Nutrient-delivery and metabolism reactivation therapy for melanoma

To fulfil the demands of rapid proliferation, tumour cells undergo significant metabolic alterations. Suppression of hyperactivated metabolism has been proven to counteract tumour growth. However, whether the reactivation of downregulated metabolic pathways has therapeutic effects remains unexplored. Here we report a nutrient-based metabolic reactivation strategy for effective melanoma treatment. l-Tyrosine–oleylamine nanomicelles (MTyr–OANPs) were constructed for targeted supplementation of tyrosine to reactivate melanogenesis in melanoma cells. We found that reactivation of melanogenesis using MTyr–OANPs significantly impeded the proliferation of melanoma cells, primarily through the inhibition of glycolysis. Furthermore, leveraging melanin as a natural photothermal reagent for photothermal therapy, we demonstrated the complete eradication of tumours in B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice through treatment with MTyr–OANPs and photothermal therapy. Our strategy for metabolism activation-based tumour treatment suggests specific nutrients as potent activators of metabolic pathways.