Nuclear RPSA senses viral nucleic acids to promote the innate inflammatory response.

Innate sensors initiate the production of type I interferons (IFN-I) and proinflammatory cytokines to protect host from viral infection. Several innate nuclear sensors that mainly induce IFN-I production have been identified. Whether there exist innate nuclear sensors that mainly induce proinflammatory cytokine production remains to be determined. By functional screening, we identify 40 S ribosomal protein SA (RPSA) as a nuclear protein that recognizes viral nucleic acids and predominantly promotes proinflammatory cytokine gene expression in antiviral innate immunity. Myeloid-specific Rpsa-deficient mice exhibit less innate inflammatory response against infection with Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) and Influenza A virus (IAV), the viruses replicating in nucleus. Mechanistically, nucleus-localized RPSA is phosphorylated at Tyr204 upon infection, then recruits ISWI complex catalytic subunit SMARCA5 to increase chromatin accessibility of NF-κB to target gene promotors without affecting innate signaling. Our results add mechanistic insights to an intra-nuclear way of initiating proinflammatory cytokine expression in antiviral innate defense.

UBL7 enhances antiviral innate immunity by promoting Lys27-linked polyubiquitination of MAVS.

RNA virus infection usually triggers a range of host immune responses, including the induction of proinflammatory cytokines, interferons, and interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Here, we report that UBL7, a ubiquitin-like protein, is upregulated during RNA virus infection and induced by type I interferon as an ISG. UBL7-deficient mice exhibit increased susceptibility to viral infection due to attenuated antiviral innate immunity. UBL7 enhances innate immune response to viral infection by promoting the K27-linked polyubiquitination of MAVS. UBL7 interacts with TRIM21, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of MAVS, and promotes the combination of TRIM21 with MAVS in a dose-dependent manner, facilitating the K27-linked polyubiquitination of MAVS and recruiting of TBK1 to enhance the IFN signaling pathway. Moreover, UBL7 has a broad-spectrum antiviral function as an immunomodulatory adaptor protein. Therefore, UBL7 positively regulates innate antiviral signaling and promotes positive feedback to enhance and amplify the antiviral response.

Activation of cancer immunotherapy by nanomedicine.

Cancer is one of the most difficult diseases to be treated in the world. Immunotherapy has made great strides in cancer treatment in recent years, and several tumor immunotherapy drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Currently, immunotherapy faces many challenges, such as lacking specificity, cytotoxicity, drug resistance, etc. Nanoparticles have the characteristics of small particle size and stable surface function, playing a miraculous effect in anti-tumor treatment. Nanocarriers such as polymeric micelles, liposomes, nanoemulsions, dendrimers, and inorganic nanoparticles have been widely used to overcome deficits in cancer treatments including toxicity, insufficient specificity, and low bioavailability. Although nanomedicine research is extensive, only a few nanomedicines are approved to be used. Either Bottlenecks or solutions of nanomedicine in immunotherapy need to be further explored to cope with challenges. In this review, a brief overview of several types of cancer immunotherapy approaches and their advantages and disadvantages will be provided. Then, the types of nanomedicines, drug delivery strategies, and the progress of applications are introduced. Finally, the application and prospect of nanomedicines in immunotherapy and Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) are highlighted and summarized to address the problems of immunotherapy the overall goal of this article is to provide insights into the potential use of nanomedicines and to improve the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy.

Multiple RNA virus matrix proteins interact with SLD5 to manipulate host cell cycle.

