Thylakoid engineered M2 macrophage for sonodynamic effect promoted cell therapy of early atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular diseases that contribute to the major morbidity worldwide, but still lacking of effective treatment strategy. Here, a hybrid cell is constructed for the sonodynamic effect promoted cell therapy of early atherosclerosis by fusing M2 macrophages with thylakoid (TK) membranes. After systemic administration, the obtained TK-M2 actively accumulates in the early atherosclerotic plaques, wherein M2 macrophages relieve the cholesterol accumulation and the inflammation in the foam cells. Meanwhile, the TK membranes decorated on the M2 macrophages exhibit both type I and type II sonodynamic effects under ultrasound (US) activation, inducing the direct apoptosis of foam cells. The cooperation of M2 and TK leads to significant outcome in eliminating atherosclerotic plaques without obvious side-effects, providing a new avenue for atherosclerosis treatment.