A CRISPR-Customizable Copper-Coordinated DNA Nanoplatform Potentiates Cuproptosis Through Circadian and Metabolic Pathway Manipulation

Despite the promise of Cuproptosis in antitumor therapy, developing strategies to enhance its therapeutic efficacy within the tumor microenvironment remains a challenge. Inspired by the chronotherapy that manipulate circadian rhythms to enhance drug effectiveness, herein we report for a CRISPR-customized copper-DNA nanoplatform (Cu-RNP) that synergistically induces multimodal cell death, including potentiated Cuproptosis, by manipulating circadian and metabolic pathways. Cu-RNP integrates coordination-driven self-assembly of Cu²⁺-DNA nanospheres with Cas13d/crRNA ribonucleoproteins targeting BMAL1. Upon cellular internalization, the acidic and reducing endo/lysosomal environment triggers Cu-RNP disassembly, releasing RNP to silence BMAL1 and disrupt circadian oscillations, leading to WEE1 downregulation and p21 upregulation, thereby inducing Apoptosis. Simultaneously, liberated Cu²⁺ generates cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals for chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and concurrently depletes GSH, promoting mitochondrial copper overload for Cuproptosis. Importantly, we demonstrate that silencing BMAL1 disrupts circadian rhythms, inhibits glycolysis, enhances mitochondrial respiration, and redirects metabolic flux to the TCA cycle, thereby amplifying the cell's vulnerability to copper-induced Cuproptosis. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that Cu-RNP sensitizes Cancer cells to Cuproptosis and elicit strong antitumor response through the synergistic combination of Cuproptosis, CDT, Apoptosis, and circadian-metabolic modulation. This study demonstrates a mechanistic link between BMAL1-regulated circadian rhythms and Cuproptosis sensitivity, suggesting a potential treatment strategy for multimodal, cuproptosis-potentiating Cancer therapies.

CRISPR; DNA nanoplatform; circadian rhythm; combination therapy; cuproptosis.