Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42008848›Full record

ArticleRedox biology2026

A novel photosensitizer-based photodynamic therapy reprograms the Kynurenine-AhR axis to boost antitumor immunity in breast cancer.

Yuetong Liu, Ge Hong, Tianjun Liu, Hong Liu

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Redox biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yuetong LiuThe Second Surgical Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China; Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China.
Ge HongState Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, 300192, China.
Tianjun LiuState Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, 300192, China. Electronic address: liutj@bme.pumc.edu.cn.
Hong LiuThe Second Surgical Department of Breast Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China; Key Laboratory of Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, China. Electronic address: liuhong_submit@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a promising local treatment for breast cancer, with emerging evidence highlighting its potential to modulate the immune response. However, its effects on tumor microenvironment (TME) metabolism remain poorly understood. In this study, we introduce a novel photosensitizer, DTP, which efficiently generates reactive oxygen species and induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells in vitro. In vivo, DTP preferentially accumulates in tumors, significantly inhibiting tumor growth and reducing Ki-67 expression upon 650 nm irradiation. Untargeted metabolomics revealed significant alterations in the tryptophan metabolism pathway following DTP-PDT. Further targeted metabolomic analysis identified a specific reduction in kynurenine (Kyn), an immunosuppressive metabolite, within the tumor. Mechanistically, DTP-PDT reduced indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1)-dependent Kyn production, diminished AhR nuclear localization and decreased AhR transcriptional activity in tumor-infiltrating T cells. This metabolic reprogramming alleviated the immunosuppressive TME, as evidenced by increased infiltration of CD8

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsKynureninePhotochemotherapyPhotosensitizing AgentsReceptors, Aryl HydrocarbonAnimalsCell Line, TumorFemaleHumansMiceReactive Oxygen SpeciesSignal TransductionTumor MicroenvironmentKynureninePhotosensitizing AgentsReactive Oxygen SpeciesReceptors, Aryl HydrocarbonBreast cancerIndoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1Kynurenine-AhR axisPD-L1 blockadePhotodynamic therapyTumor immunometabolism

Identifiers

PMID42008848
PMCPMC13094649

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.