The matrix protein of many enveloped RNA viruses regulates multiple stages of viral life cycle and has the characteristics of nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. We have previously demonstrated that matrix protein 1 (M1) of an RNA virus, influenza virus, blocks host cell cycle progression by interacting with SLD5, a member of the GINS complex, which is required for normal cell cycle progression. In this study, we found that M protein of several other RNA viruses, including VSV, SeV and HIV, interacted with SLD5. Furthermore, VSV/SeV infection and M protein of VSV/SeV/HIV induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Importantly, overexpression of SLD5 partially rescued the cell cycle arrest by VSV/SeV infection and VSV M protein. In addition, SLD5 suppressed VSV replication in vitro and in vivo, and enhanced type Ⅰ interferon signalling. Taken together, our results suggest that targeting SLD5 by M protein might be a common strategy used by multiple enveloped RNA viruses to block host cell cycle. Our findings provide new mechanistic insights for virus to manipulate cell cycle progression by hijacking host replication factor SLD5 during infection.

[Biological functions and ubiquitin modification of TBK1 in innate immunity].

The innate immune system initiates innate immune responses by recognizing pathogen-related molecular patterns on the surface of pathogenic microorganisms through pattern recognition receptors. Through cascade signal transduction, it activates downstream transcription factors NF-κB and interferon regulatory factors (IRFs), and then leads to the production of inflammatory cytokines and type Ⅰ interferon, which resists the infection of pathogenic microorganism. TBK1 is a central adapter protein of innate immune signaling pathway and can activate both NF-κB and IRFs. It is a key protein kinase in the process of anti-infection. The finetuning regulation of TBK1 is essential to maintain immune homeostasis and resist pathogen invasion. This paper reviews the biological functions and ubiquitin modification of TBK1 in innate immunity, to provide theoretical basis for clinical treatment of pathogenic infections and autoimmune diseases.

MicroRNA-155-5p promotes tumor progression and contributes to paclitaxel resistance via TP53INP1 in human breast cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are small, non-coding RNAs that are reported to serve numerous important regulatory functions; however, the role of miRNAs in regulating breast cancer cell biology remains poorly understood. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that miRNAs orchestrate multiple cellular functions and serve crucial roles in cell differentiation and cancer development, either by acting as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. In particular, miR-155-5p expression levels have been found to be upregulated and serve as a prognostic marker in numerous types of solid cancer, including human breast cancer. More than half of patients with breast cancer benefit from treatment with adjuvant paclitaxel chemotherapy following the early postoperative period. Despite the initial response to intensive combination chemotherapy, the majority of most patients will eventually acquire resistance to the drug and succumb to their disease. Therefore, further investigations into the association between miRNAs and the mechanism of paclitaxel resistance are required. The results of the present study revealed a strong positive association between miR-155-5p expression levels and the paclitaxel resistance, as the expression levels of miR-155-5p were upregulated in resistant cells. MiR-155-5p was further validated to regulate paclitaxel resistance using gain- and loss-of-function experiments. TP53INP1 was identified as a direct target gene of miR-155-5p by combining the results from the prediction algorithm based on free energy minimization and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. Also, miR-155-5p was suggested to be a key regulator of paclitaxel resistance in tumor cells, as it increased cell viability and motility, and promoted resistance to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. The transfection with miR-155-5p inhibitors re-sensitized the paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cells, while the overexpression of miR-155-5p led to an increase in the resistance to paclitaxel. Furthermore, the overexpression of the target gene, TP53INP1, contributed to the re-sensitivity of drug-resistant cells to paclitaxel. The subsequent combination of the knockdown of miR-155-5p and the overexpression of TP53INP1 conferred paclitaxel sensitivity in resistant cells. These results may enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying breast cancer progression and resistance to chemotherapy, and suggested that miR-155-5p or TP53INP1 may serve as novel therapeutic approaches to combat resistance to therapy, as well as the proliferation and evasion of apoptosis in breast cancer.

The N-terminal polypeptide derived from vMIP-II exerts its antitumor activity in human breast cancer through CXCR4/miR-7-5p/Skp2 pathway.

