXene reduced the bandgap width by 0.44 eV, increased the carrier-separation efficiency, and decreased the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs under ultrasound stimulation. Therefore, the reactive oxygen species yield was enhanced. Under spatiotemporal ultrasound excitation, BMO-MXene effectively inhibited OC proliferation by more than 90%, induced lipid peroxidation, decreased mitochondrial-membrane potential, and inactivated the glutathione peroxidase and cystathionine transporter protein system, thereby causing ferroptosis in tumor cells. Ferroptosis in OC cells further activated immunogenic cell death, facilitating dendritic cell maturation and stimulating antitumor immunity.

Conclusion: We have succeeded in developing a highly potent ferroptosis inducer (BMO-MXene), capable of inhibiting OC progression through the sonodynamic-ferroptosis-immunogenic cell death pathway.