Modular Lysosome-Targeting Platform Based on a Multivalent DNA Framework for Programmable Protein Degradation
Abstract Targeted degradation of extracellular and membrane-bound proteins holds immense therapeutic potential but remains technically challenging. Lysosome-targeting chimeras (LYTACs) have emerged to bridge this gap, yet platforms built on monomeric aptamers suffer from inadequate stability, inefficient cellular uptake, and a lack of modularity. Here, we developed a tetrahedral DNA nanostructure-based multivalent lysosome-targeting antibody platform (TDN-MLYTAB) to overcome these limitations. Our platform employs two key engineered components: a rigid TDN scaffold enables the precise multivalent display of aptamers to enhance binding stability and lysosomal targeting while preventing steric hindrance, and an engineered secondary antibody serves as a universal adaptor, conferring plug-and-play modularity. By simply exchanging the primary antibody, we achieved efficient degradation of multiple distinct cell-surface proteins in different cellular models without platform re-engineering. Compared to conventional flexible and monovalent systems, TDN-MLYTAB uniquely avoids structural collapse, exhibiting substantially improved internalization and a remarkable degradation efficiency of ∼71% at 100 nM after 24 h. This work not only presents a versatile degradation platform but also demonstrates how programmable DNA nanostructures can overcome persistent bioconjugation challenges, advancing modular therapeutics toward application.
Authors
- Xin Wan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1283-9474)
- Quanhao Dou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1140-4345)
- Jialin Zeng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6292-0361)
- Yuanqing Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8761-5328)
- Miao Mao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4997-2663)
- Xi Chen
Institutions
- National Sun Yat-sen University (TW)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- South China Normal University (CN)
- Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Published
- 2026-09-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c15457
- Primary Topic
- Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00