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor with the highest incidence in women of the world. CXCR4 and Skp2 are highly expressed in breast cancer cells and CXCR4 was positively correlated with Skp2 by interference or overexpression. The microRNA array was used to detect the differentially expressed spectrum of micro RNAs in breast cancer cells the changes of miR-7-5p after CXCR4 inhibitor (NT21MP) treatment to block the CXCR4/SDF-1 pathway was founded. MiR-7-5p has been found to be correlated with Skp2 in various tumors in the literature, and Skp2 expression can be regulated by transfection with miR-7-5p mimics or inhibitors. The expression level of miR-7-5p was upregulated or downregulated after CXCR4 interference or overexpression. Combined with the correlation between CXCR4 and miR-7-5p in the chip results, CXCR4 may regulate Skp2 through miR-7-5p. Epithelial cells have the morphological characteristics of mesenchymal cells for some reason called epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT). Transfection of miR-7-5p mimics into drug-resistant cells reduced Skp2 levels, decreased the expression of Vimentin, Snail, and slug, and increased the expression of E-cadherin. CXCR4 inhibitor (NT21MP) can reverse the EMT changes caused by miR-7-5p inhibitor. Similarly, in vivo results suggesting that CXCR4 inhibitors can reverse the EMT phenotype of drug-resistant breast cancer cells through the CXCR4/miR-7-5p/Skp2 pathway. In summary, the CXCR4/miR-7-5p/Skp2 signaling pathway plays an important role in the progression of breast cancer. This study provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of breast cancer by targeting the CXCR4 pathway.

Long noncoding RNA H19 acts as a miR-340-3p sponge to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition by regulating YWHAZ expression in paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide and one of the most prevalent malignancy. In recent years, increasing evidence had illuminated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve as critical factors in multiple tumor progression, including BC. Emerging references had indicated that the lncRNA H19 acts as significant roles in tumor progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and biological roles of H19 in BC invasion, metastasis and EMT are still unclear. In this study, it was detected that the expression level of H19 was increased in BC paclitaxel-resistant (PR) cells subline (MCF-7/PR) in comparison with MCF-7 parental cells. In vitro, there were demonstrated that H19 overexpression promoted BC cells proliferation, metastasis, invasion and EMT procedures, and suppressed cells apoptosis. Whereas, H19 suppression resulted in the contrary biological effects. Besides, bioinformatics tools and dual-luciferase reporters assays indicated that miR-340-3p could act as a potential target gene of H19, the underlying mechanism studies proved that H19 could act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) via competitively binding miR-340-3p to promote BC cell proliferation, metastasis and EMT by regulating tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (YWHAZ) and potentiate the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in BC cells. In summary, our findings demonstrated that H19 could act as a ceRNA in BC progression, metastasis and EMT through modulating miR-340-3p/YWHAZ axis and activating the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, indicating that H19 might act as an underlying therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for BC therapy.

Author Correction: Inducible degradation of lncRNA Sros1 promotes IFN-γ-mediated activation of innate immune responses by stabilizing Stat1 mRNA.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Inducible degradation of lncRNA Sros1 promotes IFN-γ-mediated activation of innate immune responses by stabilizing Stat1 mRNA.

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is essential for the innate immune response to intracellular bacteria. Noncoding RNAs and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) need to be further considered in studies of regulation of the IFN-γ-activated signaling pathway in macrophages. In the present study, we found that the microRNA miR-1 promoted IFN-γ-mediated clearance of Listeria monocytogenes in macrophages by indirectly stabilizing the Stat1 messenger RNA through the degradation of the cytoplasmic long noncoding RNA Sros1. Inducible degradation or genetic loss of Sros1 led to enhanced IFN-γ-dependent activation of the innate immune response. Mechanistically, Sros1 blocked the binding of Stat1 mRNA to the RBP CAPRIN1, which stabilized the Stat1 mRNA and, consequently, promoted IFN-γ-STAT1-mediated innate immunity. These observations shed light on the complex RNA-RNA regulatory networks involved in cytokine-initiated innate responses in host-pathogen interactions.

