Truncated Gpr114-based ultrasound-hypersensitive gene circuit for controlled expression of therapeutics.

Abstract

Sonogenetic holds great potential for modulating cellular functions and behaviors. However, developing hypersensitive ultrasound (US)-responsive receptors remains a substantial challenge. Here, we combine AlphaFold3 prediction with molecular dynamics simulations to identify a hypersensitive Gpr114 protein variant (T-Gpr114) that responds to short-pulse US stimulation for activation. We further design sonogenetic macrophages (MΦ) by fusing T-Gpr114 to a synthetic genetic circuit, this circuit initiates expression of the transcription factor ID3 upon short-pulse US treatment. In vivo assays using female tumor-bearing mice demonstrate that sonogenetic-MΦ suppress tumor growth with no obvious systemic toxicity, and exhibit enhanced anti-tumor efficacy relative to cells with constitutive ID3 expression. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that sonogentic-MΦ potentiate the recruitment recruitment of CD8⁺ T cells compared with constitutive ID3-overexpressing macrophages. In this work, this T-Gpr114-based US-hypersensitive gene circuit extends the scope of remote control over the activation of diverse cell types, thereby facilitating the programming of therapeutic cells.