N 6-methyladenosine RNA modification-mediated cellular metabolism rewiring inhibits viral replication.

Host cell metabolism can be modulated by viral infection, affecting viral survival or clearance. Yet the cellular metabolism rewiring mediated by the N 6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification in interactions between virus and host remains largely unknown. Here we report that in response to viral infection, host cells impair the enzymatic activity of the RNA m6A demethylase ALKBH5. This behavior increases the m6A methylation on α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (OGDH) messenger RNA (mRNA) to reduce its mRNA stability and protein expression. Reduced OGDH decreases the production of the metabolite itaconate that is required for viral replication. With reduced OGDH and itaconate production in vivo, Alkbh5-deficient mice display innate immune response-independent resistance to viral exposure. Our findings reveal that m6A RNA modification-mediated down-regulation of the OGDH-itaconate pathway reprograms cellular metabolism to inhibit viral replication, proposing potential targets for controlling viral infection.

Long noncoding RNA AC073284.4 suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition by sponging miR-18b-5p in paclitaxel-resistant breast cancer cells.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent malignant cancer in the world, is the leading cause of cancer-related death female. Recently, there is accumulating evidence that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) might as an important role in the progression of BC. (epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is considered to play a vital role in tumor cells migration and invasion. Nevertheless, the entire biological mechanisms and functions of lncRNAs in tumor migration, invasion, and EMT remain uncertain. In the present research, we observed that the expression of lncRNA AC073284.4 was downregulated in BC paclitaxel-resistant (PR) cells (MCF-7/PR) and tissues. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that miR-18b-5p was a direct target of AC073284.4, which has been validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. We further proved that AC073284.4 could directly bind to miR-18b-5p and relieve the suppression for dedicator of cytokinesis protein 4 (DOCK4). Furthermore, the underlying functional experiments demonstrated that AC073284.4 might sponge miR-18b-5p to attenuate the invasion, metastasis, and EMT of BC cell through upregulating DOCK4 expression. In summary, AC073284.4 might serve as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) in BC progression via modulating miR-18b-5p/DOCK4 axis, which weakens EMT and migration of BC. These results suggesting that AC073284.4 might function as a potential novel diagnostic biomarker in the progression of BC.

MiR-155-3p acts as a tumor suppressor and reverses paclitaxel resistance via negative regulation of MYD88 in human breast cancer.

MiR-155-3p, which is derived from the same pre-miRNA as miR-155-5p, the latter has been reported to be dysregulated in multiple tumor tissues and associated with clinicopathologic markers, tumor subtypes, and poor survival rates. However, the biological effects of miR-155-3p are rarely explored. In this study, we find that miR-155-3p was down-regulated in breast cancer and MYD88 was validated as the target for miR-155-3p. Moreover, miR-155-3p showed a negative effect on apoptosis, invasion and metastasis, reverses paclitaxel resistance by suppression of the corresponding target gene MYD88 in vitro and in vivo experiments. Taking together, our studies suggest that miR-155-3p, which serve as a negative regulatory mechanism for breast cancer development. The mechanism further complicates the regulatory network in human breast cancer.

NT21MP negatively regulates paclitaxel-resistant cells by targeting miR­155­3p and miR­155-5p via the CXCR4 pathway in breast cancer.

Evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) are vital in cell growth, migration, and invasion by inhibiting their target genes. A previous study demonstrated that miRNA (miR)-155­3p and miR­155-5p exerted opposite effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in breast cancer cell lines. An miRNA microarray was used to show that miR­155­3p was downregulated whereas miR­155-5p was upregulated in paclitaxel-resistant (PR) cells compared with parental breast cancer cells. However, the role of miR­155 in breast cancer cell invasion and metastasis remains to be elucidated. A 21-residue peptide derived from the viral macrophage inflammatory protein II (NT21MP), competes with the ligand of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand stromal cell-derived factor-1α, inducing cell apoptosis in breast cancer. The present study aimed to identify the underlying mechanism of action of miR­155­3p/5p and NT21MP in PR breast cancer cells. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, wound-healing, cell cycle and apoptosis assays, and Cell Counting kit-8 assay were used to achieve this goal. The combined overexpression of miR­155­3p with NT21MP decreased the migration and invasion ability and increased the number of apoptotic and arrested cells in the G0/G1 phase transition in vitro. The knockdown of miR­155-5p combined with NT21MP had a similar effect on PR breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the ectopic expression of their target gene myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MYD88) or tumor protein 53-induced nuclear protein 1 (TP53INP1) combined with NT21MP enhanced the sensitivity of the breast cancer cells to paclitaxel. Taken together, these findings suggested that miR­155­3p/5p and their target genes MYD88 and TP53INP1 may serve as novel biomarkers for NT21MP therapy through the CXCR4 pathway for improving sensitivity to paclitaxel in breast cancer.

Development and characterization of stable reporter cells for fast and sensitive detection of pyrogen.

Pyrogens are a class of heterogeneous compounds that cause fever and induce inflammatory responses in the host. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS, also known as endotoxin) is the major pyrogen in the category of drug quality control. Accurate and fast quantification of pyrogens is crucial for drug safety. In the present study, we aimed to develop a sensitive and reliable method for rapid detection of pyrogens using luciferase reporter assay. Stable human A549 luciferase reporter cells were constructed under the control of a NF-κB-responsive element or IFN-ß promoter. Our results showed that several monoclonal stable cell clones responded to 0.1 EU/ml endotoxin, which was less than human fever threshold at 0.3 EU/ml of endotoxin. Further, compared with original A549 cells, TLR4 expression on the reporter cells were significantly increased after low amount LPS stimulation. In addition, reporter cells also responded to zymosan stimulation. Therefore, these results indicated that the stable luciferase reporter cells respond to endotoxin and non-endotoxin pyrogens and have the potential to further develop into a sensitive and fast pyrogen evaluation method.

Curcumin-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Enhanced Anticancer Efficiency in Breast Cancer.

Curcumin (Cur) has been widely used in medicine, due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor effects. However, its clinic application is limited by its instability and poor solubility. In the present wok, curcumin was loaded into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), in order to improve the therapeutic efficacy for breast cancer. The results measured using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that Cur-SLNs have a well-defined spherical shape; the size was about 40 nm with a negative surface charge. The drug loading and encapsulation efficiency in SLNs reached 23.38% and 72.47%, respectively. The Cur-SLNs showed a stronger cytotoxicity against SKBR3 cells. In vitro cellular uptake study demonstrated a high uptake efficiency of the Cur-SLNs by SKBR3 cells. Moreover, Cur-SLNs induced higher apoptosis in SKBR3 cells, compared to cells treated by free drug. In addition, Western blot analysis revealed that Cur-SLNs could promote the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, but decreased the expression of cyclin D1 and CDK4. These results suggested that Cur-SLNs could be a potential useful chemotherapeutic formulation for breast cancer therapy.

Synthesis, ß -catenin Translocation Capability and ALP Activation Activity of 7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one Derivatives.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis (OP) is a common bone disease, most often diagnosed in post-menopausal women. The majority of OP treatments are focused on manipulation of the patient's hormone levels, therefore, they are associated with significant adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to design, synthesize and evaluate the ß-catenin translocation capability and the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activation activity of 7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one derivatives. METHOD: The styrene derivatives were synthesized as raw materials, followed by oxidation and condensation reactions, in which 6-aryl-3-thioxo-3,4-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one derivatives (1) were obtained. The 3,6-diaryl-7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-ones (2) were obtained by a condensation reaction of compound 1 with substituted phenacyl chlorides in acetic acid. The target compounds 3,6-diaryl-7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-ones (3a-3c) were prepared by compound 2 with substituted alkyl chloride by Williamson reaction. As to 6-benzyl-3-aryl-7H-thiazolo[3,2- b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one derivatives as the target compounds, the benzaldehyde and acetylglycine used as raw materials, followed by Erlenmeyer-Plochl reaction, condensation reaction, hydrolysis reaction, condensation reaction, 6-benzyl-3-thioxo-3,4-dihydro-1,2,4-triazin-5(2H)-one derivatives were obtained, and were converted to the target compounds 6-benzyl-3-(hydroxylaryl)-7Hthiazolo[ 3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one derivatives (5a-5d) using reaction with substituted α-phenacyl chlorides. Finally, Williamson reaction were used to yield 6-benzyl-3-aryl-7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]- 1,2,4-triazin-7-ones as target compounds (6a-6e). The ß-catenin translocation capability and the ALP activation activity were tested, and the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) inhibition was simulated by molecular docking. RESULTS: Fourteen 7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one derivatives were synthesized and characterized by mass spectra, proton NMR and infrared spectra, the ß-catenin translocation capability and the ALP activation activities of the target compounds were tested and calculated. The EC50 value of the ALP activation activity of 6-(4-chlorobenzyl)-3-{4-[(2-dimethylamino)-2- oxoethoxy]phenyl}-7H-thiazolo[3,2-b]-1,2,4-triazin-7-one (6b) was 11.283 µM. The molecular docking results have showed that the target compounds would be GSK-3 inhibitors. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the biological activity test, the target compounds have exhibited the ß-catenin translocation capability and the ALP activation activity.

Nuclear carbonic anhydrase 6B associates with PRMT5 to epigenetically promote IL-12 expression in innate response.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is critical for induction of protective immunity against intracellular bacterial infection. However, the mechanisms for efficient induction of IL-12 in innate response remain poorly understood. Here we report that the B type of carbonic anhydrase 6 (Car6-b, which encoded CA-VI B) is essential for host defense against Listeria monocytogenes (LM) infection by epigenetically promoting IL-12 expression independent of its carbonic anhydrase activity. Deficiency of Car6-b attenuated IL-12 production upon LM infection both in vitro and in vivo. Car6-/- mice were more susceptible to LM infection with less production of IL-12. Mechanistically, the nuclear localized CA-VI B selectively promotes IL-12 expression by interaction with protein arginine N-methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), which reduces symmetric dimethylation of histone H3 arginine 8 modification (H3R8me2s) at Il12 promoters to facilitate chromatin accessibility, selectively enhancing c-Rel binding to the Il12b promoter. Our findings add insights to the epigenetic regulation of IL-12 induction in innate immunity.

Preparation and sonodynamic activities of water-soluble tetra-α-(3-carboxyphenoxyl) zinc(II) phthalocyanine and its bovine serum albumin conjugate.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a new approach for cancer treatment, involving the synergistic effect of ultrasound and certain chemical compounds termed as sonosensitizers. A water-soluble phthalocyanine, namely tetra-α-(3-carboxyphenoxyl) zinc(II) phthalocyanine (ZnPcC4), has been prepared and characterized. The interactions between ZnPcC4 and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were also investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found that there were strong interactions between ZnPcC4 and BSA with a binding constant of 6.83×10(7)M(-1). A non-covalent BSA conjugate of ZnPcC4 (ZnPcC4-BSA) was prepared. Both ZnPcC4 and ZnPcC4-BSA exhibited efficient sonodynamic activities against HepG2 human hepatocarcinoma cells. Compared with ZnPcC4, conjugate ZnPcC4-BSA showed a higher sonodynamic activity with an IC50 value of 7.5µM. Upon illumination with ultrasound, ZnPcC4-BSA can induce an increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, resulting in cellular apoptosis. The results suggest that the albumin conjugates of zinc(II) phthalocyanines functionalized with carboxyls can serve as promising sonosensitizers for sonodynamic therapy.